Not a Love Story

Forty-Seven // How Did You Meet

Oliver Greene

David and Henry were talking when Ben and I joined them downstairs.

"Oliver! Congratulations on getting into Michigan!" David greeted, giving me a hug.

"Thanks, David." I responded with a smile, hugging him back.

"Who's this?" David asked, gesturing to Ben.

"I'm Ben, Ollie's boyfriend." Ben greeted with a smile, extending his hand out to David. David grinned and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Ben. You're on the football team, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm the quarterback." he nodded.

"And team captain." I added, nudging him. Ben glanced at me and nodded.

"Yes, and team captain." Ben agreed. Just then, my mom walked in, a plate of chicken in her hands.

"Come on, sit down you all. Henry, help me with the rest of the food." Henry nodded and went into the kitchen with her after she set down the plate. Ben and I sat down next to one another and David sat at the end. Henry came in with a bowl of vegetables and my mom placed down a bowl of mashed potatoes.

"This all looks amazing, Beth." Ben complimented. She smiled at Ben.

"Thank you, Ben." she acknowledged. Henry sat down across from me and mom sat at the other end of the table. "What are you all waiting for? Dig in." she said, reaching for the bowl of vegetables. Ben happily spooned potatoes on his plate and forked a large chicken breast on it as well.

"So, how did you two meet?" David asked, looking between Ben and I as Henry passed him the vegetables. I quickly glanced at Ben before starting to talk, realizing he'd just put a huge bite of potatoes in his mouth.

"I'm tutoring him in biology." I sheepishly replied.

"Well I also may have kept asking him to study with me so we could spend time together." Ben added, making me look over at him, a questioning look on my face.

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"I might've been over exaggerating a little bit when I said I needed the extra help." he admitted, a very light blush dusting his cheeks. Ben breathed in before continuing. "When I finally had the guts to kiss him I ran off afterward like an idiot. Then I made even more of a fool of myself and was an absolute ass to him." he quickly glanced at my mom, shooting her an apologetic look, to which she just laughed and gave him a small nod. "Luckily he agreed to give me another chance. I'm not sure what I would've done if he hadn't." he confessed, looking over at me with a look I couldn't quite discern in his eyes. I reached over and grabbed his hand, lightly squeezing it.

"That's really sweet." David said, his voice low. I looked over to see him dabbing at his eyes.

"Are you crying?" my mom asked.

"Maybe a little bit." David laughed, wiping his eyes again, making us all chuckle with David. "You two seem great together." he finished.

"I agree." my mom chimed in, smiling at me.

"Well since we're all talking now, I guess now's a good time to say you guys are good together. You bring out the best in one another." Henry said, nodding. "And Ben, if you hurt my brother again, I will hurt you." Henry asserted, looking at Ben, a dangerous look on his face.

"Okay, Henry, relax." my mom said, lightly touching his arm.

"No, it's okay. He's right. And I won't hurt him again. I promise." Ben seriously said, looking at Henry. They exchanged a look between them before Henry nodded and looked back down at his food.

"Ben, have you heard from any schools yet?" my mom asked, trying to lighten the mood. He nodded.

"Yes. Florida, Colorado and Wisconsin all offered me a spot on their team." he replied, making me look over at him, pride radiating off of me.

"Oliver! Why didn't you tell me about this!" my mom exclaimed. I mumbled an apology before she continued. "That's wonderful, Ben. Congratulations." she smiled.

"Are you leaning towards any school in particular right now?" David asked.

"Not yet. I'm still thinking everything over." Ben said. I smiled at him, taking another bite of food. I couldn't help but feel a twinge in my chest at the thought of being away from Ben.

We finished dinner with lighter conversation. I was thrilled to see my mom and David interacting so positively with Ben. I could tell they liked him, and that made my heart swell. After dessert, Henry excused himself, reminding my mom he was hanging out with some friends before saying goodbye to all of us and leaving.

"I actually need to get home too. But it was great to meet you, David." Ben said. David lowly nodded.

"Likewise." he agreed.

"And the food was wonderful, Beth. Thank you so much for having me." he said.

"Of course. You're welcome anytime, Ben." she said.

"I'm going to walk him out." I announced. My mom nodded in acknowledgement before Ben and I got up and headed for the door. I grabbed my jacket as he slipped on his shoes and pulled on his jacket. I opened the door for him and we slowly walked towards his car.

"Was that true?" I blurted out.

"What?" Ben asked, tilting his head towards me.

"About studying to spend time with me?" I asked, dropping my eyes and feeling my confidence dwindle. Ben gently grabbed my arm, stopping me from walking and forcing me to look at him.

"Yeah. It's true." he said, sheepishly smiling at me.

"Why didn't you ever say something?" I asked.

"I was embarrassed." he confessed, dropping his gaze. I stepped forward and lightly placed my hand on his cheek, making him meet my eyes.

"Why?" I asked, my voice quiet.

"Because I really like you, Ollie. And I was scared you would think I was weird or something." he whispered, shaking his head. I ran my thumb along his cheek.

"No, I could never." I said. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. "And I really like you too, Ben." I whispered against his lips. He smiled and connected our lips together in a desperate but passionate kiss, our lips moving together in sync.

When we pulled apart Ben pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me in a hug, his head nuzzled in my neck. I closed my eyes, soaking up the moment and Ben's warmth. I slowly pulled away, looking into his eyes.

"It's cold." I laughed. Ben chuckled and nudged his nose with mine.

"Yeah. Your nose is cold." he mused. I laced our fingers together as we both slowly began our walk to Ben's car. He froze when his hand touched the handle of the door.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Without a word, Ben let go of the handle and grabbed my face, leaning forward and attaching his lips to mine. My hands instinctively went to his waist and my eyes closed. Ben slowly pulled away, his hands trailing down my face, shoulders and arms. He laced our hands together and smiled at me.

"Goodnight, Ollie." he whispered.

"Goodnight, Ben." I breathed, grinning. We let go of one another as Ben opened the door and got into the car. I stepped back into the grass and waved as he backed out of the driveway.

I stood in the lawn, watching his car until the headlights disappeared around the corner. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, closing my eyes and letting the cool air wash over me, savoring this perfect moment.

****

You guys... I woke up to SO much love for this story!! 9k reads!?!?! I am honestly so blown away and happy that so many people like my work. Thank you all so so much!!!♡︎

x, Anne

p.s. as always, feel free to vote, comment and share:)