May 2011
"Mhm. Yep. Okay. Bye." Benjamin gives Ridley his usual 'Oh my god, I'm sick of this' expression that she's been quite accustomed to ever since he started dating Cara, a girl he knows from his sixth form. She collects a few dirty dishes from empty table booths as Benjamin hastily takes his apron off.
"Forget about the date again?" Ridley asks with a grin. Ben sighs and dumps his apron on the floor.
"Yes," he moans as he runs a hand through his infamous mop of curls. "This is getting out of hand. It's not my fault I have to work extra hours. Jesus, Cara needs to get a job."
"And maybe a brain to get a job," Ridley says scornfully. It is no secret to Benjamin that Ridley does not like his girlfriend – at all. She'd left a very...lasting impression on Ridley the first time she met her – by spilling her spaghetti bolognese all over Ridley (AND ON PURPOSE! Although Ben argues it was all just an accident.)
"Alright, enough of the mockery, carrots." Ben shoots Ridley a grin that manages to make her feel both annoyed and, oddly, pleased at the same time. She cannot understand why her stomach swoops or why her knees go weak every time Ben's around her. Ridley's still trying to work out why she cares so much about her hair looking good, or her breath smelling nice or her clothes when she's around Ben.
Yeah, she's been eating too much chocolate, clearly. It's driving her utterly bonkers.
Ben grabs his coat and reaches out to give Ridley a hug. "Do I smell funky?" he asks her. Ridley is too busy enjoying the warmth of his body and the way his hand is gently resting on her waist – not suggestively, or anything, but she likes it. She blushes, suddenly realising the close proximity of their bodies, and how she hasn't responded to his question yet. Ben looks puzzled when she lightly pushes him away.
"Ugh," she says, wrinkling her nose. "You smell." Smell so good.
"Aw, stop messing with me, Rids."
"I'm serious." Ridley giggles. "I wouldn't be surprised if Cara died because of how terrible you smell."
"How terribly good I smell, you mean," Ben replies with a roll of his eyes.
"Yes of course, Mr I'm-so-Modest," Ridley says, taking his hand (firmly ignoring the sudden butterflies in her stomach) and pushing him out of the doors of the café. "Now get going before Cara goes dragon girlfriend on you."
Ridley shuts the doors of the café, not before hearing Ben laugh and say 'Dragon girlfriend. Nice!' as he walks down the street with his coat slung over his shoulder.
"How's that Gilbert boy you always talk to?" Marcy asks later that day as both sisters head home for the evening. Ridley chuckles at her sister's mistake.
"You mean Benjamin?" she says, trying to hide a blush that's slowly creeping in to her cheeks. Marcy giggles and slaps her own forehead.
"Yes," she says. "God, it's just that he looks so much like...like that guy who played Gilbert Blythe in that mini-series Pam of Green Gables."
"Anne," Ridley corrects her sister sharply. "And while I do admit Benjamin looks exactly like Jonathan Crombie, that does not mean he's anything like Gilbert Blythe."
"Oh? Meaning?"
"Meaning..." Ridley blows out a sigh. "Well for starters, Gilbert would do anything for Anne while Benjamin would do anything to annoy me."
YOU ARE READING
Finding Gilbert Blythe
Storie d'amore[COMPLETED] What if Gilbert Blythe didn't need to be found because he was under your nose all along?
