Chapter 24

"Mmmm, this is positively sinful," Ally grinned, licking her lips in anticipation. "Do you wanna go first, or should I?"

Ben shrugged, looking down. "I don't care, but we'd better get moving. I don't think it'll stay firm much longer."

"You're right," Ally said with a giggle. "It's already starting to get a little soft." She couldn't resist making the comment. Ben didn't make her feel the least bit uncomfortable. It was great feeling totally at ease around a guy for once. Too bad they were merely two nerdy kids discussing the consistency of the ice cream in their banana split!

Ally could imagine so much more thanks to witnessing Kaija's escapades. She could feel Ben's full moist lips caress hers... see goose bumps dimple her skin as he whispered sensuous suggestions into her ear... grow weak in the knees as Ben's gentle hands made their way from her knee to her thigh... squirm as his thumbs teased her responsive nipples... shiver as a roaming finger stroked her wet, throbbing-

"Yo Ally, where were you just then?" Ben asked, a spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth.

She prayed to God he wouldn't figure it out, but given the warmth that crept up her face, he'd have to be a total idiot not to guess her far away look had something to do with sex. After all, what human being could exchange so many double entendres without thinking about sex?

Ally shrugged, making a concerted effort to get some banana with her scoop of ice cream. "Oh, just thinkin' about stuff," she lied unconvincingly.

Ben grinned. "That must have been some 'stuff'!" he teased.

Ally stuck her tongue out at him and silently continued chipping away at the mammoth sundae. Ben knew she was holding out on him, but he had the good grace to let the subject drop.

Ten minutes later, he was rubbing his full belly. "Wanna go walk some of this off?"

Ally's whole face smiled at the suggestion. "Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"Nothing big. We could wander around downtown a bit and then head back to campus."

So it wasn't glamorous, but Ally didn't want the evening to end just the same. There was something about Ben that intrigued her. Barclay could be funny and sweet, but besides the fact that he was taken, there was always this undercurrent of pressure to take their relationship to the next level. With Ben, being together was totally without pressure. Conversation came easily, but boy did her fantasies get out of control! Heaven help her, but she was beginning to believe that if she ever wanted their relationship to get anywhere beyond platonic ice cream-eating buddies, she was going to have to take matters into her own hands! Man, her parents would keep her from seeing Kaija for life if they knew how much Ally had changed since she started living with her!

"There's that goofy look again," Ben grinned.

Ally crumpled a napkin and tossed it at his face, laughing as it bounced off his nose and landed in the gooey remains of the banana split. "Come on," she said, standing up. "Let's get on with that walk before I explode!" Oh great, now THERE'S a romantic image, Ally scolded herself. But hey, at least he couldn't accuse her of getting too serious on him!

They gathered the trash, spoons, and empty dish and disposed of them before heading out the door. The autumn night had cooled pleasantly. Along with the smell of changing leaves, the air's scent hinted of a gentle rain, something Ally used to only associate with spring.

Silently, they walked down the street, making an occasional comment about the contents of a store's window. There was much to joke and laugh about though given the bizarre styles that seemed to be 'in' these days.

Finally, Ben stopped in front of a local gallery's window. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stared at one of the paintings. Ally followed his gaze to the painting and back again. With a deep sigh, he put his hands on his hips. "I just don't get it," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" Ally asked, stepping closer to him.

"How they can call THIS art," he winced in exasperation. Ben's hand made a broad, sweeping gesture toward the largest painting in the window. "I mean what's with that anyway?"

Ally cocked her head, taking in the colors--or more accurately, COLOR-of the painting. It was a mottled sky blue, only the mottles weren't distinct enough to be considered clouds. It was just a giant blue canvas with an outrageous pricetag.

"Well?" Ben prodded.

"Well if I was into the visual arts, I might say the painting represents the infinite number of possibilities our lives hold, you know, the way a sky appears endless." Ally shrugged. "But I'm not a visual arts person, and quite frankly, the painting just looks, well, blue."

Ben grinned, but he was still irked by the whole thing. "But look how much they want for that thing! It's extortion!"

"You think that's bad," Ally began, "I could tell you about some doozies hanging in the Smithsonian right now."

