Damn Those Eyes: b.t.c

CHAPTER 4

Annalise's POV

I was packing up my stuff, when Ben came up to me.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go get something besides a protein bar." Ben asked.

"Um..yeah. Where should we go?" I asked slinging my bag around my shoulder.

"There is a cute café down the block." Ben said holding the door for me as we walked out. "They have breakfast and lunch food."

"That sounds great. Should we walk?" I asked. Realizing we were just standing there, looking at the street.

"Oh. Yeah." Ben said, coming back to his senses.

Ben's POV

Shit. Why did I just stand there?! Ugh you annoy me Ben.

When we got to the cafe, we ordered and sat down.

"So what are you most excited to do during the tour?" Annalise asked, fiddling with her drink straw.

"I'm most excited to see new places and make new friends." I said, looking down at our food that just arrived. "What are you most excited about?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"I'm most excited to do what I love." She said, starting to eat her food.

We finished our food, and we went to Central Park.

Annalise's POV

"It's so beautiful here!" I said happily, taking in my surroundings.

"I know." Ben said, sitting down on a bench.

The wind started to pick up, and I realized that I didn't bring a sweatshirt. I started to enter goosebumps, and Ben noticed.

"Do you want my sweatshirt? You're cold." He said, sounding concerned.

"If you're willing to lend it to me." I said, knowing that I couldn't hide my goosebumps.

"Here." Ben said, handing me his sweatshirt.

As soon as I put it on, I felt warmer. It smelled like him. It was such a wonderful smell, it smelled like new books. But it also smelled like coffee. Exactly my aesthetic. I loved the way he fixed his hair when he got nervous, the way his blue eyes sparkled all the time. Damn those eyes. They were so beautiful, I never wanted to take my own eyes off of them. But I had to. I didn't want him to think I was a creep.

"So tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Do you have siblings?" He asked, ending the loud silence.

"I am from Virginia." I said, trying to get him speak.

"Me too! That's so weird. Where in Virginia?" He asked excitedly.

"Williamsburg." I said simply.

"Oh I love it there. I am from Lorton, Virginia. Well technically I am from Eden, North Carolina, but I have mainly lived in Lorton and New York, so I just say I'm from Lorton." Ben said with a chuckle.

"That's cool." I said. "And to answer your other question, I don't have siblings. My mom and I live alone." I said plainly.

"What happened to your father?" Ben asked.

I inhaled sharply.

"Oh. I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me." Ben said quietly.

"No it's fine." I said. "My father died in a car crash when I was eight. He was dead before the police arrived. I miss him a lot." I said quietly, letting a few tears slide down my face.

Ben hugged me immediately and I cried more as I wrapped my arms around him. When he let go a few minutes later, I saw his tear stained face looking at me.

"I'm so sorry." He said.

"It's ok, it was seven years ago." I said wiping my face.

"No it's not okay." He said sadly. "Where is he buried?"

"He was buried at a graveyard near my house back home." I said, looking confused.

"When we go to Virginia, we will pay a visit to him." He said.

"Okay." I managed to say before hugging him again.

A/N: I know I'm really not the best at writing longer chapters. But I will write what feels real to me rather than things I can write to lengthen a chapter. (I hope you understand that because idk how to explain it.😭) I'm really excited to write more about this love story so I will probably be writing as many chapters as I can fit into my day. That might be like two.💙