6. Ben
“So,I don’t know about you, but I really need some caffeine and food after that fart fest.”
Aida laughs, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looks up at me. “What the aroma of ass expelled dead animal wasn’t enough to wake you up?”
“Dear god, woman,” I say, mock gagging. “Do not say that. And for the record, tomorrow, we are yoga-ing on the opposite side of the group to stinky-ass.”
“Yoga-ing?”
“Yeah,” I reply as we gather up our mats and make our way up the beach. I don’t stop, leading us straight past our houses and toward the small town where there are some cafes and shops. “Isn’t that what that was?”
Aida laughs, shaking her head. “No, and seriously, you’re coming back tomorrow?”
“Hell yeah I am, that fucking dead peacock pose is not getting the best of me!”
This earns me another laugh. “Ten bucks says you can’t do it, even if you do come every day for the rest of the summer,” she says with a smirk.
Chuckling, I open the door for one of my favorite spots, gesturing for Aida to go inside. “Pfft, please. Twenty says I nail it by July fourth,” I reply as I stand beside her at the counter.
“Competitive much?”
I glance down at her, a smile on my face when I see the matching one on hers. “Like you’re not,” I reply, knowing we’re more alike than she cares to admit. She glances up, a brow raised in question, and I laugh. “Come on, what do you want? My treat.”
“Oh no, no, we’re not doing that,” she says, hands up in protest.
“Relax, you can get tomorrow’s breakfast. This doesn’t have to be a thing.”
Her brow narrows this time as she takes in my words, like she’s trying to figure out if I have some sort of ulterior motive. To be fair, I sort of do, because if I get today and she doesn’t like that, it means she has to have breakfast with me again tomorrow just so she can level the playing field. Like I said, I’m not the only one who’s competitive.
Besides, it all but guarantees she’s spending time with me too and I’m definitely not turning that down.
“Fine,” she says, blowing out a breath. “I’ll take a chai latte and the breakfast stack.”
“Nice,” I say, loving that she isn’t one of those girls that doesn’t eat, as I place our order.
After we’re done, we make our way over to a table by the large open windows that look out onto the beach. It’s still early enough that the town isn’t filled with a heap of annoying tourists, just the locals and regulars like me who realize how great this place is first thing in the morning.
I’ve been coming to Little Crab Island for as long as I can remember. Back then, our house was a lot smaller, but with my dad being an architect too, he obviously renovated the place into what it is now. Which is an epic summer home.
Despite our differences, I can acknowledge that my dad is a great designer. I just wish he understood that even though I chose the same degree, I don’t want to just automatically follow him into the family business. At least not right away anyway.
I already know that my family name means everyone in New York will associate me with him. It’s unavoidable when you’ve designed the buildings my dad and granddad have. To be fair, I should probably move to the West Coast if I want to avoid that kind of association, but that’s not what I want to do either.
I know that if I tell my dad what I’m really planning to do now that I’ve finished school, he’ll likely roll his eyes and tell me not to be so stupid. It’s half the reason I’m spending the summer out here, while I try to decide how to break the news to him.
“So,” Aida starts as we take a seat at the table opposite each other. It’s small enough that our knees are almost touching underneath it.
“So,” I repeat, smiling at her.
She rolls her eyes, but I can tell it’s playful as she tries not to smile. “You’re really going to do yoga on the beach with me?”
“Uh huh,” I reply with a nod, just as our drinks arrive.
“Even though you’ve clearly never done it before?”
I swallow a mouthful of coffee, smiling. “Come on, it wasn’t that obvious, was it?”
Now it’s Aida smiling back at me. “It was obvious. Even stinky ass had a better pose than you.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “Well, all the more reason for me to keep coming then, isn’t it? Besides, I’ve got twenty bucks to win now.”
“It’s a hard pose to get,” Aida says, a smirk on her face because she clearly saw me struggling with it during the class. Who the fuck knew a bit of stretching could be so complicated and difficult?
Still, I’m not about to back down from this challenge, especially if it means I get to watch Aida contort her body into all kinds of positions while wearing skin tight workout gear. Pretty sure my dick was ready to get into a very alive peacock position at that view.
Plus, if she’s that flexible on the beach, what the hell is she like in the bedroom? Or anywhere for that matter.
“What, you think I can’t do it?”
She shrugs as her smirk widens, not saying anything as the server now drops off our breakfast. We’ve both gone with the stack, which is basically a whole heap of breakfast goodness stacked on top of itself.
“I think you won’t be able to do it hungover,” she says, pointing her fork at me. “And something tells me, you’ll be hungover on more than one morning this summer.”
I grin. “What, and you won’t?” I counter.
“I’m here to relax and unwind,” she says, before eating a forkful of bacon. “Not party every night.”
“So what, you don’t drink at all?” I ask.
Aida laughs, shaking her head at me. “I drink.”
I blow out an exaggerated breath. “Good, because I’m planning a pretty epic Fourth of July party and rather than have you stay at home and call the police on me, I’m kinda hoping you’ll come along. Have some fun with us.”
