Soldier Boy (compoundv) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2023-04-06 08:58:00 |
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He shouldn’t have been nervous. It wasn’t even a date date. It was just two people going out for dinner for no real reason other than the fact that he wanted to see her. She was engaged and a lesbian, so it didn’t even matter in the first place. Plus, he was Soldier Boy, and he didn't do nervous. Since they both lived in the apartments, they decided to meet in the lobby of the building, but then at the last minute, he told her to be outside. Ben had borrowed a Harley from someone at Lou's in exchange for kicking someone's ass. As far as he was concerned, it was a double win for him. Ben pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex and turned the bike off while he waited for Waverly. He was dressed in a maroon button down with black pants and shoes, arms folded across his chest as he leaned back against the bike. Waverly was perpetually perky. Except when she wasn’t. That was happening a lot when she was alone, or thought she was alone. She missed Nicole. Before Waverly had gone to enter the Garden, she had asked Nicole to marry her. There hadn’t been time for Nicole to give an answer. Now Waverly was here and had no idea what her girlfriend was going to say. It led to nights under the blankets with a box of tissues. But she made a point of not letting anyone see it. She didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her. Makeup hid her puffy eyes and it was easy enough to smile. All she had to do was snuggle Alice for a few minutes. Easy! It was getting warmer so she wore a long sleeve tunic length shirt, leggings and her favorite boots. A jean jacket was just in case it got chilly. Which was a good choice since when she got outside to meet Ben she saw he’d brought a bike. A grin spread across her face as she laughed. “You look all bad boy!” "I look all bad boy? Honey, that's all I am." Ben handed over the helmet he brought for her, and moved to get on the bike. "You look all good girl," he added with a laugh. He still wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that nobody seemed to believe what he said, but maybe it was for the best. If Waverly knew his history, he didn't think she would be interested in getting to know him better. Once she was secure behind him, he started the bike and took off towards the restaurant. He had driven recklessly on the way back to the apartment complex, but with Waverly behind him, he drove slower, and not as dangerously, though he did cut it pretty close going through one of the intersections. Ben pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, and parked the bike. He offered Waverly his hand as she got off and they walked up to the front door, which he stepped ahead to open for her. "After you, m'lady." The place was only half filled, so they were seated quickly, at a table in the back. "I didn't realize we would actually be on the water." Waverly gave a bright laugh. “Yeah, right.” Because around her he was nice. A bit crass sometimes, but like she wasn’t used to that from living in Purgatory. So, she just play punched him in the arm for insulting himself then got on the back of the bike. She knew how to ride bitch. She leaned when he did. Held on with her arms wrapped around his waist, and didn’t interfere with any of his motions. Her hair was a bit staticy from the helmet with long strands sticking straight out. “It’s cool! You don’t get sea sick do you?” Waverly giggled before she opened the menu. He had no idea what she punched him for and by the time they arrived, he had completely forgotten and didn't ask. "No, I do not get seasick. I used to be on the ocean all the time. I grew up on the east coast." He pretended not to be affected by her giggle, and he lifted the menu swiftly to cover his face so she couldn't see the smile. "I almost asked if you've been here before, but I know you haven't. Most likely, anyway. When do you start at the Den?" He questioned, glad that he had been able to work a few weeks before she would be there. “Lucky,” Waverly said in a cute grumble. “Not a lot of surfing going on in the Canadian Rockies. We’re lucky if we have a lake.” She always wanted to go to the ocean. Pick an ocean. Maybe not the Arctic, though. She answered as she skimmed over the menu for anything vegan. Luckily, they had a vegan shrimp scampi. “I start this weekend. I’m looking forward to it! I need to buy more clothes for summer.” Then she gave him an impish grin. “Looking forward to watching you dance, too.” Ben quickly decided on the beef bourguignon for his dinner and some kind of pork roll, stuffed with bacon and different cheeses. Both sounded delicious, and he would have no problem eating them both. The waiter approached and set down a bread basket before going over the specials. Since they were in a slightly upscale place, he decided to forego the whiskey, in place of wine. He had never really cared for it, but it was also cheaper. "Oh, well, I