“Hmm. Wow, I never thought about it as a benefit like that, but you’re right,” Madison responded, nodding as she did so. She raised a brow at his following questions, unable to hold some laughter. Only a few lines in and she knew he must be kidding. But again, with Ben, one would never know. “The first one, I guess. He’s a neighbor, so in my defense, I was being neighborly, greeted as I passed him in the hall. That’s it. Then I started noticing he would go out to get his mail at the same time I did, so I changed my schedule but eventually he figured it out. It was then that I realized it wasn’t a coincidental running into each other anymore,” she explained, shaking her head over it. “I can’t reveal my secrets. Not like you need them anyway, I’m sure you have your share of obsessed folks around here.”
“Don’t let the wrong person see it though. They’ll think that you’re just an asshole all the time and well,” he shrugged. “Whether that’s true or not, you know how impactful first impressions are,” he mentione as he rubbed the back of his neck as he grinned. Ben watched as she attempted to hold back her laughter, but it was soon let go and that was honestly, one of Ben’s favorite things. Just making other people laugh and feel like they’re having a good time. “So either you’re going to have to Joe Goldberg his ass or if you want to go the boring way, you’re going to just tell him when you go to get your mail how you got a boyfriend or some shit,” he shrugged his shoulders while he welcomed back a sit eating grin. “Who’s to say I don’t need your secrets? I might need them,” he waived his brows at the other, “What makes you so sure? I mean, I’ve got people who admire me but stalkers? Don’t have one,” he mentioned.
Rose never thought to look down at what has hand was clutching. Her thoughts were swarmed with how she was going to get him to leave without knowing there was someone else in her office. She didn’t know why she was being secretive, but all she knew was that he didn’t need to know. “Or whatever…” Rosalie commented. She wasn’t putting together a presentation for one of her many ideas, or doing paperwork for the club. Rose didn’t know how her appearance looked to the other she was just hoping it didn’t come across like she had been participating in other activities.
“You’re right you shouldn’t be here.” Was that because of what he had done or the fact now she felt guilty? That seemed like a question for a different day. When he said it was for something important her eyes snapped to his. She was now curious on what he had to say. Her heart began to race as she waited for his next words. Was it the words she had been yearning to her ever since she had seen him at her favorite restaurant or was it something else completely? As her question was about to be answered she heard a noise coming from her office. Her hand that was resting on the door tightened and her face grew with annoyance with a mix of being caught. Rose didn’t think it was that hard to sit there quietly. She didn’t know what to say to him especially with the tone he was now speaking in. Simply opening the door fully to reveal her work papers scattered on the ground and a shirtless man behind her. The reason for the sudden action was a cue to tell the other to get out of her office. “I didn’t know you were going to swing by.”
Ben couldn’t make sense of the feelings of confusion that he was holding onto. On one end, he knew that he was doing the right thing by returning the necklace. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel like he had really overstepped boundaries that the two clearly had created fine lines about. He sighed, knowing the anger she felt, he should have seen coming; esepcially when he left such an opening for her to say something like that. Would it have changed anything of she knew that he was going to stop by her place of employment? Would it have made a difference? As it was made clear in previous conversations, they weren’t together. They weren’t anything to one another anymore. They were just people that used to spend days together. Days that used to start so secretive, in their own little world. And then, they branced out. They became ‘public’, should he say. They were at a place that Ben hadn’t been in so long.
And now, his eyes now connecting to his brain with what he was seeing. He was hooking up with this guy and yes, Ben, you interurrpted that. He felt so -- hurt? He felt, bretrayed? And he didn’t earn the right to feel that way. He was not entitled to anything that Rosalie did, it shouldn’t impact him. But then again, there they were, completely impacted by Rosalie’s actions. “When did you become this person? This person that has sex with some guy in her office? You -- that was always off limits with you and I. And you know? I fucking respected it. Are you for real? Who the fuck does this guy think he is?” Ben shook his head, “Unbelievable.” Not everything was about Ben, and he knew that not. But a part of him was curious if she had been with this guy just to get back at him. But then again, Ben wasn’t even supposed to be there so how would it have been getting back at him in the first place?
“Is this why you were in such a hurry that day I ran into you? Hmm? So you could meet this dickfuck?” he pointed dramatically at the guy and then his eyes moved to look back at Rosalie.
