"For the last time. No!" Ella said firmly and folded her arms. It was bad enough trying to dodge David after their last meeting, when she wasn't sure what to make of that meeting. She loved the fact that they ate and talked, as if they were friends. But she wasn't ready to dismantle the wall she had erected over ten years. It would be easy to fall in love with him. Ok, ok, her heart questioned her brain, fall in love?: She did that ten years ago and was still in love with him. She just found a way to live her life without him, just by putting it away. Focusing on her work allowed her to bury the fact that ten years later, she was in still in love with him. She was not ready to rescue it from her emotions-depot, and definitely, without assurance from him.
In any case, given the last few minutes, Amelia and Ben want her to date another guy!
Amelia watched Ella's face as Amelia continued to encourage her, "Come on Ella. He's a nice guy." Not that Amelia knew him that well. However she trusted Ben, and if Ben said Peter was a good guy, then Peter must be a good guy!
Ella countered and her lips turned down, "Great. If you think he is a nice guy, you go with him, Ames!" Ella kept her cool, just. She didn't know this guy, Peter. Ella retorted "I give you my blessings, he is yours!"
Amelia rolled her eyes at Ella's riposte. "I told you it would be a waste of time." Amelia muttered as she headed past Ben.
Ben took a straightforward approach, as he said, "Look Ella, this is a really special occasion for him."
"Lovely. Happy for him!" Ella smirked at Ben, and was happy to see that her response was having the right effect.
Ben poked his tongue in his cheek, took a breath then continued, "He's collecting an award."
"Lovely. Pass on my congratulations!" Ella said bluntly seeing that her original relief was transitory given Ben was still talking about it.
Ben squared his shoulders, and continued, despite the fact that Ella was batting away this argument. "No guy likes to go to these things on their own, it makes them look sad." Perhaps a bit of emotional blackmail might work, so he continued, "Desperate even."
Ella said with a laugh, "And you are asking me to go with him?" She continued to laugh. "Me? You can't be that desperate, Ben! And that guy can't be that desperate!"
Ben wanted to throttle her! "Yes, I am!" Ella smirked at that statement. Ben shook his head at her, and exasperation laced his words, "I am asking you for a favour. He's our milk-sharer. I have known him for years. He is a great guy." Ben stated bluntly, given emotional blackmail was a no-brainer.
"Lucky you." Ella replied.
Ben gritted his teeth. "Peter is a really shy guy. He's not confident around women."
Amelia feigned a grimace and rubbed her temple with her fingers, "Ben! You want to set him up with the frigid icicle," She looked over at Ella, "no offence, Ella!" Amelia shrugged when her friend smacked her arm. Then Amelia turned around to look at Ben, "How is that going to boost Peter's confidence?" Again she rolled her eyes, "He'll be permanently petrified of women after that." Amelia added and grinned at Ella. Ella didn't take any umbrage at Amelia's statement, so she grinned back at Amelia.
"This is his fifteen minutes of fame!" Ben grumbled loudly. "And you, Ames, do want him to go alone?" Ben gave Amelia a look before turning to face Ella. "Do you Ella? Honestly, I can't believe you two would be so nasty to a great guy!"
"It has nothing to do with me! Remember!" Ella growled at him. "And Amelia is right. I am an icicle! But that doesn't mean I am nasty! In any case, are you saying that it is not good to be nasty to a great guy, but ok to be nasty to a guy who isn't great?"
Ben narrowed his eyes at Ella, as Ella tried to tied him up with semantic knots. "Ella, I've seen you with your friends. You know how to be nice! You have just decided not to be nice to Peter!" Ben folded his arms and further narrowed his eyes as he pinned Ella with a glower.
Ella walked away. Ben was right. She knows how to be nice, and yes, she decides who!
Amelia looked directly at Ben and she used her head to point out that Ella's posture suggested she was upset. Ben acknowledged that counsel. He took a breath as he watched Ella's back. He made a note of her rigid stance. He could see from Ella's deportment, she was wounded. He ran his palm over his face. "I figured you are one of the nicest people I know." Ben said with sincerity, and he added, "I just think that you are someone who just happens to spend her entire time pretending she isn't a nice person!"
"Duh!" Amelia joked, as she tried to lighten up the situation. "Why do you think that is? If she didn't, she'd be fending off guys every ten seconds. Even now some are too stupid to take the hint."
