I Want You

Alone Together

Alone Together

Ben drove through the lot looking for a spot for Miranda to park. "Right there is good," he said pointing. After he parked, he walked over to see her pulling a whimpering Tuck out of the car.

He gestured for the bookbag that was slung over her shoulder. After making eye contact for a second, she gave it to him. "Thank you. And, uh, don't mind him. He'll be asleep in twenty minutes."

"It's fine," he reassured her. "I'm this way."

They rode the elevator up to the tenth floor and he prayed that his apartment looked decent before he opened it. Tuck was fully awake now and wiggled from his mother's arms and took off. Miranda ran after him. "He's fine, Bailey. Let him explore."

"Um, okay. But if gets broken, it's broken." She shrugged with a smile. Ben put down the bag he'd carried up for her.

"I'm not worried about it," he told her genuinely. "So, uh, welcome to my humble abode. The bathroom is down the hall to the... right. The right. And I'll check and see what I have in here to eat."

"You don't know what's in your refrigerator?" Miranda asked moving further into his apartment. He watched her watch Tuck.

He put his hands on his hips. "Do you know what's in your fridge?"

Shaking her head, she walked to the large windows he had that overlooked the city. The view was the reason he paid so much and it was the selling point of the entire apartment. "No, I don't, but I hold the lives of people in my hands. I can't be worried about what's in my fridge."

"You really hate it that I'm not a surgeon, don't you?" He smiled.

Miranda picked up Tuck and brought him with her into the kitchen area and sat at the island. "No, I don't. I actually like that about you. I just like ribbing you about it."

"Cool. It's nice to know surgeons have hobbies outside of cutting folks open." The two of them laughed.

"Who that?" Tuck asked speaking for the first time.

Ben turned and really got a good luck at the boy. He could barely see any of Miranda's features in the boy, so he must have been the spitting image of his father. "This is Ben. Say 'hi'."

"Hi," Tuck said with a wave.

"Hey, buddy." Ben held out his hand and Tuck gripped it with his small, smooth one. "How are you?"

"Good. How you?"

"I'm great."

"Mommy, I'm hungry."

Miranda stared at Ben. "Me, too, baby."

"I have some... seedless grapes and... and... crackers to tide us over until I order some food because there's nothing in here. I'm sorry." She shook her head. "Don't look at me like that. You're making me feel bad."

She chuckled. "It's okay. But if you don't hand over those grapes, he might riot."

"Right. Right. Wouldn't want that." After pulling out the snacks, Ben dialed the nearest pizza place and ordered. "Do you want wine or is that inappropriate?" He asked, his voice near a whisper.

"One glass won't hurt anyone." He poured wine into two glasses. "I'm sorry this 'date' is kind of..."

"Delightful," Ben said filling in the blank. "I like this."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious. I'm happy to be here with you and Tuck. He's enjoying his grapes and food is on the way and you have that smile on your face." They looked at each other for a long time before Tuck accidentally knocked over his cup of juice. It spilled across the marble.