Good Deed Bad Deed

real and approachable. Lying there, very still, her thoughts raced. Ben wasn’t the only one with imagined scenarios, but in hers, he was the star.
* * *
Ben was the first to wake. The storm front had dissipated before dawn, and a beam of sunlight streaked through a gap in the drapery panels, creating a path across the carpet. He was disoriented and for a moment only half remembered what had transpired the previous evening. However, he did remember the vivid dream he was having as he awoke. He was an invisible observer of the two men who had attacked him. They were speaking in hushed tones to a woman whose face was turned away from him. The three seemed to be conspirators, and when the woman turned to face him, it was the kind and beautiful woman with whom he had just spent the night. The outlandish nature of the dream made him want to splash his face repeatedly with a good amount of cold water. He began to ease out of bed, but his first movement quickly reminded him of the injured shoulder. Having been still all night, it was stiff and sore, as was his body in general due to the beating. He turned slightly and saw Ana, still sleeping peacefully. He had no idea that she had been awake until just before dawn.
Wisps of dark hair were lying across her tranquil face, some remaining lipstick slightly smeared below her lip. Her breathing was deep and relaxed, and the lips he still desired were slightly parted. With the fluffy robe pulled up around her neck and every other bit of her drawn up under the comforter, Ben thought she looked as if nicely tucked into a comfy nest. He laughed to himself, surprised by the tenderness he felt as he watched her sleep. Not wanting to wake her, he gritted his teeth, managed to stand, and walked quietly to the bathroom. He didn’t shut the door, only eased it closed for privacy.
As he came out, he noticed Ana’s purse on the small table near the door. It had obviously been tossed aside with haste because the contents were strewn across the table, or half inside the purse. He noticed her press pass, displaying her name and photo, and it dawned on him that if the occasion had arisen, he couldn’t have called her by name. Surely by now she had noticed his reticence at engaging her by name. He was thankful for two things: the opportunity to avoid embarrassment, and that she was legitimate. She was Ana C. Doherty and he knew he would never forget it, not only due to the close call, but because she had made an unforgettable impression on him in a little more than twelve hours. He returned to the bed, looked down at Ana, and tried to decide whether to slip out and grab a taxi home, or to wake her and say goodbye.
Perhaps sensing his eyes on her, Ana began to move. She rolled onto her back, drew her arms from under the comforter and stretched with feline grace. It took her a moment to register that Ben was standing by the bed. Watching her wake up, stretching and brushing the hair from her face, served to intensify the magnetic attraction he was experiencing. And as yet they had scarcely touched.
Ana glanced up and saw him staring down at her, smiling. His overnight growth of beard seemed to render him even more attractive. Both his expression and her reaction to the simple fact of some stubble made her self-conscious. “Was I drooling, snoring, or both?” she asked, trying to make light of what she hoped had not happened.
Ben laughed and said, “Neither. You looked so peaceful that I debated about whether or not to wake you before I left. I sure didn’t want to slip out of here without a word and have you think I was ungrateful for your good deed. For everything you did last night.” Ben paused, walked over to the opposite side of the bed and sat down to put on his shoes. Finding them slightly out of reach, he sat up and turned toward her. “You know I appreciate it, right?” Then he reached instead for the leather jacket that had been thrown hastily on the nearby chair the previous night. He ruffled around in the pockets to see if his phone was there, hoping it had survived the attack. On first look he didn’t find it and turned his attention back to how Ana would answer his question.
“Of course I know you appreciate it. You’d do the same for me … I think.” She waited for a positive response then tested his indulgence with her persistence. “Right?”
His shoulder ached and patience for the subject had run out. “That question is too silly to answer, and you know what the answer would be anyway.” He stood and dropped the jacket back onto the chair.
Ana had no idea why she had pushed him to answer a redundant question. She hurried the conversation in another direction. “Well, I hope never to get myself into a situation like the one last night. You really should take it seriously because I think it was an abduction gone wrong. I guess such a thing could even happen to me. Anyone can be abducted.”
“But there has to be a reason to abduct someone. I still think they must have been given some faulty information. They’d have no reason to want me … for anything. It was just a one-time thing, wrong time wrong place. Nothing to be worried about.” Ben paused, then shook his head and continued. “I just wonder who the poor devil is who does have something to worry about.”
“I don’t think it’s a smart idea just to forget about it. You should report it to the police and give them whatever information you have, what you remember, what I remember. It could even help the potential victim—the intended one.”
“Well,