All the feels were circling around in my stomach, and I nearly sprinted until I reached him. My face heated as he flashed me his amazing smile and handed me the coffee.
“Hello, gorgeous! You look good enough to eat, and I missed lunch today, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Stop it! And thank you for this.” I gestured to the cup and took a sip. “Mmm, my favorite. You remembered.”
“Of course, and if a simple gesture as giving a beautiful girl a cup of coffee can make me feel this good, then I may have to do it every day.”
I eyed him a little. Oh, okay, I was totally undressing him with my eyes. He was hot! What girl in her right mind wouldn’t? I think he knew I was staring, and then he called me out on it.
“You know that camera you have sticking out of your bag?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Why don’t you take it out and take a picture of me?”
“And why would I do that? You may not be the exact subject I’m looking for.” I practically laughed out loud because I was completely lying. I think he knew it too, but he was cool enough to play along.
“Just a lucky guess but take it out and give it a shot. I’ll pose any way you want me.” Now, who was flirting?
“Okay, suit yourself.” I looked around to find the perfect spot where Ben could stand, and then I thought of the lake nearby that had a huge fountain in the center of it. “Do you have anywhere you need to be right now?” I asked, hoping he would say no.
“Wherever you are is where I will be,” he winked. I bit my lip and then ducked my head so he wouldn’t see me blush. Oh, this guy is too much.
“How about we take a walk? Are you familiar with the lake?”
“I am. I run by there every morning. Is that where you’re thinking of taking my picture?”
“Yeah, I thought it would be nice with the fountain as the backdrop.”
“Sounds perfect. Lead the way, Hallie.”
As we walked, he took the backpack off my shoulders and carried it for me on his. When we reached the lake, the sun was just about to set, leaving a nice glow flickering on the water. I had to hurry, or I would lose the shot.
Ben was the perfect subject. He at first was goofing around making funny faces toward me, and then I gave him a stern look to be serious, and he stopped. He then asked if I had motion option on my camera, and I said yes. He told me to be ready, so I changed the setting on the camera.
He walked over to the tree and called out, “Ready?”
“Ready for what?” I called back.
“You’ll see,” and then he took off like a rocket. All I saw was a flash of his body as he did an impressive gymnastic move with a perfect landing right in front of me with the fountain behind him. I clicked away as I stood there in amazement.
“Ta-da! Did you get it?” he asked and then came over to check out what I captured. He stood behind me as I felt him press his body a little closer into mine.
I tried to stifle my moan, but it was next to impossible with Ben around. To my surprise, my shots weren’t half bad. I planned to upload them when I got back to the dorm and make a slideshow of them and send it to Ben.
“What the heck was that?” I asked.
“I’m a little rusty, but that was a front aerial, round off back handspring back tuck.”
“Well, I don’t know a handspring from a cartwheel since I bombed in athleticism as a kid, but your technique was amazing.”
“I have my moments. Are you hungry?”
I hesitated, and then he reached for me by placing his hands on my hips. My body pressed up against his. I was speechless and flabbergasted by how sexy this was.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those girls that never eat on dates?” he asked.
“This is not a date,” I said, regaining my concentration.
“Yeah, it is, and tomorrow will be another. Please have dinner with me? I promise to be the perfect gentleman.”
As we walked back to my dorm, he took my bag from me to carry and then asked, “Okay, where do you want to go?”
I wanted to drop off my things and change, but he said I looked great and wanted to leave. He opened the passenger door for me to his Mercedes SUV and closed the door before running around to his side to get in. The car smelled new, and the seats were so soft. Thank goodness it wasn’t raining. I think I would be afraid to get the interior dirty. I didn’t drive anything special, but my car got me where I needed to go.
“Your car is nice. Is it new?”
“Yeah, got it over the summer. My father picked it out, and I didn’t really have a choice to object. It’s kind of pretentious, but at least I don’t have to worry about public transportation.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
I said nothing more, and we drove around Chapel Hill until he decided on the restaurant Top of the Hill. Um, definitely not a burger joint.
“Ben, I’m not dressed for this. Top of the Hill is fancy, and I’m wearing jeans and chucks.”
He placed his finger under my chin so it was tilted up to look at him. “Hey, you are beautiful, and to be frank, I don’t give a fuck what people think of me. You shouldn’t either. The only person you should ever need approval from is yourself,” he said and then kissed my nose. “Come on, let’s go.”
He opened the door for me and tossed his keys to the valet. Ben slid my hand into his and led me inside to the restaurant. We checked in at the hostess counter, and a man in a suit walked over to say hello to Ben. Clearly, he knew him and shook his hand in kind.
“Mr. Chapel, welcome back to Top of the Hill. Your table will be ready in five minutes. Can I offer you anything to drink while you wait?”
“No, thank you, we’re fine.” He dismissed whoever the man was and turned around to hold me close to him. Ben was tall, probably close to six feet, give or take an inch or two. He inhaled the scent of my hair and swayed us back and forth as if we were dancing.
I loved being this close to him, and I thought silently to myself how easily I could fall for him. He was completely charming. His accent had the power to melt my underpants right off my body.
