who: closed | @alycia-acosta
when: like two weeks ago because I’m bad at this
where: aly’s house
If nothing else during this stupid injury, Ben had plenty of time on his hands to think. Some of his thoughts were stupid bullshit, like if the t-shirt he was wearing would still be in his closet in five years or if he should maybe go buy a few more of them because he really liked it and didn’t want to embrace the marketplace change that would inevitably occur before he ruined it. Some of his thoughts were bigger, more existential things. His lease would be up soon, signing the contract an annual rite of passage he hadn’t thought about too much in the last four or so years since he’d moved into the apartment. Did he want to sign again? Did he see himself living there for another year? Was it possible he could want to live with someone else? He and Aly had been living together for the better part of the last year and, though no one had said anything specific and neither of them were talkative that way, he had to admit to himself it was possible they could choose to make that permanent. They could just as likely shy away from that commitment.
Anyway, he’d been thinking a lot more than he’d been acting, and the only thing he knew for certain is it put him into a headspace where he wanted to share some of those thoughts with Aly. He didn’t want to share everything. She didn’t need know that he’d debated shaving his beard and starting over with scruff. She didn’t need to know he’d changed deodorant, because the store was out of his usual brand, and the smell of the new one was freaking him out because it was a weird scent he hadn’t yet associated with himself.
But he wanted to tell her about the email he’d gotten from USC, accepting him into the graduate school program he’d applied for. He wanted to tell her first, but he also wanted to tell her in person. He was still reeling a little, the acceptance an unexpected sign he’d reoriented in the right direction even as he debated if he wanted to go back to the police department. Did he quit his job and accept the offer from USC? Did he drop to part time or take a different job within the department and still accept? Did he ignore the more fantastical aspects of it all and just go back to work because he had to eat?
With all that in mind, he found a YouTube tutorial and asked for help from Aly’s employed chef to make dinner, something he’d done with increasing frequency while he was on light duty. Not that he wanted to try to butter her up or anything, but it was a good place to direct his nervous energy while he waited for her to come home. (The chef may not have shared that opinion.)
An early morning meeting with a developer The Acosta Group was interested in doing business with brought Aly into LA. It wasn’t her usual type of work, but taking the meeting herself meant one of her family members wouldn’t fly out. She wasn’t ready for any of the Acostas to meet Ben, rather she didn’t think Ben was ready to meet any of the Acostas. They’d eat him alive. Aly could already see it. Her father’s disappointment. Amy’s annoying level of interest. She felt obligated to protect him from the classism and harassment. Ben didn’t deserve that.
After her meeting she went to lunch at Craig’s with a friend she’d met at some charity thing last summer. It was an uninspiring affair, but she made it look fun on Instagram. The rest of her day was spent shopping. Aly only stopped when nothing else would fit in her Porsche, and she found herself wishing she taken the Jeep instead.
The smell of food greeted her the moment she stepped inside her Catalina home. It instantly made Aly smile. She was such a foodie. “Mmmm...” Her voice rang, melodic from the foyer. “..huele delicioso!” Before she rounded the corner to the kitchen, Aly ran into her housekeeper. Quite literally, ran into her house keeper. She couldn’t see over the armful of bags she’d brought in. “Good, you’re still here!” It was obvious the woman was on her way out, but still Aly unloaded her bags on her. “Put these in my closest. There’s a few more in the car, too. I think everything left in the trunk goes in Ben’s, but I may have a pair of shoes...” She trailed off, as she tried to remember what all she’d actually bought today. Aly had a bad habit of just shopping to shop. More things in her closest wore tags than not. “Please and thanks!” She managed to pipe just before entering the kitchen.
It surprised Aly to see Ben cooking. The smile on her face went from subtle to full blown. “Are you cooking dinner for me?!” There was no hiding the delight in her voice. It read all over her face, too. Her wide eyes never left him as she made her approach, coming in from the side and dragging her hand across his back. She’d noticed he smelt different the last few days but hadn’t said anything yet. The only thing Aly could smell now was the food. “Handsome and helpful.” Her voiced cooed the compliment in a sincere tone. She was at his side now, leaned up against the counter, more in Ben’s space than she should’ve been for someone who was actively working over a hot surface. “Are you going to feed it to me, too?”
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