Ben Affleck | The Square Affair

(to) see double

The amount of cigarettes Ben had smoked since (YN)'s arrival didn't go unnoticed by her. She didn't mean to keep track; the sight was just so unusual. Neither did she miss how tense he looked. Her mind was still debating whether or not to leave the matter alone when her mouth went ahead and chose for her. "Are you all right?" (YN) asked and instantly regretted the words, hoping Ben wouldn't take her question the wrong way. "M fine," he mumbled, putting out yet another cigarette in the ashtray. "Why are you asking?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You don't look it," (YN) noted and sent him a faint smile. Ben chuckled and rested his elbow on the backrest of the sofa, his hand behind his neck. She darted a glance at his bulging biceps, pictures of him pushing her up against the wall of his shower flashing in front of her eyes. "I talked to Jen," he said and it was enough to pull (YN) from her dirty thoughts. "She doesn't want to sign our divorce papers." (YN) didn't know what to do with that piece of information and decided to wait for Ben to continue.

"She said she wasn't ready to give up on us. And I get it, I really do. I mean we have kids together, but. . ." he heaved a sigh, "We're just not good for each other anymore." Ben pushed his hair back before reaching for his pack of cigarettes, but (YN) stopped him by leaning over to place her hand on top of his. "How about you show me the laundry room. I'm guessing I will need to wash my clothes if I stay here for more than just a few days," she suggested--a lame attempt of distracting Ben and instigating sex on top of his washing machine--and pulled him up with her. "Shouldn't I be the one leading the way then?" he teased when she started dragging him back inside. (YN) stopped so she could follow him and he pecked her cheek in passing, not letting go of her hand.

"So, here it is," Ben said once he had opened a slide door at the end of the hallway. The room was small and unmistakably smelled of laundry detergent. There was just enough room for a washer, a dryer, a sink and an ironing board cabinet. Two wall cabinets hung above the machines and Ben told (YN) that was where she would find candles, batteries and flashlights in case of a blackout. "Let's see... What else do I need to show you?" he asked, but spoke more to himself than to her. "You don't have to worry about the alarm system; I control that with an app. All you need to do is tell me when you're going to bed or want me to turn it on and I will."

"But you're going to be on the other coast. Are you sure that's going to work?" she asked, sounding uncertain, and he rewarded her with an amused smile. "You'd know that it works if you had an iPhone," he teased, "Lucky for you, that's exactly what you're getting." Ben pulled her into his study, taking away (YN)'s intention of having him pound into her on top of a vibrating washing machine. Another time then. What awaited her inside of his study was much more exciting anyway.

At first glance, his home office didn't seem all that special: It held two dark brown leather armchairs in the left corners of the room and a desk sitting in front of a fireplace on the opposite site. Framed photographs of Ben with friends adorned the mantle piece and (YN) recognized Matt Damon on most of them. She also set her eyes on more of his awards, but was only able to identify the Golden Globe among them. But when she looked up from the rug her lips parted in astonishment when her own reflection stared back at her in the ceiling mirror. The view (YN) could enjoy up there...

"Here." Ben's voice broke through her daze, forcing her to avert her eyes from the mirror. He was handing her a small box, and like he had implied, it was an iPhone--a brand new one at that and (YN) couldn't help but point that out to him. "I know," he simply said. "And it's yours." She opened her mouth to protest, but he pressed a shushing finger against her mouth. "I'm the reason you lost your old phone, so this one's on me and don't even think about complaining. I didn't only get it for you." Ben was tracing the outlines of her lips while he spoke. "It's technically also for me so we can keep in touch."