The Girl Next Door | Baby Daddy

4.3 | The Rooftop

"So have we." Danny reminded her.

"Yeah, but Ben and Cassie are... well, they're Ben and Cassie."

"Yeah. They're Ben and Cassie, who know every little thing there is to know about each other and are practically raising a child together."

"Oh, God, you're right." Riley hated to admit, leaning forward and burying her face in her hands.

Riley hated that the guys she had been in love with since they were kids was hopelessly pursuing her younger sister. Riley wanted to be her that Ben was jumping through hoops to impress and plan the perfect date for.

"So, you think he's really gonna go through with this big date thing?" Riley pondered, looking at Danny. He knew exactly what she wanted him to say. She wanted him to tell her that he wouldn't be able to go through with it. He would realize that he wasn't actually in love with Cassie. Maybe, it was just easier than admitting he liked Riley.

But Danny didn't want that to be true. While he had watched Riley fall for Ben, he had been falling for her. Clearly, she didn't feel the same way since she was sitting across from him, confessing her love for his younger brother.

"He's pretty sure." Danny broke the news to her gently. "I don't think he's going to back out."

"How do you know?" Riley requested and Danny gave her an empathetic look.

"Because he's on the roof about to call her right now." Danny exposed to Riley and her eyes widened.

Suddenly, it was real. It was really happening. She was losing him.

Riley's stomach dropped and all she could feel was a hollowed inside of her, filled with nothing but hurt, and even anger.

"Riles... you okay?" Danny wondered carefully as he watched Riley's eyes glaze over, her face sinking. He hated seeing her like this. It made his own stomach ache watching the girl he loved so hurt and miserable.

"No, I'm not okay." she responded meekly, her eyes tearing up. "The person I'm in love with is in love with someone else. You have no idea how awful this feels." She explained.

Danny gazed upon her lovingly. "I think I can imagine." He told her.

"I just wish I was her. I wish I was the girl Ben went to for every little thing." Riley admitted to Danny.

"I think you're pretty great just being you." Danny told her and her big brown eyes looked up at him and his soft expression.

"Really?" She said weakly, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Are you kidding me? You're amazing!" Danny immediately began raving. "My brother's an idiot for not feeling the same about you. You're smart, you're funny, you're beautiful. You see what you want, and you go for it."

"You're right." Riley decided, toughening. "I see what I want, and I go for it." Riley jumped to her feet. "I have to stop Ben."

Danny lept up, as well. "Wait, what? Let's not do anything rash!"

"Ben's making a mistake." Riley declared and grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder. "Thank you so much for the pep talk, Danny!"

Danny watched the girl he loved run out of the bar to chase after his own brother. He had meant what he said, that his brother was an idiot for not seeing how great she was. He was telling the truth when he said she was smart, and beautiful, and funny, but now he feared he would lose her forever as she ran away from him and to Ben.

###

Riley hurried to the roof, practically running up the stairs. She was panting by the time she bursted through the door. Ben pivoted around, expecting to find Cassie, but finding an out of breath Riley instead. She quickly caught her breath, regaining her composure.

"Wow..." Riley said to herself as she gazed around the roof. There were several strings of white fairy lights strung around the roof. In the lighting, she could see Ben standing anticipatedly in the middle of the roof.

Ben. He stood dressed in a well tailored black suit over a white dress shirt, a dark maroon tie around his neck, neatly tucked into his suit jacket. Riley hadn't seen him in a suit in years, not since they had gone Danny's high school buddy's wedding, and after laying eyes on him, her lips parted and she let out a shaky breath. He was so handsome. His hair was neatly combed, soft stubble lining his chin. As cliche as it sounded, the twinkling lights made his brown eyes glimmer, especially the golden flecks surrounding his irises.

"Ben--"

"Sorry, I thought you were Cassie." He said, smiling and rubbing his palms together anxiously. "I'm so nervous... I've never done anything like this. You know... grand, romantic gestures aren't exactly my thing."

"Ben, stop--"

He snickered, seemingly unable to remove the smile from his face. "I can't believe this is actually happening! I didn't realize how much I wanted to be with her until--"

"Just stop--"

"I had given up any hope that I had a chance--"

"Ben, the dream wasn't about you, it was about Danny!" Riley snapped and the giddy grin on Ben's face slowly began to melt away.

"What?" He mumbled, trying to make sense of what Riley had just said to him.

"Cassie's dream was about Danny. Not you." Riley broke the news to him and Ben's face only fell more.

He took a deep breath, turning away from her as he slowly dragged his hand over his face, his hand ending at his lips, his palm covering his mouth.

"Ben?" Riley whispered, taking a step forward.

"Please go." Ben murmured, still trying to understand what had just been exposed to him.

"I'm sorry, Ben, but--"

"Riley, just please go away." Ben sniffled as he dropped his hand to his side, staring up into the Christmas lights above his head. Riley recognized this motion, tilting his head back. He was trying to hold back the tears forming in his eyes.

"She does love you Ben." She spoke in a soft, gingerly tone. "Just not in the way you want her to."