When We Were Young

Incomplete

"Back to work, love." Cheerfully, Ben rousted her from her slumber. Without warning, he snapped the curtains open, flooding her apartment with early morning sunshine. Sabrina groaned into her pillow and pulled the covers up and over her head.

Her weekend off was over, Monday morning had arrived. "I don't wanna go," her response was barely audible but made Ben laugh all the same.

"I don't want you to go either, but we've got to be grown ups and go to work," he slid back into bed next to her and nuzzled into her neck, taking in the scent of her.

She groaned again and rolled over to face him; she never tired of seeing his face, still as adorable as ever. He smiled, kissed her sweetly and handed over a mug of coffee to get her going. Reluctantly, she sat up, returned his kiss and clambered out of bed in pursuit of a shower and a change of clothes.

Ben escorted her to Bradmore Park and promised a speedy return at closing time. They kissed each other at the door and she waved Ben away as he climbed into a cab that sped him off into the city. While she stood in a love struck daze, she didn't notice Franklin opening the door behind her and then quickly yanking her inside.

"Sabrina! You have got a LOT to answer for," he exclaimed, hand on his hip, demanding an explanation.

"What?" She tried to hide her elation but couldn't and ended up simply throwing her arms around Franklin and giving him a hug that bordered on suffocating. She was so excited she was bursting at the seams and it was written all over her face.

"So?" He asked again, waiting expectantly.

"So it turns out he's really protective--"

"Ew. That's not exciting."

"There's a reason though..."

She divulged the entire story that Ben had told her about his fright in South Africa. Franklin was just as shocked as Sabrina had been and ended up understanding exactly why he felt compelled to take care of her. He cackled at the story of Brock being dealt with in such a delightfully British way, stating he wished he could find a man like Ben too.

"I'm sure he gets that a lot," Sabrina chuckled. Who wouldn't be smitten with him? Not a person I can think of.

"So what happens when he has to leave New York?" Franklin asked later on in the day.

"We said we'd figure it out. It's just logistics, Franklin."

"You won't be saying that when the time comes for him to go back to LA or England or wherever his job takes him. Are you going to go with him? What will you do about your store?" He gesticulated in the air around him.

"I haven't thought about that yet. We just decided we have an actual thing going...we'll figure it out....I'm not just going to run off and give this place up, you know. I could never give it up."

"Okay, boss lady," he shrugged as he walked away. "I just want to make sure you're not so twitterpated that you forget about the real world."

The thought of saying good bye made her sick and yet she found herself unwilling to consider giving up her store for Ben. She didn't think he'd ask her to anyway. The weight of Franklin's words fell heavy on her shoulders and she slumped down into her favorite chair, one she kept in a quiet corner just for deep thinking.

Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she knew it was Ben; he'd likely be telling her he was en route to where she was, just as he'd done every night they'd spent together after closing. What she actually found was not what she expected.

Change of plans. Meet me at The Metropolitan ballroom at 8. Dress nice.

She turned up her nose at the surprising message.
"Franklin? Have you been to the Metropolitan ballroom?"