Ella remained where she was, kept her back to them, and did not look over her shoulder, as she said, "Why don't you go, Amelia?" Ella challenged her friend.
"Cause people know I'm with Jack." Amelia said softly, adding, "You know that, Ella."
"So?"
"It would make Peter look even more sad!" Amelia replied sweetly.
"And if you went, Ella," Ben gestured expansively, "Peter would be the envy of every guy there." He moved closer to Ella. "It would give him a real ego boost." Ben grinned then added, "Ella, you can handle yourself at these events." Amelia smiled at Ben with utter confidence as she watched him, seeing his vast experience with women would help him with Ella. "But it is all new to Peter. It really isn't his scene. So having you around would be an absolute godsend."
"No." She knew when she was being conned by Ben: He was clearly a master in flannel.
Ben moved closer to Ella and stood beside her, "Just meet him, Ella. He's harmless." He offered a smile. "He won't hit on you. He wouldn't even know how to do that! He won't cling." Again Ella folded her arms and took a step back. Ben followed her and stood in front of her.
"You are stalking me!" Ella jabbed his shoulder with her finger.
Ben ignored that warning and kept his smile on his lips and in his words. "It's just one evening. He just needs a partner to go to the event. He's talking about not going."
"Fine. If he doesn't want to go." Ella said coolly
"No it bloody isn't." Ben finally growled, causing both Amelia and Ella to look at him in bafflement. Ben huffed out a sigh. "Sorry. This is just frustration!" He ran a hand through his hair. "I like the guy. He's a decent guy. Good worker. A bit shy. And his, probably only, moment of glory and he's going to bail because he doesn't want to show up at this fancy dinner and dance thing, to collect the award, an award that he really deserves, all because he doesn't have a partner and he didn't want to sit at the dinner table like a lost soul." He ranted on as his words got louder.
There was silence for several minutes.
"Sorry." Ben said and rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry."
Amelia began to intercede, feeling sorry for Peter, as it reminded her of her own situation until recently. "Ella, perhaps you..."
"Don't you start...." Ella cut her off.
Amelia interrupted, "If it wasn't for you I'd be a perpetual wall flower. The only reason people noticed me is because I hung around with you. Then Jack saw me! You've given me heaps of confidence. I can be just me. Jack wouldn't have taken any notice of me, if it wasn't your influence on my actions!"
"That's so not true, Ames."
"Come on, Ella, it is." Amelia grinned, "I've lived in this town for years. But, when you arrived, two years ago, and you took me under your wing and suddenly I became a someone!"
"Amelia..."
"People invited me to parties." Amelia said quietly.
Ben frowned as he listened to Amelia, "Hey, what about me? I invited you to parties. I was..."
"You were fab. You know that, idiot!" Amelia grouched with a smile. "But she's better looking than you Ben!"
"Thanks." Ben snorted and then smiled. "I agree, she is gorgeous!"
"Exactly. And she can pull, if she wanted it!" Amelia pointed out with a shrug, "Actually, she does pull, without trying at all!"
"Usually consciously putting them off I'd say!" Ben muttered beneath his breath. Ella rolled her eyes at that. Ben then turned to Ella, "One small favour, Ella. Please just come and meet him. That's all. Meet him. No hassle, no harassment, just meet him."
All of three of them waited.
"Fine." Ella finally conceded.
Ben threw his arms around her and gave her a big hug. "You are a darling."
"Get off! Idiot!" She tried to disentangle herself from that hug. Ella smiled with a smothered giggle.
"I think you'll like him." He kept an arm around Ella's shoulder, otherwise she might scarper. "He's not your type. You're not his. But I think both of you would enjoy each other's company for an evening. You don't have to dance, just attend with him." Ben said matter of fact.
"I didn't say I'd go out with him." Ella stepped away. "Just to meet him."
"I know. I know. You will just meet him." He laughed. "No time like the present." Ben replied with a cheeky grin. "We'll be back in half an hour." He told Amelia and reached for Ella's hand, "Come on."
"What?"
"Come on. He'll be in the sheds." He dragged her towards the door, with Amelia's laughter ringing in their ears.
"You want me to traipse through cow shit in three inch heels to meet this guy, now?" Ella grouched.
"It's just cowpats! And the sheds will have been hosed down by now. Come on." He tugged her arm and then moved his arm to her shoulder and hugged her close. He knew if he gave Ella time, she would find an excuse to bail.