Pills of love

Don't shut me down (part 4)

"I can't believe it".

"I swear!".

"And what did she do?".

"She kept drinking and repeating 'I'm not a drinker , really' until she got quite tipsy and she wouldn't stop laughing and talking too much".

"You've to introduce me to your grandmother. Absolutely!".

They laughed heartily, Frida putting her hands in front of her face to hold back her laughs and Benny resting his head on his hands crossed on the table, trying to catch his breath. Then he ran a hand through his hair and rested his cheek on his clenched fist, looking at her.

After her performance, he had been exactly where she had left him and he had welcomed her with a huge smile and a hug, listening to her excited and joyful story of her performance that it had been quite... splendid.

She and Agnetha had two voices that complimented each other perfectly and they were a powerhouse together, engaging the audience incredibly and, technically speaking, they were mind blowing. More than once he found himself thinking that they'd do something together, he had so many musical ideas for them... for her.

Benny smiled and slid a hand across the table, finding hers and stroking it. She immediately looked up at him with a smile and flushed cheeks, entwining her fingers with his.

After the performance, they had given each other time to go and change and then he had been at the entrance of her hotel again, with a smile and a rose, which she had accepted embarrassed with a "Thank you, kind sir ", and then the beer had turned into much more. He told her that they deserved something more after that tiring evening and he had taken her to a nearby restaurant, where they had eaten, talked about everything and nothing, telling each other stories and anecdotes, confessing things they had never told anyone but there, at that moment, they came out naturally.

"Can I be honest?" he said, interrupting their game of looks.

"You must be" she murmured, giving a hint of a smile and involuntarily squeezing his hand.

"I often found myself thinking about... The two of us... And..." he hinted a smile and shook his head slightly "After the other night, I had put my heart at peace, you know what I mean? And now it all feels... so weird".

The smile disappeared from her lips "Weird... how?".

He shook his head, reaching across the table to give her a kiss and stroke her cheek "Wonderfully weird" he murmured before sitting back down.

She smiled shyly and lowered her head, letting her hair act as a curtain over her eyes. Touched by the moment.

After a while, she looked up at him again, finding him staring at her with his head cocked to one side.

"I'm... complicated, Benny" she said, grimacing, but feeling that she'd found enough courage to be honest with him, to tell him everything, even If it was the first time they'd dated since... Well, maybe it was even too early to label theirselves.

"I don't like easy things" he replied, smiling.

She smirked "I had a feeling that was it. But... I know that I haven't been honest with you, that I treated you badly more than I want to admit and...".

"Frida, listen to me" he interrupted her, squeezing her hand with both of his now "It's ok, ok? I don't care what it was anymore If we're here together now. If you're sure of all this, If being here with me is something that comes from the heart and only from there, then I don't give a damn about before. Ok?".

She looked into his eyes without speaking. She had prepared a whole speech full of apologies, explanations... But he was like that, he was the tranquility and understanding that she had always sought and had always been in front of her eyes and that she had grabbed in extremis when he was about to slip through her fingers. But he deserved an explanation and an apology.