Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 4

The amount of scotch the boys had caused Tom to stay longer than either Ben or Cassie had expected. Ben did mention to Tom before he came over that he would need to leave early. Now that they were tipsy and talking and laughing, however, it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

Cassie didn't mind. She liked seeing this side of Ben. It's one she hasn't seen since she got pregnant. It made her sad to think she might have taken this kind of happiness from him. He doesn't seem excited about it to her, but more accepting of the situation.

At around midnight, she announced her departure to bed. Ben immediately shot up, just noticing the time.

"Oh, shit, you two, I'm sorry," Tom said. "I've overstayed, you were supposed to talk more."

He started to get up to leave, but Cassie told him, "No, Tom, please. I had a very lovely time tonight, more than I have in a long time it seems." Ben flashed a look of concern that she didn't see. "I better see you before you leave, however!"

Tom laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Of course, darling, I'll be sure it happens. You rest well."

Ben excused himself from Tom to make sure she got upstairs okay.

"Take anything you'd like from my closet to sleep in. I just freshened up the sheets in the guest room, but if you want extra blankets, you...well, you know where they are. You know where everything is and I feel like an idiot for thinking you don't."

He was nervously laughing and running his hand through his hair. She thought it was incredibly cute.

"Does the guest room have this view?" She asked as she looked out the window.

He smiled warmly at her. "It doesn't. However, you are more than welcome to look at it as long as you want. Truth be told...I'm not a fan of it anymore."

She cocked her head to the side and quirked an eyebrow. "How could you not be?"

He explained, "I did love it at first. When you took my side of the bed," he gave her a playful smirk, "I thought I might miss it. Then I saw the most beautiful view of all when I woke up that morning and several mornings after that."

She looked down at her feet, then back up to him. "Do you...miss it?"

He smirked at her for a moment, then told her with a pained voice, "Terribly." They stared at each other for a long moment. Ben had to break eye contact before he did anything stupid. "Erm, like I said, take you're time. I'm so sorry I didn't kick Tom out sooner. Sometimes we lose track of time when we're being us. How about tomorrow morning we'll sit down, I will make you breakfast and we continue our conversation?"

She nodded as she told him, "Sounds great. And don't worry about Tom, I really do like having him around. Especially when he's around you." She turned to his closet and started looking for pajamas as he stood there slightly confused.

"How do you mean?"

She turned to him, one of her favorite shirts of his in her hand. "I just mean you're...I don't know. You're happy. You're loose, you're fun. And all without needing alcohol."

Ben sat down at the edge of the bed as she got changed in his closet. "I suppose he does bring out something in me that's...human." He started chuckling a bit and he could hear her do the same in the closet. "But you do that with me, too, you know."

She walked out with his pajamas on and her previous clothes in her hands. He took them from her and folded them neatly on the ottoman at the end of his bed. "I'll put these in the wash," he told her. "Feel free to take a shower in here and...you know what, why don't you just stay in here and I'll take the guest room?"

"Oh, Ben, no I don't want to impose on you like that," she insisted. "I can have the guest room."

"Please, Cass, I insist. Have the view, the private bathroom, the comfy mattress. Please."

She sighed and stared at him, eventually giving in with a small smirk. "Alright, but only for the view."

He chuckled and smiled fondly at her. "Well, I will leave you to it. Goodnight, Cass." He pressed a very light kiss to her temple, then started walking out. "Remember, if you need a three in the morning craving run, wake me up and tell me."

She promised she would, so he shut the door and went downstairs. Tom was hanging around in the living room, wandering and looking at different things.

"You severely fucked up, you know that?" Tom asked without turning to look at Ben. He was looking at a framed photo Ben had hidden away on his book shelf of him and Cassie.

Ben grabbed a fresh glass and poured himself some fresh scotch. "I think I've mentioned that once or twice," Ben bitterly told him. "What made you bring it up again?"

Tom shrugged. "Only the fact that I got to spend the entire night getting to know her even more and it got me thinking."

Ben sat down, his legs spread open and head laying on the back of the couch. "Thinking what?" He asked with his eyes closed.

Tom sat in the chair across from him. "About how if I had been the one to meet her in Mexico, I would have done everything in my power to keep her with me at all times. Even if it meant moving here."

Ben opened one eye at and looked to his friend. "You are moving here, Thomas. Or else what was this trip for?" He closed his eye.

"To visit my best friend," Tom told him matter of factly.

"Or your best friend's girlfriend."

"Ex, I should remind you."

"Not for much longer and you'd do well to remember that." Ben sat up and looked at Tom. "Are you trying to make me jealous, Tom? Because I know you wouldn't make a move on the mother of my child."

"I'm just trying to make you see that fucking this up has consequences, including another man coming in and sweeping her off her feet. If you're not careful, someone will come in and take care of her and your kid. Someone without hesitation, I'm sure."

"I get it, Tom," Ben quickly him. "My plan is to get her back through trust, and then to never give her another reason not to trust me. Another man won't sweep her off her feet because I will be the only one doing that for the rest of my life."

Tom chuckled, "Jesus, Ben, you sound like you're going to propose."

Ben shrugged. "I am. Once the baby is born and we've gotten things settled, I plan to propose to her."

Tom stopped his chuckles. "If she takes you back. Don't get your hopes up too high, my friend. She's feisty and independent. She can very much survive without you."

"You think I don't know that? It's why I'm trying so bleeding hard to get her back."