Haircut (Beth Harmon X Benny Watts)

Chapter 27

We immediately left after breakfast, firstly picking up some stuff from my house. I wasn't going to survive with one dress and Benny's oversized shirts.

When we got home, I quickly walked upstairs to grab my clothes and chess books. I knew I probably didn't need any books because I'd rather study with Benny than from articles I had already read a million times.

As I was packing my makeup from the bathroom, I heard the piano stool move. Then a few separate notes, quickly followed by a classic melody.

I smiled to myself. Benny once told me he hated to learn the piano when he was younger. His parents made him take lessons, hoping it would distract him from his addiction to chess as a kid.

Because of that he never played again after he stopped seeing the teacher. But he said that he was cursed by remembering the bloody melodies. I remembered how suprsied I was when I caught him playing for the first time. Mr Benny Cocky Watts playing classic. Hilarious.

It was too bad he stopped playing after one song and I quickly finished packing.

When I walked downstairs he was already standing in the hallway. He had a black piece of clothing in his hands.

"Is it alright with you if I take this blouse back to New York?

"Of course, it's yours." I said, turning my head around to see that the box was pulled out from under the stairs.

He mumbled something about it being his favorite, what I of course already knew, and started to stuff it in his bag.

"You ready to go?" He asked me.

I looked around, checking my bags, my coat and my purse.

"Wait, I'm going to look if I have something to eat for in the car. Be right back."

"I'll put the bags in the trunk." He yelled as I walked to the kitchen.

My cabinets were all pretty empty, but I found a bag of chips in one of the lower cupboards. Maybe not the healthiest thing, but who were we to care.

When I stood up straight again and walked back to the hallway, I noticed something different about the room. I turned around to find out what it was.

"Gosh, he's so stupid." I whispered, while I shook my head."

He had put the picture frame of us on the piano. In the middle of the top board.

I rolled my eyes as I walked through the front door. I've hadn't wished
I hadn't dared to dream about going back to New York. I remembered how nervous I was the first time. But now I couldn't wait.

"Took you long enough." Benny said as I sat down next to him in the car. "Let's go home."

Shit, I wanted it to feel like home so badly.

The trip went well. I've slept for a couple of hours, we talked about chess for some more hours, we sung to the radio for another hour and Benny nagged about Beltik for 6 minutes, because I started to cut him off after five.

I loved sitting in the car for so long. You had actual free time, because there isn't a lot out can do in a car. And next to that, people also can't ask you for favours.

"The tournament is already in five days." Benny said, clearly preventing me from saying, "again?", after beating him 3 times in a row with speed chess.

"Yeah, it's a short time to study." I answered.

"Well, I think that most of the stuff I learned you is still in your head. The alcohol just made it a bit vague." He shrugged.

"Let's hope so. I want to win." I said while looking at the window. We just drove into Pennsylvania.

He snickered. "You know you have to beat me, right? And not this stupid mind chess, you're just better at seeing the board than me."

"Do I have to remind you, I beat you before?"

"Well, you technically never been US Open champion."

"I was co-champion. And so we're you. And besides, I won the US championship." I said annoyed.

"And I beat you 2 weeks ago."

"But I..." I stopped myself before I could throw another game that I've won in his face, because I saw that Benny had a wide grin on his face.

"I'll beat you, you'll see." I said confidently.

"You know I can just pull over right now and leave you here. Than you wouldn't get the chance to study and then I'll win for sure."

"I probably die on my way home, but that shouldn't be an inconvenience to you, right?" I said teasingly.

"Well, maybe a little." He said with a smirk.

"And why's that?"

"Because then I have nobody to protect me from Beltik."

We both laughed and I slapped him on his arm.

We drove for another couple of hours, before I could finally see the beautiful lights of the city. I had a hard time trying to to fall asleep, because it was quite late.

"Here we are." Benny said as he parked the car in front of the apartment.

When I stepped out of the car, a bunch of memories came to my mind. The good times and the bad ones.

We walked downstairs and Benny opened the door. The apartment was still the same, the only thing that had changed, were the different magazines. Well they still had his face on it, but just another date.

"Home sweet home." Benny mumbled as he stretched his back. It probably hurted from the long drive. "Is it okay if we go straight to bed, because I'm exhausted."

I nodded as I pushed my bags in the corner of the room. I would steal some space from his closet in the morning.

I took my pants and threw it on the bags. I only took of my bra from underneath Benny shirt and decided that the shirt was a great pyjama.

I crashed on the bed next to Benny who was already laying under the covers. He almost never slept with a shirt on and I loved it.

I crawled closer to him and he pulled his arm around me. "This is a lot better than sleeping alone on the air mattress." I mumbled half-asleep.

"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't throw you out of the car." He mumbled back.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.