golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter five

coach easton looked shocked. "i'm sorry, what?"

"no." eliana said, this time with more confidence. "i do everything you tell me to. i eat what you tell me to eat, i sleep when you tell me to sleep. i get on a plane to texas at the drop of a hat, and i dropped out of school when you said so." she cracked her knuckles, a nervous habit. "i love gymnastics, and i'm fine with not eating a slice of pizza, or skipping a party for it. but, for years, guys have been freaked out because of it."

coach daley interrupted her. "you have to be okay with-"

"but i'm not." eliana laughed . "ben is the first guy to understand. he's not mad that i train so often. he doesn't think my diet is weird. he didn't run away."

coach easton looked at her sympathetically. "el, i get that you're upset. but you need to understand that this boy is only going to hold you back."

"hold me back from what?" eliana asked. "from winning? i'm still here, training. didn't i just do a perfect bar routine?"

both coaches looked dumbfounded.

"all i want is just one part of my life to myself." she pleaded.

coach easton sighed. "if he gets in the way-"

"he won't."

"eliana, all we're saying is that relationships can be very detrimental to your performance level."

"ben won't be." she promised.

"frankly, i still don't think this is a good idea." he said, very matter of fact.

"why are you even here?" she pointed to coach easton. he sighed. "you're going to have to come down to the ranch for two weeks instead of one before qualifiers."

"the károlyis are putting another week onto their camp, and everyone on the team is required to be there." coach daley added.

"fine. i'll change my flight." eliana threw her hands up. "you didn't have to come all this way to tell me that." she unfastened her grips and threw them in her bag, then grabbed her things and headed towards the locker room.

"where do you think you're going, young lady?" coach daley called after her.

"home." eliana replied. "i've been here for almost eight hours. i just need some time to think."

as she opened the door to the locker room, she turned back. "i'll see you tomorrow."

     ben laid on the floor of his dressing room in between shows, half dressed and tossing pretzels into his mouth. sky nudged him with his foot as he came back in. "food's here."

ben stood up and grabbed his sandwich out of the bag.

"oh, i forgot to ask." sky took a bite. "how was your date with el?"

ben immediately smiled at the mention of her name. "it was good. she really liked the show."

"and?" he raised an eyebrow.

"and what?"

sky rolls his eyes. "you kissed her, right?"

ben's ears turned red. "no, i didn't."

"dude, really?" sky shook his head. "i'm disappointed in you."

"okay, okay." ben said defensively. "we were at the top of the tower, and i was about to, but her mom called her and totally ruined the moment."

sky clicked his tongue. "that is unfortunate, benji."

"yeah." he nodded.

chaz comes into the dressing room with his own dinner. "how was the date, lover boy?"

"good." ben replied.

"he didn't kiss her." sky said, and dan walked into the room at that second.

"did you just say that benjamin didn't kiss the pretty girl he brought backstage last night?" he grabbed one of ben's fries. sky nodded.

"ben, i thought i taught you better than that." dan shook his head disapprovingly, his mouth full of fries. "where did you two run off to after the show?"

"we went up to the towers onstage." ben said, in between bites of sandwich. "she wanted to see the view."

"and you subtly implied that your view was better because she was in it?" dan laughed. "oldest trick in the book, bro."

ben shrugged. "it works, though."

"look, you made the headlines." sky turned his phone screen to ben.

     Teen gymnastics champion Eliana
     Dempsey seen with Newsies tour
     dancer Ben Tyler Cook

ben's eyes widened. "shit, this probably got her in so much trouble with her coaches."

"text her." chaz suggested.

"i don't-shit, i don't have her number." ben cursed to himself.

"you don't have her number?" sky asked incredulously. "dude, this date went worse than you thought."