The Neighbor

A Gentleman in the Streets and A Freak in the Sheets

It was Sunday and almost the time to meet Sarah and Alec for lunch. Cassie was currently on her way, but she was by herself. She had asked Ben to go after he had his something sweet on the couch (hint: NOT pancakes, though he did enjoy those as well, just not as much). He had told her he would love to go, but proabably would be a few minutes late, as he had a meeting this morning for work. So it's not like she'll be the thrid wheel. Again. And she was excited to introduce Sarah and Alec to him! She could finally say, "This is my boyfriend", rather than, "This is my friend, I swear we're not together, we had sex once". She smiled at the thought. Though, the way he asked her to be his girlfriend was a bit...odd. Though, he did apologize later on, she only guessed that when he's riled up and horny, he gets this kind of dominating streak going because when they're just talking, he's a perfect gentleman. Like this morning, he had personally delivered flowers to her door. He said he got them because:

 "They remind me of you and all your beauty. All the thorns are your way of being defensive like yesterday morning when I said you belonged to me. Again, for that, I am sorry. I don't know what came over me. Am I forgiven?"

He had apologized the night before, but didn't believe Cassie when she said she had forgiven him. She really did, but now she doesn't care if he says it at all because he gives great apology flowers. At least she can say that her boyfriend is a gentleman in the streets and a freak in the sheets! James was never that way. He wasn't a gentleman at all, actually. Hardly a freak in the sheets, either. 

Her stop finally came and she got off the bus and walked the few feet to RL Restaurant. She doesn't know why Sarah picks all these fancy places, but the food is free, so why not? And by free, she means that Alec pays the bill. But he's a surgeon, he can afford it. She walked into the RL's and was led to a booth where Sarah and Alec were at. They said their hellos and started to look over the menu, but Cassie found it odd that she wasn't bombarded by questions about where her new man is. She glanced up to see Sarah tapping her hand and foot at the same time. Alec would glance over at her every once in a while to check on her, but when he finally looked up and saw Cassie staring at him with a quirked eyebrow, he said, "I made her promise not to attack you with questions." Sarah then slammed down her menu and said, "I won't! I just want to know if he's really coming!" Cassie laughed, "Yes! He is! He said his meeting was right next door and that he'd be here as soon as he could. Better?" 

Sarah huffed and mumbled, "I guess." Cassie and Alec both rolled their eyes. "So, Cass," Alec started up, "how's work, or...works." She nodded, "One of them's fine, one of them's down the shitter. You can guess which one." "Have you looked into a new agency?" He asked. She shrugged. "Haylee's working on that. Honestly, writing isn't...making me happy anymore. It's an endless cycle of rejection and it's so exhausting. I'm trying to stay positive about it, but I think I may just stick to the restaurant buisness for now." Alec nodded in sympathy and was about to say something encouraging, but Sarah slammed down her menu again and excitedly asked, "Is that him?!" 

Cassie turned to look and, Lord and behold, there he was. The waitress was leading him over to the table and as soon as he saw Cassie, his eyes lit up. When he got to them, he shook Sarah and Alec's hand, while saying, "Pleasure to meet you! I'm Ben, Cassie's boyfriend." Cassie hadn't exactly told Sarah that they were offical, so she was waiting for a priceless reaction. "I'm Alec, Cassie's brother-in-law. And this beautifully, stunned woman is my wife, Sarah." It wasn't until Alec nudged her leg that she finally said, "Boyfriend. You said boyfriend." Ben chuckled and took Cassie's hand in his on top of the table. "Yes, I did," he told her. He then turned to her and kissed her cheek. "Hello, by the way." She smiled and said, "Hello. How was your meeting?" "Good, good. I'll be in charge of a new building that's coming up in the next year, so that should keep me rather busy." 

"You're an architect, right?" Alec asked. Ben nodded. "How'd you get into that?" Ben explained how he loved building things as a boy and wanted to start building real things like buildings in cities. "And what is you do, Alec?" He asked. "I'm a surgeon for children," he stated proudly. He was awfully proud of his job. He was the best children's surgeon in Chicago, almost in the U.S. Ben looked very impressed and joked, "Well, that certainly tops my job! And Sarah you're a teacher, I understand?" Sarah nodded. Truth is, she couldn't speak because she was trying to imagine how a gentleman like this would be a freak in bed, like Cassie had explained.

They all ordered their lunch and made small talk to kill the time. Ben still held on to Cassie's hand, fiddling with her fingers while he talked to Alec about sports. Sarah kept giving her looks, but not actually saying anything, which Cassie found both annoying and amusing. Their lunch came about fourty-five minutes later. A young waiter politely passed them their food, but was a little too polite to Cassie. "The Polo Club sandwitch with no mayo to you, pretty lady." Sarah and Cassie started giggling, Alec rolled his eyes, but Ben clenched his fist and gave the guy a look he choose to ignore. He was too busy checking out Cassie. Alec noticed and said, "Get out of here, man. Come on, her boyfriend is literally right there!" The waiter looked down at Ben and saw him staring at him in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. "S-Sorry, sir." He scampered off and had someone else cover their table. 

A few laughs and drinks later, the flirting waiter was long forgotten. Well, to everyone except Ben. He was laughing and drinking, too, but that waiter was still on his mind. Occassionally, Cassie would see him glancing around the place with a look of death in his eyes. He tried to cover it up by drinking his beer and hiding his eyes, but Cassie had a different view from everyone else. She let him do what he needed to do to keep sane, but in the meantime, she was going to enjoy her meal and the company. She went to get an extra napkin under her plate, but stopped when she saw what was written on it. A name and a phone number. The waiters. Cassie quickly grabbed it, while Ben's eyes were still wandering around and stuck it in her purse. If this was him mad at a cheesy, flirty comment, then she didn't want to see him mad at a phone number. 

It was almost three when they decided to pay the check already. Ben and Alec were arguing over who should pay, but they finally settled it on Ben paying for him and Cassie, while Alec paid for him and Sarah. After that, they walked into the chilly Chicago streets and exchanged goodbyes. Sarah and Alec got a cab and left. Ben looked over to Cassie and said, "I fancy a walk. I need to...cool down a bit."