FEBRUARY 14
TWO MONTHS IN NEW YORK
A knock on my office door is what pulls me out of my coding-trance. I turn to see who's at the door.
"Coffee." I smile.
Ben rolls his eyes. "I'm here, too, you know?"
"Hi Ben," I say as he holds out a cup for me, "Hi coffee."
"You're a maniac." He shakes his head, propping himself up on my desk.
"I have chairs," I remind him like I do every time he chooses to sit on my desk.
"I like it up here." He glances around as if he's exploring. "I can see everything."
I ignore him, taking a sip of the warm liquid. It's from my favorite coffee shop in the area. It's perfectly between my house and work, so I head in there at least once a day. I'm a regular now.
"What are you doing tonight?" Ben asks.
I furrow my brows and check the date. "It's Valentine's Day," I say.
"Yeah." Ben shrugs. "Do you have plans of any sort?"
I laugh. "I think we both know the answer to that question, Ben."
"Well, then let me rephrase." He thinks for a moment. "Would you like to have plans tonight?"
I smile up to him. "Ben Thatcher, are you asking me on a date right now?"
"Depends on the answer," he admits, "It'll help my ego."
"Only if we eat pizza," I tell him.
This makes him smile. "Well, y/n, you have yourself a deal; I'll see you tonight."
_ _ _
"No way he has a date," I say to George over facetime. George is sitting at his desk messing with a rubiks cube as I get ready for my own date.
"Why would I lie about this?" George doesn't look up to the camera as he speaks.
"Take me to him," I demand, "I have to see this for myself."
He huffs. "This is why I don't facetime you."
"Shut up and show me Nick getting ready for a date."
George huffs dramatically one more time before picking up his phone. I hear a knock, followed by the opening of a door. I can see the phone get handed over to someone new. "y/n," George says as an explanation.
Nick's face appears on the screen. "Do you really have a date tonight?" he asks immediately.
"Do you really have a date tonight?" I counter, "Who is it?"
"Their name is Bella," Nick answers, "Who are you going out with?"
"Ben." I sit down on my bed.
"That makes sense." Nick nods once and sits there for a second. "Oh my gosh, we have dates tonight."
"Isn't this exciting?" I smile.
"It really is." Nick drops something and leans to pick it up. I can see George laying on his bed in the background. "Listen," Nick says when he appears again, "I have to go, but I want details later, okay?"
"Sounds good," I say, "Have fun."
"You too."
_ _ _
The knock on the door comes sooner than I had prepared for. I take a deep breath before opening it.
"Hi," I say softly when I meet Ben's eyes.
He smiles, and I feel almost giddy. "Hi."
Ben and I walk to the pizza place recommended by my driver Alfred all those months ago. I never cared enough to call it by it's actual name, so I just call it Alfred's now.
Everything feels so normal, so easy. We talk like we always do, and there's no worries of someone else coming and going the next morning.
Something in my brain wonders if this is how it was always supposed to be. Everything in my life always seems to point back to Maggie, but sometimes I wonder if it was also pointing to Ben too.
"Do you think she would approve?" Ben almost reads my mind.
I have to think for a second. "I'd like to think so, but she was very strong-willed."
Ben's head tilts back in laughter, and his hand brushes mine."You have a point there, but I would also like to think so."
"I miss her a lot," I think aloud.
"Every day." Ben sighs.
We sit in quiet for a moment; we don't say it out loud, but I think we're both thinking of Maggie right now. Lately almost every thought traces back to her, and she guides me to wherever I go next. I trust her judgment more than my own now.
"Let's sit here." Ben gestures to a park bench to my right.
"I don't want to jinx it," I say as I sit down, "but I'm having a lot of fun."
Ben smiles, and our hands brush again. This time, neither of us move from the touch.
It's this moment that I realize how different life's been since I've moved to New York; how much has changed within in such a small period of time.
I might not be the biggest fan of going out all the time, but I can say I'm learning to love blending into the crowds. I love the business these past couple months have brought me.
I love New York, and I'm happy here.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
trust the process guys! remember there isn't that much left to the story, but maybe we should give ben a chance for a few chapters ;)
have an amazing day!
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Fanfiction"What are you doing in my kitchen?" he asks groggily as he makes his way over to the barstools. I laugh at the way he rubs his eyes. "Making pancakes." He squints up at me, hangover all over his face. "Why are you doing it so early in the morning?" ...
