I Get A Kick Out of You

Chapter 15

Cassie smiled as she watched Ethan gape at the amount of cream cheese that he had to choose from. It was little things like this that were getting his mind off his dad and that's all she wanted. Well, that and coffee.

"Here you are," Ben said as he put a warm up into her hand. She gave him a small smile as she told him, "Thank you. So, you were saying how you went to the house?" He nodded, then continued to tell her about how he came to find out about her and Joel.

She wasn't surprised to hear that he was drunk.

"Since Eleanore and I signed a prenup and agreed to joint custody, this is her week with Cill. As soon as I dropped him off at her's, I found myself on a plane to you. I hope this was okay, I wasn't totally thinking." He seemed embarrassed with himself and Cassie found it adorable.

She put her head on his shoulder as she said, "Actually...I'm really glad that you're here. My mom is no help with this at all and Ethan is dealing with his own feelings. I just feel like I'm..." She started choking on her tears.

Ben was quick, but careful, to bring her into a hug. "Don't say you feel alone," he told her, "because you're not. You were there for me and I just really wanted to be here for you. Again, I'm sorry if I've overstepped some boundaries."

She looked up at him with a few tears escaping her. "I'm so happy you're here," she told him. "I thought ignoring everyone's calls and texts would help, but I didn't know how much I needed someone...needed you...until I ran into you at my mom's door."

He let out a laugh deep from his chest, then kissed her head. "I was going to knock, you know," he playfully defended. "You were just in much more of a hurry than I was." She laughed as she rested her head against his chest. "God, I'm so glad you're here," she told him.

"Mom!" Ethan called. "They have strawberry and cinnamon! You can get them mixed!" Cassie and Ben laughed at his excitement. "Get whatever you want, baby," she told him. "Do you want anything, Ben? You look like you can eat."

He hummed and gave the bagel menu a look. "Yeah," he said, "I can go for an everything bagel with chive and onion cream cheese. My treat, though." She went to protest, but he quickly told her, "Nope. My treat. No arguing."

She slowly closed her mouth and gave him a nod. He smiled, then led her up to the register. Ethan was beyond excited to get his gigantic bagel with ice cream sized balls of his strawberry and cinnamon cream cheese.

Ben paid for their food, then led them to an open table. "Is Cillian going to be here?" Ethan asked Ben, hope gleaming in his eyes. Ben gave him a sympathetic smile as he told him, "No, I'm afraid not, pal. He's with his mum this week."

That kind of brought Ethan down a bit. "I'll give him a call tonight and you two can talk for however long you want," Ben told him. "Sound like a deal?" He perked up a bit at that and nodded with a small smile.

Once they were done with their breakfast, they opted to head back to the apartment. As much as Cassie wanted to keep Ben and Ethan away from Donna and her friends, it was starting to get unbearably cold to do anything outside.

When they got back, she was pleased to find her mother was actually getting ready to head out. "Oh! I didn't think you'd be back so soon! I'm just going to head out with the girls. We decided to head over to Mary's instead, since you didn't think you'd be here. Now that you are, though..."

Cassie, almost too quickly, told her, "No! No, you should go. Have fun!" Ben looked at her oddly. After Donna had left, he asked, "Not a fan of your mother's friends, I take it?" She covered her face in embarrassment, then asked, "Was it that obvious? Honestly, her friends are the worst and they're turning her into them. They are all divorced, rich and complete snobs. When she tells them about my failure as a wife, they'll be ruthless."

Ben crossed his arms as he told her, "Hey, you didn't fail as a wife. That's not fair." She shook her head, then said, "You're right. It's his fault, isn't it?" He scoffed, "Damn right it is! Just like it was Eleanore's. It took a bit of time for me to realize it, but it was. I searched my brain for anything I could have done to save my marriage, but I didn't find anything."

They both sat down on the couch as he continued, "She found that man on her trip. It's not like I could have gone with her, I was home with Cillian and working at the office several hours a week. Did I encounter some gorgeous women in my days with her? Of course, but I never acted on it! That's the difference between us and them."

He could tell she was in deep thought as she mulled this over. "It's not like I could have stopped him from hiring her," she finally said. "I couldn't be with him at the office all day. Right?" He smiled at her revelation and said, "Exactly. You were an amazing wife, Cass, I saw it in everything you did for him. He was stupid to not appreciate it."

"Just like you were a great husband," she quickly told him. "Any woman would be so lucky to have you." He blushed profusely at that. "As any man would be lucky to have you," he told her. It got quiet after that, but it was a good kind of quiet.

They took each other in, admiring one another for this or that. His eyes, her eyes. His reddened cheeks, her flushed ones. His taught, cupid bow lips and her plump pink ones. How he desperately wanted to kiss them and how she desperately wanted him to.

Ben quickly jumped from his thoughts, causing her to come out of her own. "I should, um...I should figure out where I'm going to stay. I'm afraid I didn't think that far ahead." He started to pull out his phone, but she put her hand over it and said, "Stay here. There are plenty of rooms and it's the least I can do for you coming out all this way to see me. Please, Ben. Stay."

He looked to her pleading eyes and he could tell she wanted to repay him for his sudden visit. "I thought friends didn't repay for these kinds of things?" He asked with a small smirk. She smiled at her own words coming from his lips. "Well, still," she told him. "Hotels in this city are mad this time of the year. You'll end up in some hostel. Ethan is staying in my old room and there are two other guest rooms. Take one of them."

Giving into her, he accepted and was led to one of the rooms. "Mine is just right here," she said, pointing to the room right across from his. "I thought we could have a cozy rest of the day in? Get into some comfy clothes and watch some Christmas movies?"

He smiled as he told her, "That sounds wonderful. I'll be right out." They took each other in for just a few more seconds before turning away.