Love All • Ben Shelton

chapter four

I was buzzed now and eager to get inside and see my tennis friends. As we approached the banquet hall, we could see the paparazzi's bright lights grow closer, and I hoped I didn't look too drunk.
I stepped out of the car and was immediately blinded by the flashing lights and deafened by the screams of the photographers telling me, "Look this way, Anya," or "Give us a spin, Anya!!"
I tried to do what they asked but was escorted away after about 45 seconds.
When I entered, I could feel the eyes on me, and the dress was the reason for that. I started feeling hot as we approached the bar and told Emilia I was running to the bathroom to freshen up. The room was filled with tennis legends: Coco Gauff, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Taylor Fritz, Aryna Sabalenka, and many more. It made me nervous to know I would have to play one of them in the tournament, but if I dug for success, I could win.
The hallway leading up to the bathroom was dimmed, and I had six-inch heels on and was tipsy. As I turned the corner, I ran face-first into this wall of muscle. The hand reached to grab me by the waist, and an electric shock was sent through my body. "Hey, watch where you are going!" I screamed. His drink ran down the center of my dress; luckily, it was black, and I was too worried about getting to the bathroom to care. My brain was so cloudy that I didn't even look up to see who this person was. The deep, husky voice began to speak. "I am so—" We locked eyes as I looked up. It was Ben.
He finished his sentence in a whispery breath that made my knees weak: "Sorry."
The silence fell between us as we examined each other.
I did have to admit, he was hotter in person. His body fit perfectly with mine, and my head lined up straight to his chest. He looked down at me with his dark eyes, and the left side of his mouth slowly started to lift up as if he was going to smile. His hand was still on my waist and slowly moved to my open back. A shiver was sent down either side of my spine and met in the middle of my legs.
I felt that if we stood there a second longer, we would end up in the bathroom, and I had no time for distractions, especially cocky ones.
"Yeah, whatever," I said as I jerked away from him. "You owe me a new dress, dumbass!"
"Hey," he shouted, "I never caught your name." "You don't need it," I shouted back.
As I went to sit down with Emilia, I told her what had happened. "It's not surprising by how he's staring at you." I turned around to find Ben staring at me, and I quickly turned around again. "Oh my god, he's walking over here; quick, take this shot; boost your confidence," said Emilia as she left the table. My throat burned as I could feel his presence grow closer to me; the sound in the room was canceled out, and my heartbeat sped up. I wondered what he was going to say to me. Maybe he'll buy me a drink, I need one.