To Love

Chapter 18 (Benjamin)

I wake up to an empty bed. I'm freezing, as I haven't a shirt on. I slip out of bed and wang on the sweater Trev picked out for me the night prior. I turn down the air conditioning and open our little fridge. I don't see anything I fancy, so I decide to go out and get something.

I change into a pair of clean clothes. I choose a white turtleneck and put one of Trev's T-shirts over it. It's a tad oversized, but it doesn't take away from the outfit. I wear a pair of jeans to go along. I grab my essentials and head out.

I walk down the pavement, my usual playlist in my headphones. I arrive to the cafe that Trevor and I frequent, the same one we went to on our first date.

I walk up to the cashier and order my drink, along with Trevor's. I figure since I'm out, I might as well drop by to give him a little gift.

"Ey, what can I get ya?" The usual barista greets me. "Where's your mate?"

"Ah, he's busy today. I'll bring him his drink."

She frowns. "Aww. I was hoping I'd see him today. Now that he isn't here, I've got to tell you, I fancy him a bit. Could you help me...you know..." She doesn't have to finish before I flash her a look, a look of pure shock.

"I..." I'm completely dumbfounded. Is it not obvious we're together? Even still, she looks at me with anticipation. "We're...uh...actually...not just mates, if you know what I mean."

She covers her mouth. "By gum! I'm so sorry! God, that's so embarrassing..." She moves her hands so that she's covering her entire face with her hands.

"It's ok! Really, I do understand. My boyfriend is super good-looking." She smiles, easing up a bit. She then takes my order. I get our usuals: a chai latte with oat milk and an iced caramel cold brew. We really are pretty basic, I'd say. She gives me her employee discount as an apology, which I can't refuse.

Once I've got my drinks, I wave goodbye to the barista, to which I've found her name is Janie. She smiles with a tad bit of embarrassment and waves back. I walk out and make my way towards the record shop.

I walk into the shop and hear a familiar style of acoustic guitar playing, one that doesn't care about a specific strumming pattern, but just strums to his own voice. Trevor. He's playing an acoustic version of "Ransom" by Miles Kane (big surprise). He stops abruptly and puts the guitar down once he sees my face.

"Ben? Babe!" He gets up and walks towards me, throwing his arms around me. He gives me a peck on the cheek while I nearly drop the drinks in my hands. "What brings you in?"

"Just thought I'd drop off a treat for you. You deserve it." I give him a warm smile while handing him his drink. He lets out a wide grin, clearly ecstatic.

"Aww, you didn't need to do that, hun." Even so, he takes the drink out of my hands and walks me towards the counter, sitting behind it.

"How is your first day treating you?" I'm genuinely intrigued.

"It's right lovely. It's very relaxing." He tells me a few stories about some customers that came in. Nothing to extravagant, but I'm always happy to hear his voice. When he gets excited, I know that he's happy. When he's happy, so am I. I admire his enthusiasm as he talks, moving his hands around to further prove his points. "Matt said he'd give me a proper rundown tomorrow night. I've told him about my availability with classes and such. I won't need to skip class again."

"That's good. Can't have you dropping out now then, love."

"Right, hun." He nods.

He finishes his drink after about an hour of sitting around and chatting with me. I finish mine soon after. "I hadn't even though about snap. You hungry? I'll bring you something, yeah? What you thinkin' of?"

"Hmm," he thinks for a moment, "pizza. I've been craving it. There's a real nice place down the street, conveniently."

"Alright. I'll pick us up something, yeah?"

"Ah, no worries. I'm allowed a break for lunch. I'll just close up shop for a few, then we can go together." He blows out the candle and grabs the key from behind the counter. He makes sure there's no one else but us in the shop and locks up behind us.

He interlocks his arm with mine. "Ready, love?"

"Absolutely."