Chapter 7 #2
Giving her a sniff, Ben replied, “You smell pretty fabulous to me.” At that, Ella rolled her eyes at him. Nodding as he lowered her to the ground, Ben shrugged. “Okay, but just know you’re killing me here. Hurry up! Do what you gotta do. You got two minutes and back out here. Got it?”
Giving him a thumbs-up, Ella carried her bag into the bathroom. When she reemerged a short time later, she once again stood unsure at the foot of the bed, wearing the sheer black nightie she had borrowed.
While Ella was in the other room, Ben had changed into sweats and a T-shirt.
His back was to her, so he did not see her at first. He was flipping through channels looking for a movie for them as he asked, “Another rom-com or something…?” The question died on his lips because looking over his shoulder, words failed him.
Ella was a vision. Two weeks ago, he would have said pink was his new favorite color.
Tonight, it was black. Lifting his hand, which was balled into a fist, to his mouth and biting it, Ben let out a low growl.
Closing his eyes as if to get his bearing, he said in a gruff voice, “Baby girl, the rules are the same. You are the boss. You set the pace, but I got to tell you, that little black thing is not playing fair. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think you need to put some clothes on. ”
Ella could not help but laugh at Ben’s pained expression. Smiling, she said, “No one is getting dressed. I have thought about it. I want to let this,” she gestured hand back and forth between them, “develop.’”
Without moving or even blinking, Ben asked, “Develop? What do you mean by ‘develop?”
“You know, develop. Let’s just let things happen naturally. We will start with kissing and let things progress.”
Trying to process what Ella was saying, Ben squinted his eyes and asked, “And if they progress to say a certain point of no return, will you be okay with that?”
Ella did not even need to think about it. This was Ben. The fact that he had even asked the question told her all she needed to know. Nodding yes, she said, “I have thought a lot about it. I trust you. I trust us.”
That was all Ben needed to hear. Moving faster than he ever had, Ben scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.
Over the next hour, Ben took his time, kissing and arousing Ella to a fever pitch.
He knew from their previous conversations that Ella was not on birth control.
He had found it hilarious that just as things started to get intense, she had sat up in the bed and said she had left the condoms in the bathroom.
She started to get up to get them. Ben roared with laughter, assuring her that while he appreciated the gesture, he had plenty of his own. Just in case.
Several hours later, Ben gathered Ella in his arms and rolled her over, snuggling her closer to his body, which was covered in sweat.
Burying his face in all her glorious hair, he whispered, “I know this is too soon, and you don’t have to say it back.
But I got to tell you something. I can’t keep it in anymore.
I love you. I mean I really love you. I have never said that to anyone before. ”
Ella did not even have to think about it. Taking his face in her hands, she replied, “I love you too.”
They lay intertwined for several minutes, enjoying the silence that comes from being wrapped in the arms of the one you love and not needing to say or do anything but enjoy each other.
Suddenly, Ben bolted upright and said, “Oh my goodness. I totally forgot to ask you. How did your presentation go?”
“It went great. I am all done! Can you believe it? I am finished. I am actually finished. I did it!”
“So that is it. You are ready to graduate?” asked Ben.
Nodding, Ella added, “I still have to come back and present my group project in November, but otherwise, yes, I am done. Graduation is the second week of December. I haven’t decided if I am going to walk or not.
It is a Saturday. I know my whole family will want to come.
They would have to close the diner, and I doubt my folks can afford to lose a Saturday’s worth of business. ”
“Of course you are going to walk. What are you even talking about?” replied Ben.
I am sure one Saturday wouldn’t make that big of a difference.
Your parents have to be so proud of you.
I know I am.” Then Ben let out a whoop, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Hey world!! Ella Santiago is a college grad! Look out, Michigan! Here she comes!”
Shushing him, Ella said, “Hush! You are too loud. The people next door are going to hear you. They will call the front desk on us.”
Laughing, Ben added, “I am so proud of you. You are amazing. I bet your project was the best.”
“Best? Worst? I don’t care. It is done, and I am so happy,” replied Ella snuggling into Ben.
“I am happy that you’re happy. And I am serious about walking. You really need to do it.”
Ella shrugged. Walking at graduation was not something she wanted to think about that moment. She had too many crazy emotions going through her to think about something that probably would never happen. Instead, she fell asleep, safe and secure in Ben’s arms.
The next morning, they slept in until almost 10:00.
Ella woke to see Ben lying next to her, watching her sleep.
“Good morning,” she said as she stretched and turned away from him to keep her morning breath from ruining the moment.
Morning breath was not something she had learned how to deal with yet.
Giving Ella a quick peck on the lips, Ben bounced out of bed. “Okay, my beautiful girl, go take a quick shower and get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”
Sitting up in the bed with the sheet held against her, Ella asked, “What kind of surprise?”
“We are going to play tourist today. We are going to Hearst Castle,” replied Ben. He loved seeing how excited his plans were making her.
Ella’s eyes lit up. She had lived in California her whole life and had been coming here for three years, but she had never been to Hearst Castle. “Really?” she asked.
“Yes, so hurry up and get dressed. I have a full day planned,” ordered Ben as he wrapped Ella in his arms and rained kisses up and down her neck.
“I will just as soon as you let me go,” Ella replied as a giggle slipped out. It tickled where he was kissing her.
“Okay,” replied Ben, slowly releasing her. “I could spend all day in that bed just kissing every inch of you.”
