Chapter Nine – Ben

I take a seat at a table in the corner of the room, not even bothering with the veranda today. I’m not here for business or networking, I’m simply here not to be interrupted so I can spend the shift with only Serena. I know I’m going to have to spend a lot of money so the manager of the club doesn’t get pissy about her spending a lot of time with only me, but I don’t mind that.

I’ve earned this money, now is the time to spend it as I please.

As Serena comes back into the bar and she spots where I’m sitting, her face breaks out into a genuine, warm smile. That look causes my heart stop skip a beat and again leaves me questioning my feelings for her all over again. I already know that I like her more than I have done anyone else, certainly no one that’s come before her has made such an impression on me, but what does that mean? Can I really be considering teetering into the scary relationship type territory? I guess tonight will be the only way for me to tell.

“Hey there, Ben.” Her sweet tone almost makes me want to sing. “So, now that you’re here, what can I get for you?”

“Can you get me some champagne? The most expensive bottle?”

“Ooh, champagne, are you celebrating something?” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, which makes me think that maybe the shyer version of her is slipping away even further. At least around me. I like that she can be different with me, it means she trusts me enough to reveal something new. “May I ask what?”

“You can, actually.” I lean back in my chair and run my eyes up her body. “I met the most amazing girl last night and we shared a phenomenal kiss.” Maybe I’m being a bit cheesy, but it looks like Serena likes it. “I’m hoping that she might let me take her out sometime.”

“You are?” Her eyes widen in surprise. I guess I’ve thrown her now, she clearly wasn’t expecting me to actually want to be with her. “Wow that’s... I mean, that’s awesome. I think the girl you met last night would love for you to take her out sometime.”

Yes! And with that, I know we can become something.

Serena walks off to get my drinks and I watch her ass as she goes. I can feel another pair of eyes upon me, so I follow where they are to see one of the other, much more obvious girls, winking at me. She twirls her hair between her fingers and pushes her boobs out to me. Clearly she wants me and if I think back she might have made that obvious before, but now I’m less interested than ever. Now, I don’t want to think about anyone but Serena. To make that point obvious, I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and I start fiddling around with it, putting up my barriers.

That leads to some work emails catching my eyes, but only for a moment. Once Serena is back, the office can wait. The business that I’ve spent my entire existence building no longer seems quite so important. I can’t believe those words have even fluttered through my head, but they have. I must be changing...

“So.” Serena sits by my side and she looks at me curiously. “Are you going to be asking the questions tonight, or am I?”

“Hmmm.” I act like I’m thinking about it, but really I’m not. “I think we should do a bit of both. I think we should just have some time talking.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” She nods slowly. “So why don’t you start by telling me more about your company. I know that you’re obviously very successful, but what is it that you do?”

“It’s very boring,” I warn her. “I work in finance.” When she doesn’t say anything, I take it as my cue to continue. “I guess when I was in school I noticed that I was good with numbers. Much better than the other kids in my class anyway, and because we didn’t have much when I was younger I already knew that I wanted to do something big, so I decided to follow that. I decided to work with companies to restructure their finances when they get into trouble, or even before they get into trouble, just to help saving them money.”

“So, you’re like the angel of debt,” she smiles brightly. “But you swoop in quick to stop debt becoming a problem. That’s really cool. I bet you’ve saved many asses in your time.”

I love that she’s focusing on the cool side of what I’ve done rather than the boring side of working with numbers. Not many people get that, especially not people who I hang out with in any sort of romantic sense. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I like it. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. I started with nothing and now I have a lot.”

“That’s good. So... you didn’t have much growing up then?” She looks like she might be overstepping a mark, but she’s not. I don’t like to talk about it much but I did bring it up, and to be fair she’s revealed a lot of herself to me. It’s only fair.

“No... my dad passed away when I was just a baby.” My tone automatically turns morose. “I didn’t ever get to know him, so I don’t know anything about him really. Mom talks about him a lot, but still... it isn’t the same as knowing someone, is it?” Serena doesn’t say anything, but her ashen face speaks volumes. “He was hit by a drunk driver while coming home from work, and left me and Mom with nothing.” I shrug sadly. “Mom worked a few jobs to keep us afloat but we still never had much. That’s why I worked my ass off to make something of myself.”

“Wow... that’s really impressive. To have such direction and motivation, to be so ambitious. That’s so cool, I really like that.”

