On an Edge of Glass

he’s looking over his shoulder and acting all paranoid. 
    Ben: Ha! Maybe he’s former intelligence and thinks that you’re an operative sent to take him and the dog down.  Btw, isn’t it a little cold today for the park?
    Me: Noooooo.  That’s only if you’re a pansy.  I’m communing with nature and whatnot.
    Ben: Of course you are…
    As I watch, the sky changes from blue to pink, to a creeping grey.  The tall streetlights across from me waver then catch.  My breath comes out in icy clouds, and despite what I texted Ben about the cold, I’m beginning to feel a damp chill pulse through my fingers.  Just as I move to stand and head for home, my phone vibrates against my hand indicating that I have a new text.
    Ben: What do you think about sushi?
    I pause, considering.
    Me: That depends.  Does cream cheese count as a cheese?  Because if so then sushi’s out.
    Ben: Hahaha.  Not what I meant but you’re right.  I was asking if you’d like to get sushi with me.
    M y frozen fingers hover over the phone screen.  Pale stars are emerging above the roofs of the houses across the street and beyond a patch of nebulous clouds, a sliver of pearly moon winks at me.
    Me: Sure.  When?
    Ben: Right now.
    I stare at my phone and the n, so slowly that it’s torturous, I turn from the bench and search the park.  I stop, my eyes settling on a dark shadow at the base of one of the trees that borders the playground.  A sort of fascination takes place of my surprise as Ben steps away from the trees and walks toward me.  He is wearing a dark wool coat and a scarf that covers up the bottom half of his face, but I can see a smile crinkling the outer corners of his eyes.  My heart stalls momentarily and then sputters back to life. 
    “W -w-what are you doing here?” I ask, rushing forward.  I feel my cold face break wide open. 
    He lifts his arms from his sides and looks around as if he’s about to take off into the air. 
    “ You said you were at the park communing with the spirit world or something so I thought that I’d stop by and see if you felt like grabbing some sushi with me,” he says like his arrival is no big deal.  “You know, sushi’s pretty spiritual.  Or so I’ve heard.”
    I shake my head and roll my eyes playfully.  “You are infuriating! I meant—why are you in town tonight?  I thought you weren’t getting back from Thanksgiving break until tomorrow afternoon.”
    With the darkening sky framing him, he laughs.  I feel an answering jolt of electricity course through me.
    “I caught an earlier flight back, Ellie.”
    Something deep inside of me stirs.
    “Why?” I ask, taking a step closer.  My pulse amps up another notch.
    He pulls the top of the scarf down so that I can see his mouth.  Tilting forward, he lets his forehead rest against mine, ostensibly so that I can get the full effect of his brown-gold eyes up close and personal. 
    “Why do you think? ”  The corners of his mouth jerk.  “I missed my Xbox something fierce.” 
    My heart tightens in self-consciousness.  “Oh.”
    Ben slides his hands up my arms. He grins at me wickedly.  “You do know that you are ridiculous, right?”
    I shove his shoulde r back.  “Excuse me?  And why am I ridiculous?” 
    Grabbing my hips firmly , Ben pulls me against his body.  His lips are so close that I can practically taste them.  I want to taste them.  I need to taste them.  I’m like a dog salivating over a steak. 
    “ Ellie, I came back early because I was driving everyone around me crazy.  When I wasn’t texting you or talking to you, I was talking about you, and thinking about you, and wondering about you, and well… you get the idea.” Ben arches a dark eyebrow at me.  “My mom finally told me to either change my flight or shut the hell up.  I decided to change my flight.”
    So, yeah… t hat’s probably the best possible answer he could have given me. 
    I no longer notic e the cold.  My breaths are coming out like quiet gasps and my mind is swirling with Ben’s scent and the feel of his hips pressing into me and the words that he’s just spoken.
    I narrow my eyes.  “So, what you’re saying is that you like me more than your Xbox?”
    With one intoxicating finger, he traces the outline of my lips, then closes his eyes and breathes in deeply.  “Just a little bit.”
    That’s it.  I’ve had e nough of this talking crap.  I reach my hands up.  I cup his chin and bring his mouth to