golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter eleven

saturday, january 17
ben came offstage after the saturday matinee and immediately face planted on the couch in his dressing room. the rest of the boys started to change back into street clothes for their break. a few minutes later, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.
guest at the stage door for ben cook. ben cook, you have a guest at the stage door.
ben groans. sky patted his back. "dude, you gotta go."
"i don't wanna."
"maybe it's el."
ben shot up and changed out of his costume in record time, then threw a hat on backwards and rushed down the stairs. when he threw open the door, he was out of breath. eliana stood there, holding three pizza boxes. "hey."
"hey." ben said, playing it cool.
"you look a little winded." she laughed. ben giggled awkwardly.
"um, can i come in?"
ben nodded. "yeah, obviously, sorry." he moved to let her in. they walked up to the dressing room. ben knocked on the door again. "everyone decent?"
"are you bringing your girlfriend in here again?" josh asked. eliana blushed.
"not my girlfriend." ben said.
"no girls allowed!" nico yelled out. ben sighed and shook his head. "i guess we'll just have to take the pizza to the girls' room."
the door swung open. "pizza?" sky asked. eliana held up her boxes. he grinned and stepped aside, then dramatically gestured for her to go in. "my lady."
she giggled, and ben glared at sky, who held his hands up.
"hey, guys!" eliana smiled.
"hi, el!" nick smiled at her. "is that for us?"
"of course it is." she set the boxes down, then sat down on the ground. the boys swarmed around the pizza, and ben took a seat next to her.
"el, can i just say..." josh started, his mouth full. "i love you."
she laughed. nico nodded emphatically. "i take back what i said about no girls allowed. you can come any time."
"as long as you bring pizza." jordan added.
"i'm afraid i'll only be able to do this on saturdays." she said.
"works for me." nico said. sky went to take the last slice, but turned to eliana. "el, you want the last piece?"
"oh." she shook her head. "i don't eat pizza."
josh's jaw dropped. "you don't-how do you not eat pizza?"
"gymnastics." she offered as an explanation. nico blinked in shock. "you mean to tell us that you-"
"guys." ben cut him off. eliana put a hand on his leg. "team usa has a super strict diet. i love pizza, but since i'm training for a competition right now, i can't have it."
"wait..." jordan said. "if you're on team usa, does that mean you've met the president?"
she laughed. "no, that's usually reserved for olympians. i was too young for london, but if i stay on the team and don't get injured, i'll go to rio."
"when's your next competition?" sky asked.
"i believe it's march 20th and 21st."
"where are we then, houston?" ben said.
"i think so." sky said.
"houston?" eliana repeated. "that's where my comp is."
they all pulled out their phones to check the dates. "yeah!" sky said. "we're in houston at the same time!"
"oh my gosh!" she said. "that's so cool!"
ben smiled to himself, happy that he would get to see her again.
dan deluca came into the dressing room, sniffing the air. "do i smell pizza?"
"yeah, el bought it for us!" nick said.
"it's all gone, though." josh added. "you snooze, you lose."
dan turned his attention to eliana. "oh, hey! i don't think we've met. i'm dan, i play jack." he held out his hand, and she shakes it firmly. "eliana. most people call me el."
dan took a seat near her on the floor. "so you're the gymnast we've heard so much about?"
"i guess so!" she blushed a little bit. dan laughed. "don't worry, they're all very good things."
he smiled and her cheeks turned even redder. ben was used to it. dan always had that effect on girls he flirted with, and he flirted with all of them.
"you're on team usa, right?"
"yeah." she nodded. "it's my second year. i was too young the first time i won worlds."
"the first time?" dan said.
"i was sixteen." she explained. "and the age cutoff is seventeen."
"you must be pretty good, then." he flashed a smile.
"i'm alright. i mean, i probably only won because cally federline was taking a break."
"oh, give yourself a little more credit." dan raised an eyebrow. "two world titles is a lot."
ben groaned. "okay, dan. cool it off."
dan sighed. "i'm just making conversation, benji. jeez." he turned back to eliana. "as, i was saying, before i was rudely interrupted..." he side-eyed ben. "just because cally federline, whoever she is, was out, doesn't-"
"wait, wait, wait." jordan said. "you don't know who cally federline is?"
dan squinted. "uh, no?"
"dude!" sky sakd. "cally federline! captain of the fierce five!"
"the what five?"
the boys collectively sighed. ben laughed. "the fierce five, man. 2012 olympic gold medal team."
"oh, shit. sorry, i don't follow gymnastics."
"uh, we don't either, but we don't live under rocks." sky said.
"wow." dan got up. "this has turned into a 'make fun of dan because he doesn't know stuff' fest, and i don't appreciate it. i am going back to my dressing room because you guys are jerks." he looked down at eliana and smiled. "it was very nice to meet you. you should come by again so we can talk without these idiots around." he left the room, and they all looked at each other for a minute. eliana bursted out laughing, and everyone else followed.
"he's something else, huh?" she giggled.
"oh, we love him and his flirty self." sky said. ben wrinkled his nose. "not so much the flirty part."
eliana smiled. "jealous?"
ben didn't say anything. sky rolled his eyes and checked his phone. "it's almost five, i'm gonna run out and get coffee. the usual for everyone?"
the boys nodded, and eliana's eyes went wide. "almost five?"
"yeah."
"shit. i was supposed to be back at the gym by 4:45."
"ooh." sky sucked in a breath through his teeth. "that's tough. might as well be late with coffee if you're gonna be late."
she laughed. "i don't drink coffee."
demarius looked at her like she was insane. "girl, what do you eat?"
"salad." she grimaced. "a lot of salad."
nico made a retching sound. sky offered her a hand and she took it to stand up. "i'll see you monday?" she said to ben.
"monday. i'll pick-"
"i'll pick you up." she laughed. "i'm not risking you ending up in the south side again."
he nodded. "that's fair. text me later, yeah?"
"of course." she and sky walked out of the room and out onto the street.