The Girl Next Door | Baby Daddy

6.4 | Honest Conversations

"Cassie, please answer the door! You won't respond to any of my texts and I've called you like a million times. Please just answer the door!" Ben called from the hallway, his forehead desperately leaned against the door of my apartment.

"Ben, I really don't want to talk to you right now." I responded, wiping my cheek with the heel of my hand. Everything that had happened in the last couple days was starting to sink in. Miami, Ravi, it was all hitting me at once and I couldn't find a better way to handle it than curling up in a ball on the couch, hugging a pillow as I slowly soaked the aqua fabric of the couch with tears.

"Please, Cas?!" He begged. I could hear how desperate he was, but I still tried to ignore his pleas from the hallway.

"Ben, just go away." I sniffled and he must have heard that I was crying because he walked away from the door, quickly returning.

"I'm sorry, Cassie, but I'm doing this as your best friend and it's in your best interests." He said once he had returned. The door jangled and eventually swung open slowly. Ben removed the spare key I had given him from the door and stuffed it in his pocket. "Oh, Cassie." He mumbled as he sat on the couch next to me, beginning to rub his hand in small circles on my shoulder. "I know I'm the last person you want to talk to. So you don't have to talk to me. Just tell me what's aside from me being an idiot and I won't say anything."

I stifled a small sob as I slowly sat up, wiping the skin under my eyes dry. Ben was right. I didn't want to talk to him, but at the same time, he was the only person I wanted to talk to. He was my best friend, even after all that had happened. I had realized that when I found myself defending him to Ravi.

"Ravi broke up with me." I told him and he gave me a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry, Cassie. But he wasn't right for you anyways." Ben insisted, wrapping his arm around me. "He was smart with a well paying job and treated you well, but he took you to wine tastings, and fancy dinners. That's not really you." He reminded me and as much as I hated to admit it, I knew he was right. There was a part of me that had known this from the beginning, but every time one of these thoughts surfaced, I swallowed it and ignored it. "Did you love him, Cassie?" Ben questioned and I didn't know how to respond.

I knew I had really liked Ravi, or else my relationship with him wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. He was incredible. Handsome, brilliant, kind hearted. He worked in pediatrics, for Christ's sakes, but somehow, the perfect guy wasn't perfect for me.

"No." I answered honestly, shaking my head.

Ben gazed at me with authentic apology and empathy and as much as I was still mad at him, I appreciated that he was there for me. I buried my face in his shoulder and he laid his head on mine wrapping his arm tighter around me. "Ravi wasn't the one. But there's no doubt in my mind you will find someone who you do love."

"Really?" I asked meekly and I felt him nod softly.

"Absolutely. You're smart, you're funny, you're kind, and you're insanely beautiful." He insisted and I felt more tears dripping down my face.

"Thank you." I responded softly, draping my arm around his waist. He responded by kissing my head.

"Cassie, I'm sorry I was such a jerk. I'm a total tool, and an idiot. I don't care about the job, I don't care about Zoey, I just care about my best friend in the entire world." I sniffled, wiping my nose and Ben began to stand up. "I know something that will cheer you up." He smiled and I cleaned off my face with my sleeve as I sat up more on the couch. He hurried back to his apartment, quickly returning, this time with Emma in his arms. "Watch this." he said as he slid the coffee table out of the way and laid Emma down on her back on the brightly colored floral area rug that padded the hardwood floors.

"Okay, Emma! Roll to Daddy! Come on!" He cheered on and Emma slowly began to lean in Ben's direction. He continued to cheer her on until she had fully rolled over towards him. "That's my girl! Good job, Emma!" He commended as he scooped her up and held her high up in the air, earning a giggle from her and a smile from me. "Here." He said and offered Emma to me. I happily took her from him and rested her in my lab while Ben sat next to me. "She really likes you." Ben told me.

"Ben, she's like a puppy. She likes literally everyone." I reminded him, looking at him skeptically.

"Yeah, but you're special." He said as Emma rested her head on the crook of my neck, immediately growing groggy as she cuddled into my chest. "See?"

###

Ben sat on the small balcony that hung off of the window of the kitchen. They often hung out on it and there was a red cooler to the side, where he sat, catching the drips of condensation rolling down the outside of a bottle of beer with his fingers. He seemed to be too lost in thought as he stared at the bottle, and yet he seemed so unfocused on it.

Riley ducked under the kitchen window, stepping out onto the balcony where Ben was. "Hey." She greeted carefully, tucking her hands into the back pockets of the light wash jean capris she was wearing with a floral shirt and a yellow cardigan.

"Hey, Riles." Ben responded, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

"So, Cassie told me what happened while the two of you were in Miami." She began cautiously, sitting next to him on the window ledge that doubled as seating when they were out on the cramped balcony.

"Yeah, I screwed things up. I know that." Ben informed her, nodding and Riley accepted his response.

"I just wanna know... why'd you do it? You know, sleeping with Zoey and avoiding Cassie."

"I wasn't avoiding her." Ben countered, but Riley gave him a disbelieving look.

"I know that Danny told you that Cassie liked you back and that you should throw yourself at her. You've had feelings for her for so long. What made you choose Zoey instead of Cassie?" Riley wondered. She was still deciding whether she was asking this as Ben's friend or Cassie's sister.

There was a part of Riley that hoped Ben would tell her he didn't make a move on Cassie because he realized he had feelings for her instead. Riley was beginning to give up on the idea of her and Ben, but while her brain was trying to move on, her heart was still distracted by the handsome and charming Ben Wheeler.

"I don't know." Ben began, shaking his head. "I guess, I was scared. I've had feelings for Cassie for so long that when there was an actual possibility I could be with her, I freaked out." He explained as he turned to face Riley.

"One night stands have always been my thing. They don't require any commitment, they're not messy. They don't require feelings. That's why I was with Zoey. Because I have no real feelings with her whatsoever. I didn't have to risk losing her as a friend because there were feelings involved."

"Wow." Riley said softly, hanging her head. "You really do love Cassie, don't you?" She questioned. Every time she had asked him something like this, she was so desperate for him to say no. There had always been a part of her that wanted him to admit he didn't truly love Cassie, but something about the way he was talking about Cassie made guilt fester in Riley's stomach. For so long, she had been so focused on herself and on her feelings for Ben that she had completely neglected the fact that Cassie was his everything. She had never realized how real Ben's feelings were until now.

Ben though sentimentally. He pictured Cassie with her bright eyes and read hair. He remembered growing up with her, and the time they got lost in the woods while camping. He remembered the time in junior year of high school where they sat on the edge of the dock, dangling their feet above the shimmering water. He pictured Cassie holding Emma and he knew.

Yeah. I do." He nodded, answering Riley's question. He looked at her straight in the eyes as he smiled. "I love her, Riley."