Sugar

33

chapter thirty three
florence thompson
song: like to be you - shawn mendes ft. julia michaels

"So, let me get this right," Ben began, slinging his bookbag over his shoulder and turning to me all while keeping a grip on the strap of his bag, "you're going to go to some random event with this guy that is paying you to spend time with him, and you're going to get all dressed up in a nice dress and some heels, all for some guy that you aren't even dating?" He furrowed his brows, clearly feeling as if he was missing the point to the whole ordeal.

I can't lie, he pretty much hit the nail on the head but that's the last thing I want to tell him right now, especially with the judgy look I was receiving from him.

"Why are you so judgemental right now?" I groaned, grabbing my own bag and sliding it onto my back before grabbing my phone off of the table we had been sat at in the library before we both started heading towards the door, falling into step with one another. "He asked me to accompany him and I told him I would, what's the big deal, seriously?"

He sighed, rolling his head back to stare at the ceiling with a loud groan.

"The big deal, Florence, is that you're leaving yourself completely open for this McDouche Bag to hurt you. You're basically holding a sign above your head that says hey! I'm open for you to use me!" He exclaimed animatedly, pretending to hold a sign above his head and wave it around, causing me to roll my eyes at him.

"You're being ridiculous, Ben. I'm taking all the necessary precautions to keep myself safe. I'm just going as a friend, nothing more. I'm not going to pretend we're together or get pictured with him at all. I'm simply going to go to this charity event with him and then go home and catch up on Jane The Virgin. That's it," I sighed as we pushed through the large doors of the library, stepping out into the bright sunshine of Chicago.

Ben shook his head, his mop of brown hair shaking with the motion.

We had been debating this now for a solid ten minutes, becoming the exact reason we got kicked out of the library. We had been debating it so heatedly earlier that the librarian-after asking us many times to quiet down, bless her heart-politely asked us to leave to which we obliged and decided maybe it was best anyway.

We'd cooled down since, but I could still feel the tension in our conversation. Ben was obviously aggravated with me, and while I fully understand that it's coming from a caring and loving place, it's also being received as overbearing and controlling to an extent.

After last week, I am very obnoxiously aware of how hurt I can get. I understand that what I felt last week and still have the lingering feeling of today could just be the tip of the iceberg if I choose to push myself further into this game of unattached feelings, so I'm making sure I don't get myself in that sticky situation. I'm going as a friend, a friend that could get kicked out of her apartment if she doesn't oblige to his requests and he went back on his word.

That was the part that I didn't want to tell Ben at all, that I was mortified that Vincent would just drop our deal out of nowhere if I didn't do as he says. The thought that there is no contractual obligation here and he could abandon me as quickly as he picked me up was nerve-wracking, to say the least, and was the major motivating factor in the savings account I'd been doing my damndest to put money into recently

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Flo," Ben sighed as I peeked at him over top of the car that was now separating us as we stood on opposite sides, about to slide into the vehicle.

I released a similar sigh.

"I know, Ben." I smiled softly, knowing full well that he only had good intentions.