Maria Rambeau (callsignphoton) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-12-03 16:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-24, ben |
All dressed up and ready to go
Who: Autumn and Ben
Where: Autumn's house then the gala
When: 6:30pm
When Autumn had gotten the invitation to the party, she had no plans on attending. However, when Ben said he was going and would go with her, she changed her mind. She felt like she should be making more of an effort to get to know her fellow coworkers.
So Autumn went shopping and found the perfect dress for the event. After showering and doing her hair, Autumn carefully stepped into her brown chiffon dress. She accessorized with gold shoes, gold earrings and a gold purse. Her hair was pulled back into a loose chignon with curly tendrils framing her face.
Knowing that she wouldn't be able to drink anything more than water at the party, Autumn fixed herself a glass of sweet tea and had just sipped it when the door bell rang. She picked up Suri, who was at her feet and went to answer the door.
Ben was in good spirits when he pulled up near Autumn's house. The whole afternoon with Amelia had gone swimmingly and he didn't know why it mattered to him so much, but it did. Plus, he was looking quite handsome and he knew it. Hoping he wasn't too late to pick her up, Ben had rushed to Autumn's door and knocked. When she answered, holding a dog even smaller than himself, Ben took a step back and knitted his eyebrows, looking at the dog suspiciously before looking at Autumn and smiling. "Hi! I hope I'm not too late. Are you ready to go, or do you want to wait a while?" He had heard somewhere that it was much better to arrive late than to arrive early, and it was still half an hour before the party's appointed starting time.
"Hi!" Autumn smiled. She stepped back so he could come in. "We can wait a while if you'd like. I just poured some sweet tea if you want some." Autumn waited until he was inside before closing the door behind him.
"I really appreciate you going with me. I'm not even sure why I'm going - I wasn't involved in the thing at all. I just thought it'd be a cool way to meet people." Her face was a little blushy and sheepish as she admitted that.
She held up Suri and nuzzled her little face. "This is Suri. She showed up in my flowers one day and being so cute, I couldn't resist taking her in." She led Ben to the kitchen and motioned to a bar stool. "Have a seat. You want sweet tea or something else? And I have some homemade pecan pie if you want some."
"That's the awesome drink you were telling me about at the barbecue, right? I'd love some." He said with a smile. When Ben was walking past her to enter her house, he made a special effort to not walk near the dog. "Well me either, I only talked to some kids who were having a hard time, but it's not like I did anything for those kids, really." Ben wouldn't fault her for using this party as a way to meet people. He was pretty sure a lot of other people would be using this party for much worse and less noble reasons. Plus, he himself would be using it to dance with Amelia. It was all he really wanted out of it.
The ever present dog side of Ben was a bit jealous of Suri, but of course he didn't let it show. What would Autumn think if he did? Taking a seat, Ben smiled. "Aww, she's cute." And tiny. And for some reason, Ben couldn't help but be glad there were dogs smaller than him. "I'll just have the tea, thanks. You look really nice, by the way." It would be rude not to compliment her, and she actually did look nice.
Autumn did put down Suri and washed her hands before fixing Ben's sweet tea. "I swear this stuff will change your life," she laughed. Hopefully he wouldn't find it too sweet. Some people did, others found it perfect, like she did.
"Thanks," she grinned. "You do too - you clean up really well." His tux was dashing on him as she knew it would be. She couldn't help but wonder what Graham would have looked like all dressed up in a tux. Being as tall as he was, she bet he would have pulled it off great. Thinking of him made her frown slightly, missing him, even though it was crazy to be.
Ben laughed, though he doubted how much of a part sweet tea had in changing one's life. Still, if it was sweet and Autumn was so keen on it, it had to be good. "Oh, thanks." He answered proudly, trying but failing at crossing his legs. Never was a good idea to do that on a stool, really. "Soooo...Do tell about your new friend." Ben tried his hardest not to sound like a 'girlfriend', but he was curious.
Autumn grinned and handed Ben his tea. "His name is Graham. I don't even know that I know his last name. Hmm, weird. Anyway, he seems nice. He's kind of the bad boy type - slightly dangerous, but thrilling none-the-less." Autumn shrugged. It was really weird to put a label on it. "I'm sure he's not the commitment type, so this isn't some huge romance or anything. We're just having fun." Lots of fun she amended in her head with a smirk.
"What about you? How are things with you and Amelia?" She had felt the vibes during their barbecue and knew they were into each other. Plus, Amelia had been giving off major jealousy feelings towards Autumn so she knew that Amelia was into Ben and could only assume the reverse was true as well.
Ah, the bad boy type. Ben grinned at the description and wondered why so many things changed every generation, but this wasn't one of them. Everybody loved a bad boy, when by definition they really shouldn't. Ben supposed they were more thrilling than the good guy types. And fun, too, which was why what Autumn said didn't surprise him in the least. "Good for you, that's good. I'm glad you're having fun." He said with a grin.