“I mean, that is fair enough. My time is pretty worthy-” Flossie countered back with a raised eyebrow and a light smirk. She pressed her lips against his, enjoying a very simple snog. She hadn’t done that in a while, she rest a palm against his cheek bone and pulled away slightly. A soft blush rushing towards her own cheeks. “..–You really are the right person for this aren’t you? The lines, the looks—the kissin’.” She shot back chuckling lightly, trying to keep a cool composure. “I am indeed—But only if we play a game with it. I mean, now the creeps gone, I do believe I have to pay with my time and I think we can make that as fun as possible.” She ordered a round of shots and let the tray infront of them.
“Can’t argue with you there,” she mentioned additionally to her words as she moved forward. Ben never knew how he was going to be responded too with the way he acted. Some people found it bold, confident. While others, found it disturbing that they were so easy to go along with such a wild act. As for Ben, it had happened to people he had been around so often that he knew it didn’t come off as odd anymore. Ben took in the soft blush she had to her cheeks as a positive sign as his thumb slightly grazed along her cheek. “I’ve had some to finesse my art,” he said jokingly along with a smirk on his face. “Seems simply enough. What kind of game?” he raised a brow as he asked her curiously. In the meantime, Ben ordered the rest of the bottle of tequila. The bottle was theirs for the rest of the night and the only thing they had left to spend, was time together tonight. “Before we play this game,” he paused, picking up the glass and raising it slightly. “Cheers. -- To luck being our side tonight for running into one another,” he shrugged, smiling all while raising the glass for him to take the shot.
Madison listened to the questions Ben was bringing up. She simply shrugged and sighed before pressing her lips together. “I’m cuffed to my work. And they’re also a little annoying. So I feel if I gave them a chance they’ll get even more clingy and we really don’t want that. I like being on my own, no attachments, you know?” she explained, looking at the other with a brow raised. “I mean, the more the dude can’t take no for an answer, the less attractive he becomes.”
“And the more you become aggressive in telling the dude that you’re not interested, the less attractive you become in his eyes so, I guess you win in this situation. I’m more interested in knowing what in the hell you did to this guy for him to become so obsessed with you. Did you wave hello and ask him how he was doing one day? Did you tell him you liked his shirt or something? Wait, don’t tell me -- did you send him a fruit basket? Nothing says I love you more than a fruit basket,” he said with the obvious intention of being a smart-ass. A smirk was spread wide across his face as he looked over at her while he laughed. “What’s your secret? It’s okay, you can tell me,” he grinned.
Flossie realised that the man she had offered her suggestion too, was a very good looking male. She blushed quickly, widening her eyes to her realisation. “—A little bit of my time? So that’s what i owe you yeah?” She played back giggling. She let him pull her in closer, as she sipped the last of her drink smirking slightly. Keeping an eye on the creepy guy who maybe had lost interest. “Wow…well–” She let out a giggle, covering her mouth. “You know, you say I’m well–stunning, but have you–You’re..” She had a good look at himself, as she licked her lips. “I’m glad I caught your attention anyway.” As he kissed her, she was completely stunned. She kissed him back-obviously. She chuckled as she pulled away as she looked back and the guy made his way out. “Wow..You’re good at this–Ever done this before hm?”
“Pretty fair trade, if I say so myself,” he shrugged his shoulders confidentially as his eyes pierced like daggers straight into her eyes but, softly -- not too over powering. Ben had this down like clockwork; how to look at a woman just right for them to know that he was interested. He remained completely invested in the kiss up until the point that she pulled away, allowing the woman to be in control of when to stop the charade. Although, he enjoyed kissing her so, it wasn’t so much a ploy to him anymore. Either way, he was glad he could help her get rid of the person that was rubbing her the wrong way. “If I say that I have, will that change the way you’re lookin’ at me right now because, I’m really digging it,” he admitted. Even after the kiss, Ben left his hand for a moment rest around her waist. A few moments later, he did peel away. “So, tequilla shots I hear are in high demand. You in?” he smirked.
Leaving Ben after their exchange in the parking lot left her emotionally exhausted. She didn’t know what to feel. Different thoughts had rushed into her mind. She was so angry at him and she also wanted to pull him into a hug. Her emotions were very confusing and she didn’t know how to handle them. Rosalie thought about calling Ronnie to see if the women she thought of as a mother figure had any advice on the matter. Though the thought had been dismissed for one knowing the other women had a lot on her plate and two talking about it out loud would make it real. If she had been in a better headspace that night maybe she would have noticed the locket around her neck fall to the ground. The disappearance of the necklace had caused her to be distraught. She had turned her offices upside down looking for it. Rose looked in every inch of her home and retraced her steps for the last couple days. The locket was nowhere to be found. The locket with an engraved rose in the front had been a Christmas gift from her brother. Ever since his passing she had worn it everyday and it meant the world to her.
