Impromptu Attraction Ch. 04

He stumbled over his own feet as his eyes grew wide. He had stopped dancing and inched a little further away from Julia, shock written across his face. Julia kept a straight face for as long as she could, but eventually broke into a broad grin that gave her away.

Richard sighed. "Well played," he said grudgingly.

That night all of Ben's predictions about his family turned out to be correct. Julia had made the mistake of dancing with his cousin Scott during a slow song, which provided him plenty of opportunity to talk about his job.

"So that's why I tell people they should get a Roth instead of a regular IRA, in most cases it just makes more fiscal sense. Though a lot of people are just relying on their 401k to be enough, don't even get me started on that." Scott concluded his answer, though by then Julia didn't even remember what the question had been.

Throughout the conversation she had done her best to pay attention, but at the same time kept a lookout for Ben so he could come rescue her. At that moment he was on the other side of the floor dancing with his Aunt Rita and she hadn't been able to catch his eye.

Before Scott started in on a new topic, Julia suddenly had a thought. "Have you met the other bridesmaid, Kim? Come on, I'll introduce you."

After leaving Kim and Scott to get to know one another, she made her way back to the dance floor to look for Ben. She saw him on the side having what looked like a serious conversation with Christian, and wondered what they were talking about. Suddenly she felt a tap on the arm, and when she turned around she had to look down to see who it was.

"Would you like to dance?" an enthusiastic young boy asked her, and they made their way to the dance floor as a slow song started playing.

"Are you Luke by any chance?" Julia asked as they started swaying back and forth.

"That's me!" he replied, flashing a killer set of dimples. Julia could see what Ben meant about him already being a heartbreaker at age seven. She also saw what he meant about watching his hands, and several times she had to move them back up to her waist with a stern look.

When she was finally able to get a break from the dancing, Julia went up to the bar to get a glass of water. While she was there she ran into another of Ben's cousins, and again called on her mental list to know how to respond.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked.

"Oh no, I'm just getting some water," she said.

"Come on, I'll make you a deal: if you can do more shots than I can in a minute then I'll buy your drinks for the rest of the night."

"You must be Danny."

The night progressed smoothly, and the dance floor stayed crowded. Julia had thought Ben was exaggerating when he talked about his family's affinity for dancing, but he had been completely right. By the time she had danced with all his cousins and chatted with the rest of his family, Julia was desperately wishing she had on more comfortable shoes. She decided to slip upstairs to the room to change, and after some difficulty in tracking down her purse and her room key she was sitting on the bed peeling her shoes off her feet.

As she sat wiggling her toes and waiting for the circulation to come back, she heard a key in the door and looked up in time to see Ben come in. He had taken off his jacket and had his sleeves rolled up, but otherwise looked as polished as he had at the ceremony.

"Where did you learn to move like that?" she immediately asked. This was their first opportunity to talk since their first dance, and she was still amazed at how smooth he looked.

"You're not so bad yourself you know," he replied.

"Yes, but I took ballet for twelve years and I still can't dance like you can," she said. She had gotten to her feet and was pulling out another pair of shoes to wear for the rest of the night.

"Now there's a way to make a guy feel confident, compare him to a ballerina." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a lingering kiss on the back of her neck.

She sighed as a chill ran down her spine: Julia loved it when Ben kissed her there, and he knew it. She enjoyed the feeling of his warm breath against her neck, his lips pressed to her skin, and his strong arms holding her against him. She turned around and pulled his face toward hers, kissing him deeply as her fingers laced through his hair.

Ben pulled Julia closer to him, his lips parting as his tongue rubbed against hers. She could feel a growing hardness pressed against her leg, making her notice a dampness between her own legs starting to spread. She moved her hands to his chest and started slowly unbuttoning his shirt, a small moan escaping her lips as she did. Once his shirt was off she tossed it onto a chair and ran her fingers down his chest, lightly dragging her manicured nails against his skin.

She felt the zipper of her dress being tugged down, and with their lips still locked together she slipped the straps from her shoulders and let the dress fall to the floor. She stepped out of it as her hands went for Ben's belt, and she did her best to keep her fingers steady as she pushed down his pants. They made quick work of each other's underwear, running their fingers over the exposed skin of their naked bodies.

Ben leaned down and gently kissed her breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers as he did. She gasped as his mouth found her nipples, and she raked her nails across his back as he used his tongue to get her even more excited. He kissed her with renewed vigor as his fingers played with her breasts, teasing and pinching her nipples until her breath came in ragged pants.

He fell back onto the bed, pulling her down with him. By then their kisses were becoming more urgent, their desire for each other more apparent, and with a gentle nudge Ben moved her up to straddle his face. When his lips brushed against her pussy she shuddered with pleasure, her eyes closing and a smile spreading across her lips. She gripped the sheets as his tongue traced her skin, letting out a sigh as each graze passed achingly closer to her clitoris.

