“Oh, baby,” Nathan said to Ben. “I really love your underwea-” Closing his eyes, Nathan fell to the floor.

“Wham, bam, unconscious, ma’am,” Ben said.

“That’s it. I’m out of here,” Ober said. “If I wanted to be made fun of, I could’ve stayed home tonight.”

“Can you drop me at home?” Nathan asked as Ober walked to the door.

Saying nothing, Ober left the room. “I’ll take that length of silence as a yes,” Nathan said, waving to Ben and Lisa. “See you guys later.”

“See you later,” Ben said as Nathan stepped out.

“You’re so pathetic,” Lisa said, poking Ben in the chest.

“What?”

“That place you took me to yesterday-the boathouse. You were trying to seduce me.”

“Give me a break,” Ben said. “I was doing no such thing.”

Lisa squinted and in a low voice did her best Ben imitation. “Uh, I wrote my essay for Columbia here, and I wrote my essay for Yale here, and I lost-” Switching to a slightly deeper voice, she interrupted, “No, dumb-ass, don’t tell her about the virginity thing-if she finds that out, she’ll never go to bed with us.”

“That’s amazing.” Ben laughed. “You’ve perfectly reproduced my exact thought process.”

“It may not be exact, but it’s close.”

“Do you really believe that?” Ben asked.

“Am I wrong?”

“Do you really believe it?”

“Answer my question,” Lisa said. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

A deep flush spread over Ben’s face. “I’m not saying you’re completely right, but you’re not on another planet.”

“I knew it! You’re so predictable.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not predictable.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lisa asked. “You’re so predictable, I could set my watch to your-”

Before Lisa could finish her sentence, Ben leaned forward and pulled her into a deep, long kiss.

Surprised, Lisa pulled back a bit. “A kiss from Mr. Addison-I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Can you shut up?” Ben asked, kissing her again. As Ben wrapped his arms around Lisa, she pushed him backward onto the bed. Straddling him, Lisa furiously unbuttoned Ben’s shirt.

“…and let me tell you one more thing,” Ober said, storming back into the room. “HOLY TONGUE-IN-HER-MOUTH, BATMAN!”

“I don’t believe it,” Nathan said.

“Do you mind?” Lisa said. “Some of us are trying to fool around.”

“Oh, you will NEVER live this down,” Ober warned, pulling the door closed, a wide smile spread across his face.

“What’re you going to tell Lindsay Lucas?” Nathan called out as the door shut.

As his head fell back on the bed, Ben said, “Damn.”

“Forget about it,” Lisa said, leaning in and kissing his neck.

Chapter 11

“SO?” BEN ASKED.

“What?” Lisa asked, lying next to him.

“What’d you think?”

“About what?” Lisa said with a smile.

“About the fact that your clothes are decorating my floor. What else?”

“It was fine,” Lisa said. “It was good.”

Ben sat up in bed and shook his head. “Don’t even think about playing that game with me, sister. You are not making me crazy with vague adjectives.”

“What do you want me to say?” she asked. “It was phenomenal. World’s greatest. You were an artist-I was your canvas.”

“You suck, y’know that?”

“That’s funny,” Lisa said with a thin smirk. “You weren’t complaining a half hour ago.”

“It wasn’t that great.”

“Whatever you say,” Lisa said, staring at the clothes that were thrown across the floor. Pointing to the corner of the room, she asked, “By the way, are those your lucky boxer shorts?”

“Luck had nothing to do with it.”

“Awwww, did I upset you?” Lisa asked, running her fingers under Ben’s chin.

“This was just dumb,” Ben said, pulling away and leaning against the headboard of the bed. “I shouldn’t have given you the satisfaction. Now all you’re going to do is make sex jokes.”

“Of course I’m going to make sex jokes,” Lisa said. “That’s my nature. What’d you think, we were going to start going out? That we’d be the sweethearts of the Court? This was for fun. I’ve been waiting to jump your bones since I met you.”

“You’re just saying that.”

Lisa grabbed the back of his head and pulled him toward her. “I’m serious.”

“But now the mystery’s over.”

“Listen, whenever you want to go again, I’m ready. I had a fantastic time.”

“Oh, we’re not going again. This was it,” Ben said, pulling away. “Now we’re going to feel uncomfortable around each other at work. And every time I see you, I’m going to imagine you naked.”

“Big deal. I’m an adult. I can handle it. Besides, if you even think you can say no if I want to go again, you’re nuts.”

“You haven’t seen the bounds of my willpower. Believe me, this was a one-time engagement.”

“Whatever you say, dear,” Lisa said, turning on her side and pulling the covers to her chin.

Early Sunday morning, the Addisons drove Ben and Lisa to the airport. Lisa hugged Ben’s mother as Ben pulled their luggage from the trunk. “Thanks again for having me,” Lisa said.

“It was our pleasure,” Ben’s mother said. “I’m glad we were finally able to meet you.”

“I’ll see you later, Mom,” Ben said as he hugged his mother. Noticing the tears well up in her eyes, he added, “Don’t cry. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’m fine,” his mother said, clenching her jaw. “Have a safe trip back.”

After checking their bags, Ben and Lisa walked toward their boarding gate. “Have you heard from Ober or Nathan yet?” Lisa asked.

“Nothing. Not a phone call or anything. They’re definitely planning something.”

When they arrived at the gate, Nathan, Ober, and Eric were waiting. Hesitantly, Ben approached his roommates. “How was everyone’s weekend?”

“Fine,” Nathan said.

“Great,” Eric said.

“Fine,” Ober said. “And yours?”

“It was fine,” Ben said suspiciously. Looking around the airport, he stared back at Ober and Nathan. Finally, he said, “Okay, let’s have it. Say whatever you want, but respond already. The suspense is killing me.”

“Respond to what?” Ober asked.

“I know not of what you speak,” Nathan said with a straight face.

“Don’t give me that,” Ben said. “C’mon, what’d you plan? Is someone going to pop out and throw rice at us? Is a marching band going to come parading through? What’s happening?”

“Nothing’s happening,” Nathan said.

“Why’s he getting so crazy?” Ober asked Nathan.

“I have no idea,” Nathan said. “Looks like a classic case of paranoia to me.”

After dropping Lisa at her apartment building, the four roommates returned home. The first one to reach the door, Ober pulled the pile of mail from their mailbox, dragged in his luggage, and threw the mail on the kitchen table. After dropping his bag by the closet, Eric walked back to the door. “I’ll see you guys later. I have to go down to the paper.”

The moment the door closed, Ober grabbed Ben’s shoulders. “So how was she? I bet she’s an animal in bed.”

“You thought she was a lesbian,” Ben said.

“I never said that,” Ober said. “I said she was bisexual.”

“Sure you did,” Ben said.

Nathan sat on the couch. “I can’t believe you guys did it. I mean, what were you thinking?”

“What do you mean by that?” Ben asked.

“I mean, I thought we had an understanding that after Thanksgiving, we’d make sure we could trust Lisa,” Nathan said.

Standing in the middle of the room, Ben still hadn’t taken off his jacket. “Don’t start with that,” he said. “I trust her.”

“Ben, don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope you’re not letting a horny weekend get the best of you.”

“Well, no offense, but I am going to take it the wrong way. I learned a lot about Lisa this weekend, and there’s no way she’s working with Rick against me.”