Cheated [NaNoWriMo]

Noon Day 4

She laughs lightly and takes a piece of pizza from the box. Her eyes are gleaming with slight tears from how often she's been laughing. She doesn't understand the effect he has on her. He smiles at her and her heart races.

His brown hair is slightly curled on the ends from the rain that they got caught in. The pizza box is damp, but the pizza inside is still delicious as they began eating it in the rain on the steps outside of the workshop.

She smiles happily at him and he cracks another joke, which sends her into a misfit of giggles and he chuckles lightly.

Angel's heart is racing as she reaches for her second piece of pizza. Ben sits beside her, eating his third piece.

"Ben, can I ask you something?" Angel asks Ben quietly, hardly being heard over the rain hitting the metal rooftop.

"You just did, but you can ask another question if you'd like," Ben replies as he sips his drink. She stares at him long and hard, trying to decide how to phrase her question.

Instead, she simply asks it. "Why did you ask me out?"

Ben's smile fades as he stares at the people walking by. Time slows between the two of them as Angel's hopeful eyes stare at him, looking for an answer in his actions.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I've liked you ever since you walked through those doors on your first day. You've always had this impact on me that I never understood. Plus, you've seemed kind of down lately, so I wanted to cheer you up with some greasy pizza and a rain shower," Ben replies as he wipes his fingers off on a napkin.

Angelina's eyes go wide. She knew Ben always acted differently towards her versus the other artists, but now it all makes sense.

Ben was always the first to wish her a happy birthday, even before Roger. He always made her a special birthday cupcake with a candle in it. Every year he'd buy her new paint brushes for work. Whenever she was missing at the workshop for a day, he'd call to see why she wasn't there. Those rare days that she got sick he would come over with an extra large hot chocolate from Tim Horton's.

She doesn't know how to reply to him as she takes a long sip from her own drink. A half eaten piece of pizza sits on her lap as she stares down at her hands. She can feel the blush take over her face.

"T-thanks Ben," she stutters. He flashes her a smile and grabs his last piece of pizza. Angel fiddles with her fingers for a few moments before picking up her slice. She quickly finishes it off and stands. "I'm sorry, but I need to go. Roger and I have a meeting in a few minutes."

Ben shakes it off. "No problem. Those last two pieces are yours so take them. I hope we can go out some other time," he responds as he hands her the box with two slices still in it. She smiles her thanks and jogs up the last couple of steps up into the workshop.

She pulls off her wet jacket and tosses it into the entry way closet. Angel continues down the hall and enters the room at the very end. Her own workshop sits there.

The artist that sells the most paintings gets the room down there, and Angel received the room as soon as she began work. She'd been painting before she started, and already had a few customers. The owners of the building believed she could get some where’s though and they gave her the largest studio. To say she was grateful was an understatement.

Roger sits at her desk, in her big comfy chair at that. She sends him a glare as she plops down on her stool, setting the pizza box on the desk.

"Jillian will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. You'll need to pick her up as you promised. I was informed the sculpture needs to be done by the end of two weeks, starting today," Roger states with a tired groan. He runs his hand through his hair.