Ben pulled off his glasses, which was usually an indication that Julia was going to enjoy whatever he was about to do next. She whimpered softly when she finally felt his tongue against her clit, encouraging him to continue. He pressed his tongue harder against her, slipping a finger into her west pussy. She moaned again and arched her back into him as he slid his finger in and out in rhythm to his tongue. The wetness between her legs was growing with each movement, and loved how his body felt beneath her.

He continued until her gasps and moans grew more insistent, then shoved his tongue deep inside of her. This sent her over the edge and she held the back of his head as her first orgasm washed over her. He barely gave her time to recover before he slipped a second finger into her trembling pussy. As his fingers and tongue fell back into rhythm she leaned forward to grip his stiff cock, running her hand up and down his shaft. She bent farther over to take him into her mouth, receiving a moan that she could feel between her thighs.

She did her best to concentrate on working his cock in and out of her mouth, but was finding it difficult to keep her mind off of how good his fingers and mouth were making her feel. Her body tensed as he drove her to another orgasm, causing her lips to grip his stiff member. Once her body relaxed she moved off of his face, turning around to straddle his waist instead.

His cock was already completely hard, but she gave it a few strokes as she climbed on top of him. She lowered herself onto his stiff member, watching his eyes shut and a smile cross his lips as she did.

She leaned forward to kiss him, grinding her hips against him in the process. His hands went to her waist as she slowly rocked back and forth. He moved a hand between them and rubbed his thumb in small circles around her clit, his eyes never leaving her face. She began using her knees to raise and lower her body, making short, quick thrusts.

As she moved faster on his cock she could feel an orgasm building, and she tightened her pussy around him. Her muscles clamped down around his cock as she came, and he seemed to enjoy the sensation. She didn't have time to catch her breath before he got to work driving her over the edge again.

Ben rolled Julia onto her back, spreading her legs wide apart before he slowly pressed his full length inside of her. He waited until she was breathing normally and her heart had stopped racing before giving her a deep, passionate kiss. Once she was ready he began rocking his hips back and forth, his lips again brushing against the soft skin of her neck.

She closed her eyes as he moved faster, moaning when his hand again found her clit. She wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing his cock as tightly as she could. She struggled to keep her breath even as he moved faster, his cock pounding in and out of her wet pussy. His hands were all over her body, responding to her moans and sighs as they grew louder.

The bed shook as her body tensed for her final orgasm, and she buried her face in his shoulder to muffle her cries of pleasure. Until then he had seemed to be holding himself back, but with her release his own orgasm took over as he breathed her name in her ear. They lay panting on the bed, their pulses racing as they caught their breath.

"We should probably get back, people will start to wonder where we went," Julia said. She had been content in lying with her head resting on Ben's chest, but was beginning to wonder how long they had been in their room.

"In a minute," he replied, pulling her closer against him.

Reluctantly, they began putting themselves back together. Julia was relieved to see the generous amount of hairspray she had received that morning meant her hair was still intact, and that all the wrinkles in their clothes could be explained by dancing instead of from them lying in crumpled heaps. She slipped into her more comfortable shoes before they checked that everything was in place and headed back downstairs.

"Maybe we should go in separately," Julia said as they stepped off the elevator. "You know, in case anyone gets suspicious about what we've been doing."

Ben shrugged. "I'm sure no one will even notice we were gone," he said as they got back to the reception.

"There you are! We were looking for you, I was just about to throw the bouquet!" Alison's voice greeted them when they walked in the door. They felt all eyes in the room turn toward them, and they froze in place.

Julia gulped and felt the blood rush to her face. "Oh sorry, I was just changing my shoes," she said in a weak voice, trying to sound innocent when she knew she looked guilty.

No one would have given her reason a second thought if Ben had not been with her, but even she turned to look at him for an explanation. "And I was...helping?" he said.

There were a few smirks and some scattered snickering, but thankfully no one said anything else about their absence. Attention was called back to Alison as she directed all the unmarried women to assemble on the dance floor, and without enthusiasm Julia followed the instruction while trying to ignore all the men making bets about who would be successful.

Despite her best efforts, Alison did not manage to throw the bouquet to Julia. She stood at the back with Claire and happily watched the scramble among all the other women at a safe distance. After the scuffle was over (and everyone applauded Grandma Rosie for her triumphant catch) it was time for Alison and Christian to leave. Once they said their goodbyes to everyone they were given a heartfelt send-off, and the room immediately felt emptier without them in it.

Julia looked around for Ben and saw him talking to the band, so she grabbed a seat to wait for him. By then the evening was winding down, and the music consisted primarily of slow songs. The majority of the guests had left, but there were a fair number of couples still going strong. Julia saw Kim and Scott sitting together looking deep in conversation, and smiled when they leaned in for a kiss.