Before I could say anything, the man was back, holding two menus and told us our table was ready and to follow him. He led us upstairs to a table in the corner by a huge window that overlooked the town of Chapel Hill. Sure, I was familiar with the town and only lived about forty-five minutes from it but never had the pleasure of dining here and with someone as special as Ben.
We took our seats, with Ben pulling out my chair and placing the napkin on my lap. He then took his seat and did the same. The man handed us the menus and made his exit. Ben opened up the menu and perused it while I just sat there gobsmacked at all that just happened. He sensed my anxiety and looked over his menu.
“Come on, ask me. You know you want to,” he coaxed.
“You seem to know me so well, so tell me what I’m thinking.” I put my menu down and balanced my chin on my hands.
“Hmmm, I didn’t expect you to throw the ball back into my court so soon. Okay, you’re thinking ‘How the hell I am sitting here in this restaurant with a snob that drives a pretentious car and seems to snap his fingers to get what he wants?’ Am I close?”
“I guess you don’t know me, because I wasn’t thinking that at all,” I replied.
“Okay, then tell me,” he said and took a sip of his water.
“Who are you, Ben Chapel from Chapel Hill, NC? I don’t know any college freshmen that could just walk into a restaurant and be seated as if he was royalty or something. Yes, your car is nice, I believe I already told you that. It’s not so farfetched, though, considering where we go to school.”
“Agreed, but it wouldn’t have been my choice. I wanted a truck, one of the big F150s, but my father said no, and I got the mom-mobile. As for the table and this…” He pointed over to the manager standing on the threshold with two waiters. “My father is rich, and I’m an extension of that wealth. We dine here all the time, and s
ince my father travels a lot on business, he worked out an arrangement with the owner to give me a table whenever I come in and with no waiting.”
“Can he do that? You’re not serious.”
“I am, and yes, he can. So does this change how you look at me?”
“No, I guess you just took me by surprise, but it’s lovely and I’m starving.” I smiled and Ben visibly relaxed.
We ordered appetizers, which we shared, and then Ben ordered me the salmon, while he ordered the NY strip steak. Once he handed off the menus, he reached for a nacho and fed me. I finished it off and then asked him how he knew what to order for me.
“I figured since you ordered the seared tuna appetizer, you would be a fan of the salmon, and I wanted to try it and hoped you would let me have a bite. I’ll share mine if you share yours,” he winked and ate a mouthful of the nachos.
“Yes, I’ll share,” I answered.
The rest of the evening was perfect. Ben explained how he came to live here in North Carolina. He described his father as a businessman in banking. He didn’t offer any more details, and I had a feeling that the subject had been dropped. He did say his father’s work brought his family to the United States, settling in North Carolina. I asked about his mom, and his calm demeanor visibly changed, but whatever I asked that made him feel uncomfortable, he quickly covered and moved on to asking questions about me.
But I wasn’t finished. I wanted to ask him where he has been this week, since I met him in class, and then he was a no-show for the rest of the week. “Ben, may I ask one more question?” He frowned but then said, okay.
He didn’t have the chance to respond though, because our dinners arrived, so I tucked my question away for now. True to his word, Ben asked to have some of my salmon, and he cut a piece of his steak for me. He let out a pleasing moan after eating a forkful of the fish. I smiled and then tried the steak that nearly melted on my tongue. The entire meal was delicious, and I couldn’t thank him enough for bringing me here tonight.
I said no to dessert, but we did stop at an ice cream shop on our way back to campus, and we both got chocolate cones. It was just enough sweetness to top off the perfect meal we shared.
He parked his car in front of the building and turned to look at me. His fingers were touching my face. I was melting into his touch.
“Hallie, I want to kiss you so badly right now, I can barely control myself sitting so close to you. Is that alright?”
At the sound of his question, my entire body fluttered from nervousness to excitement. I never had a serious boyfriend in high school, just casual dating here and there. Did I want Ben Chapel to be my boyfriend? Someone I could get serious with? My body is screaming yes and my mind is right there too, but is it too soon? Leah wants me to live a little and keep my possibilities open for anything, not get serious with the first guy I meet.
What would be the harm? Ben has been great, and I never laughed so much in anyone’s company, so why not take the chance on Ben? Uh! You know why, Hallie, because he’s holding back from you, and that scares you, right? Just ask him the question you didn’t have a chance to back at the restaurant, and then you can kiss him.
His hand was stroking my cheek and then at the nape of my neck, making my breath hitch in my throat.
“Ben, wait!” I said a little too abruptly, stalling his hands in my hair.
He didn’t pull away, just stared at me intently. “What is it?”
“Where were you this week? You didn’t show up for class, and then out of the blue, you show up literally on my doorstep. So, what gives?”
His face lit up as he had just won the lottery, which just confused me even more. He let out a little laugh, and then without asking again, the hand that was at the nape of my neck tugged me forward. Our lips crashed into each other. His tongue dipped inside of my mouth, tangling with mine, and all I could do was hold onto his strong arms as he took our first kiss deeper. His hand released my neck, and then his two palms were on my face as he disconnected from my mouth and then placed a kiss on my forehead before leaning his own against mine. He let out a breath and remained there while I was catching up too.