Rose smirked at the man that was currently in her office. She couldn’t quite remember his name, she was pretty sure it started with a J. Rose had met him a few weeks ago at her local cafe and now he was getting a private tour of her nightclub. “What am I a nun? Put your hands where they are a little more useful.” Rose always put her work first, it was unusual for her to partake in this behavior during work hours. However the girl didn’t have anymore meetings scheduled for the day and the door was locked. She didn’t think there was any harm in having a little bit of fun during her lunch break. Well that was until there was a knock on her office door. Rose had planned to ignore it and continued with what she had planned until a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. His voice. Fuck Rose thought to herself as she slid off of the man that she was currently on top of. Why did she suddenly feel the rush of guilt? They weren’t together and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. In the case who she wanted. Before she opened the door Rosalie quickly fixed her brunette hair. “What are you doing here Ben?”
It’s official, Ben’s heart had fallen into his stomach. And his stomach? Oh yeah, definitely fallen into his ass. His organs felt like they had been shaken up and were now misplaced throughout his body. Ben knew that he shouldn’t have been there, he hadn’t exactly given her enough space and he was completley away. But once she knew why he was there then maybe, maybe he would be able to redeem something, even if it was a sliver of a fraction of the damage and hurt that he had given Rosalie. His fist was tightly holding onto the necklace. He wouldn’t exactly call it leverage but, the more he hid it in the palm of his name, the more of an excuse he had to just be there with Rosalie. Even if she was mad at him, even if she wasn’t talk to him. She simply was just, her.
“Look, I know you’re probably busy with work and paperwork or whatever..,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Her hair wasn’t exactly in the same way that he had gotten used to seeing it but, perhaps that was him just reading into something. Surely a lot had changed since he had left New York the first time. He pressed his lips firmly together, his eyes moving between the ground and to Rosalie. “I know I shouldn’t be here but, I had to see you. It was important.” It was true, after all. “It couldn’t wait,” he looked at her, but deeper with more genuiness. It was there, on the tip of his tongue. Did he dare say more than ‘I found your necklace?’ Was he about to admit more to his feelings? There was feeling like he had a lump in his throat, that he had just done something wrong and he knew he was going to get in trouble. Instead, it were these feelings that he had been pretending weren’t there. Ben’s fist slightly became less tight, his jaw was relaxed and slightly open as he prepared to speak. But, without fail, something had seemed to always get in the way. He heard the smallest of noise being made from behind the door that Rosalie was slightly holding open. “Is there -- is there someone else in there with you?” he asked, his question in a much softer tone than when he previously had spoken.
She had been waiting there for an hour. A little over that actually. Her publicist had warned her that it was a horrible idea, but Annabelle’s Achilles tendon was the prospect of love. Being the hopeless romantic she was, even if she portrayed herself to be otherwise, she managed to go on fruitless dates that turned into fruitless one night stands and maybe not even that. No one had stood her up so far. Until now. Thankfully, though, being Insta-famous gave her enough anonymity that aside from a few drinks offered her way, no one had actually bothered her that night, especially since the same publicist that warned her a blind date was a terrible idea, also was in charge of posting previously taken pictures of her in her Manhattan townhouse. She hated putting herself in situations that made her fill with self-doubt. Self-doubt had never been something Annie knew how to handle, so she avoided it at all costs. Sipping on what it could be her third glass of champagne and sighing, she rolled her eyes. “Ugh—- why are men, like, so stupid? Why would you invite someone somewhere and not even tell them you’re not coming? Maybe I’ve been Catfished. Is it considered catfish if you actually met the person before?” ( @codstarters ).
“Definitely not the right person to be answering your question. You know -- being the stupid one. With the penis and all,” he shrugged, his eyes taking a brief glance down at himself before moving back to her, chuckling slightly. Ben could think of quite a few reasons as to why men thought it was a smart move on their decision to stand up a woman but, he wasn’t about to explain anything of the sort to the woman. As much of a dick Ben could be, he wasn’t about to mansplain anything to her. “I’d say the correct term might be ghosted? Stood up? Either way -- it’s fucked that some prick stood you up. You’re much too attractive, his loss,” he shrugged his shoulders. Ben tapped the glass in his hand a few times while he spoke to her but when he was done, he raised it to his lips and finished the contents of it. He signaled the bartender over to order himself another drink, “Your time is better spent if you stop mopin’ about the what ifs, Vandenberg.” Yeah, he knew who she was. How could he not? “Have a great fuckin’ night, that’s it. You need another drink or what?” he asked.
