My Big Ben

Chapter 5

Tears filled my eyes and I sniffled. I didn't want him to leave me again.

Ben stood up and turned around. "Benji?" he whispered.

I sniffled again. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I want you to stay, Ben. Please."

"I gotta get home. Toby needs me to feed him."

I wiped the tears from eyes that were pooling and threatening to fall. "I know. I'm sorry."

He looked at me for a second and then held out his hand. "Come on, get up. Pack a bag."

"What?"

"We're going to my place. Pack what you need for work tomorrow."

"Really?"

I grinned and got up out of bed as Ben turned on the light. While he got dressed, I grabbed a backpack out of the closet and packed a clean set of clothes for work. I grabbed my toiletries and then got dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

I put on my shoes and Ben put on his boots. He bent down and gave me a quick kiss. We headed downstairs to his truck and then we drove to his house. His house was about 25 minutes from my apartment on the other side of town.

"It must take you forever to get to work every morning," I commented.

"Eh, it's not too bad. About forty minutes."

He turned into the driveway and Ben pulled into the garage. I didn't get a good look at the house because it was dark.

I grabbed my bag and followed him through the door that led inside the house. As soon as walked in, a little dog jumped up onto Ben. The little dog was so excited to see him. He was bouncing on his back legs with his front legs on Ben's legs.

"Down, Toby. Sit," Ben commanded while holding his fist over the little dog's head. Toby sat down.

He was a cute little dog, a gray/silver color with white accents on his feet and face and chest. He had floppy bent ears and bushy eyebrows and what I would describe as a long beard. He had a little nubby tail that was wiggling like crazy.

"Toby, this is Benji," Ben told him.

Ben turned to me. "He won't hurt you."

I squatted down and Toby moved closer and sniffed me, then licked my chin. I wiped my chin and giggled, then I pet him on his head and scratched behind his ears. His little nub wiggled excitedly as I scratched him and he leaned his head towards my hands. It was so cute I giggled.

"He is so cute," I said. "What kind of dog is he?"

"He's a miniature schnauzer. He really likes you. He usually ignores strangers after he gets a sniff or a quick pet."

"I thought a big guy like you would have a big pit bull or something, not this cute little thing."

"I have a hard time resisting cute little things," he said with a wink. I blushed like crazy and giggled softly.

I followed Ben into the kitchen, with Toby hot on his heels. Ben filled Toby's food and water dishes. Toby's dishes were in a corner of the kitchen on a little bone shaped mat. There was a clear, airtight container next to them that held a big bag of dry dog food.

"Toby, go eat," Ben said.

Toby trotted to his dishes and sniffed. He took a mouthful of food and ran to the living room. He dropped the little kibbles on the floor and ate them there. When he finished he ran back and repeated. It was the cutest thing I ever saw.