Never Have I Ever...Had a Crush on Ben Gross | Ben Gross x reader

...Been on a Date with Ben Gross

I was in disbelief that Ben had crawled in my window, but was quickly faced with the difficult task of helping him climb back out. I gave him a hand as he stepped out on the branch by my window. He held onto the windowsill and gave me one last kiss. "Goodnight, see you tomorrow," he smiled.
       "Goodnight," I smiled back at him and peered out my window into the darkness as he descended. I think I heard him fall past the last couple of branches as he neared the bottom. "You okay?" I whisper-yelled down to him.
"Ow! Yep! Goodnight!"
I giggled to myself a bit and returned to my bed. I left my window open and drifted off to sleep as the cool night air danced around my curtains and the cicadas outside my window chirped happily. I was happy too.
The next day I tried to focus on doing anything productive, but I couldn't get my mind off Ben and our impending date. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, honestly. Plans and uncertainty didn't really matter though — I got to see Ben. Once it neared a reasonable hour to begin getting ready, I poured a cup of coffee and ran up to my room. I put my favorite vinyl on my turntable and rushed to the closet. As I had no idea what our plans were, I figured erring on the side of casual cute would work. I picked out my favorite summer dress as it was pretty warm outside and a pair of chunky, comfortable shoes. I fluffed my hair and looked in the mirror. My nerves were definitely evident. I took another sip of coffee, which probably wasn't helping the issue of my shaking hands. I heard the unmistakable ring of my phone and picked up quickly- Fabiola. "Hey, Fab, what's up?" I put her on speaker and fussed over my hair a bit more.
       "Nothing, I just wanted to check on you. Are you excited for your date with Ben?" I could her hear her massive grin through the phone.
        "I'm ready. I think...excited but really really nervous for some reason," I sighed. "It'll be fine. Did I tell you he crawled in my window last night?!"
       "Ooooh!! Romantic!" Fabiola exclaimed.
       I heard a knock on the front door. "Shoot, he's here. I'll have to call you later," I have one last frantic spin around my room making sure I had everything.
       "Yes!! Please call me so we can debrief. And have fun!" Fabiola reminded me. "Okay, you go have the best time with Ben. Love you!"
       "Love you too, Fab!" I hung up my phone and slipped it into my usual canvas tote before rushing down the stairs excitedly. I opened the door and he greeted me with a kiss and a handful of dandelions. "I thought flowers might be too much for the first date, so I wasn't going to bring any but then I saw these near my driveway and they were really pretty and I thought of you..." he began to ramble nervously.
"You're adorable, Ben; thank you," I gave him a quick hug.
"You look beautiful! Ready to go?" He offered his hand. I nodded and took it. He opened the car door for me and I took a seat inside. My favorite band was playing on the radio. How in the world had this sweet guy been in front of me this whole time?
"So where are we going?" I inquired curiously.
"Nuh uh! I am not going to give away my super cool date plan now! It's a surprise," he looked over at my briefly with a huge, goofy grin.
"Ben! Eyes on the road!" I pointed in front of us frantically.
"Well, can you blame me? From one smokin' hot person to another..."
I cut him off by turning the radio up before he could continue whatever silly pickup line he was attempting this time. He laughed and refocused his attention on driving.
       We pulled into his driveway and I looked at him, trying to hide my confusion. I liked the guy and all but a first date at his house? It seemed a little weird but I brushed it off as he helped me out of the car. I began to walk up to the door but he stopped me. "Wrong way," a small grin played on his face.
       "What do you mean wrong way?" The confusion was back and in full swing. "Where the hell are we going, Ben?" He took my hand and led me around the house into his backyard. There was a small patch of trees across the green that he had strung little fairy lights through. They sparkled brightly against the deep blue of the darkening sky over a soft checkered blanket littered with pillows and assorted cushions. "Aw, Ben this is so pretty!"
       He beamed at his handiwork. "Yeah, it is pretty cute, isn't it."
       "Okay don't flatter yourself," I laughed as we sat down on the blanket. A picnic basket sat in the middle and a projector hummed with La La Land playing against a white sheet suspended between the trees. "Seriously though, this is lovely," I kissed his cheek.
       "You deserve a wonderful first date," Ben smiled. His eyes sparkled in the dim light of dusk. Somehow this guy had put all of my favorite snacks in the basket as well as his "specialty," which was just frozen grapes. I grabbed a grape from the bag and chucked it at him. "Hey no fair! I wasn't ready!" He opened his mouth, preparing for the next grape. I chucked it and it bounced off his nose. I laughed heartily but he was dead serious, set on catching one. "One more! One more!" He encouraged me. I threw it in a high arc and it landed perfectly on his tongue. He bit down on the grape victoriously.
       "Oh wait, wait- this is my favorite part! Watch!" I pointed towards the movie and leaned back against one of the pillows. Ben scooted over so he was sitting next to me and took my hand. Mia and Sebastian twirled around the planetarium to the tune of one of my favorite songs on the entire soundtrack. Ben stood without hesitation and offered me his hand.
        "Can I have this dance?" He beamed.
       "I don't know, can you?" I gave the usual response to his grammatical error, "but if you're asking for permission, yes you may." I took his hand and stood. His strong hands found their home on my waist as my arms wrapped up around his neck and shoulders. He began swaying us lightly together. I giggled a little.
       "What?" He asked. "Am I a horrible dancer?"
       "No, no. This is just the cheesiest thing ever and I absolutely love it," I laughed as he pulled me closer.
        "Well I know it's a ways away, but we could always do this again if you would like to go to prom with me?"
       "I would absolutely love to. One-hundred percent yes," I nodded enthusiastically. I didn't even like school dances, but the thought of going to one with Ben made it sound like fun.
        "Then it's a date," His lips brushed gently against my forehead. He had to reach a bit on his tiptoes thanks to my shoes. He smelled of bright lemon and patchouli, just like he did last night. Our noses brushed together. I loved just being close to him like this. I felt so safe and happy and warm despite my stomach doing backflips. His eyelashes tickled a bit, brushing against my cheek. The scene in the movie had ended long ago, but we kept dancing underneath the string lights in the trees. I rested my head on his shoulder and hugged him tighter. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, but was worried it might scare him with how quickly things had been moving between us since the trip. So I just continued holding him in silence, unaware of the fact that he wanted nothing more than to say the exact same thing.