Robin moved some boxes around and created space in her room as well as in the living room. She arranged them near the corners so that it looked like a fort made out of filled cardboard boxes. Her apartment started looking like it was before, except her belongings were all packed up. She dusted the sofa and laid out fresh sheets for the bed. She was instantly self conscious about the condition of her apartment.
But hey, it was Ben. He was her friend. He wouldn't mind a little mess. At least that was what she was hoping.
She took the keys to the car and immediately went to the hotel that Ben had texted the address to. She wasn't surprised that all the hotels had been booked up. Tourist season had arrived right on time, but it was sad that Ben's booking had gotten cancelled. She saw him standing inside when she leant forward in her seat and she pressed the honk once. He looked up from his seat and waved at her, the biggest smile on his face. She waved back and made sure that there was enough space in the backseat for his luggage.
Ben talked to the hotel manager that had been keeping him company while the rest of the cast and crew were still at the airport. The two of them shook hands once and then, he walked down the steps of the hotel with a suitcase in each hand. He opened the back door of the car and kept his suitcases inside. He then walked to the front and got inside the shotgun seat. He removed his hat and took a deep breath. "Hey!" He greeted her with a hug. It was so good to see her after so long.
"Hiya!"
He pulled back and pulled on the seat belt from the side and wore it. "Seriously, thank you so much for doing this. I owe you one."
Robin waved her hand down. "Please Ben. I think we are way past the owing business now." The memory of dancing in the rain with him flashed before her eyes and she hoped that her ears were growing red. But she pulled back from that memory and started the car. "I kinda lied about going shopping because....well, I was thinking of going out instead. Does that sound okay?"
"That sounds great. Thank you so much, Robin!" He said. "So, how are you?" He knew that he was asking her that question again but he needed an opening and that was the best one.
She chuckled, taking a turn at the corner at the end of the street. "I've been good, thank you. The sequel is going to come out in a month's time."
Ben's mouth fell open. "That's great! That's so amazing!" He exclaimed. "Please tell me that you haven't killed anyone. I happen to know that certain authors love killing characters with roulette."
She laughed, but remembering what she had written, she pursed her lips together. "Well, you'll have to read and find out, I'm afraid," she said. "And the roulette part is true. I've used it many times."
His eyes widened. "Oh no, you've killed Caleb and Sophie. Oh my God, my life is flashing before my eyes!" Well in fact, the look on Robin's face after he kissed her flashed before his eyes.
They kept the talk going without bringing the topic up and once they reached her apartment, she apologised. "I should have talked about this before," She said, scratching her right eyebrow. "But I didn't really know how to."
Ben thought that she was opening the topic of them but after entering her home, he realised what she had meant and immediately felt guilty. "You're moving?"
Robin closed the door and he walked over to the sofa. "I cleaned up a little before you came so that you feel right at home, but yeah! I'm moving....to L.A. There was an apartment available right opposite to Lincoln and Mels', so I bought that with my savings. He offered to buy it for me since he only wanted me to stay close to him, but that was only him being emotional."
"That's amazing! That's great news!" He hugged her once again. "Hey, this means that we will be living in the same town."
She would have lied if she said that she hadn't come to that realisation. "We would! I'm really excited to move back home. Now that Rose is growing up really quickly, it would be great to spoil her more often."
"That's true. I'm sure Lincoln has missed you. Siblings being separated is always hard."
"I hope you don't mind the mess." She said, placing one of the suitcases in the bedroom. "And I hope you find yourself at home here. I tried to tidy up the place, I should say. I'm not used to having people over."
"I'm really troubling you, aren't I?" He said, standing in the bridgeway between the open french doors. "I should go," he said, pointing to the front door. "I'll call up Michel or Kenji. I hope I don't annoy them with my geekiness."
"No, not all! As long as you are okay with this mess, you are not troubling me at all. You can stay here for as long as you need."
"It won't be for long. I'm only here for two weeks."
She gave him a thumbs up. "Great, because I will be leaving at the end of this month!"
Ben laughed. "Glad I won't be getting in the way of that then," he said. "Can I help in any way or...."
"No! No no. It's completely alright. I only need to pack the bookshelves and take the items from the lofts. My coworker is taking care of the rest of the items. So there is absolutely nothing to worry about." He nodded with a smile on his face. "Hey, what am I thinking, keeping you standing? You must be tired from the flight. You should lie down for a while."
She started to clear the bed when he stepped in. "You're thinking of letting me take the bed, aren't you? Well, I'm not letting you take the couch. Not again."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's my house."
"Well-"
"And you need to have proper rest before you have to go for the shootings. Your plane landed only an hour ago."
"Yes, but-"
"Then I suggest you get some sleep." She patted his right shoulder. "I'll call you once dinnertime gets here. Are you okay with the Indian fusion pizza? There's a great place three blocks over and I get them very often."
Ben removed his hoodie and placed it at the end of the bed. "That sounds great." Robin started to close the room so that the air conditioner worked properly but before she did, Ben spoke, making her look up at him. "Thank you, Robin. Truly."
She smiled softly. "Anytime, Ben."
Shutting the doors, Robin leant against the door nearby. Ben Summers was staying at her place because he needed help. He had thought of her. On the other side, Ben was also doing the same thing. He had thought of Robin to help him out.
And now was their time to talk about them.