Lunch Dates

5

Natalie woke up slightly later than usual the next day and stretched as she looked at the new room, a small smile falling on her face. She got up and got changed into a pair of jeans and a hoodie as her and Ben would only be driving up to her families place. She had told him to pack a nice evening outfit as her parents had told her that her local town was hosting a small dance the weekend they were coming. She grabbed her bags and made sure that she had everything before loading her bags into the car and getting into the drivers seat. She put on some of her favourite songs as she drove towards city hall where Ben had told her he would be waiting outside for her. She pulled up and there he was with his suitcase in one hand and a jacket slung over his other arm. She beeped her horn which caused him to jump but made him notice that she was there. He walked over and put his suitcase in the back of the car before he moved to sit in the passenger seat. He put on his seatbelt before she started driving away from the building and turned slightly towards him.
"Okay it's a four hour drive, so you have free choice of music or games but please do not read me any of your Star Trek fan fiction, I know you write it Benjamin"
"I won't, mainly cause it's not finished but before I do that, what do I need to know about your family?" He asks the girl.
"Right, so there's my Mom, Lindsay and my dad Ramone" she starts and Ben laughs.
"I'm serious, that's his name" she deadpans and he coughs trying to hide his amusement which makes the girl smile.
"Then I have two siblings, an older brother called Michael and a younger sister called Hayley and fair warning, she will try to flirt with you because you're older and attractive"
"Did you just call me attractive?" He teases.
"That's besides the point, just stick to my side and she'll give up eventually" She tells him and he nods before he reaches forward to pick out a CD for them to listen to.
"Omg you have a whole CD of just Disney princess movie music" he laughs and she rolls her eyes.
"Yes Benjamin I do so either listen to it or pick another cd" she snaps playfully.
He laughs lightly before he chooses a CD that has her favourite songs from the last ten years which immediately starts playing some Taylor Swift which was no surprise to either of them and she started to sing along quietly and much to her surprised so did he. The continued to drive and after an hour were beginning to play a game of iSpy which she learn Ben was horrific after playing and couldn't guess a single thing which made her sigh.
Two hours later they were still sat in the car sharing a bag of sweets that Ben and had ended up arguing over who deserves the last one in the bag. After a moment of silence, he piped up from next to her.
"Hey can I ask you something?"
"Sure" she mumbles as she begins to recognise the last stretch of the road ahead of them.
"So I saw something in your house yesterday and correct me if I'm wrong, but it looked like you had unwritten letters to someone" he says cautiously which causes Natalie to freeze.
He knew, he had seen them at the top of a box she had shoved them into that had clearly been opened. She bit her lip and tried to work out a way to respond.
"Huh, maybe they're my sisters, she sometimes leaves stuff at mine" she mumbles.
Ben was shocked at her response, he didn't think Nat had ever lied to him and yet here she was clearly trying to cover stuff up and that worried him but he decided not to pry, if she wasn't telling him, it probably meant she felt safer keeping it that way.

•••

An hour later, the pair arrived at the ranch house where Natalie stayed and Ben was shocked at how big the house was. They got out of the car and her parents came to the porch where he watched her run up to them and throw her arms around them both in an embrace. After a minute she turned around and walked back to where Ben was stood, taking his hand and leading him over to her parents.
"Mom, dad, this is Benjamin Wyatt" she introduces him and he smiles as he starts to shake their hand out.
"Benjamin, so good to finally meet you, Ally here never stops talking about you" her father laughs which causes Ben to look at her briefly.
"It's good to meet you too, you can call me Ben and I hope it's all good things"
"Very good things" her mom laughs which causes Natalie to glare at her briefly.
"Well we're going to get out stuff and then I'll take Benny here to his room" she says as they retreat back to the car and her parents make their way back inside.
"So your parents call you Ally" he says and she nods.
"Yeah they thought it was a cute nickname from the ending of Natalie, I don't let anyone but them call me that and I'll be keeping it that way okay?"
"Okay, also I thought I was staying with you in your room" he says confused.
"Yeah you were but unless you want my parents relentlessly teasing us for the next two days, you're staying in the next room along" she says as she closes the trunk and they head into the house where she introduces him to her brother and sister who immediately tries to flirt with Ben. Luckily, Natalie grabs his hand and leads him upstairs and to the room he'll be staying in. She then goes to her room and starts unpacking things when her mom walks in to see her.
"So that's the boy you like?" She teases and Nat tells her to lower her voice.
"Yeah it is"
"You made the right choice with him, he seems sweet and he's cute too"
"Well if you're going to fall for anyone, you'd rather it be with a best friend than a complete stranger" she sighs and her mom nods.
"Well dinner will be ready in half an hour so don't take too long" she tells her and she nods as her mom leaves the room and she puts a few things away before getting Ben and taking him down the stairs to the dining room where they sat and ate together happily. As he made conversation with her parents and brother, Natalie couldn't help but admire him, she could tell that her family already loved him and that made her feel so happy. They had taken him in as if he was the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with and part of her really hoped that dream would come true.