You Love Somebody

18 (Anna)

It was after dinner time when they woke in her bunk. She held onto him like a koala bear, and didn't want to let go of him. He kissed her and promised that they would sleep together for the night.

"I'm hungry and I need sustenance. Especially if you're going to make me perform at the same level during the night," he laughed as he pulled his briefs and his jeans back on. 

She rolled her eyes and laughed at him. "I obviously expect much more later. After all this was just a warm-up, wasn't it?" She pulled her t-shirt over her head, and wiggled back into her jeans. "How's my hair?" She asked, and he couldn't keep a straight face. 

He ruffled her hair a bit and held her face in his hands. "You look fucking adorable, like a little Good Luck Troll." 

"So I have sex hair?" She grimaced and tried to shake her head. 

"Very much so." He kissed her forehead and snuck out of her bunk while she created a messy bun on top of her head.

Most of the group on the bus were in the lounge area. They had almost all had dinner already, but a few were still eating, and Eddie went out and joined them first, grabbing a plate of food before he sat down and chatted. Anna waited a bit before she joined them. Eddie almost jumped out of his seat and made a plate for her. She smiled and thanked him when he put it down in front of her. There was an intimacy between them, that she was sure people caught. 

Ben was talking to Andy about some changes they needed to be on top of before the European leg of the tour. But Anna quickly noticed how he kept looking over to where she was sitting, and she feared Eddie was right that Ben hadn't given up hope. Eddie turned around and followed the direction she was looking in. He turned back to her and smiled, a nervousness in his eyes. She smiled back at him, and found his foot under the table. His eyes lit up when she touched him, and she winked at him. 

After dinner she decided to have the talk with Ben. She was getting ready to go talk to him when Eddie stood next to her, and put his hand in the back pocket of her jeans. A small power move on his behalf, but it was also a small sign of affection that she knew he needed to share. She looked him in the eyes and smiled at him. "I'll be back soon," she whispered and went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer. 

Ben was sitting with his laptop when she came over and offered him one of the beers. He smiled and accepted it, offering her to sit down with him. She sat opposite him, and twisted the cap off her beer. Then she took a sip, and put the bottle down in front of her on the table. 

"Are you okay, Anna?" He asked, obviously sensing she was there to speak to him about something. "After the incident earlier, I mean." 

She nodded. "Oh yeah, that's long forgotten. At least I learned my lesson," she joked. "But I do need to talk to you about something." 

He took a big swig of his beer and looked her straight in the eyes. "About?" He asked. 

"About Eddie," she started, immediately noticing some discomfort on his behalf. "He seems to think that you still have some sort of hope that you and I..." she gestured with her hands while shaking her head. 

He sighed and leaned back in his seat, taking another sip of the beer. "I can't just turn it off, Anna. It's not like there's a switch I can just flip and then I'll stop liking you." 

"I know. But I think you need to start thinking about your relationship with Eddie, rather than thinking of me like that. The two of you are on shaky grounds right now. He doesn't feel comfortable having this talk with you, so I'm doing it." Anna twisted her beer bottle between her hands. 

"What is it that makes him uncomfortable?" Ben was staring at her hands. 

"That you don't know the truth about him and me." She said and took a sip of her beer. She wasn't really enjoying the beer, but it felt like the kind of thing you did when you sat down and had a dude talk.