Aida’s eyes widen, as though she’s surprised by my invitation. “Who says it was me who called the police?”
I burst out laughing, my head falling back. “Who else would it have been?”
“Your other neighbors.”
“Nice try,” I reply with a wink. “House is empty.”
“Still doesn’t mean it was me.”
I lean forward on my elbows, my grin wide. “You can admit it was you, Aida. I promise I won’t hold it against you.”
She gives me another eye roll. “I will neither confirm nor deny if it was me.”
“Spoken like a true wannabe lawyer,” I say with a laugh.
She takes another bite of her breakfast, chewing slowly as she watches me across the table. When she swallows, she waves her fork at me again before saying, “Speaking of, what’s with not knowing what you want to do after the summer? You don’t want to be an architect?”
Now it’s me shoving a forkful of food into my mouth as I stall on answering her. As much as I’m trying to get to know this girl, it doesn’t mean I want to go into the whole story with me and my dad and my future career plans.
“Ben,” she prompts when I don’t answer her question.
I take a sip of coffee, turning to gaze out the open window at the ocean, the beach that is slowly filling with tourists. “I don’t know,” I eventually say. “I’m not sure I want to be an architect.”
“Why?” she asks, and from the corner of my eye I see her wave a hand as though to tell me to keep going.
Turning back to her, I fall back in my seat. “My dad’s an architect, my grandfather was an architect. Everyone’s a fucking architect, and of course, I’m expected to be one too.” I’ve never actually admitted this out loud to anyone and I’m not entirely sure why I’m telling Aida now.
“You don’t like it?” she asks.
I blow out a breath as I shake my head. “Not really,” I admit. “I mean, I like design, yeah, but...”
“But…”
I smirk. “Anyone ever tell you, you’d make a great lawyer?”
Aida smiles, her hands up as if to say, of course they have, before surprising me by asking, “Is your dad a good architect?”
With a laugh, I say, “He’s a great architect. Designed the house you’re staying in actually.”
“The Henderson’s place?” she asks, clearly surprised.
“Yep, and our place too, obviously.”
“Wow, he is good.”
“Yes,” I reply with a nod. “He is.”
“Sooooo, why don’t you want to work with him?”
I let out an exaggerated sigh before I blurt out, “Because I don’t want to be stuck in an office with him all day. I want to do something else. Something that separates me from him.”
Aida slow blinks at me and I’m not sure if it’s because that’s not what she expected me to say or because she thinks it’s the dumbest idea ever.
“So, you mean like, not design buildings?” she eventually says.
“Yeah, something like that,” I reply.
I don’t bother to tell her about the kind of design I want to do or the fact that I have a second interview lined up for the day after tomorrow for a job that I really want. There’s no point and I really don’t want to jinx it.
“I mean, I get it,” she says, smiling at me.
“What kind of law do you want to do?” I now ask, turning the conversation back on her. I barely even know this woman and already I’ve admitted more to her than I have to my friends. Neither Jason nor Troy know what I really want to do post-college, not because I think they’ll laugh at me for it, but because during college, those two were bigger party animals than me.
“The kind that helps people.”
I snort out a laugh. “Shouldn’t all lawyers help people?” I ask.
“Obviously,” she says with a smirk. “But I want to help people and stuff who might not necessarily be able to get good legal help.”
I finish off my breakfast, pushing my plate to the side before leaning forward a little, a smile on my face as my gaze locks with hers. “And stuff?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah,” she says, with a quick sideways glance. “Like the environment and stuff, not just big corporations or whatever.”
“Hmmm, kinda like me not wanting a corporate city job,” I murmur, chuckling. “Told you we had shit in common.”
“Yes, yes,” she says, as she lowers her fork to her plate and sits back in her chair.
“Admit it, Aida, I’m not what you expected, and you’re intrigued by me, aren’t you?”
Now it’s Aida laughing. “That’s what you got from this conversation?”
“Among other things,” I reply with a shrug.
She laughs again, shaking her head this time as she says, “You are different to what I expected, Ben, I’ll give you that.”
“And you’re intrigued,” I add, winking at her.
“Would we go that far?” she asks.
“Oh, I think we would, Aida,” I say confidently. “Which is why you’ll not only come to my Fourth of July party, but you’ll also come hang by the pool with me today.”
“Oh my god, Ben,” she says.
“What?”
“You are both stubborn and persistent, you know that,” she says, her eyes wide, even as a smile tugs at her mouth.
“I mean most people would say I’m charming,” I tell her, grinning. “But I’ll take persistent too.”
“And stubborn,” she deadpans.
Chuckling, I lean closer, our knees brushing together under the table. “Maybe,” I murmur, my voice low. “But don’t tell me you’re scared of a little persistent stubbornness?” I ask, almost like I’m daring her.
I don’t know what it is about this woman, but I really want to hang out with her. She’s hot, obviously and that’s a big part of it, but she’s also different to most of the girls I hang out with.
And I like that.
I like it a lot.
“What’d you say, Aida? Wanna come hang by my pool with me today?”