As soon as Julia got comfortable in her chair she heard the opening chords of a familiar song, and a smile spread across her face as Ben's hand touched her shoulder. "This is my favorite song," she said, tilting her head back to look into his eyes.

"I know," he replied, "that's why I asked them to play it." He held out his hand and led her to the dance floor.

As they swayed slowly to the rhythm of the music, Julia gave a contented sigh. All in all the weekend had been a complete success, and she would have many happy memories of the event. No doubt Marilynn would be disappointed when she arrived back at the office without a ring on her finger, but she could live with that.

"Listen, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Ben said. "I'm not sure this is the best time, but I can't wait any longer."

Julia froze. She glanced up and saw uncertainty on Ben's face, something she had not seen in a long time. It reminded her of their first night together, and how anxiously he had asked if she would stay with him. That question had been the difference between a one-night fling and a real relationship, and whatever he was about to ask seemed to be equally important.

Immediately her mind started racing. Surely he wasn't going to ask what everyone seemed to think he was going to ask, was he?

Ben cleared his throat before he continued. "Christian works for a publishing company, and he's about to be promoted to the head of his department. He says he's looking for someone to head up the graphic design division and he's offered me the job."

He paused, and Julia waited for the catch. So far it sounded like great news: a new job without all the hassles of chasing down journalists who don't meet their deadlines, not to mention getting to work with his best friend and brother-in-law. Ben was clearly excited about the prospect, but there was evidently a drawback.

"The thing is, the job is in Philadelphia," he said hesitantly. "I wouldn't start for a few months, but it still means I would have to move."

She nodded, suddenly understanding his dilemma. She could see where this was going: he was about to ask her if she thought their relationship could continue over a long distance. She had every confidence that they could make it work, and as much as she wasn't looking forward to the idea she was prepared to accept it. So of course, his actual question caught her completely by surprise.

"Would you come with me?" he asked.

Julia was at a loss for words. She had been living in the same city for six years, and had planned to continue living there well into the future. While her job was the only thing really keeping her in that area, she had grown very fond of where she lived. Moving would mean completely starting over: new apartment, new job, new life.

There were a million questions floating around in her head, but Ben picked up on an important one. "Christian says there are openings in their marketing department too so you wouldn't have to worry about finding a new job. It would probably be a better job than what you have now, so it just comes down to whether you want to go."

He waited for her to speak, but she was still processing the information. She remembered that she had applied for her current job on a whim, and had completely forgotten about it by the time she got called in for an interview. While she enjoyed her work, it was by no means her dream job. Working for a larger company would definitely be a step up for her, and she imagined they could both benefit from a change of scenery.

She was still silent as she considered this, so he kept nervously talking. "I understand if you don't want to go, and I won't hold it against you if you decide to stay."

Julia realized that her life was about to change drastically no matter what decision she made, and that deep down her mind was already made up. At that moment she did not know what the future would hold, but she would be happy with how her life would progress.

They would spend the summer looking for somewhere to live in Philadelphia, and resolving any final demands from the magazine where they had met and worked. In the end they would put an offer on a house that was optimistically described as a fixer-upper, and that's exactly what Ben would do: go over every inch of the house until everything was perfect. They would leave their office for good just in time for Mark and Marilynn's spontaneous wedding, but would miss the inevitable quickie divorce three months later.

It would be another year before Ben would ask Julia to marry him, getting down on one knee with the ring he bought a month after they started dating. Their wedding would rival even Alison's in terms of celebration and happiness, and Julia's father would take an unprecedented three days off of work to be there for every minute of it.

Years later, Ben and Julia would eventually leave their new jobs to start their own advertising agency. They would recruit their friends and family to work with them, and the company would get off to a strong start and continue to thrive. They would focus all their attention on making it successful until the birth of their daughter, who would bring them even more happiness than either of them ever imagined.

But at that moment, Julia didn't know any of this. All she knew was that she could either stay where she was in her same routine, or go with the man she loved into the great unknown.

"You don't have to decide right now," he said, finally getting discouraged by her silence. "Just something to think about."

She realized she didn't need to think about it. He was asking her to take a chance for him, and she knew if the tables were turned what he was willing to do for her. In the end, there was nowhere she would rather be than wherever he was, and if that meant a whole new life for the two of them then that's what she would do.

"Sounds like fun," she said, a timid grin spreading across her lips. "When do we start?"

Ben gave the biggest smile she had ever seen and pulled her close to him. As her favorite song came to an end he gave her a kiss that made her head spin, and whispered in her ear how much he loved her.

With that they left the reception, hand in hand, to start their new adventure together.

*

My sincerest thanks to CWatson for all the editing and endless advice with this series.