Somebody For Me

Given a Chance

Miranda and Terri sat in their room studying for finals. But Miranda found that she couldn't quite concentrate. "I think I'm gonna go to the library," she told her roommate whose ears were plugged. Tapping her shoulder, Terri jumped, tugging her headphones off. "Hey, I'm off to the library."

"Oh. Okay."

"If..."

"I will tell lover boy where you are."

Finding her favorite hideaway in the stacks of the library available, she sat down in the beat-up, comfortable chair. Two hours later, her stomach was rumbling. Getting her stuff together, she heard footsteps and paused. Hardly anyone ever came this far back into the large building. "Miranda," someone whispered.

"Yes," she whispered back. Ben rounded the shelf and they smiled at each other. "How'd you know I was here?"

"I know my lady." Her smile got bigger. She loved that he did know her. "Plus, I saw Terri."

The smile from her lips faded, but her eyes continued to shine even as she rolled them. "What do you want, Benjamin Warren?"

"I have to talk to you."

Not even knowing what it was, her heart started pounding in her chest. She responded by pushing her glasses up on her face. He reached for her hand and helped her up. "What are..." Ben sat down and pulled her into his lap. She adjusted her body as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Miranda put her hand on his face moving in for a kiss.

"Hey," he said accepting the kiss. His hand went to her neck, touching it tenderly but firmly.

"You interrupted my studying to kiss me?"

Nodding, he rubbed his nose against her cheek. "You were about to leave anyway."

"Maybe, maybe not." She laughed placing her lips on his neck. "Wait... what did you have to tell me?"

"Oh... you were kissing me so good I almost forgot." They laughed loudly before getting shushed by someone in the distance. "So, look, um, I went to see Professor Webber before finals week." She watched his tongue move across his lips and mimicked it. "Just to say thanks and 'have a great summer' and all that. We got to talking about your internship. Before I knew it, I was asking him about T's spot."

Miranda's brow furrowed. "What about it?"

"I just wanted to know if it had been filled," Ben shrugged, "and he said that he'd look into it and let me know." Her mouth dropped open not believing what she was hearing. "Being without you will suck. So, I figured if it was available, we could be together, you know. And I've been dreading staying home ever since... my grandmother..." Her heart quaked. Every time she remembered that Grandma Dorothy was gone, she felt like crying. She frowned. "Un... unless... I sh-shouldn't have done that. I was going to ask you first, but it kind of slipped my mind." He watched her face. "My bad."

"Oh, no, don't apologize, baby," she told him. "It... you want to come to New York... with me?"

He nodded. "I mean, yeah. Not to mention the fact that it would also look good on my resume, but... of course, babe, I want to be with you—"

"That would be perfect!" She whisper-shouted. A smile spread across her face. The fact that he wanted to upend his entire summer to be with her was incredible to say the least. But a twinge of pain clipped her stomach and Miranda's face fell. It all sounded good, but this internship was highly coveted—that spot was gone. Tears pricked her eyes. "Well, whether you do or don't, we'll still be couple and that's all that matters."

He nodded and they were quiet for a long time, holding onto each other. Hunger rose in her belly and it rumbled. Ben must have heard or felt it because he asked: "Hungry?"