37 ~ Sweet as Kim Possible-1

Chapter 37: Sweet as Kim Possible I literally could not stop looking at him. Ben was sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me to finish making the pie that Papa wanted me to make for dessert. He thought I was almost finished, but I had barely just put the dough in the fridge to chill. I leant against the counter, putting my elbows on the top and my chin in my palms. Ben was on his mobile, and hadn't looked up in about ten minutes. I felt a little creepy just watching him and smiling, but I couldn't help it. "Lottie, what flavour pie are you cooking up?" he asked suddenly, glancing up. My elbows slipped and I accidentally smacked my head against the marble. "Oh," I said, half in pain and half in surprise. I rubbed my forehead. When I looked at Ben, he had his eyebrows raised and his mouth pursed in amusement. "Are you okay?" I closed my eyes, feeling my head throb. That was what I got for being a creepy thing. "Just splendid, thank you," I said cheerfully. Then I thought about what I did and slapped the counter, giggles escaping my mouth. I rubbed my head again, tears slipping out of my eyes from the throbbing and the laughter. "Jesus Christ, Lottie, what's wrong with you?" he asked. When I glanced at him, his twitching mouth had morphed into a full-blown smile, and he shook his head. I smiled back at him, and my heart seemed to fall out of my mouth. "A lot of things," I told him. He stood up and walked up to me, putting his hands on my shoulders and bending down to look at my eyes. I blinked at him in confusion when he frowned. "What's wrong with you?" I asked. Ben managed to keep a straight face for about three seconds before he sagged his head and started laughing. His hands gripped my shoulders so tightly that I could feel his body shaking, which in turn shook me. I loved his laugh. It came all the way from his belly and was a deep and satisfying sound that hung in the air and made me want to laugh as well. Soon we were both falling all over each other with laughter, and I didn't know what was funny, but I just loved hearing him go at it. My voice faded off, but Ben was practically gripping me to his chest and crying with laughter. "Y-y-you just-" I furrowed my eyebrows and just watched him. I beamed affectionately, not knowing what to do. I poked his shoulder to try and get his attention, but he just rested his head on my shoulder and kept laughing. "Benjamin Fisher," I said, tapping his cheek. "You just fell against the counter!" he exclaimed. "Lottie, what-" I cupped his cheeks with both of my hands and turned him to face me, pressing my smiling mouth against his. That definitely got him to stop, and he kind of froze against me. I giggled and he moved his hands from my shoulders to my hair and started responding. I felt his heart beating wildly, and it made me smile wider. I really loved him. I moved back and grinned, wiggling my eyebrows. "Don't make fun of me," I said, pinching his cheeks and stretching them out. "Jesus Christ, Lottie," he breathed, straightening up. His face was flushed, and that made me want to tease him really badly. "I just wanted to know what damn flavour your damn pie was." I beamed at him and stepped back. "Strawberry and blueberry, is that alright?" Ben squinted at me. "How much sugar are you putting it?" "Just a pinch - the fruit is sweet enough. Okay with you?" "I'm sure if you make it, it'll be fine." I paused and my eyes widened at his words. He'd said it with a straight face, still looking a little grumpy from me teasing him. Did he really compliment me like that? "Oh," was all I could say. He rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek, ruffled my hair, and walked back to the kitchen table. My goofy smile refused to fall. Ben sat at the table and glanced at me like he didn't know what to do now. I sighed happily and took the cartons of strawberries and blueberries from the fridge. I washed them and put them in a pan with some cornstarch and a wee bit of sugar, but my head was in the clouds and I couldn't really think. While the fruit cooked, I took the dough from the fridge and rolled it into a pie pan. "Ben," I sang to myself. "Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben." "What are you saying?" I ignored him and kept working until the pie was ready to put in the oven. I loved him, I really, really loved him, and the fact that he didn't want to go to York had me unable to frown. I hoped he wasn't going to give anything up for me, though. I really hoped he didn't, because then I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. But maybe to think that was exceptionally conceited of me, because what if he didn't feel anything for me like I did for him? I mean, I didn't mind that he hadn't responded to my I love you, but it was kind of a downer. Maybe he hadn't said anything because he didn't want to lie. I closed my eyes. I was seriously going to hurt myself with all this self-deprecation. Suddenly, Ben stood up. I jumped and looked at him, puzzled. "I left my laptop in the car," he explained, walking out of the kitchen. I stared after him, but shrugged and went back to work. Papa came into the kitchen just then and he beckoned to me. "Charlie, can you come here for a minute? I can't get the damn telly to change programmes." I giggled and followed him to the living room. "I'm surprised that you were even able to turn it on in the first place." He rolled his eyes and gave me the remote, pointing to the telly. I saw that the footie was still on, and I frowned. "You want to switch away from football?" I asked. My dad didn't watch anything but football. He literally would watch the matches, and then would watch them again, and then would rewatch segments of old World Cups and follow his favourite players to see what they were up to. Papa stared at me blankly until we heard the sound of the front door opening. I glanced back to see Ben hurrying to the kitchen, and I was about to go after him when Papa propelled me to the front of the TV and pointed at the screen. "I'm feeling like Food Network," he said. My mouth opened in disbelief. "You want to watch Nigella Lawson?" "Don't forget Jamie Oliver." Papa grinned widely and falsely, and I didn't know what to think, but I just shook my head and changed the programme for him. I looked at my dad again and at his suspiciously ruddy and pinched face. "Papa?" "Yes, poppet?" he asked. His voice pitched a little higher than usual, and I began to worry. "This thing you're worrying about - is it serious?" He seemed to relax, and just shook his head. "Don't you worry, Charlie. It's nothing of consequence." I watched him for a few more seconds before handing him the remote and shuffling back over to the kitchen. Since everything was already baking and getting ready and the salad was in the fridge, I pulled up a chair beside Ben and sat down. "Whatcha up to, Benny?" I asked cheerily. Ben gestured to his phone. "Just checking my marks from my last exam." That seemed innocent enough, but I looked down at the table and pursed my lips. The only things on it were the tablecloth and a tissue box. "Where's your laptop?" I asked curiously. Wasn't that what he went to his car to get? It didn't escape my notice how Ben stilled momentarily before shrugging and avoiding my gaze. "I didn't need it. I don't want to be working right now." I nodded and smiled. "That's good! You can just relax and hang out with me tonight." Ben didn't change his stoic expression, but he did reach out and gripped one of my hands, bringing it near his mouth so he could press a small kiss on my knuckles. My face flamed when he winked. My poor heart didn't stand a chance.