Necessary Friendship

Mine

Miranda was being discharged from the hospital in a few hours so Ben took her keys and went to her apartment to grab clothes and all the things she needed to have. After he packed everything up he drove to his apartment and made the guest room comfortable for Miranda. While he was in the middle of tidying things up and making it nice for Miranda he heard a knock on his door. When he opened the door Cynthia stood there with a hopeful and sad expression on her face.

"Hey," she spoke and he gave her the same reply.

"I haven't heard from you since the hospital a couple of days ago. Can we talk?" she asked.

Ben stepped out of the way and Cynthia walked in holding her purse in front of her.
Ben closed the door and waited for her to start talking.

"I get that you were upset and you felt guilty to some degree for what happened to Miranda. And I know in that moment emotions were high but we can't be blamed for this happening to her. I will admit that I had an agenda and it was to have sex but I genuinely like and value you for the amazing man that you are. And I don't want this to break up the relationship that I want to build with you," Cynthia said as she held his hand and inched her face close to his.

"You're right, my emotions were high and I shouldn't have tried to place blame. It was just knowing that if she would've been with us it wouldn't have happened. And I don't want this to break us up either before we even start."

"Maybe we can finish what we started that night," Cynthia said kissing his lips softly.

Ben kissed her back for a moment and her hand began to roam his body. "Mmmm we can't. I have to go pick Miranda up from the hospital. She will be staying here until she can find a new place. It won't be good for her mental health to stay in that apartment and relive that night everyday," Ben explained.

Cynthia backed away for a moment and stared as if she was processing what she'd just heard. "So how long will she be staying," she asked sounding polite.

"As long as she needs to, she is my best friend so I'm not giving her a date to leave," Ben said firmly.

"Well do you want me to come with you to get her?" Cynthia asked sounding pouty.

Ben turned around and looked at her before walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We will get the chance to have sex. And maybe when it happens it can be more romantic," Ben said comforting her.

Cynthia smiled slightly, "I'm sorry if I seem overbearing I just really like you and I'm very sexual. So finding a man that I really like, combined with my sexual desires makes for....this," Cynthia explained.

"It's okay, it will be worth it when it happens," Ben replied.

Miranda sat on the edge of her hospital bed waiting for Ben. She just stared blankly at the lower part of the wall in front of her. Feelings were hard to handle so she shut them out. Ben appeared in the doorway of the room and watched Miranda. She could feel him there but even though she didn't want to feel anything.

"Miranda.... Hey! You ready to go home? Ben asked but didn't receive a response.

Ben held Miranda's hand as they walked down the hallway to his apartment. As they did Miranda was having flashbacks of when she was walking to her own apartment. She squeezed Ben's hand and he noticed the dazed but frightened look on her face. Cynthia walked behind them and watched how he held her hand. When they made it to his apartment Ben opened the door let Miranda and Cynthia walk in first.

Miranda stood in the middle of the living room and Cynthia softly touched her shoulder. "Ben fixed the guest room for you. Maybe you should shower to relax," Cynthia suggested and Miranda nodded her head.