poking her tongue against the inside of her cheek, she taps the number and presses the option for 'call'. she places the phone against her ear and listens to it ring. the line nearly gets to the last ring before he picks up.
"took you long enough," she says as soon as he answers. ben doesn't bother clarifying who it is—hed know that voice anywhere. "but all it took was an instagram post?"
ben laughs, the deep rumble making her middle feel warm. "that obvious?"
"two days."
"so you were waiting?" he asks, an edge of cockiness to his voice. eva scoffs and rolls her eyes, even though he can't see. "you don't have to admit it, i'm already knowing.."
"i'll hang up," eva says, a smile on her face.
"but you wont."
eva raises her eyebrows at the challenge. she pulls the phone away from her ear and presses the red circle to end the call. she sets the phone on the counter and crosses her arms against her chest, staring at the screen.
she smirks triumphantly when his call comes through a minute later. she waits until it nears the end to pick up. "yes?"
"i didn't think you'd actually do it."
"don't test me. there's a lot you don't know about me," she says smoothly.
"there's a lot i'd like to know about you," he says back, just as smooth. eva ignores the thump of her heart in her chest.
it's been a long time since she's reacted this way to someone. most guys don't even try this hard—they think that because they're both famous that they should automatically go together, even if there's zero chemistry. they think her pretty face makes up for it.
"yeah? like what?"
"you can tell me over dinner tonight."
evas smile grows on her face and her heart hammers against her ribs. "okay," she says, hoping her can't hear the tremor in her voice. she discreetly tries to cover it up by clearing her throat, but fails.
ben smiles on the other line. "yeah?"
"mhm."
"cool. i'll have a car pick you up at seven?" he asks.
"that works," she says, swallowing thickly. eva leans against the bathroom counter to steady herself, her body buzzing with energy.
"aight. see you later, eva."
"bye, ben."
-
ben shoves his foot into the other shoe and fixes the laces so they stay on even though they aren't tied. he clasps his watch on his wrist before putting on a few diamond chains. he smoothes out his white tee with his hands before grabbing a red and cream colored jacket, along with his phone and wallet.
he exits his bedroom and jogs down his stairs. his two friends, tahj and alex sit on his couch in the living room playing video games. "i'm out, yall," he says, grabbing his keys off of the counter.
