Sweet as a Strawberry

15 ~ Sweet as a Caramel

A/N: I hope you enjoy! Dedicated to sidehoeniall for the lovely cover she made :)

Chapter 15: Sweet as a Caramel (Lottie)

My fingers curled into fists as that...woman strutted out like she owned the place. I took a deep, calming breath and closed my eyes, my mind whirring. Who did she think she was, coming in here and insulting Ben?

I felt my anger building up once again at the memory, and I squeezed my eyelids shut so as to banish the image of his stone-cold expression and emotionless voice. I hoped I'd never have to hear such a detached and heart-breaking sound ever again.

I'd never been mean to someone before - at least not intentionally. It didn't feel right to make somebody feel bad, but now, defending Ben? Well, I'd never felt so good in my life as when I told that woman off.

It was exhilarating - I didn't believe I could ever do something like that. But since it was Ben whom she was berating, I couldn't help myself. Nobody, nobody was allowed to say such horrid things to him. That was where I drew the line.

And, I'll admit, seeing that shocked and impressed expression on his face was worth a million of 'Mrs Wellington's' disdainful looks.

When I had calmed down enough to open my eyes, I noticed Ben's gaze fixated on me. I smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of my head, my cheeks flushing. I realised I'd probably made a fool out of myself in front of him.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I said softly. "I didn't meant to lose my temper. But I'm not sorry for doing it."

Ben cleared his throat. "Don't be sorry. It was fucking awesome."

"Yeah?"

He cleared his throat again. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, you kind of needed that."

Okay, now I was confused. "Needed what?"

Ben was quiet, thinking about it. "You need to be well-rounded," he said finally. "It can't be healthy to be smiling every minute of the day."

"So I should take breaks every hour to shout at nasty old battle-axes?" I teased, but I knew he was being serious. I wasn't sure if it was out of concern for my emotional well-being or annoyance at my supposedly stagnant character, but he was serious about me needing time to not be such a pushover.

"If it comes to that," he said, an almost invisible smile tugging at the corners of his lips. My eyes shined at the sight, because even such a faint amusement made my heart beat wildly.

I paused. And then I said, "I don't smile all the time."

Ben raised his eyebrows. "Yes. You do."

"I actually don't," I argued. I couldn't help but grin at the conversation we were having.

"You're smiling right now!"

I laughed. "That's because you're so funny."

"What was so funny?" he said, outraged.

"Your face," I said automatically. I closed my eyes slightly and shook my head at my stupid response.

Ben stopped, his mouth half-open. His expression flattened. "I see the appeal," he said, unimpressed.

I laughed again. It was really hard to show emotions other than joy around him, because that was what I felt around him! "It's your fault," I told him. "I can't stop smiling when you're around."

"Because I'm just so funny," he said, rolling his eyes. He was annoyed, I could tell.

My eyebrows furrowed; I didn't mean to bother him or make it seem like he was a joke. I just...didn't know how to be calm around him. I liked him. At least as a friend. I didn't know him well enough to fancy him, but I liked him well enough to want the feeling reciprocated. "No," I said slowly. "Because..." I stopped speaking, because I realised I didn't know how to explain.