Training Wheels ♥︎ Book 1

Chapter 4

She wore a black swimsuit, and was laughing with another girl in the deep end of the pool. She had a platinum blonde pixie cut (which wasn't wet, surprisingly), but that was all Ben could see because she was so far away. She told her friend something and started to get out of the pool. She was walking away but her friend yelled, "Oh, and get me a Diet Coke, please, thanks!"

Ben suddenly realized that she was heading to the snack court, and he racked his brain. He set up the "Lifeguard Will Be Back" sign, jumped off his chair and speed-walked (since no running was an obvious rule) to the snack court. He got in, saw the cashier and asked if they could trade shifts. He said yes, just in time too, the girl had walked into the court. The cashier looked at Ben, then the girl, then back again. He raised one eyebrow and smirked at Ben as he left. Ben waved him off, and the girl was standing right in front of him now.

She had big beautiful grey eyes, a perfect nose (making Ben feel a pang of insecurity about his nose) and pink, baby-soft lips. Ben's brain seemed to stop functioning and his heart seemed to stop.

"H-hi." He managed to choke out, feeling himself start to sweat (and he knew it wasn't the sun this time). The girl smiled at him, with pearly teeth and blue and yellow braces on them.

"Hey, can I please have 1 pack of gummy worms and 2 diet cokes please?" She asked sweetly. Ben loved the sound of her voice already.

"Sure," Ben half-whispered. He tore his eyes off  the girl and went to the fridge to fetch the diet cokes. He couldn't think straight, but he tried to formulate a scene with the girl. Maybe it was the heat messing with his brain, but Ben was pretty sure that he was going to ask her out.

Ben got the cokes and turned back to the register, dipping underneath the desk to get a pack of gummy worms. He put the snacks on top of the desk, cashing hem out and asking the girl for the money in a shaky voice. She gave him a credit card, their fingers touching as he took it from her, sending a shiver down Ben's spine. He cashed out the snacks and pushed them to the girl. She smiled that smile at him once more, turning to leave. Ben asked her, "Hey what's your name?"

She turned around again. "Ellen." She said. "Now that I think about it, I feel like I've seen you around school before."

"I haven't seen you." Ben said, watching Ellen move back towards him. "I would remember that." He blurted out, chastising himself in his mind when he realized what he'd said.

Ellen giggled softly, gazing at Ben with her grey eyes. Ben began to giggle as well, looking down at the floor. He quickly looked back up at Ellen, saying, "Me, you, this Saturday, that Italian restaurant in the town square?" Ben asked.

Ellen smiled again, and Ben couldn't take it anymore. "I'd love that." She said. Ben sighed in relief and happiness. "Eight o'clock good?" She added.

"Yeah." Ben said, smiling back.

"It's Ben, right?"

"Yeah, it's Ben." He replied, knowing she was talking about his name. "Ben Solo."

Ellen smiled once more, turning around and walking out the door. Ben felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders, and he felt happier than he had in a long time. Ben turned around to see the cashier guy giving him a thumbs-up from the broom closet. Ben waved him off again, asking, "How much did you see?"