Elowyn "Winnie" Smith met Ben when she was 4 years old. They've been best friends since they were 6. After her dad died when she was 13, he was the only person she wanted to talk to.
He should know everything about her, shouldn't he?
But he doesn'...
We drive in a comfortable silence. I'm sure Ben is thinking about the last time we went to get slushies, but he doesn't ask any questions.
It's still raining heavily when we get there, so Ben pulls his hood on and I hide my head under his arm, with my face in his armpit. Gross, I know. We run quickly to the door and Ben pulls, but it appears to be jammed. I squeal as the rain comes down harder, waiting impatiently for Ben to get the door open. Finally, the guy working the till comes and pushes the door open for us.
"You just have to give it a good shake," he says while walking back to the counter. Ben and I both rush into the safety of the store, shivering slightly from the rain.
"But it's not a door knob," Ben says bewildered, but the worker just shrugs. He pulls down his hood and turns toward me. "C'mon Winnie, I'm buyin. You can get anything you want."
If someone offers to pay, unfortunately for them I'm not the girl that's going to argue about it. Some people might feel like they're accepting charity, but I love nothing more than free things, which might be a bad quality, but I don't really care.
Plus, I need to save my money because mom doesn't have a job. Maybe now that she's... Feeling better, I guess, she'll get a job.
A mischievous grin forms on my face.
"Are you my sugar daddy now?" I say, to which Ben laughs, looking equally surprised and humored.
"If that's what you want," he replies while grabbing me by my waist and placing a kiss on top of my head.
A high pitched giggle escapes my lips at this gesture, like a little school girl. If you had told me a week ago that I'd be getting slushies with Ben while he holds me close and places kisses on my head, I would have said you were crazy. Absolutely batshit crazy. But here I am, with Ben's arm around my waist, the scent of his lemon shampoo surrounding me. My giggle turns into a snort and Ben's nose crinkles in amusement.
We both grab large slushie cups and start at the first flavour, Coca Cola. He raises his eyebrows at me and I know what he's saying, the glint in his eyes matching my mischievous smile. Silently, we've both agreed to have every flavour in our cup. So we begin, pouring a bit of each flavour. I put a larger amount of my favourite flavour, blue Powerade and reach the end of the flavours when I top it off with grapefruit. When we pop the lids on, we both go back to fill up the space the lid gives as well. With rainbow coloured ice spilling out of our cups and onto our fingers, we head to the till, where I grab two chocolate bars and bags of chips.
"Slushies in this weather?" The guy behind the counter says.
"Slushies are meant to be enjoyed all year long," Ben says before tapping his card. I huddle into his arm again as we brave the rain to run into his car.
"Ready to taste it?" Ben says once we both make it into his car, soaked with rain. I nod eagerly, looking down at the muddy, chemical filled, rainbow in my cup. We both take a long sip from our straws, and the taste reminds me of childhood. Of my dad. Of Ben, who sits here beside me with a wide smile. The Slurpee is bittersweet, not in flavour but in the way it makes me feel. Which sounds silly, but what can I say, I'm sentimental. It tastes like all the laughs I shared with my dad. It tastes like being a kid without a worry in the world. It tastes like summers spent with sticky fingers and the Cartoon Network and my best friend by my side. And he's still here, by my side. My bestest friend in the whole world is still here, same as when we were little kids. It makes me feel emotional, which is also stupid, because how am I going to sit here and cry over a Slurpee from 7-11?
I will my tears not to fall, and they don't because bittersweet means there is also some happiness. I am happy to remember things that I miss, because while I had them they filled me with so much joy. It shouldn't be sad to think about things that made you happy.
Maybe Ben can tell that I feel a little off right now, but he doesn't say anything because he knows I've done enough sharing my feelings for today. We have light, teasing conversation while we eat our chips and drink our Slurpees, which is exactly what I want. Ben swallows his Twix bar in two bites.
"Boy, you really are a little Piglet," I say while laughing.
"Shut up!" He sputters while looking at the empty wrapper and laughing deeply. "Don't act like you didn't just eat a whole bag of chips."
"You shouldn't say that to a lady." He rolls his eyes and I giggle, loving the way we can tease each other in a way that's flirty.
His laughs slow and his face takes on a more serious looksl as he watches me slurp my drink.
"C'mere." He pats his lap. For the second time today, I crawl into his embrace, but this time, he pulls me in for a kiss. I taste blue Powerade and cherry. My head feels like it's spinning as he holds me tight and kisses me deeply.
When we pull away, he looks at me with those sleepy eyes and says, "You taste like slushie."
"So do you." His mouth turns up into a small smile as he pulls me back in for another kiss. This time his lips move to my jaw, where they press gently across my face and down my neck.
The way his strong arms hold me feels perfect. His kisses feel like they're creating bolts of electricity across my skin. In this moment, we are together and we are perfect. All my problems don't matter right now, because I am happy.
What fun it is, to be happy.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
When I get home from hanging out with Ben, my mom is waiting for me on the couch. Her hair is brushed and her face and clothes are clean. She looks put together, and it makes my heart swell with pride. When I get closer, I can still see deep bags framing her eyes which still look lifeless. There's no sparkle in them. But Rome wasn't built in a day. She'll adjust soon.
"Hi mom."
"Hi sweetie, I'm glad you're home. I thought we could watch a movie together." She pats the seat beside her and my feet quickly carry me towards her. My mother and I haven't done anything together in forever. We might have watched a couple movies in her bed, but not since last year. She doesn't ask about my wet clothes and if she notices, she doesn't bring up my swollen lips, from making out with Ben. They still tingle when I touch my fingers to them.
"How about a comedy?" She says while turning on Netflix, and I nod, surprised that she would want to watch a funny movie. Comedies are cheerful, the exact opposite of my mom and the last thing I expected her to choose.
We spend the night curled up on the couch together, something that regular families probably do all the time. About half way through the movie I feel brave enough to touch her, so I scoot closer and lean my head against her shoulder. She smiles down at me, and even though it doesn't touch her eyes, I could die from joy. To be so close to my mom is something I've always longed for. I've always wanted to feel the warm embrace of a mother, to feel protected and cared for by the woman who birthed me.
I guess I have that now. Strange. That's another thing I would not have believed if you told me it a week ago.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
Authors note
Something about this chapter feels off will be editing🙃 but I also love it
Cats or dogs?
I choose cats 10000000% I love kitties!!! These r my kitties cuddling :)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
