29. Aida
I swallow hard,Ben’s dad is standing in front of us dressed in a dark gray suit with a stoic look on his face that slowly morphs into anger. And I quickly excuse myself leaving Ben to deal with this. There’s no way I have any input that could possibly be helpful at this point given what his dad said when he saw Ben and me together.
I scramble into the bedroom, a bedroom I now realize is Ben’s father’s, and I shake my head, trying to clear the idea that we’ve been having sex in his parents’ bed. That shouldn’t even be my concern right now, but it is, because thinking too deeply about what’s about to happen feels too real.
I hear Ben ask his dad to give him a second, guessing so he can put on some clothes, which is what I should be doing, but I’m frozen in place, scared and worried about Ben.
He doesn’t come into the bedroom, but I hear a door close and then reopen, and I’m still standing here, wrapped in the towel, naked underneath.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I should leave. I should get dressed and go home, but I just stay firmly rooted to the floor, my feet unwilling to move. I don’t know if it’s the embarrassment or the fear of his father confronting me; not that I’ve done anything wrong.
“You were supposed to be back in the city yesterday,” I hear Ben’s dad’s deep voice bark out, harsh and filled with rage.
“That was your thing, not mine,” Ben replies calmly, and I can’t believe how reserved he sounds. I expected this to play out much more loudly.
“You have a job waiting for you. I didn’t pay for five years of college so you could just do whatever the fuck you want,” Ben’s dad hisses. “I want you in the office tomorrow and your AXP begins next week. We agreed on all this, Ben.”
“Except we didn’t,” Ben says, his voice level still low, and now I worry he thinks I’m listening. I mean, I am, but what the hell else am I supposed to do? Sneak out the window and scale down the balcony?
“This isn’t negotiable!” Ben’s dad screams, startling me, and I gasp out loud. “You will be in the office tomorrow!”
Silence fills where there was once yelling and I panic that Ben is being smothered by his father, silently dying out in the stunning living room with the vaulted ceiling and the view of the ocean. Again, what the fuck is wrong with me? That is not happening, but maybe it is.
“I won’t,” Ben finally responds, standing his ground and I want to give him a little cheer. He needs to stand up to his dad. This isn’t what he wants, and he has a job lined up. It’s not like he plans to live here at the beach house doing nothing for the rest of his life.
“Then get out of my damn house!” his dad yells. “Take your trashy summer fling with you!” I wrinkle up my nose, letting out a scoff of disapproval when I hear what he calls me.
“She’s not some trashy summer fling,” Ben barks back, his voice raised now. “She’s my girlfriend, and don’t worry, we won’t be staying here anyway.”
“Ben, you’re making a huge mistake. The girl, the job, the lack of responsibility. I’ve let you play the party boy for too long and now it’s finally caught up to me,” Ben’s dad replies, letting out a hard sigh. “If you aren’t in the office tomorrow, don’t bother.”
“I wasn’t planning to, so go ahead and fill that job,” Ben answers. “Thanks for stopping by. I’ll lock up when I leave today.”
“Benjamin.”
“Dad.”
“I’m fucking done,” his dad now says, and that’s when I hear his dress shoes clopping angrily across the hard wood floors.
Finally able to move, I grab my clothes, throwing them on, I quickly pick up my flip flops, not bothering to put them on, I carefully open the door.
I listen before I leave the room, and when I hear nothing, I step out, and as I attempt to quietly make my way downstairs, I find myself face to face with Ben’s dad.
“Fuck,” I whisper, but he’s so close that there’s no way he didn’t hear it. “Hi, I’m Aida. I’m watching the Henderson’s house. I gotta get back.”
I slip past Ben’s dad without waiting for him to respond, not needing to know what he has to say about the trashy girl from next door. That’s his only impression of me, and after what Ben’s told me about his dad, there’s no point in trying to change his opinion of me.
But as soon as my foot hits the last few steps, I know it’s over. I can feel the slickness of the lacquered stairs, and my body goes careening down like a damn penguin.
“Holy shit, Aida!” Ben screams, rushing over to me, his eyes wide as he kneels down over me. “Are you okay?”
“Drunk in the middle of the day,” Ben’s dad mutters. “No shocker there.” Obviously not at all concerned that I just took a header down his stairs. And I’m not even drunk. Maybe a little tipsy after that Long Island Iced Tea his mother-in-law served me, but not drunk enough to fall down the stairs.
“So much damn lacquer on the stairs,” I mumble, rubbing the back of my head as Ben helps me up. “I’m okay.” My cheeks heat up, blushing red as embarrassment washes over me. I close my eyes, taking in a deep breath. “I’m gonna go now.” I toss a thumb toward the door, and my teeth clench, my eyes finally opening to find Ben and his dad watching me.
Without saying anything more, I whip the door open and carefully head down the front steps, to the safety of the outside world, away from Ben’s dad’s judging eyes.
But then I stop, looking back at the house, leaving Ben to fend for himself feels really shitty. I know I’m not just some trashy girl, and I know Ben is much more than his dad gives him credit for. And after spending the last couple of months with him, I know he’s a better person than his father. Despite being raised by this workaholic without a heart, Ben has the bigger heart.