Racing off to the bathroom, Ella said in a sing-song voice, “I am so excited! I am going to Hearst Castle.”
It was a short drive to San Simeon. On the way, Ben rattled off all kinds of interesting facts about William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon who had built the beautiful home for his movie star girlfriend, Marion Davies.
When Ella asked Ben how he knew so much about it, he said that he spent some time researching it all to help him plan the day.
To say Ella was impressed would be an understatement.
Ben had reserved tickets to tour the house, gardens, and guest houses.
Each tour took a little over an hour. They spent the entire day exploring the massive house and property.
Ella was blown away by the magnificent Assembly Room, where the Hollywood elites would meet back in the 1920s, next to the gorgeous fireplace mantle.
She could easily imagine herself at one of those movie star parties.
Ben liked the main living room too, but he also loved the pool area.
After their final tour of the day, they took a walk around the grounds, hand in hand, soaking in the sheer magnificence and vastness of the surroundings and the incredible view of the valley below.
To finish off their perfect day, Ben treated Ella to dinner at the Sea Chest. A buddy of his had told him that if he was ever in the area he had to try it. They had oysters on the half shell for appetizers. For the main course, Ben got the catch of the day while Ella had pasta with shrimp.
By the time they were done eating, Ella could barely keep her eyes open. Trying to hide a huge yawn that threatened to escape, she placed a hand in front of her mouth.
“Am I boring you?” asked Ben.
Smiling sweetly up at him, Ella replied, “Of course not. This has been a fabulous day. I did not get a lot of sleep last night.”
“Oh, I think you have that backward. I believe it was my girlfriend who wore a black nighty thing and stole all my sleep.”
Laughing, Ella said, “Well, maybe that is true.” She was quiet for a moment, and then she asked, “Did you mean what you just said?”
“About the black thing? Hell yes!” laughed Ben.
“Not that. I know you meant that. The other part. The part about me being your girlfriend. Is that how you see me?”
“Well, yeah, I did tell you, I loved you. Since you are the only person I have ever said that to, that makes you my girlfriend.
“Yes, you did tell me that. Didn’t you?”
“I certainly did. Last night. This morning. And again as we walked through the gardens. And if I remember correctly, you returned the sentiment.”
Nodding, Ella agreed, “Yes, I did.”
“Well, okay then. When a guy and girl tell each other they love each other, that usually means they are together, together, like boyfriend and girlfriend. So, unless you have some objection to the term, you are now officially my girlfriend.”
Smiling a smile she was sure could be seen from space, Ella replied, “I have no objections. I would love to be your girlfriend. However, you have to remember that I have never done any of this. It is all new to me. I don’t really know what to expect.
What are the parameters?” Ella’s reasonable mind was kicking in, the one she used to make sure she fully understood the nuances of every situation and how best to maneuver them.
“Parameters? Hmm, let me think.” replied Ben. “First, it means that we only date each other.”
“Done,” replied Ella. Given he was the only person she had ever dated, that was an easy box to check.
Shooting Ella a look that said, “Duh,” Ben continued, “Also it means we continue to make time to be together, we trust each other, and we make time to talk every day. Things like that.”
“That sounds like us already. I guess I have been your girlfriend for a while now.”
“Yes,” replied Ben, “I guess you have. There has not been anyone else for me since the moment you fell into my arms that day at the diner. But now we are making it official. Of course, you will need to update all of your social media to let the world know you are off the market.”
“You know that I don’t do social media,” panned Ella.
“Oh, yes, how could I forget, you are the only girl I have ever known who did not do social media. Of course, you are also the only one who graduated college by nineteen, so why am I surprised. You are so amazing that if you were on one of those sites, every male between eighteen and eighty would be trying to fight me for you. So I am very glad you are not.”
“Really, it sounds a little like you are making fun of me,” replied Ella.
Leaning over and putting his arm around Ella to draw her in close, Ben said, “No, my sweet girl. I would never make fun of you. You are absolutely amazing, and I treasure every minute with you. I am actually thrilled you are not always looking at your phone or recording something to post every two seconds. When we are together, I like that we are totally dialed into each other—like we are the only two people on the planet.”
“We are, aren’t we?” replied Ella.
Ben gave a bark of laughter at her words. “Beautiful, brilliant, and funny. How did I get so lucky?”
“Sometimes, I wish we were the only two people. It would be so much simpler.” Ella could not stop herself from thinking about what their world would be like once they began mixing the rest of their lives into their relationship.
No matter how many times she imagined introducing Ben to her parents, she could not see it going well.
He was too different from the type of boy her parents would expect her to bring home.
First, he was not Catholic or from California.
Worse, he was from Arkansas. Her parents had high school educations, yet they would instantly be prejudiced against him and consider him less intelligent because of outdated stereotypes about people from the South.
They would totally overlook how brilliant and talented he was, never mind that his mom has a master’s degree in art and had taught at the college level or that his dad is a lawyer and former United States Senator. They would still look down on him.
Not to mention how his parents might view the situation.
Here she was a Catholic girl from California who was obsessed with soil and hydrology.
She had never been to a country club and knew only what Ben had taught her about politics.
Her world would be as foreign to them as Ben’s was to hers.
At that moment though, Ella did not bring any of that up.
She just basked in the warmth of Ben’s love and pretended they would be able to stay in this bubble they had created for themselves forever.