Chapter 148 The Choice Is Yours

Chapter 148 The Choice Is Yours
BENEDICT

In the end they couldn’t agree on what he’d get in return for looking the other way. Benedict wasn’t about to tell his mate that he’d do it for free just to make her happy; it felt too manipulative or corny or… something he couldn’t quite name. It felt wrong — that was it —which was enough of a reason to keep his mouth firmly shut.

Her little show of magic did give him insight on how she’d gotten better all of a sudden. If she warded the bowling ball to emit a push back on hit, it would explain why the farther pins were falling over when they normally wouldn’t. Not that he was going to call her out on that little bit of trickery; far be it from him to complain about her ingenuity and control over her own magic. He was actually quite impressed she was able to make it affect the pins and only the pins. How complex was the spell she’d used? Who had taught her to use it? Had she come up with it herself? How had she come up with the concept?

And, more importantly, would she answer if he asked?

They finished the last of their frames and ignored who had what for points. Benedict didn’t care if he’d won — he had, but that wasn’t the point — or lost and Claire pretended the points didn’t exist so who was he to ruin her mood?

Shoes returned, socks back in his mate’s hidden pockets, and a good mood shared between the two of them as they left felt like the perfect end to what had turned out to be a fun night. Screw good food and a movie; bad food and a relaxed atmosphere was where it was at! Anyone who thought differently was wrong.

Back in his car, Benedict glanced at Claire as she settled in with a contented sigh. If he was willing to take a guess, he’d say tonight had been a success — if he was reading his mate’s expression correctly. She was relaxed and smiling — it could only mean she’d had a good time. A warm feeling spread through him at the thought of being the reason she was happy at that moment; nothing else mattered outside of her happiness and he was okay with that realization.

The drive back to her place was quiet — comfortably so — and gave him a chance to reflect on their evening. Figuring out where he’d made mistakes and how to do better next time, as well as where he’d gone right and what he should do to keep the momentum going.

They arrived at her place far too quickly, leaving Benedict wishing he’d taken a longer route so they could spend more time together. Too late for that now. Next time he should think of something they could do after the date, to extend it just a bit; yes, that was a good idea. Now he just had to think of what…

“Not going to get my door?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Benedict looked over to see Claire giving him a smirk, as if she’d just caught him zoning out during an important conversation. Oh goddess, she hadn’t been talking had she?

“Of course I am,” he replied, frowning. He might have been spacing out but he was still a gentleman — usually.

As requested, he got out and walked around the car to open the door for his mate, who grinned at the gesture. “I could get used to this,” she told him once she was out.

“I have no problem doing it,” he assured her with a shrug. It really didn’t bother him, especially if it made her happy.

“Mm… good,” she nodded before turning and walking towards her home, Benedict following one step behind.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, he wondered what would be an appropriate way to say good bye. A kiss was probably out of the question, given physical contact would have a… strong effect on him. Would a hug be asking too much? It was still physical contact but less intimate. What about a handshake? That sounded like a bad choice — who shakes the hand of the person they’re crazy about? Ugh. He’d take what he could get and be happy, dammit. No matter what happened, it would be better than nothing, and therefore he would be grateful.

Claire stopped at the door, using her key to unlock it before turning around so they now faced one another. “Except for that first part, tonight was fun.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry about that. I want to say I’m still new to this dating thing but that feels like a cope out.”

“Cause that’s exactly what it’d be. Good thing you didn’t say it, huh?”

A sheepish smile plastered itself on Benedict’s face at her words. “I’ll do better next time… if you’re willing to go out again, that is.”

“Mmm…,” she hummed, a frown creasing her brow as she debated the offer. It made his heart drop down to his toes as it raced away — a very uncomfortable and unwelcome feeling. “I have another idea,” she finally told him after far too long.

“Oh… alright. What, uh, what idea is that?” Please include me, please include me, he thought over and over again, hoping against all hope he’d gotten enough right to warrant that much.

“Next time I get to choose what we do from the start,” she informed him with an innocent grin.

Benedict stared at her for a full second before his brain processed her words and what they meant. Next time. There would be a next time. There was a next time. Suddenly his heart was flying out of his feet and into his throat as he fought the swell of relief that threatened to suffocate him. “Really?” It took him a while to get the word out as he wrangled his emotions. “You… you’re sure?”

“Why? You want this to be our only date?”

“What, no!” He was practically shouting and forced himself to calm down before continuing to speak. “I just don’t want to make you do this if you don’t want to. Or… whatever…”

“Ben,” she began with a shake of her head. “Even if you tried, you wouldn’t succeed in making me do anything I don’t want to do. I’m not that kind of person. I’m also not going to be nice just to be nice. Bea and I grew up together and I’ve picked up some of her bad habits, one of which is being straightforward when dealing with people. You’ll know where you stand with me at all times; if I’m angry, I’m going to tell you. When you fuck up — because you will, just as often as I will — I’m going to point it out. And I’m expecting you to do the same.

“If I do something you don’t like, you need to tell me. When I fuck up, you need to tell me. How else are we going to know what needs fixing?”

Claire had a good point, and it made Benedict ecstatic that she had these thoughts in the first place — these were long term actions after all. What she was asking for was honesty and understanding. Honesty wasn’t going to be easy, of course, because everyone who asked for it never actually wanted the truth — they want the truth to be without any of the bad. Except… for some reason, he believed his mate wasn’t going to bite his head off if he did point out her mistakes; he planned on doing it in a kind and gentle manner, of course, but that’s only if she ever did anything wrong. In his eyes, she was perfect exactly how she was and far be it from him to want to change perfection.

“Alright,” he agreed as he took a deep breath. “I can do that.”

“Great! So that means you can stop second guessing everything, because it’s getting really old, really fast.”

Benedict cringed, having hoped she wouldn’t have picked up on his lack of confidence. “That’s… fair. I’m just—”

“I know,” she interrupted. “And, yeah, I get it, but you’re a Beta so act like it.”

“I’m… not actually a Beta anymore.”

“Don’t give me that,” she admonished him, hand on her hip as she narrowed her eyes. “You were born a Beta and will die one, even if you don’t hold the official rank or title or whatever. It’s who you are regardless what everyone else thinks or says.”

It was good Benedict has his guard up against emotional surges — this time — because otherwise he’d have grabbed Claire and kissed her right then and there. Instead he balled his hands into fists and gave his mate a nod to acknowledge what she’d said.

“Good. Glad that’s settled. Want to come in for a coffee?”

The change in conversation — and invitation inside — left Benedict feeling lost. There was also the double meaning of being asked in for coffee after a date. There’s no way she meant it like that… was there? “Isn’t… it a bit late for coffee?,” he ventured, uncertain if him commenting on the other meaning would be seen as inappropriate.

Claire stared at him for a moment before closing her eyes and shaking her head. “I actually meant it literally. It’s basically early afternoon for me. I can make you decaf if you’d rather not be up all night. Or if you need to head home that’s fine; it is sort of late for someone with a normal sleep schedule…”

Was his mate… rambling? Benedict stared at her for a moment, watching as she shifted from foot to foot without meeting his gaze. Could it be… she was nervous? About asking him in? Because she wanted him to say yes and was worried he’d decline? And how was he falling for her even more when he was already hopelessly lost?

With a huff at his lack of response, Claire spun around and threw open the door. “Come in or not, Ben — the choice is yours. Either way, I’m having a coffee.”

~FIN~
(For real this time. Promise.)