Lunch Dates

2

-2.5 months later-

The city hall building had been quiet for the past month but Natalie had found comfort in her days that she got to spend with Ben and found herself almost counting down the seconds until she got off for lunch so she could sit upstairs with him and discuss their days.
Both of them had quickly found themselves to be friends and enjoyed the time they had together, even finding themselves to be coming early to lunch and making sure that they were with each other until the very last second of their time off.
It felt lonely on most days considering Nat was the only person who was in her department. She spent most of her days wheeling around on her chair and listening to music out loud to try and drown out her boredom. She started clearing stuff out of the way so that she had an open space to wheel around in. She took the chair and started to run and spin forwards in the chair as she giggled happily. She then started to roll forward again when she looked up and saw Ben stood there and this caused her to lose her balance before she slipped off of the chair which made her groan out in pain.
Ben quickly put his lunch down on the counter and moved round, pushing the chair to the side before he put his hands out so he can pull Natalie up onto her feet.
"You okay?" He asks and she nods as she holds her head in her hands.
"Okay let's take a seat, or at least let me help you upstairs"
"Hey buddy, if you want to carry me up there then on you go" she laughs.
He then grabs her hand and leads her over to some seats.
"We'll go up in a minute"
Natalie nods as she looks at Ben who has a smile on his face.
"So uh, what were you doing when I got here?"
"The office is boring so sometimes I just wheel about and listen to music, Taylor swift specifically" She tells him and he smiles wider.
"I wish I'd known earlier, I could I come in more often"
"It's okay, our lunch dates are special yknow, come on, let's get upstairs" Natalie says as she stands up and Ben does too.
Still being a bit spaced, Ben took both of their lunches and grabbed Natalies hand so he could make sure she got upstairs alright which she appreciated greatly.
The two made the way to their bench and took out their lunch as they ate.
"So I had another dream about us last night" Ben says which causes the girl to perk up and lean towards him in anticipation.
"What happened in this one"
"Well it was weird, I technically had two of them"
Natalie moves to lean on the back of the bench as she looks at him with wonder in her eyes.
"So in both of them I had a habit of calling you Addie which was weird but basically the first one was us sat on that tree branch at your family home and then the second was us sat on a ferris wheel all cosied up, it didn't make sense but I found it oddly comforting" he finishes.
"Maybe just cause we've been getting closer, your brain just has had me in the back of it recently"
"Yeah I suppose"
"Do you always have chicken and lettuce sandwiches?" He asks the girl and she nods as she lets out a giggle.
"Yes Benjamin, yes I do"
The pair share a smile before they dig in.
Over the past month they had gone from casual talk and discussions about work to more personal things and whilst each other found the other charming and sweet and attractive, they had both instinctively decided that there was nothing more than their friendship and if there were to be any romantic feelings, it was most likely because they had been stranded there together and had Ben not been early for lunch that one day, none of this would've happened.
"I'm getting an answer about that house tomorrow" Natalie tells him and he turns to her with a smile on his face.
"That's great! I've actually got a date with the real estate after work tomorrow" he says which causes Natalies heart to do a tight squeeze which confused her.
"That's great Benny, I'm happy for you" she said but she still felt like she was lying for some reason.
He smiled at her but Ben felt it too, the pain behind their smiles, he didn't really want to go on this date but when he realised he shouldn't engage in any romantic relationship with Nat, he decided to move on respectfully.
"I'll let you know tomorrow how I got on and I look forward to hearing about your date, I'm sure she'll love you, she'd be an idiot not to" Natalie compliments and Ben nods with a happy look on his face.
He truly hoped that one day she would meet the most amazing person who would treat her the exact way she deserved to be treated and although it would hurt, he would be so happy for her.
"It's funny you talking about that tree though, I'm going on a trip this weekend back to the house if you wanted to come with, obviously you don't have to but the offer-"
"Yes, I would really like to go" Ben rushes, cutting her off but bringing a grin to her face.
"Great well, we'd be leaving on Friday around midday so bring enough stuff for three days" She tells him and he nods as the pair get up and start heading back to the department.
"Now if you need me, call me okay, I don't want you getting hurt and having no one to help you, and just incase, I'll come pick you up at the end of the day okay?"
"Yes Benjamin, that would be grand"
"You're never gonna call me Ben are you?" He laughs.
"Maybe, maybe not, time will only tell Benny Boo" she cringes immediately after she says it but Ben only smiles before bringing her into a hug which had gone from being rare to regular with the pair.
He then walked out sending her a wave and Natalie sighed. She didn't know why she felt so weird about Ben going on this date. Maybe it was because of her past thoughts of him or the way she wanted to protect him. Either way, she would be there to pick up the pieces or to support him with loving intents.