Taking in a deep breath, I stomp my way back up the stairs and fling the door open.
“I’m sorry, but you’re all wrong about Ben,” I say when I step inside. “He would never tell you, but he took a job as a graphic designer, something he’s really damn excited about. Something you should be excited about too because he’s more than just a party boy.”
“Aida, you don’t—” Ben starts, and I shake my head, hitting him with a hard stare.
“Yes, I do have to because you won’t do it. Your dad needs to know that you have plans, plans that you did all on your own, without the help of your family,” I tell Ben, then turning my attention back to his dad. “You can think I’m trash, that part doesn’t bother me, but you have no idea how talented your son is and how much he has to offer. You’re too wrapped up in making money and being seen as perfect and well, Ben doesn’t fit that mold.”
“Aida, seriously,” Ben starts, and again, I stop him, tossing up a hand.
“And by the way, I’m going to be a fucking lawyer, so call me trash all you want. Someday I could be suing your company for… I don’t know, but one day I’ll have a reason to.”
I turn on my heel, hoping the lacquered floors don’t make a resurgence and send me on my ass again as I leave, this time with my head held high.
Stopping to turn around, I call out, “It was nice to meet you Mr. Kincaid, and Ben, meet me for dinner in an hour?”
Both men stand there, quietly watching me leave, and I hope what I said sinks in. Not just with Ben’s dad, but with Ben too. He should be proud of himself, and it doesn’t matter if his dad isn’t. Ben needs to start celebrating his accomplishments, and not focusing on how he hasn’t lived up to his father’s expectations.
An hour later, Ben’s knocking on my door, dressed in a T-shirt and board shorts, his hair a little disheveled, his cheeks flushed.
“Hey,” I say, opening the door, an awkwardness between us and I can’t decide if it’s because he’s embarrassed by what happened or if it’s because I yelled at his dad. Either way, we have to address it.
It’s the reason Ben is in this position in the first place. He’s spent so much time avoiding reality, and now it’s come and smacked him right in the face.
“So, how much of the conversation with my dad did you hear?” he asks, chuckling nervously. “All of it? Just a little?”
“Well, I mean, I heard some of it,” I lie, and Ben laughs again. “Okay, fine, all of it, but Ben, why do you let him treat you like that? You have a future to look forward to and he needs to know that.”
“He does now, thanks to you,” Ben says, and I hope he’s not mad at me for my impulsive outburst.
“Why didn’t you tell him?” I ask, taking his hand in mine, I lead him into the house. Sitting down on the couch, Ben sits down next to me, letting out a hard breath.
“I just told you,” he replies. “I didn’t even tell my grandma, remember?”
“Why though? You know Miriam will be happy for you. She’s your biggest supporter. Stop thinking you’re not good enough, that you’re just good fun. You’re more than that.”
Ben doesn’t say anything right away, letting my words sink in. There’s a lot wrong in his relationship with his dad, and it started long before I came into the picture.
“Aida, I’ve been told all my life that all I have are hobbies, all I am good at is being the party boy. I’ve lived up to that, and telling my dad…”
“Telling your dad you’re more than just that would what?” I prompt, encouraging him to finish. He needs to realize he can’t keep things bottled up. It’s going to eat him alive.
“He wouldn’t believe me. He’d make a comment like, ‘Wonder how long that job will last?’ or something like, ‘That’s not a real job.’ Finishing college was the first thing I’ve really ever followed through on.”
“So what. So what if your dad makes snide comments. So what if college is the first thing you’ve done. It doesn’t mean things can’t change,” I tell Ben, resting a hand on his cheek, angling his face so he’s looking at me.
I lean close, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. His eyes close, and we sit like this for a bit, letting the moment pass between us, letting him take in what I’ve just said.
“You’ve made this the best summer of my life, and I want to continue that with you. I want to be there for every successful moment in your life. I want to be there to tell you I told you so,” I tease, kissing the tip of his nose.
“I want to be there so I can say that I win,” Ben jokes back.
“You won what?” I question, pulling back, a confused look on my face. “You won the best girlfriend ever? If that’s the case, I think I’m the winner of that one. I’m the girlfriend.”
“No way. I can say that I won finishing school first and getting a job before you,” Ben replies, and I let out a loud laugh.
“Oh my god, Ben. Let it go,” I say, swatting his arm. “You are just so damn competitive.” But as I say this, my brain kicks into overdrive, trying to remember the exact date of my graduation. I’m not letting him win this.
“When did you graduate?” he now asks me, clearly thinking the same thing I am.
“When did you graduate?” I hit back, narrowing my eyes at him.
“I asked you first.” Ben laughs, his eyes lighting up with happiness and this is the guy I like to see. The one who makes me laugh. The one who might always be the life of the party, but behind all that is a guy who is smart and fun and who has dreams that are bigger than his father’s architecture firm.
And I love that.
“So, any chance I could stay with you for a bit?” Ben now asks, dropping the graduation conversation. “Turns out I kinda got kicked out of my place.”
He shrugs sheepishly and all I can do is nod in response.