golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter ninety

"wow. this is nice." ben looked around at the apartment.
"come look at my room." eliana grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway.
she flipped the light switch, and ben smiled. the wall above her bed was covered with pictures, mostly of ben and the two of them together. his eyes searched the wall and found one of him kissing her on the cheek. "i like this one."
eliana nodded, then scanned the wall before pointing to another one. "this is my favorite."
"it was one of our first dates in chicago. do you remember it?"
"of course i remember. you slipped on the ice, like, four times." he laughed. "and you made us stop at the theatre so you could steal my sweatshirt."
she giggled softly. "yeah. i really wasn't that cold."
"i knew that. you're a terrible actress."
her mouth fell open in fake shock. "how rude!"
"i didn't care, though." he said. "i was just excited that a pretty girl agreed to go on another date with me."
"and i was just excited that a cute boy asked me out on another date."

"ben! how are you, man?" peter grinned and pulled him into a hug.
"great, how have you been?"
"oh, well, amazing, obviously." he couldn't stop smiling. "these girls are just killing it. i never thought i'd be coaching even one olympian, and now i have two!"
ben smiled. "i'm glad it's you, dude." he nodded. "do you mind if i steal ellie? i know it's a little earlier than usual, but it's my last day here, and-"
"of course." he waved ben off. "just let her finish up on floor. you can come in if you want."
ben followed peter inside the gym and took a seat on top of a stack of mats. a couple girls a few years younger than him pointed and whispered, giggling. he raised a hand at them in acknowledgment with a small smile, then turned his attention to his girlfriend. her floor music began, and he quickly got lost in the way she moved.
she stuck her last landing and struck her last pose, then jogged over to ben. "what are you doing here?"
he grinned. "peter said that you could leave now, because i got us reservations at the capital grille."
her jaw dropped. "no shit! that place has a huge waiting list! how did you even get a table?"
"i have my ways." he said secretively.

"this is even nicer than i imagined." eliana looked around at the huge dining room.
"yeah, it's great." ben smiled. "you like it?"
"i've been wanting to go here since i was little. i would always walk past and see all these fancy and important looking people going in and out."
"well, now you're fancy and important." he laughed. "what're you gonna get?" he opened the menu.
she scanned the entrees, and opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it.
"what?" he asked.
"ben, this is expensive. like, really expensive."
"i know." he said.
"i can't let you pay for this, it's-"
"eliana." ben placed his hand on top of hers. "we're gonna sit here and eat dinner, and i'm paying for it, okay?"
"ben, this is ridiculous, i mean, twenty three dollars for a salad?"
"ellie, seriously." he said earnestly. "let me just treat you to this. please?"
she sighed. "okay."

"can i get you two anything for dessert?" the waitress smiled.
"you want something?" ben asked.
"i-i don't know, ben-"
"ellie." he said.
"ellie..." the waitress repeated. "wait! you're that gymnast, aren't you? i knew you looked familiar."
"um, yeah, that's me." she blushed.
"anyway, can i get you something for dessert? on the house."
"seriously?"
"yeah, of course! our cook is a big gymnastics fan."
she looked to ben, who just shrugged.
"i'll get the cheesecake, then." she said. "thank you so much."
the waitress smiled and walked away.
"well, little miss celebrity over here." ben wiggled his eyebrows.
"oh, shut up." eliana rolled her eyes.

ben rolled his sleeves up as they walked out into the warm summer air. "so, was it everything you ever imagined?"
"it was so nice." eliana took his hand and walked a little closer to him. "thank you."
"anything for you." he said.