Chapter 23

Wide-eyed with shock, Ally yanked her hand off his knee. She was so caught up in the conversation she didn't even realize it was still there.

Ben laughed, holding his hands up in a look of surrender. "Calm down, I was just playing with ya!" The look of relief on Allison's face was priceless. "If it's really that important to you, I'll take care of it."

A small smile escaped her lips. "Thank you," she practically whispered.

Shit, I ought to be committed for what I'm about to do, Ben thought to himself. But he was a decent guy. Not perfect by any stretch, but at least respectable. It appeared that Ally's body had changed with her makeover, but her mind had not. And that could easily get her into trouble. A whole lotta trouble.

"Before you go, though, we need to talk," Ben started, a serious tone in his voice. God I hope I'm not making the mistake of a lifetime... "You're a terrific girl." He grinned at his use of the word girl at her age, but it suited her. In many respects, Ally was a helluva long way from being a woman. "But there's something you really need to know." He resisted the urge to grab her hands and squeeze them as he delivered the news.

Ally shifted, her eyes fixed on his, waiting for him to continue.

"You seem like a very caring, sensitive person. I admire that, and I'm sure a lot of other people do, too." God, he sounded like such a wuss. Hopefully Lou wouldn't come back in the middle of this! But somebody needed to tell her before things got even more out of hand. In some ways, Ben wished he could continue to manipulate her right into his bed, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He cared for her way too much to do that. Too damn nice, he sighed to himself. Ben shifted uneasily. "I'm not quite sure where to begin..."

"Just give it to me straight," Ally said, suddenly looking brave and confident.

"You're a tease," he blurted out before he lost his courage.

She quirked an eyebrow as if asking for an explanation. Ally was a lot of things, but a tease? She couldn't see it. Not in a million years!

"Remember a little while ago when you put your hand on my knee?" Ally nodded. "It made me so damn horny, I wanted you right then and there."

"I did that to you?" Ally asked with a blush. She couldn't help but feel a little proud as well as surprised.

"Absolutely. Why are you so surprised?"

"Look at me!" She looked down at her body and made a face. "I'm so... so average!"

Ben's mouth fell open. "You're joking, right?" But he could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "Trust me, you're about as far from average as it gets!"

She smiled as tears threatened to escape from her eyes. "I didn't mean to tease anyone," she said sorrowfully.

"I know," Ben said with a squeeze.

Their eyes met, and at that moment, their relationship changed forever. Ally felt totally at ease with him and felt she could confide nearly anything in him. "God, in high school none of the guys even looked at me. Sorta seems impossible I could have become a tease after that," she said. "Amazing what a little hair color and a new 'do will do!" she grinned, rolling her eyes.

"But it's not just about the makeover, Ally; it's the whole Allison Delaney. Besides being gorgeous, you're smart, funny, talented..."

With each word, her face grew warmer with embarrassment. "Stop, you're spoiling me!" she blushed. But he meant every word of it, and she could see that by the look on his face. "You're too sweet," Ally smiled.

Ben chuckled. "Well, before you canonize me into sainthood, I have a confession to make. I'm not as sweet as you think I am."

"Bull!" Ally protested.

"Seriously, I'm not, and I can prove it. Remember that night at the ice cream shop when I told you about Professor Salinger and the car accident?" Ally nodded. "Well, I exaggerated a bit. I knew you had a bit of a crush on the prof, so I wanted you to believe that he may very well be out of the picture."

"What are you saying?" Ally snapped at him. "If you lied about him being missing..." It was about the only thing she couldn't see herself forgiving Ben for, especially in light of how worried she was.

He shook his head almost instantly. "As far as I know, he really is missing. I just made it sound a bit more ominous than perhaps I should have. It was a slimy thing to do, I admit that, but I wanted you to gravitate to me, not to some old professor." Ben knew Professor Salinger was far from old, but he wanted to drive his point home. "So there you have it," he finished, letting his hands drop to his knees with a slap. "Am I a total sleaze ball in your eyes now?" He hoped not, but it really was a rotten thing to do to her. She deserved much better than that.

Ally laughed softly, and it made Ben smile in response. "A tease like me should not stand in judgment," she said dramatically. They both laughed, lightening the mood significantly.

Ben held up his finger, indicating he had one more thing he wanted to say. "Just be careful out there, Ally," he cautioned. "You're still an innocent in so many ways. It'd be ridiculously easy for someone to take advantage of you or, worse yet, accuse you of feeding them mixed signals." Ally thought back to the night with Bruiser and knew Ben was right. "Just promise me you'll watch yourself."

She nodded. "I will." She looked up at the clock on Ben's desk. "I should be getting back to the dorm. My roommate's probably wondering where I've run off to."

"But wait," Ben said, holding out a hand to Ally. "Don't you want to come with me to the police station?"

"I'd better let you handle it on your own. I wouldn't want Barclay to think I have the hots for him!" Ally giggled, and then turned serious. She reached for Ben's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Thank you for being so honest with me."

"You're very welcome." He smiled, feeling good about doing the right thing, yet a feeling of disappointment settled in the pit of his stomach. Ally's gonna make someone an awesome girlfriend, Ben thought. Too bad it won't be me...

Ally smiled all the way back to the dorm. Had Ben not felt like the most incredibly wonderful brother in the world, she'd've kissed him tonight. She admired his honesty and concern for her. Ally was almost ashamed that he had creeped her out at first. How could she have been such a lousy judge of character? He was a great guy. If only there had been some chemistry between them... He'd have made an excellent first lover, Ally thought as she yanked open the glass door to her building and flashed her ID card to security.

It was highly unusual for Kaija to be home alone on a Friday night, but there she was sitting on her loft looking lost. Her expression brightened some when Ally entered the room. "Hey, roomie, didja get laid?!?"

Only Kaija would ask a question like that, Ally groaned to herself with a grin. "I'm afraid not," she said. "But then again, you've probably been getting it enough for both of us lately!" Ally giggled.

"Gee, you're in a chipper mood tonight," Kaija observed. "Are you sure you didn't get any action while you were out?"

"I think I'd've remembered if I did," Ally laughed as she gathered her tooth brush and wash cloth from the closet.

"Yeah, I guess you probably would," Kaija teased, biting nervously at a loose cuticle on her finger. Ally resisted the urge to throw something at her roommate. She was feeling quite playful despite the stresses of the day.

When Ally returned from the bathroom, she noticed Kaija was looking uptight again. "What's wrong?" Ally asked as she rubbed some hand lotion into her hands.

"I haven't heard from Barclay yet. All this talk about getting laid is making me miss him even more."

Ally's heart skipped a beat. What was she supposed to say? She didn't want to upset Kaija when Barclay was going to be freed soon, yet keeping the secret from her could get ugly as well. The classic catch-22, Ally sighed to herself. Ally bit her lower lip as she struggled to find the right words. "I can guarantee he'd rather be here with you right now," she began. Kaija looked puzzled. "I mean it'd have to be pretty major to keep him from you on a Friday night, right?" Please don't hate me when you hear it's all my fault... As Ally opened her mouth to speak once more, there was a knock at the door.