Vegas, Baby!

5: The Broken Hearts Club.

As if the universe had wanted me to be stuck with Benito, we were in the middle of traffic, somewhere next to the soccer stadium.

"I'm hungry." he mumbled, looking out of the window. I had eaten my lasagna but that had been at least two hours ago now, so I nodded and showed him that I was too.

"You wanna grab something?" he asked. I looked at the clock underneath my steering wheel. It was four o'clock and everyone was trying to get back into the city which had caused this massive traffic. I thought about it for a second, then I started indicating to the right. The next exit wasn't far away and I knew a Diner not too far from the highway. Benito started smiling but tried to bite it down. I drove to the small Diner and parked the car next to the entrance. Nervously, he looked around as if he was scared people could see him.

"Relax, nobody knows who you are here." I said, grabbing my bag from the backseat.

"Really?" he questioned surprised. His face lit up as he was unbuckling his seatbelt. When he got out of the car, he looked around, then he followed me towards the entrance of the Diner.

The burger I was eating, tasted like heaven. Benito watched me in amusement.

"Is that kinda traffic normal here?" he asked me, reaching for his soda. I grabbed one of the napkins, still chewing on my food. Before I said anything, I cleaned my mouth and fingers.

"Yeah, especially between four and five because that's when most people finish their day at work." I told him, after I had swallowed my burger. Benito nodded and looked out of the window.

"When did you move here?" he wanted to know. I was a little confused as to why he was asking me so many questions but it was better than sitting there in awkward silence.

"Right after college. I got hired and moved here." I responded, shrugging.

"So you've been living here for like seven years?" he questioned. I nodded and continued eating. Benito eyed me, sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"I'm guessing you met your ex here then." he mumbled. I looked at him; he was chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Yeah, his older brother was my boss back then. He introduced us." I gave back, not wanting to think about David.

"How long were you together?" Benito asked, studying my face.

"Seven years." I quickly said, when I had swallowed down another bite of my burger. I glanced at Benito; he looked like he was trying to figure out how long I had been alone then.

"So, you just recently broke up." he concluded, sitting back up.

"Two months ago." with that I shoved the last bite of food into my mouth.

"What happened? You don't throw away seven years like it's nothing." First, my response was a scoff, then I looked at him again. I could tell that he was curious and I thought maybe talking to someone who didn't know David could help me.

"I thought I was gonna marry him but no, I caught him with a co-worker." I replied, then I grabbed my Sprite and took a sip. His facial expression changed. He was feeling sorry for me like everyone else I had told this.

"I'm sorry to hear that." he said softly. I stayed silent after this. I knew that if I was gonna continue talking I would start crying again. After a few seconds of me sipping on my Sprite and him studying my face, I cleared my throat.

"I told you about my ex, now it's your turn." I said, leaning onto the table. Benito tried to avoid eye contact but eventually started nodding.

"Alright, I guess that's only fair." he gave back.

"We gotta make clear which one of your exes this is about." I told him. I was interested in this not because I was curious about the gossip but because I genuinely wanted to know why he tried to forget about his ex.

"How many of them do you know?" he questioned and bit his lip.

"Only three. Carliz, Gabriela and Kendall." I told him. He pressed his lips together and let out a small groan. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was debating whether he should or shouldn't say anything.

"It's Gabriela." he finally responded.

"You don't have to tell me but what happened between you two?" I wanted to know. Benito leaned himself onto the table as well and looked at me.

"We were never really a couple just... friends with benefits and I got tired of the toxicity, so I decided to end what we had but she somehow manages to slither her way back into my life every now and then." he explained. I could tell that it pained him to talk about it but it seemed like he was relieved as well.

"Why do you let her come back every time? Cut her out." I responded.

"It's not that simple. She has always been my weakness from the moment that I had met her." he told me honestly. I slowly nodded and looked at my hand.

"So you want to be stuck in this toxic cycle for the rest of your life?" I wanted to know. Benito started shaking his head.

"No. That's why I wanted to forget about her that night. I was hoping it would make getting over her easier." Benito answered and sighed. We both stayed silent for a while. I was processing everything he had just told me and he looked like he tried to find the words to say something. I couldn't help but laugh about how similar our situations were. Both of us had gotten out of long relationships that neither of us could forget.

"What's so funny?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"We sound like we're some kind of Broken Hearts Club." I told him. He had to laugh as well but he nodded and agreed.

"Hey, even if the marriage doesn't work out, we at least have that." he said. For the first time, I felt comfortable with him.

It was almost eight, when I parked my car in one of the parking decks of the airport.

"Thanks for the ride." Benito said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"I'll bring you to your check-in, the airport's incredibly confusing." I told him, doing the same. He had bought a last minute ticket at the Diner. We were walking through the parking building in silence. Benito had his hands in his pockets while I held my phone and keys in mine. As I was leading him towards his terminal, I could feel his eyes on me. Munich's airport had three different terminals that were connected to each other, so I was walking towards the closest entrance. I was going at a fast pace while Benito was following me slowly.

"I would've never found the counter." he mumbled as I guided him through the extremely confusing departure hall.

"What did your ticket say? Counter 67?" I asked, looking at the signs above us. Benito stood next to me and pulled his phone out.

"Yeah, where are we right now?" he responded, also looking up.

"12." I gave back and started walking to the left. He followed me in silence as I was checking the counters to our right. About ten minutes later, we reached number 67. A long line had formed in front of it.

"Why didn't you come here with your private jet?" I asked Benito as we stopped behind the last person.

"I like commercial flights a lot more. Makes me feel more normal." he gave back. The line was moving slowly and I could tell that Benito prepared himself for our goodbye.

"I'll wait with you, don't worry." I told him as he wanted to say something. A smile spread across his face and he nodded. Since he had checked in online, all he had to do was show his passport and then he was good to go through security.

"I'll let you know when my lawyer calls me." he said.

"Alright, but you can just text me next time." I replied, nodding.

"Again, I rather do that personally." he countered. I smiled and playfully rolled my eyes. Before he left, he pulled me into a hug and with that he was gone again.