In Another World: A Rey and Ben AU

CHAPTER 4: HOUSE HUNTING

Rey checked her phone at lunch time.

'The interview went well. They offered me the job. Apartment hunting with me on Saturday?'

'I'm in! Congrats!'

Rey was gushing over the details with Rose and Poe on Thursday. They were hanging on every word. "He held your hand!" Poe asked excitedly. "That's like old timey dating. Guys these days just want to hook up and take off. He held your hand!".

"Stop it," Rey said. "It was nothing! It was sweet and soft, which is not what I was expecting from him," Rey said, with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"AWWWWWW" both Rose and Poe echoed in unison.

"SHUT UP" Rey responded, giddy with anticipation.

The rest of Thursday and Friday passed at a sloth's place. Rey was so excited to see Ben again on Saturday. She woke up early and dressed and waited for Ben to come get her. She had texted him her address the night before. He said he'd be there at 9:00. At 8:55 she saw his black pick up truck pull into the driveway. Punctual, she liked that in a man.

"Hi," she said as she hopped up into his truck.

"Hi," he responded. "We have 3 places to look at today, our first appointment is at 9:30."

"Tell me your criteria, are you looking for a bachelor pad?" she asked, probing.

"No, I'm too old for that, besides, that's not what I'm looking for," he said. "I want a place that allows some privacy but has plenty of room. I want a big bathroom. I like to spread out. I'm not a small man and I take up a lot of space. I have to be able to fit my king bed," he told her.

"Speaking of 'too old', how old are you?" she questioned.

"34," he replied, "probably too old for you, how old are you?"

"26," she responded shyly, feeling embarrassed about the discrepancy. Ben had a sudden look of defeat on his face. "But as two adults, age is just a number," she added quickly, feeling a little more confident. The chit chat continued playfully until they arrived at the first place. It was an apartment on the third floor of a building.

"Mr. and Mrs. Solo" the real estate agent greeted them, "So nice to meet you both!"

"Oh no!" Bed replied, very suddenly, "She's not my wife," he said almost offensively.

"Oh, excuse me, you make a cute couple anyway!" she replied as she lead them up the three flights of stairs. Ben looked at her apologetically, but reached out and took her hand again. She obliged and followed him up the stairs. The place was definitely nice, but they had to discuss walking up three flights of stairs for everything. Moving in would be a horrible bitch. Plus, after he went grocery shopping he would have to lug all the groceries up the stairs. They moved on to the next place.

Back in the car, Ben decided he wanted to talk, "Listen, I know I keep randomly grabbing your hand, which is totally out of character for me, I almost feel like I can't help it, but I can probably resist if you want me to," he said, without looking at her. He was embarrassed, but wanted to know where he stood.

"I don't mind" she replied, reaching over and grabbing Ben's right hand, the one that was sitting on the bench seat between them. He recoiled, like he did the night in the bar, and shuddered. Looked like an old habit. He then took a breath, and reached back out to take her hand again.

They arrived at the next apartment, which was in a building with an elevator this time. This was on the 12th floor, the top floor. It was a little smaller than the last apartment, but had more perks. The realtor walked them through square footage and perks, but all Ben could think about was Rey's warm hand in hers. He was only half listening and half stealing glances at Rey whenever her could.

They finished the day looking at a cozy single family home for rent. This was the one. He could feel it as soon as he walked in. It had plenty of room for him and his things, plenty of room for his bed, and plenty of room for Rey, which he's not even sure why he's thinking about. It had a fantastically large bathroom and walk in closet. He wanted to rent it then and there. The realtor said she'd write up the paperwork this afternoon and he could move in tomorrow. He was elated.