Malibu Nights

Chapter 1 - Celine

"Ben, will you please come back inside? I don't even understand why you're mad at me." Celine Miller sighed as she struggled to keep up with her boyfriend's quick strides. It was hard to keep up with Ben and his sneakers while in her heels. She shivered and pulled her gray coat close around her. The November night air was cool around them as they walked from the lively overcrowded restaurant where they had been eating dinner with their friends Lola and Eric. The dinner had gone fine up until the waiter had decided to flirt with Celine. Celine mistook the flirting for friendliness. In Ben's defense, it did look like she was flirting with him. So, when Ben abruptly left the dinner table and fled to the parking lot it didn't surprise Lola or Eric. Ben and Celine continued their trek to the desolate parking lot. The street lights flickered above them giving off a grimy glow. Ben didn't want to hear Celine's apology at the moment, he was far too frustrated with her. Why was she always so nice to everyone? He made sure there wasn't a car coming and continued the walk to the lot across the street.

"Ben will you please stop." She pleaded. "Please?" Celine's voice broke. Ben knew she was upset that he had stormed out of the restaurant when he did. Ben however, kept walking until he unlocked the doors of the gold Toyota Camry and got inside. 

Once Celine climbed into the passenger seat and shut her door Ben finally responded to her. "Celine, I'm not having this conversation again. It annoys the hell out of me when I see you flirting with other guys. I don't know why you don't understand that. Is it really that damn complicated?" His words made her flinch a little. He rarely cussed at her, and when he did she knew he was really upset.

 After a beat of silence Ben muttered under his breath, "We have this fight way too often."

Ben started the car and pulled out of the rundown parking lot without another word. Celine kept replaying his words over and over in her mind, "We have this fight way too often..." What was that supposed to mean? The drive from the restaurant they were at in Los Angeles to Celine's house in Malibu was roughly 50 minutes. Ben really did not want to spend the next 50 minutes arguing with Celine. Honestly, he didn't even know if he wanted to talk to her for the next 50 minutes. He hated feeling like this. He loved Celine, more than anything. There would never be another girl in the entire world that would make him feel the way that Celine did. He had loved her since the first time he laid eyes on her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. And over time she had become even more beautiful to him. Ben had told his best friend Mike the week after he'd met Celine, that she would be the girl he'd marry. That had been a little over two years ago. The time they'd spent together had been some of the happiest of their lives. They began dating during Celine's senior year of college. She was a student at the University of Southern California where she had studied Public Relations. Now she was working at a PR firm in downtown LA and Ben had just been promoted to sous-chef at the restaurant he worked at not too far from Celine's office. 

He couldn't deny the happiness that Celine had brought into his life. Celine and Ben had met through their mutual friend, Eric. The pair had hit it off right away. Ben took Celine to a Dodgers game for their first date. Ben loved how easy-going Celine was from the start. She was a kindhearted girl with a love for Dodgers baseball. She did like fashion and expensive things from time to time, but Celine was most comfortable in her favorite pair of Levi jeans. She loved to travel, even if it was just an overnight trip to Napa Valley. Celine was always enthusiastic about Ben's cooking, even if he messed the recipe up or cooked something too long. She loved spending the day at the beach. During the summer months Ben and Celine would frequent the beaches of Malibu just to catch the waves and spend time together. Sometimes their relationship almost seemed too good to be true.

Ben knew that Celine loved him, but she was so stunning, smart, and athletic. She was a sweetheart too, always so kind to everyone. Anytime she and Ben would argue she'd be the first to apologize. Even when Ben wasn't done arguing and sometimes when it hadn't even been her fault. To Ben she was absolutely perfect, and Ben worried that some other guy would find her perfect too. He felt like she was completely out of his league. To be honest, he was afraid. Afraid that she'd leave him for someone better.