recognize / b.simmons

14

amari hops in bens drop top and smiles at him when she buckles her seatbelt. her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, which makes ben frown. "have you been crying?" he asks, concern laced in his voice. shit, she thinks.

"no," she lies, and ben doesn't believe her but doesn't press the issue, and amari is thankful because if she had to argue one more time, she might have to jump out of his moving car.

they drive in comfortable silence, the only sound being the wind and young thug playing in the background. amari recognizes the way they're going to his house, and she realizes that she doesn't want to go to his house. "can we go to the beach?" she asks. she wanted to feel the waves on her, to hear the relaxing sound of waves crashing on rocks. the beach was her favorite part of california.

"the beach?" ben echoes, making sure he heard her right.

"yeah," she replies, glancing at him and then quickly looking away when he catches her eye.

"you serious?" he asks. she's never wanted to go anywhere but his or her house to be with him, so this was something. it gave him a hint of hope.

amari rolls her eyes dramatically and turns in her seat to look at ben. "if i was joking i wouldn't ask," she says, a small smile on her face. ben doesn't have to look at her to know she's smiling, it basically radiates off of her.

"whatever you say, shorty," he flicks on his turn signal and changes lanes for the freeway instead of the hills.

this was going to be an interesting night.

-

ben finds a place to park rather quickly, and he and amari get out. "i didn't bring swimwear," ben says, and judging by amaris clothes, neither did she. she was in sweats, t-shirt and some jordan's, and he now decides that this is one of her best looks. he likes lax-amari almost more than he likes dressed-up-amari.

amari shrugs. "me neither," they walk down a steep hill and over rocks to get down to the beach. it was empty, only a few people were here; like two old people walking, a man walking his dog, and two other girls sitting on a rock making out.

amari slides down the hill, nearly falling as she reaches the bottom. bens long arm reaches out to steady her by grabbing her shoulder. amari smiles to herself and shrugs his hand off, takes off her socks and shoes, and runs towards the water. she stops inches before a wave to roll up her sweats, then steps in until she's knee deep. she closes her eyes and breathes in deeply, smelling the salty air. this was life.

she turns in the water to look out at ben, who stands at the edge of the water with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jean shorts. she laughs to herself at how cute he looks. "get it!" she yells, to which he puts his hands up in a surrender type position, and shakes his head.

"i don't do cold," he says and amari walks out close to where he is. she stops a few feet away, so her shins are still in.

"well, hold my phone then," she says, tossing it to him. he catches it and slides it in his pocket. ben looks around, and when he looks back at amari, she's in the water with her back to him. judging by her stance, she's relaxed and at peace. he likes this amari, the down to earth amari, the one he has feelings for.

ben has known that he's liked amari since the night he met her. she was like a puzzle that he had to figure out, a mystery, which drew him in. yeah, he was in it for the sex, but it's been almost a month since their agreement and he's found himself wanting more. ben liked how they hung out yesterday, how they talked about real things. he doesn't know how to tell her that he likes her, he's afraid she'll freak out and never want to see him again.