“I couldn’t wait another second to do that. Hallie, the truth is that I am not enrolled in your math class. I saw you from a distance walking into the building, and I had this overpowering feeling to get closer to you. It was just my luck that you didn’t see me coming, and when you did, I was already there. The unfortunate part of our chance meeting was you ending up on the floor, for which I am sorry to have done that, but now look where we are.” He smiled and took my mouth in another passionate kiss, not giving me the chance to respond.
“Okay, I’m flattered. I really am, but one more question, and please tell me the truth.”
“I would never lie to you, Hallie.”
“Do you even go to school here?”
“Yes, I do but I’m not a freshman.”
I thought I had my fill of revelations having to sit there for hours with my mother’s lawyer and discover we were independently wealthy after her death. It still bugs me that she worked so hard while she was alive when she didn’t always have to, but it’s just one of a million reasons why I love her so much and miss her more than I can ever say.
I shook the sadness off and focused back on Ben. “You’re not?” I asked.
“I was born in London and raised up there. Schooling is quite different in the U.K. than here in the United States. I was already attending university back home when you were still in high school here. So, what I had already accomplished in London made me a senior here at your university.”
“So, how old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty in November, and you?”
“I’m eighteen, just had a birthday back in July.”
“What day was it on?” he asked.
“July 24th, and you?”
“November 17th. Is that a problem that I’m older?”
“No, not at all. I guess I assumed wrong since you did walk into a freshmen math class.”
“Yeah, it makes sense that you would come to that conclusion. Are we okay?” he asked nervously.
Then, instead of answering verbally, I took the chance that kissing him would be assurance enough.
He let out a satisfied breath and held me in his arms. We sat there for a few minutes, and then I told him that I had to get inside. He gave me his number and address, which was not on campus but an apartment in town. My mind was spinning, and I didn’t want to know anything more tonight. But I had a feeling there was more to Ben Chapel to discover, and I found myself looking forward to that.
He walked me to my door and kissed me once more, promising he would see me tomorrow night for our date. By the time I reached my room, it felt as if I was walking on air. My brain was muffled with a thousand thoughts all of Ben, and I had a hard time sorting them all out when every one of them was awesome. I didn’t get two feet inside when squeals of laughter rang out, and Marina and Maggie were waiting on me. Oh my roommates, the matchmakers.
In unison, they both said, “Tell us everything.”
4
Swept off my feet
“Can I take my jacket off first?” I said, giggling, as I barely made it inside without the inquisition. I hung my jacket in the closet along with my backpack.
As much as I enjoyed watching Ben carry my backpack, it reminded me of high school. Leah bought me a messenger bag which was more sophisticated and stylish. I think I will toss my old bag and begin using my new one. It’s gender neutral, so if Ben wants to carry this one too, he’ll look good doing it. I smiled, keeping all my sexy thoughts about Ben to myself.
I took a seat on one of the plush bean bags I had scattered around the dorm room. Surprisingly, our room was on the bigger side. It was comfortable, cozy, and we weren’t tripping over the other.
“Okay, listen carefully, because this is the one and only time I will say this.”
The girls leaned forward, holding pillows to their chest
s and wearing excited smiles on their faces.
“You were right. Thank you for pushing me in the right direction. Okay, take it all in. I’ll count to five, and then we move on.”
The girls squealed in delight, and then they fired away with the questions about Ben.
After the barrage of questions, I finally called it a night and went to sleep. I was hoping I would dream of Ben, but I wasn’t so lucky and had a nightmare instead. It hasn’t happened in a while, but sometimes I feel when I’m really happy, that’s when the bad dreams return.
I didn’t know the intimate details of my mother’s car accident and only could imagine in my head what she went through in the final moments of her life. I sat up screaming, soaked in sweat and tried in vain to calm my breathing. Marina slept like the dead, but it was Maggie who woke up to see if I was okay.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a silly dream,” I said, but in reality, it was so much worse. Over the summer, I met the girls and took the campus tour but never shared the most intimate details of my life, which included my mother’s accident and death.
“Thanks, Maggie, but I’m really fine. Go back to sleep.”
Squeezing my hand, she went back to bed. I got up, splashed some cold water on my face, and did the exercises my therapist told me about. I put my headphones on and raised the volume to block out the bad, and I prayed I would be able to go back to sleep.
“Miss Whitman,” I heard my name called out and then it was said again in a louder tone.
My eyes blinked opened, and then all eyes were on me, including one pair belonging to my angry professor.
“Miss Whitman, if you want to fail my class, you are well on your way. Wake up or get out, your choice.”
I stuttered over my words, and then I said, “I apologize, Professor Strathmore. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t. Okay, let’s get back to our discussion.”
Ninety minutes later, and I was dragging my tired body to Starbucks for a much-needed coffee. Extra bold was required for today. I still had two classes left and a study group I really didn’t want to go to, but I needed the help to get through my upcoming math test. I checked my phone after getting my coffee and saw a few text messages from Ben and one missed call. His messages were sweet and made me smile. I listened to his voicemail, which was equally sweet, but there was an underline tone of concern.
Before We Knew Page 3