However, when Autumn turned the questions on him Ben almost choked, coughed and shrugged. Don't tell, don't ever tell, never, ever, ever. "What, uh, I don't know what you're talking about." He laughed. "We're good friends, which is a good thing considering she's my boss." And we had coffee and she agreed to dance and dine with me, and I walked around her house half naked, and she loved it, and I had some of her meatloaf - not like that - and it was so good. But Ben would never tell. Not to anyone who wasn't Will, his best friend for life. While Autumn was beginning to be a friend, it was too damn early.
"Uh huh," Autumn said disbelievingly. "You and Amelia had vibes at that barbecue. I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday, you know." She shot him a knowing grin but also understood if he didn't want to talk about it. Guys were that way sometimes, they didn't talk about feelings. "Just dance with her tonight, okay? And tell her she looks pretty. Works every time."
"Okay, give me a few to freshen up and then we can go." Autumn rushed from the room and into her bathroom, dabbing on some lipgloss. She made sure her hair was okay before returning to the kitchen. Suri was prancing around demanding food, so Autumn scooped out some for her and then grabbed her shiny gold clutch. "I'm ready whenever you are," she told Ben.
"Well I should hope you never fall of the turnip truck, or any truck, because that sounds painful." Ben said, shooting him with a 'look' along with a smirk. "I will, and I did. I came here straight from her place." And his look told her that was all he was ever going to say on the subject.
He savored the tea while Autumn finished getting ready and tried to ignore the little dog. Glad that she hadn't taken long, Ben hopped off the stool, licking his lips because of the sweetness of the tea, and walked to the door. "Let's go then." He said, opening Autumn's door for her.
"Fine, fine, don't tell me, you ass," Autumn teased as she walked out the door. She locked it behind her because Graham wasn't going to be back until late. She'd had him a key made earlier that afternoon, even though he was all freaked out about it.
"So are you a good dancer?" she asked as they walked to his car. She noticed some flowers had been trampled on and made a note to talk to Graham about that. As it was, she stared at them intently until they came back to life, waving proudly in the slight breeze.
"Hey!" Ben feigned being offended by her name calling but really, he wasn't. He had been called worse before. And if that was the end of it, Ben was glad anyway. He unlocked his car and opened Autumn's door for her before walking around to get in through his side. "Yeah, maybe." The way he usually danced probably wasn't appropriate for this kind of event, anyway. "What about you?"
"Decent, I suppose," Autumn answered as she got in the car. She waited until Ben made his way around the car and got in as well before continuing. "We actually had to take ballroom dancing in gym in high school. We had it for a whole semester. It was back when boys had cooties and no one wanted to dance with them." She laughed at the memory of trying to dance but not actually touch each other.
"Really? I never had to dance in Gym." He said, laughing along with Autumn although if he remembered correctly he had never really had the cooties. But he wasn't going to brag about that, since bragging was so frowned upon. "Must have been fun, then, having to dance while trying not to come anywhere near them."
"Oh yeah, it was highly interesting," Autumn chuckled. "I think we danced like four feet apart from each other." Fun times, fun times. "So you'll save me a dance? Put my dance lessons to use?"
Ben chuckled. That was a funny image. "Sure I will. It's not a party unless you dance with everyone you know, right?" Ben wouldn't know but it felt like the right thing to say. They hadn't been driving for long and Ben had to follow the directions on his GPS; otherwise, he had no idea how to get to the mansion in time.
After making idle chatter and driving a bit more, he finally turned into the long winding driveway for the mansion. Autumn's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the large looming house. "Holy shit," she breathed. "Who are these people?" The house was bigger than anything she'd ever seen. It was truly impressive in its size and grandeur.
"They rich, bitch." Ben answered with a grin before parking where a well dressed valet had signaled him to. He checked himself briefly on the rearview mirror before leaving the car and opening Autumn's door for her. "Come on m'lady, a fancy, fancy night awaits." He said with a smile.
Autumn giggled and stepped out of the car. She smoothed down her dress and grabbed her purse before walking in with Ben. As they were shown to the ballroom, Autumn was wide eyed, taking in every bit of the rich decor as the passed through. The ballroom itself was impressive with it's high ceilings, gilded moldings and the sheer size of the space. "Dear Lord, I'm starting to feel out of place here," she whispered to Ben. What was she, a country bumpkin, doing in such a grand and beautiful place?
As they walked Ben, too was taking the time to take in his surroundings, marveling at the size and decoration of the entire place. And he, too, considered himself way too laid back for this kind of place or event. Weren't it for the chance to wear a tux and dance with Amelia, or for the fact that he'd be leaving Autumn alone, Ben might consider faking a family emergency and leaving very early. "I'm already bored, actually." He confessed, half joking.
