Why not? - English

13-25 Seagull Shenanigans

Today I was assigned to help Ben at the ocean rescue center. But since the boats were all serviced, there wasn't much left to do. So I went upstairs first to say good morning to Ben when I arrived. Once again he stood there with the binoculars and looked towards the mudflats. I couldn't imagine he saw much of it, considering how far away it was, but I still had an idea of ​​what he was looking for.

"Have you confessed your feelings to Jodie, or do you want to continue stalking her?" I said out loud and saw Ben startle and turn towards me. Although he breathed a sigh of relief, I sensed that his heart must be pounding. He looked a little uncertainly at the binoculars in his hand before placing it on the corner of the desk and sitting down at his desk.

"I'm not stalking! I'm just keeping an eye on everything. After all, I'm the coast guard and the group out there is in dangerous territory," he stated confidently and I could see how proud he was of his excuse while I leaned against the closet with my arms crossed over my chest.

"Which doesn't answer my question about whether you've told Jodie how great you think she is!" I replied with a grin, then quickly reached for the binoculars and took a look through it myself. I could see Helen and Miss Chen who seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, then I spotted Ellie running almost like a whirlwind across the mudflats picking up rubbish. Finally, I spotted Sam following her, not very happy, and I would swear he looked pretty stressed - almost more so than after a double shift. Ellie had to pretty much chase him through the mudflats. Did she and Miss Chen have a challenge going on, the way the two women were always glancing at each other?

"Did you tell Sam?" I jumped and turned to Ben, who now had his arms folded behind his neck and his feet on the table - without shoes. I made a mental note to myself to never eat breakfast at this table again if I had to fill in for him on his days off. He grinned broadly. I should have guessed he would say something like that and felt myself blush. Telling half the truth, like I had done with Ellie, was probably the best solution, right?

"Indeed. He knows," I admitted and put the binoculars away. I would look for some kind of work downstairs, as long as I avoided these embarrassing questions and didn't run the risk of discovering our little secret. But in the future it would be easier to get informations from Ben about how far he was with Jodie than if I lied to him.

"Really?" Ben asked immediately and I looked back at him at the stairs. He sat straight in his chair and looked at me in complete surprise.

"But we're not together. It would affect our work," I lied to him, using the standard phrase that I had already told Ellie.

"Oh, man! Then I have to change the bet and bet on something else," he just sighed grumpily, while I grinned and went downstairs and decided to clean Juno. The jet ski didn't need it, but it wouldn't hurt either. When I went back upstairs to get something to drink almost two hours later, I met Ben in the kitchen who was filling two glasses with water and handing me one. I took it from him gratefully. "If you don't want to be together, then what are you? Are you like friends with benefits?" he then asked me straight out as he leaned against the kitchen counter and I almost swallowed my water.

"What?" I asked him, immediately confused. What was he trying to get at now?

"You don't know what that is?" he replied, visibly surprised, before deciding that he had better explain it to me. "Friends who spend..."

"I know what that means, Ben!" I interrupted him annoyed and headed for the elevator to go back into the tower. Ben was immediately next to me and I pushed the button up with a sigh. I had thought that I would be able to escape him and his curiosity. "First of all, no, we're not and we never will be!" I clarified. The thought alone was absurd, right?"And secondly, I certainly wouldn't tell you about my love life if I would have one!" I then added to make him understand this fact once and for all.