Although Oliver ha been in the city for ten years now, he never hit the night life. He was too busy with nursing school when he moved out here and his idea of a good time was seeing a show on Broadway. It was a little naive of him to think all he had to do was show up and have a good time, but he didn’t think he’d be straight up turned away by the bouncer. He is a little older than most of the club goers and definitely overdressed but his money should still be good enough. “That’s fine. I didn’t want to get into your stupid club anyway.” he muttered under his breath. He turned around to go away and mope in his couch but was mortified to see that a familiar face had witnessed his embarrassment. “You speak of this to no one, okay?”
@codstarters
Not a stranger to nightlife, it was somewhat unusual that Ben found himself not working at the beginning of the night. Typically he would start out working, get off, and spend the next couple of hours trying to play catch up to the rest of the people out. But not tonight, Ben was more than ready to party. He wanted to have a good time, but he also wanted to have a good time every time he did something so tonight really wasn’t all that different. He was walking up in line to the club when he witness the entire interaction between the one male and the bouncer. He was surprised, never turning down anyone himself unless they were at capacity and in his mind, it was no way that the club in front of him was. “After you admit that you wanted to get into said stupid club,” he countered, loosely crossing his arms against his chest. “--And you agree to have fun tonight. You’ve got ‘ready to be a couch potato’ written all over your face and well, you’re dressed way too nicely to let tonight go to your couch,” he shrugged with full honesty.
“HEY!” She whispered to the person next to her. “I need to pretend we’re dating or together-Please!” She opened her eyes in panic “W H A T E V E R, I don’t care!” She notioned over to the person at the other end of the bar. “This guy has been trying to talk me all night and I’ve already told him that I’m married, taken—-” She raised an eyebrow. “Look, I’m not. But I would be eternally grateful you just pretend to be with me until he goes….I will repay in many array of tequila shots”
@codstarters
How was it that Ben found himself in this situation as often as he did? Not that he minded at all because he didn’t. But it did seem quite ironic that he always seemed to find himself in a time that needed him to turn on the charm. Who was Ben to argue? He could do a little flirting, and possibly a kiss out of it. Where was the harm in that? “Alright fine, no problem. But, you’re sticking around a little while after the creep leaves, yeah? Least you can do for me is give me a little bit of your time,” he spoke in a soft, flirty way that showed his colors. And that color was -- interested. Ben wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her slightly closer to him from their seats. “Can’t blame the dude, you know -- you’re absolutely -- stunning -- ,” he started whispering at his ear and each pause was associated with a soft kiss that he began near her ear and then slowly down her neck, over to her lips, finally.
“so,” madison began, turning her attention to the person beside her, “be honest, let’s say you’ve tried making it clear to someone that you’re not interested, and you’re being as kind as possible, but they don’t seem to get it. do you just flat out come out and tell them to piss off? or is that too harsh?” @codstarters
“Depends on why you’re not interested. Are you cuffed? Are they not attractive? Is their personality shit? Are you playing hard to get?” he wiggled his brows as he posed all these questions, hypotheticals. There were so many reasons why someone might not be interested in someone else. “There simply is not enough information to answer so,” he paused, looking at her slightly. “What’s got you for zero to ‘piss off’?” To say he was intruiged, was an understatement.
So, the last time Ben and Rosalie saw one another, wasn’t exactly the way that he had hoped. He knew that she wouldn’t forgive him, what he did was pretty hurtful. But at the very least, the male had some sort of hope that she would have been able to understand where he was coming from. What he neglected to say was where he was coming from. She didn’t know his background, and he didn’t know hers. Through their relationship, however, he knew how much that he cared for her and always wanted her in his life. Ben was more than capable of giving Rosalie her space. However, when the two had decided to part ways, Ben stumbled upon a necklace. It wasn’t just any necklace. He had a mental image of the necklace resting against Rosalie’s skin, every time he spent time with her, without a doubt. He cared about her, he wasn’t a monster to hold onto something that was clearly as important to someone as the necklace was to her.
Ben made a trip over to Rosalie’s place of employment, with more than enough nerves for the two of them. Would he even be able to get a word out? Either way, he knew he was doing the right thing. For quite some time, Ben was a familiar face that when he arrived, there really wasn’t any questions as to what he was doing there. He easily made it to the back where he would find Rosalie in her office, as the rest of the staff had mentioned. Ben placed a soft kiss to his clenching fist before he opened it to reveal the necklace in his hand. He gave it a look over once or twice, knowing he made the right decision to bring it to her, even if she had no interest in seeing him. Ben inhaled deeply, closing his fist around it while he knocked on the door. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. How was he going to do this when she could tell him to leave before he even got his own word out? “Rosalie?” he called out warily.