wouldn't get too excited about it." He set his menu down and picked up a piece of bread to butter. "There's another new dancer. Her name is Kady, pretty hot. You should see this other dude who does like, Bollywood, I think he said. He's good, makes great tips. I think his name is Baa, or something fucking weird like that." Waverly began laughing. “Kaa,” she corrected gently. “I saw him practicing when I went in for an interview. He’s…really good.” And it was obvious that she had appreciated what she’d seen of his performance. “I read The Jungle Book once when I was a kid. He’s from there. The snake, but in the book he’s not a bad guy like in the cartoon.” Waverly also ordered some wine but she got white wine to go with her dinner. She picked up a breadstick to start tearing apart to nibble on. “I haven’t met Kady yet. So she’s hot, hmm?” Ben stared at her in awe, certain that she was attracted to Kaa. But, that didn't make any sense. "The Jungle Book? Never heard of it. How the fuck can he be from a book? I mean, that's like…" Oz had turned out to be a real place, somehow. Though, he still wasn't sure if it was just a serious acid trip. "You toss any bills his way?" Okay, now he was curious. He thought she was attracted to women, which would explain why she hung out with him. "Kady? Oh yeah, smoking hot. I was ready to do her ten ways from Sunday. You'll see for yourself soon enough and I'm sure you'll agree." Waverly raised her brows and smiled as she watched Ben work it through. When he caught up she giggled. “Based on what I saw there’s people from books and movies here. I’m not familiar with all of them, but really. Be glad it’s Kaa here and not Shere Khan. He’s a total ass.” And a big fucking tiger. No thanks. “So why haven’t you?” she asked before popping a piece of bread in her mouth. He noticed that she hadn't answered his question, but he didn't think it mattered either way. "I still have absolutely no fucking clue what you're talking about, but I'll be glad." Ben's world back home was vastly different, with Vought in control of almost everything. He hadn't been able to find any of the movies from back home. "Things may or may not have happened." He had shrugged and gave a smile to the server who dropped off their wine. "I'll tell you one thing. You better not be putting any money in that guy's g-string. Save it all for me." Waverly laughed. No, she hadn’t answered, but not because she was avoiding the question. She just thought it was really interesting to be around characters from books. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to stuff g-strings while I’m on the clock, but fine. No one gets my cash but you.” She knew Kaa was also married so that would feel weird for Waverly. Then she pointed at him with an amused but firm look on her face. “But you have to promise not to flip out if people are flirting with me at the bar. I need to make tips, too.” "I thought we already discussed this? It's not like I can really pay much attention anyway. I mean, I can't be looking at the bar while I'm dancing. I would walk right into the fucking pole." Ben snorted at the thought and took a chunk of bread into his mouth. "I guess I'll meet your sister at some point. You said she works there, right?" He picked up his glass of wine and downed almost half. "So, have you picked up any hot chicks to take to bed?" “You’d find a way.” He’s a bit like Wynonna that way. Speaking of. “She does. She’s a waitress. You’ll either like her or hate her. You two are a lot alike.” Both badasses who were actually nice on the inside. Everything happy and light about Waverly disappeared when he asked her that. Her eyes fluttered a little before she looked away. “No. No one.” Nicole. She missed her so much! Ben smirked and agreed with a nod. "You know me so well already." He had yet to meet anyone like him, and now he was intrigued and wanting to know more. "I'll have to seek her out." Oh fuck. What had he done? "Hey," he reached across the table to slide his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up to look her in the eyes. "What's with that look? It's like a rain cloud randomly appeared." He wasn't very good at consoling others, but he couldn't just ignore that look in her eyes. Waverly didn’t resist lifting her face, but she did look like someone just kicked her grandmother and her puppy. “I miss Nicole. My fia-...girlfriend. Back home. I asked her to marry me, but I ended up here before I knew her answer. I mean I’m sure she’d have said yes. But…” She sighed as a tear slipped over her lashes. “I couldn’t…y’know…sleep with anyone. It would feel too much like cheating. Even with a guy. It just…wouldn’t feel right.” But she was beginning to feel really lonely. That was definitely something Ben couldn't identify with. Although, he had thought at one point he would settle down and have some kids, but those plans had been completely derailed, and he wasn't about to hand his heart over to anyone. "Don't cry. Maybe she'll show up soon." He hated that he had upset