43 ~ Sweet as a Compote-2

"She can handle herself," Ben said from behind me. "If she can shove me around and not die, she'll be okay with that twiglet." I laughed a little. "The only reason you let her shove you around is because of me, isn't it?" He didn't respond, but I knew I was right. "Give me one second, okay?" I ran back into the back room and picked up the sunflowers he'd brought for me. When he saw what I held in my hand, the tips of his ears turned pink, and I grinned. "Do you like them?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. "I already told you I did!" I said, sniffing them again even though they didn't smell like anything. But they were beautiful and bright, and just looking at them perked me up. "You didn't have to get me anything though, Ben!" He cleared his throat not once, but three times. "Lottie?" "Yeah?" I said distractedly. "Do you want to go out with me?" "What?" I said, not totally comprehending what he just said. "Wait, what?" I turned to look at him, and saw that his expression was tight with worry. I wasn't used to seeing him so nervous, and it made me want to pat his head reassuringly. "Lottie, do you want to go out with me?" he said again, and this time I understood. My eyes widened and I bit my lip so as to not look like a complete and total fool, but I could feel my cheeks heating up and my hands shaking. "Are you being serious?" I asked happily. When he nodded, my face split into a wide beam, my eyes crinkling so much that they became slits. "Ben, are you really asking me out?" He crossed his arms and scowled in embarrassment, turning his face away from me. "For Chrissakes, who else am I asking? The fucking cupcakes?" I laughed delightedly. "Okay!" He asked me out! This handsome lad just asked me out on a date! I didn't know whether to play it off cool or show just how excited that made me, but when was I ever known for playing it cool? "Yes, I want to go out with you!" I exclaimed. Ben's entire face turned a bright red that made me want to laugh even harder, but I couldn't tease him more than I already had. "Cool," he said, using the other tactic of playing it cool. But I saw the way his lips twitched up and how his eyes twinkled. I saw how excited he was, too! "Cool," I repeated. And I couldn't help it. I jumped up on my toes and kissed him right on the mouth. *** After Ben asked me out, I locked up the bakery, and he walked me back to my flat. The entire time, I was having trouble not bouncing around like the Energiser Bunny, and he strolled along beside me, actually smiling. His smile warmed me from my head to my toes, and I all but forgot about Rick, especially after Ginny texted me to tell me that she'd dumped him. "Bye Benny!" I said cheerfully, waving at him. I blew him a kiss, and that made him look down to try and hide a smile that I clearly saw. He waved back without saying anything, and turned around to walk away. I didn't know when or where our date would be, but I didn't care. I just knew that Ben Fisher had asked me out! That definitely meant he liked me at least a little, right? Because he never said he loved me back when I said it any of the times, but he must like me. My mood refused to damper throughout the rest of the day, even when I realised that there was absolutely no food in the fridge and freezer except ketchup and some ice cream. What did Ginny even eat? I shook my head. She could always get guys, and girls even, to feed her. Her flirting was so useful sometimes. Ginny hadn't come back yet, and I was hungry, so I texted Ben that I was going to the shops in case he needed something. I grabbed my wallet, keys, and mobile and skipped out the door, heading to the bus stop. When I reached my stop, I hopped off the bus and started to walk the remaining few minutes to Safeway. "Hey Charlie," I heard someone say ahead of me. When I saw Rick, my eyes bulged out of my head, and I felt my heartbeat speed up. What was he doing here, loitering around like a creep? He didn't even live here! Right? "Oh, I have to go," I said slowly, backing away as he walked forward with a confused expression on his face. "Go? Weren't you just coming? Where are you going?" From the slur of his words, I could tell he was intoxicated, and that made me even more worried. "Er...not here," I mumbled, turning around to walk away fast. Even if he was nice to me when we dated, which he wasn't really, his eyes didn't have the gentle look that Ben's did. "Hey, wait!" he called, latching onto my elbow. I started to panic, my eyes widening in shock at the painful grip he had on me. "Please let go, you're hurting me!" "Not until you tell me why you're running away from me!" he snapped. "We dated, Charlie! You were my girlfriend, and then you left me? Just because I was sick?" So he knew, he knew all about it? How? Who told him? And what was he doing here? "What kind of girlfriend are you?" I flinched at his tone. "Not yours," I whispered. Suddenly, a look of comprehension dawned on his face. "Benjamin told you to stay away from me, didn't he?" he sneered. I trembled in his grasp, trying to twist away. "Unfortunately, it's not of your business," I replied as nicely as I could. "He did! Dammit, I knew he would try to spoil my fun." "Fun?" I repeated. "What fun?" His eyes snapped to me and he leered, making his pleasant features morph into something ugly. "When did you become Benjamin's little bitch, doing whatever he says, huh? Don't you want to make your own decisions?" "Not that it's any of your business, but he never said anything about it to me. I think it's best for me to stay away from you," I replied stiffly. "Oh really?" he said, as though he didn't believe me. "Why don't you figure out if I'm a bad guy yourself? You know me, we fucking dated!" I tugged on my arm harshly. "I'm sorry, but I trust Ben, and I don't think it's a good idea to stay near you." "You trust him? You trust him?" he snarled, his voice rising to a shout. "Why the hell do you trust him? He's been nothing but horrible to you! Don't you think that would stretch to lying? Benjamin Fisher isn't a good guy, no matter what you think! He's capable of anything! He doesn't care about you." Rick's words were like a punch in the stomach. A look of glee enveloped his face, as though he thought he could sway my belief in my best friend with only a few words.