I smile at her, wondering how she sees herself. I can tell that she isn’t keen on the free-spirited label, or that she doesn’t see herself that way, but that’s exactly what she is. She doesn’t have a solid plan, she doesn’t need a definite direction to go in. She’s happy to take one day at a time which is admirable to me. We’re like complete opposites. I just hope not too different.

“What about your family? Any drama with you?” I try to make light of the situation but quickly realise how insensitive that might sound. “I didn’t mean it quite like that...”

“No, no, it’s okay. No drama with me. It was me, Mom, Dad, and my much younger brother, Ethan, that’s all. Nothing to tell really, just a very normal, boring, small town life.” She gives me a grin. “That’s why I’m here, looking for excitement.”

I can’t help noticing that there’s something very morose about her expression, behind all the smiles. I can only see it because I’m really looking at her. “Is everything okay with you?” I lean in and ask her quietly. “You don’t look like you’ve found your excitement.”

She doesn’t look at me for a moment and I wonder if I’ve overstepped the mark. “You haven’t even touched your champagne yet, do you not want a glass?”

She must be changing the subject for a reason, so I go with it for a moment. “Oh yes please. Would you mind pouring me a glass. Get yourself one too if you would like.”

A thick silence clings to us as Serena leans across the table to pour just the one drink. I wait for her to say something, I don’t think me speaking would be the best idea for either of us. If I want Serena to open up to me I need to be patient. I can do that for her.

“I’ve just found out that my roommate might be leaving me, that’s all. She’s been my best friend for as long as I’ve been in the city, so I’m a bit sad about it. That’s all.”

I rub her back as she sits back down. I’m probably touching her more than is allowed – although I’m certain the manager turns a blind eye as long as no one is kicking off and the money is alright – but Serena clearly needs some reassurance right now. It must be hard for her to lose her one constant in her ever changing life.

“That sucks, Serena, I’m sorry to hear it.”

“I know I’ll survive it.” She shrugs at me. “But it’s just a bit of a shock, that’s all.”

She grabs the glass of champagne and takes a drink for herself. Actually, she glugs the whole thing back and then she leans across again to pour a drink for me. I chuckle to myself, enjoying her boldness.

“Well, you have me as a friend now,” I say, probably in a silly way. “I’ll still be here even if your friend does end up going.”

“Until you get bored of me...” She doesn’t sound angry about this, just curious. It’s almost as if she’s trying to work out how I really feel about her. I smile, glad of the chance to explain myself, or at least the amount I understand.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of you.” I tug her in a little bit closer to me. A chemistry circles us and it’s highlighted by the fact that we can’t do anything about it. The tension is thick, the sexuality is high in the air we’re so close but so far. It’s almost taboo which is very exciting. “There’s something about you, Serena. Something that lures me in and thrills me. I will be honest with you, I haven’t ever felt this before and I want to know more.”

She breathes in deep, almost as if it’s gotten stuck in her throat which makes me want to kiss her even harder. Damn it, if she lets me, when we get out of here I’m going to do all kinds of wicked things to her. I’ve been patient, but now I’m starting to struggle with it and judging by the way that Serena is wiggling in her seat, she’s feeling it too.

“I want to know more about you too,” she insists breathily. “I think you’re awesome.”

Her hand rests on the top of my thigh for only a brief second, but it’s enough to set me on fire. She wants me. I can see it. My eyes automatically glance down at my watch and it kills me to see the time. We still have ages to go until her shift is over. Hours of flirting, of desperate sexual tension, of needing to just drag her into a cupboard somewhere and fuck her...

It’s going to be really hard to resist, but I respect Serena enough to do it.

“Okay, so tell me some more about you,” I say gruffly trying to talk through the thick lust in my throat. “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Yellow,” she replies in a heart beat. “What about you?”

“Red. Are you a dog or a cat person?”

“Dog, definitely. I mean, I like cats well enough but I would much prefer a dog. They’re just so loyal and welcoming.”

Okay well that’s something we have in common. It’s good to have some common ground when we’re clearly very different. It might only be a gossamer thin thread, but it’s something. “Yeah, me too. I’ve always wanted a dog. Maybe I’ll get one someday soon.”

“That would be so cool. You should get a Pug, they’re so damn cute.”

“Maybe I will.” An image pops into my brain of me and Serena with a dog between us, cementing us. “Maybe I will...”