her, and wasn't sure how to get that bright and bubbly glow back. "If you don't want to have sex, there's nothing wrong with that. I would have gladly offered my services, though." She sniffled as she swiped her fingers under her eye, a weak smile coming to her face. “Maybe. But I can’t put all my hope on that. Right? I’d just drive myself nuts, but I just can’t…forget her.” Well, if he wanted her smile back he got it. Along with a giggle. “You’re probably the only one I would even consider sleeping with.” She trusted Ben. He was her friend, the first one she made here. But that smile didn’t last long. “I just…can’t. Not yet.” Hope was useless, but he wasn't going to tell her that. "You know, sometimes things happen for a reason." Ben hated that fucking saying more than anything, but he was trying to make her feel better. He wasn't expecting her to say yes, so when she said she would, but she couldn't, he just shrugged. "It's not like I'm going anywhere." Of all the people in the town, he was the only one she would consider sleeping with? That was definitely a first. "Don't worry about it. I'm not really that good at being sweet and tender anyway." Before he could say another word, their food was being set down and Ben couldn't wait to dig in. "Shit, this looks and smells incredible." “I hate that saying,” Waverly said as if reading Ben’s mind. “What’s worse, is I’ve used it on my sister. Now I think I’m lucky she never punched me.” He wasn’t going to get away so easily just because food was delivered. That sweet smile Waverly could get returned as she reached over to put her hand on top of his before he could pick up a fork. “You are nice, Ben. I don’t care what you say. I’ve seen it. I see it now.” She tilted her head, making her look like a curious puppy. “I’m glad you’re my friend.” “Yeah, I’m not fond of it either.” He snorted at the mention of not getting punched for saying it. If someone had ever repeated the trite statement to him, he would have told them to go fuck themselves. Before he could pick up his fork, Waverly’s hand was on top of his own, and he looked over at her with a slightly panicked expression. Nice. She just told him he was nice. He let out an odd-sounding laugh and looked away from her, clearing his throat. “We should eat before it gets cold.” Waverly’s smile lifted for how Ben reacted to that, but didn’t press it. She just gave his hand a squeeze before she released it. “Do you want to try my vegan shrimp?” She speared one with her fork then held it out to him. Oh, she was hopeful but she didn’t expect him to actually try it. He looked at her in absolute horror at the thing on the end of her fork. “No,” he replied simply, picking up a piece of beef on his fork to offer it to her in return. “You want to try some of my vegan beef?” What the fuck was vegan anyway? Didn’t she ask to go for burgers not too long ago? “It should be illegal to call whatever the fuck that monstrosity on the end of your fork a shrimp.” She had, but there were veggie burgers. Waverly laughed. “It won’t kill you to try it.” Then she made an ick face at his fork. “That isn’t vegan and you know it.” At least this exchange had pulled her out of her funk and she was smiling and laughing again. Ben looked at her with a sigh and reluctantly leaned in to accept the shrimp. He bit it off her fork and chewed it for about two seconds before his jaw dropped wide, and it fell out of his mouth. “‘Sgusting,” he muttered with a scowl on his face, reaching for his wine to wash the horrid taste out of his mouth. “I can’t believe you just tried to kill me. I thought you were supposed to be sweet and innocent. It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?” He teased her playfully, though he was serious about the food being awful. “Never feed me anything like that again.” Waverly burst out laughing. He looked just like a little kid who just tried their first brussel sprout. It was hilarious. She had to take a minute before she got her laughter down to just giggles then took a drink of wine. “Ok, who said anything about innocent?” On the plus side, he got her back to her usual chipper self, and all things considered, that was a win for him. “Please, look at you. It’s written all over your face. I can’t picture you doing anything too bad. Although, you did finish off my joint.” He shrugged, digging into his delicious beef dish. “This is so much better than that fake shrimp of yours. I can’t believe you don’t eat meat.” “I can’t believe you eat things that used to have a face and a mother.” Waverly stuck her tongue out at him then giggled. She was grateful that he got her out of her funk. Waverly spent enough time crying under her blankets at home. She didn’t want anyone to see. It was much better to just enjoy the company of her sister and her friends. “Should I stick to eating things that still have a face and a mother?” Ben replied with a cheeky grin, referring to going down on a girl, though he wasn’t sure it would be that obvious. “Keep that tongue where it belongs, Missy.” |