The Baker

Chapter 46

"Oh dear," Ben muttered to himself, as he read the newspaper. "It seems we have made the headline." Ben flipped around the newspaper to show Cassie the blown up picture of them making out in the middle of the sidewalk, in front of the bakery. The headline read: Look out, ladies! Cumberbatch is getting Cumberhitched!

"Well, they could at least come up with a better headline," Cassie told him, then turned back around to finish up making her homemade pancakes. "Really?" Ben asked. "You're not upset that a picture of us practically having sex in public is probably plastered on every newsstand and internet source out there? Not to mention, they did imply we are getting married." 

Cassie turned off the stove and dished up their plates, before saying, "I don't care anymore. Honestly, they're a bunch of sleezeballs who have no idea what their talking about. We have our lives and that's all I need." She set his plate down in front of him at the table, but then was suddenly pulled into his lap. 

He stared adoringly into her eyes and said, "Please move in with me." She patted his chest and said, "Not this again." He sighed and let her get up. "I just...I don't understand," he told her. "It's going to be a year four weeks from tomorrow. What doubts do you have?" 

He was really interested in her question. If she won't move in with him...then how does he expect to propose to her? He has the ring, it's buried in his underwear drawer, but his absolute worst fear in all this is her saying no to his proposal. It would shatter his heart. He was barely able to contain himself when she rejected moving in. 

"Because...I don't know, Ben," she sighed in annoyance. "Can we talk about this later?" She sat down across from him. "No," he said, leaning forward. "I want to know why my girlfriend doesn't want to share a home with me. I can understand when I asked you before, that was clearly too soon, but it's almost been a year, Cass. It doesn't feel like home if you're not here or I'm not at your place. I can't sleep without you in my arms. I just think it would be easier for us." 

Cassie didn't say anything, just picked at her pancakes. Again, Ben sighed. "You don't have to move in here," he gently added. "We can live at your place. I'll buy us a new place somewhere else, we can live in a shack, I don't bloody care. As long as I am with the woman I love, every single night and every single morning that I wake up and knowing that she doesn't have to take a twenty minute drive to pick up clothes to where the next day." 

He took her hands in his and kissed each of them. He waited for her to say something. What he got was not what he expected. 

"Your kitchen is too small," she told him. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her curiously. "Sorry?" He asked. "My...my kitchen? Is too small?" She nodded. He glanced up and looked around. No, it wasn't the biggest kitchen around. The majority of the place was the living room and bedrooms. The kitchen being too small has never crossed his mind. 

"Um...so, that's your reason? Even when I first asked?" She shook her head. "Not necessarily," she told him. "I only recently found this out." This was very interesting to him. "And when was that?" He asked. She thought for a moment and said, "When I couldn't fit everything I needed to make the pancake batter on the counter." 

Ben just kind of stared at her for a moment. He was trying to read her, but nothing came to mind. "So...if I get us a bigger kitchen...you'll move in?" She shook her head. He threw his head down and took his hands out of hers. 

"I'm just saying," she told him, "that I do like to bake at home, as you know, and I wouldn't know where to put all my essentials." Ben's head shot up. Cassie was smiling at him. "I'll throw away every single useless piece of shit on that counter for you to fit whatever the hell you like on there."