"You can't be bored already!" Autumn insisted. "Let's go check out what they have to eat... men like to eat, no?" She drug him over to the tables laden with food and took stock. Everything was well presented and looked delicious. She popped a mini quiche into her mouth and moaned at how good it was. Holding one out to Ben she said, "You have got to try one of these... they are so good!"
Ben laughed. "I was mostly kidding, but this isn't my kind of thing, really. And yes, yes I like to eat." Will liked it even more, and judging by what he'd been stuck in the bedroom doing for what felt like the past week or so, he'd need to eat a whole lot once he and Sloane allowed themselves to go out for air. Ben made a face at the food - it was all tiny food, petite food and Ben wasn't sure just how many of these he'd have to eat had he not had some of Amelia's meatloaf beforehand. Autumn's reaction convinced him, however, and Ben tried the one she held out. "Hm. Oh! It is good. I don't even know what's in it but it's great." He said while chewing.
"It's a quiche, silly. It's made from eggs. It tastes like it has some bacon, onions and maybe some thyme in it too." Quiches weren't Autumn's specialty but still she thought she could detect the flavor of thyme in it. After all that was a spice Autumn herself had in her garden and used in her cooking.
She grabbed a chocolate covered strawberry and bit into it. She closed her eyes with a quiet moan. "Dear God these are good. If you ever want to woo me, chocolate covered strawberries are the way to go." Autumn knew there was no chance of that between she and Ben - they were friends and she was content to stay that way. "You gotta try one of these too!"
Narrowing his eyes, Ben feigned annoyance. "I know what a quiche is, silly. It's just that other than the eggs, I couldn't figure it out. But it's good. It's very good." He said, taking another one while he was at it. "I'll keep that in mind." He said with a snicker. "Too bad I didn't bring my little black book or I'd write that information down next to your name and number." He joked, between finishing the quiche and trying a chocolate covered strawberry as Autumn had told him to. "Great choices tonight, are you a cuisine expert, or something?" Then he turned around to look at their surroundings. "Oh, do you think they have an entire fruit fondue thing somewhere? I love fruit covered in chocolate, not just strawberries."
Autumn giggled as his little black book comment. "I bet you'd need a forklift to pick up said little black book." He was attractive, that was for sure and she knew she wasn't the only female to have noticed.
"Not a cuisine expert - but I do a fair amount of cooking. I enjoy it - it's one of my favorite things to do." She'd have to cook him lunch one day and bring it to him. She made a note to do that sometime next week.
Autumn looked around and spotted a chocolate fountain in the corner. She tapped him on the arm and pointed to it. "Voila, a chocolate fountain. Which looks like it's surrounded by fruit, so it seems like you got your wish!" She led him over there and took a piece of cut pineapple and held it under the fountain of chocolate and popped it into her mouth. "Mm, so good."
Smirking, Ben winked. "No comment." He said before having another strawberry. "That's nice. Will and I cook but we're not really that great at it." Hence all the take-out they had. Looking in the direction Autumn pointed to, Ben grinned. "Oh, great." He followed her without protesting and while she took some pineapple Ben went for some orange. Chocolate and orange was a great mix. "It really is."
"I, apparently, give cooking lessons, so if you're ever interested, just let me know! I can teach anyone how to throw together a great tasting meal." Autumn grabbed a piece of banana and held it under the chocolate. "We so need to move away from this fountain before I eat it all and you have to roll me out of here," she laughed.
Ben knitted his eyebrows together. "You apparently give cooking lessons? So you're not sure?" He asked, amused. "Yeah maybe I will take you up on that one of these days." He said, taking another piece of fruit and doing the same thing Autumn was doing. "Nah, I like it here." He said, munching on the chocolate covered fruit.
Autumn chuckled, "Apparently, yeah. It was actually once, but still. First cooking lessons I ever gave. I think they turned out well, actually. So yeah, anytime you want lessons, I'm available!" She grabbed a strawberry took a bite, sans chocolate. "I like it here too - that's the problem," she laughed.
"Okay, good to know." Ben nodded and smiled. He laughed but didn't make any gesture for them to move, instead he crossed his arms and leaned against the chocolate fountain table. "You're not worried about getting fat over eating too much chocolate-dipped fruit, are you? I think you'll be okay." He spotted Amelia from afar then, and smiled. "Do you mind if I leave you near this dangerous chocolate fountain for a bit? I kind of owe Amelia a dance. Be right back." He said, leaving Autumn with a smile.
"No problem," Autumn said, waving her hand. "I actually think I'm going to take off... I don't feel so well all of a sudden." She put a hand over her stomach and gave Ben a pitiful look. She wasn't actually feeling that bad - she just didn't want to chain him to her and she wasn't up for mingling. "I'll just take a cab home... go have fun with your girl." Autumn reached out and squeezed his arm. "Thanks for bringing me... you look great!" She made her way to the exit, leaving the overwhelming party behind.