"Do tell," he encouraged as they continued walking down the street.

"Okay... the first was so big, it took up an entire wall from floor to ceiling in the National Museum of Art."

"Yeah, that's pretty obnoxious, but I'll bet it wasn't all blue," Ben returned with a smile.

"No, you're right; it wasn't blue, it was even worse."

"No way!" he said with an exaggerated surprised tone that meant he was enjoying their banter entirely too much.

"Oooooh yeah," she said, shaking her head. She paused for dramatic effect, and then said simply, "It was black."

"ALL black?!?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded with a grin and raised her right hand. "I swear to God I'm telling you the truth."

"Whew, coming from you, I guess I have no choice but to believe you."

"Okay, wise guy, if this is another Catholic joke, I'm gonna hafta pound ya!" she said, playfully punching him in the arm.

He held his hands up in surrender, laughing all the while. "Truce, truce!" he called out. She smiled back at his boyishly cute behavior. "So what was the other atrocity you spoke of, or dare I ask?"

Ally smiled at the memory. She was touring the museum with her friend Amber. The two always liked to clown around anyway, but the work of 'art' really set them off. "Well the other piece of art-and I use the term 'art' loosely here-was a more modest sized canvas." Thank God, she mumbled under her breath, causing Ben to grin. "Anyway, the center of the canvas looked like a bunch of Crayon scribbles. I've seen preschoolers do better," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "As if that weren't enough, something had been printed on the bottom of the canvas."

"What did it say?"

"Darned if I know," Ally shrugged. "It was child-scrawled letters slanting downward as the edge of the canvas neared."

"That's weird..."

"Oh yeah, it was also done in Crayon." Ben shook his head in disbelief. "My friend and I laughed so hard we started crying! And then we couldn't stop making wisecracks about the piece. Some of the gallery's, uh, more refined visitors sighed, rolled their eyes, and snorted over our behavior. Of course that just made us laugh even harder."

Ben pictured the whole vivid scene in his mind, smiling all the while. "I'm surprised you didn't get thrown out or something."

"Who said we didn't get thrown out?" Ally said with one of those looks.

"You didn't..."

She nodded. "Well, not quite, but the security guard was sure giving us the evil eye." He couldn't be certain, but she almost sounded proud. Maybe Allison Delaney actually liked being a bit of a rebel, Ben speculated, holding back a smirk.

They continued walking down the main drag, peeping into store windows and making jokes as they went. At some point, Ally's hand found its way into Ben's. She couldn't remember when or even how it happened. All she knew was it felt good. Ben made her feel safe and cared for in a way no guy ever had. Ally smiled peacefully as she walked, praying Ben was enjoying it as much as she was.

The couple worked their way back to campus hand-in-hand, chatting idly about the moon, the stars, and the invigorating fall weather. They paused to take a seat on a bench by the campus pond. It was positively gorgeous surrounded by noises of nature rather than the raucous sounds of boom boxes, fights over girls, and grumblings about assignments. Crickets chirped and ducks quacked as they glided effortless across the pond's surface. If she could freeze the moment, she would. In a heartbeat.

"So what are your plans for the weekend?" Ben asked.

"I'm not sure. I was supposed to prepare for a Monday meeting with Professor Salinger, but..." Her voice trailed off, and her peaceful expression vanished. She hadn't meant to let it slip about their meeting, but in light of things, it seemed to be a moot point. So what if she confided in Ben about the book project? Maybe then it'd make more sense to him why she was so upset over the sequence of events.

He rubbed her back in a smooth, comforting touch. "I know. I was supposed to get together with him on Monday, too."

"You were?" She raised her eyebrows with the question.

"Yeah. He wanted me to help him with a project, though I have no idea how an amateur like me could help a pro like him." Ben winced at his use of the present tense to describe the presumably dead professor. He contemplated correcting himself, but only for a split second. It would accomplish nothing, except to upset Ally, and that was the last thing on earth he wanted to do. For being a self-proclaimed uptight Catholic girl, she could sure make a guy laugh! He had never had such free and easy conversation with a girl in his life. He could definitely get used to hanging out with Allison Delaney...