Pool Hunny // Benny Rodriguez

19.

Benny. 

I opened the door to see Caroline standing there again, "Emmy's not here." 

She nodded breezing past me, "I know. I'm here for Lola." 

I frowned, "why?" What the hell was my sister doing hanging out with Caroline Baker? it was bad enough that she had latched onto Emmy already, did she really need Lola too? Who would be next my mother?

"I'm taking Caroline thrift shopping." Lola explained as she pulled on her shoes. 

"You have tons of money why do you even need to thrift shop?" I asked confused. 

They rolled their eyes in unison as if I just didn't get it, "that is really not the point." Caroline told me shaking her head. "Bye!" 

With that they left arms liked chatting ahppily as if they hadn't just met properly for the first time two days ago. Girls were really unbelievable. 

Caroline. 

Lola took me to all of her usual spots, I foudn loads of cool things. At first I had been a little sceptical because I didn't exactly like the idea of wearing the clothes where I didn't know who the previous owner was and what their hygine habits were but Lola reminded me I could always wash them. 

After that I invited her to lunch as a thank you, we sat down in the diner and ordered our burgers and some fries, "so Emmy told me you had a really shit date the other week." Lola started as she picking up her strawberry milkshake. Apparently she was telling everyone. But I guess Lola was family and she was cool so I didn't really mind. 

I scowled, "it was awful to say the least, the guy was a total dickhead and he was just using me the whole time to make our friend jealous." 

"God, he sounds like a real idiot." She muttered, "I wish I could tell you it gets better with age but the guys in my grade are just as moronic." 

I snorted, "lucky me." I replied direly. "So I take it you don't have a boyfriend." 

She shook her head, "no, but I don't really want one either, I can put that off until college, maybe even after. I just want to have fun for now and kind of do what I want with whoever I want." 

"That sounds fair, now is kind of the time to experiment and have fun." I agreed. "Anyone you have your sights set on in a casual way." 

She grinned, "oh yeah. There's this really hot guy in my cousin's frat, my cousin invites me to their parties and that's where I see him. He's a total womanizer which is not so great but I'm not looking for more than a night anyways so what do I care?" 

Benny was so lucky to have such a cool older sister, all of the fun genes must have been given to her though and he was stuck with whatever was left. The worst part was as much as he annoyed me he'd been stuck in my head the last couple of weeks. That stupid three second thing in spring  break had completely invaded my thoughts and not just that but when he'd grabbed me and lifted me up in bikini baseball too. It was so unfair that he was messing with my brain as well as my real life. Especially because I knew I wasn't doing either to him. 

Yes I could be a nuisance or inconvinience at times but in the long run his relationship to me had brought him a steady income thanks to the tutoring and a baseball scholarship application spot because if it hadn't been for me he never would have met my father and likely never been put forwards. And I knew for sure I wasn't in his head like he was in mine because all he ever thought about was baseball. 

"Caroline?" Lola asked spanning her fingers to wake me back up. 

I jerked out of my train of thought, "oh right sorry, I just zoned out for a second what were you saying?" 

"Nothing important, I was honestly just making up outrageous things to see if you were still listening which you obviously weren't because you weren't every surprised. 

"It's just, there's thig guy, who... well we don't really get along. At all, but recently he's just totally invaded my brain. Everytime I think he just pops up." I started twisting my hair around my finger, "it's really annoying actually." 

Lola laughed, "it seems like you have a crush on whoever this guy is."

I shook my head, "no, it can't be. That would jus be too awful." 

She shrugged grinning evily at me, "I don't know Caroline. Sounds a lot like a crush to me."

After lunch Lola went to go meet with her other friends and I got in my jeep and started to drive home. I couldn't have a crush on Benny I just couldn't. That would be... well it would just be cruel. Plus it was impossible to have a crush on someone you ahted right? That was just not how these types of things worked. 

But it all added up, I couldn't stop thinking about him, even if i didn't like it. We were together almost all the time, I had preferred his touch to Benedict's - although I'm starting to think I would have preffered anyone's over his - it made sense. Lola was right. I slammed my foot on the breaks as it dawned on me properly. 

The cars on the road behind me honked loudly snapping me out of it, I had completely forgotten I was driving on a busy road. I held my hand up to my mirror as an apology before stepping on the gas. I needed to talk to Ashlyn now.

I parked my car at her house before frantically ringing on the doorbell, "Caroline? What's wrong?"

I walked inside and into her kitchen before grabbing the ingredients we used to make our strawberry milkshakes, I also picked up the box of brownies they usually kept lying around. She raised her eyebrows, "that bad?" Brownies and milkshakes were usually only used in terminal cases. 

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe it Ash." I replied horrified, "I think-." I shuddered at the thought. "Oh god. Ash I think I might have a crush on Benny Rodriguez." I forced out. 

She stared at me shocked the glass that had previosly been in her hand smashing to the floot, "WHAT?"