( HARRY STYLES + CISMALE ) — Have you seen BENJAMIN JONES ? This TWENTY-EIGHT year old is a/an PHOTOGRAPHER, BOUNCER, AND PERSONAL TRAINER who resides in MANHATTAN. HE has/have been living in NYC for EIGHT MONTHS, and is/are known to be ENERGETIC and ADVENTUROUS, but can also be SELF-ABSORBED and ARROGANT, if you cross them. People tend to associate them with POLAROIDS and EMPTY BEER BOTTLES
tw: mental health, drugs
ugh my pride and joy !! i love ben with all my heart and i hope you love him too. let’s plot!
( HARRY STYLES + CISMALE ) — Have you seen BENJAMIN JONES ? This TWENTY-EIGHT year old is a/an PHOTOGRAPHER, BOUNCER, AND PERSONAL TRAINER who resides in MANHATTAN. HE has/have been living in NYC for EIGHT MONTHS, and is/are known to be ENERGETIC and ADVENTUROUS, but can also be SELF-ABSORBED and ARROGANT, if you cross them. People tend to associate them with POLAROIDS and EMPTY BEER BOTTLES
tw: mental health, drugs
ugh my pride and joy !! i love ben with all my heart and i hope you love him too. let’s plot!
@codstarters
Ben was raised in a family of four; his mother, father, and his younger brother. Ben is the older out of the two boys. He always had to be a role model for his brother, setting the best examples, being responsible, and anything else of the typical older brother. When Ben was only sixteen years old, he got emancipated from his parents. He experienced a great level of trauma throughout his life, some of which included abuse from her mother, loss of one of his best friends, experienced a natural disaster, and shame associated with past relationships.
After he got emancipated, he began to travel around the world; Germany, Europe, England, Thailand, Ireland, Japan – you name it. During his time traveling, Ben started to gain interest in photography; taking photos of the people and places that he has seen. By this, he was able to gain a large following of social media and even began posting pictures of himself which seemed to gain if not more interest to followers. He makes decent money from being a social media personality.
He likes impressing people, making sure that he has the approval of others. However, at the same time, Ben grew tired of being the best role model or trying to make sure that he had the approval of everyone else. With that being said, he tends to impress others by the materialistic items that he has such as fancy cars or the hottest fashion trends. Ben has little to no filter, saying anything that is on his mind. It certainly has gotten himself into a bit of trouble, especially mixed with drugs and alcohol. Ben has been to jail for drug possession charges – which one of the charges led him to spend some time in rehab. During his time in rehab, Ben realized that traveling, doing drugs, and the other reckless behavior he participated in was his ways of forgetting the trauma that he has faced throughout his lifetime.
After his time in rehab, Ben really tries to remain clean of hard drugs and did complete probation. But with the amount of traveling that he has done in his life, nothing has ever stuck afterward.He loves music, photography, and geography. He might not have graduated high school, but he is far more intelligent than anyone would think that he was due to the amount of traveling that he has done during his lifetime.
A great deal of Ben’s time was spent in a flight or flight mode, causing him to be this wild card or overly cocky individual. Ben has been on his own since he was fifteen, the sole caretaker for himself. He has had to constantly adapt to life’s situations. However, if someone can be the person to break down his walls, he is more than just a fuckboy. Only specific people get to see the real side of him. Of course, it’s a cliche that everyone has walls and isn’t a nice person until you get to know them, but Ben has had to learn to look out for himself and no one else; self-preservation.
This world traveler had turned into a settler, the past few months in New York. It suits his speed. Although he makes decent money from being a social media personality, he does work as a bouncer to make extra cash. He enjoys the speed of the venue, as it matches his personality and his character. Ben stayed in New York or a few months and realized that he was still afraid of settling down and he ended up leaving for a little while. His excuse was that he went to get certified as a personal trainer. Which, he did, so his ‘excuse’ matched his actions.
Last tidbit, Ben is bisexual. He has a tendency towards choosing women. He has only had two serious relationships that have lasted longer than a few months and that the two of them went out on more than just a few dates. Ben is not a dater, more like ‘hanging out’, if you catch his drift. His serious relationships have left him a bit immature and fearful of committing to someone.
