Hamburger Heaven
It was an average Monday at the hamburger shop, nothing the workers hadn't handled before. Shortly after opening the manager left the kitchen in the hand of two employees while they ran some errands. Luckily it had calmed down enough that the two were perfectly in sync and took care of the orders with ease. Benjamin worked the grill and fryers, while Ann took care of the customers, helping Benjamin when she caught a break. While the two worked well together, Benjamin would often tease and annoy Ann when there was down time. Whether he would joke about her looks or work skills she always rivaled back with some kind of witty remark or a simple look that said "fuck off" without her having to worry about a customer hearing. This day seemed different though, he had softened with her being the only person he could rely on and genuinely expressed his appreciation for her help. While is was genuine, she didn't believe his sincerity and continued to be skeptical and sarcastic.
The day progressed slowly until their shifts were over and the night crew came in to replace them. The moment Ann could leave she punched out, grabbed her bag and yelled her goodbyes as she darted out the back. Trailing behind her was Benjamin, nearly out of breath as pushed out the door and called her name across the parking lot. She whipped around and stared glassy-eyed at him. He looked down, shuffling his feet as he caught his breath. Finally he let out an expression of gratitude that actually felt legitimate to her. A smirk stretched across her face, she let out a quiet giggle and asked, "Did you want to get a drink of something? You know, to celebrate us practically running this place ourselves." His eyes squinted, "Hey, I was just trying to thank you, don't get all soft on me." Her smirk dissipated as she turned back around to walk to her car. She called out as she got in, "Well, I'll be at Shifty's if you wanted to take me up on that drink!" then she shut her door and drove out of the lot.
A few hours had passed, Ann was getting her check and preparing to head home from the bar when she saw a familiar face come through the door. It was Benjamin, looking freashing showered and in much more fitting clothes to his personality than their work uniforms. His eyes scanned the place until he caught Ann staring right at him. "Hey stranger." Her lips moved but no sound came out. He rolled his eyes and made his way to her, "Looks like you're leaving. Prefect, that means I can drink in peace." Her eyes narrowed as she spoke with a giggle, "Am I really supposed to think this isn't you taking me up on my offer? 'Cause I've never seen you in here before." He took a seat and ignored her question. "You're too late anyway, I'm out of here. Time to go home and relax before another day of hell working with you tomorrow." She signed her receipt and stood from the bar stool only to stumble as her feet hit the floor. Benjamin quickly turned and put out his arms to catch her before she caught her balance. He looked her up and down and stood with her, "You are not driving like this; you could kill someone." She took a breath and leaned on the bar, realizing she definitely had more than she originally planned. Truth be told she had been there longer than usual waiting to see if he would stop by. "Well then, I guess you get to be my DD, unless you want to risk an accident." He let out a deep breath and grabbed her arm to walk her outside to his truck. When they were both in he asked where he was dropping her off, she looked at him and sighed, "Damn it, if my car is here how am I getting to work in the morning?"
"Maybe you should hold your alcohol better next time?"
"Shut up," she smiled lightly "we could carpool to work, then you can take me here to get my car after?"
"That sounds like a lot of gas money out of my pocket, and you didn't even mention that drink you owe me."
She threw her head back and then looked at him, "Do you have anything to drink at your place? We could chill there and drink a bit. I could crash on the couch then give you money after work to take me back here." A look of shock appeared on his face, them from shock to almost embarrassment, "Did you just invite yourself over? To spend the night?" A devilish look creeped across her face, " It's that, or I bitch about this whole situation all day tomorrow. And if it's just you and me again you can't escape." His face went blank and he started the engine without another word, en route to his apartment.
When they arrived he helped her out of the truck and to his door. He turned the knob and flipped on the light, she immediately let out a gasp and exclaimed, "What the hell is this?! There's not even a couch?!" He walked in and shugged, leaving her dazed in the doorway. She slowly stepped in and followed him into the kitchen where he was already pulling a bottle of beer out of his fridge. He remained silent and walked back into the main entrance to sit on a deflated bean bag on the floor. She stood for a second before walked to stand in front of him in a huff. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow, "Need something, Princess?" his tone was harsh.
"Am I just supposed to sit on the floor and drink some oxygen?"
He stood up and pulled out a folding camp chair from the front closet. Then he walked to the kitchen and grabbed another beer before plopping back into the bean bag. He held it up to her and she awkwardly took it before sitting down across from him. They sat continued to sit in silence for a few minutes before she asked him, "Are you always this cold, or are you actually mad at me? Because I can leave, I'll call a cab or-" He interrupted, "I don't usually have company, so I'm not really sure what to do. Sorry, I guess."
"Speaking to them is a good start. I feel like we've known each other so long and I don't know shit about you."
"And you never will. I don't really talk about myself."
Ann rolled her eyes and quietly sipped her beer, wincing every time it touched her tongue. It was not her drink of choice, but she wasn't going to refuse the drink when this whole situation was her fault to begin with. She looked around again, realizing her promt of sleeping on the couch couldn't happen with no couch. He knew he didn't have one, so why didn't he say anything? She murmured, "Um, where was I going to crash, do you have some blankets or something and a pillow? I can just sleep on the floor out here, I don't mind." His face did the same shock to embarrassment thing it had done in the car, only this time he didn't speak, he just touched his neck and looked around. He stood up and walked into a room down the hall, then he came back with some folded sheets and a pillow, he dropped then on the floor before pointing to where he had just come from, "That's my room, to can sleep there. The bathroom is the door across from it." He sat back down without another word. She squinted, "Are you kidding? Just let me sleep out here, I'm not kicking out out of your room.!"
"I just figured you needed your girl privacy or something."
"The fuck, it's not like I'm doing anything but sleeping. I'd have all the privacy I need if you just locked yourself in your room anyway!"
He shrugged again then got up to grab another beer before walking down the hall into the room and shut the door. Not what she expected, so she got up to knock on the door. To her surprise with one knock it opened up, Benjamin was lounging in his bed with his second beer almost empty. Did he chug it once he got in there? Ann leaned against the door frame and shook her still half full beer, "Want mine? This is piss water." He chuckled and held his open hand out, she walked in to hand it to him, then set on the corner of the bed. "Hey, I'm sorry for this. I didn't think I was going to drink that much at Shifty's, I was mostly waiting to see if you would show." He sat up and scooted next to her, "Aren't you lucky that I did, or else I might have gotten some peace and quiet at work for once." She turned to face him, "You?! You're the one that always has something snarky to say! I wouldn't give you so much sass if you didn't get under my skin!" He looked down and laughed, "There's that temper. You make it so easy to get under your skin." He looked at her face, her brows furrowed and eyes glaring holes into him. He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Too easy, look at yourself. Always getting worked up." Before he could look back at her he felt hands on his shoulder and was being pushed away, when he did look up she was standing with her hands on her hips. Before she could say anything he quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist pulling her down next to him, she fell easily against the bed. "You're weak." he snickered. She moved her arms to shove him again, "You're a dick." but he grabbed her before she mad contact and pulled her close instead. Their faces inches from each other, her cheeks pink form anger, alcohol, and probably some embarrassment. His eyes softened before he closed them to lean in to kiss her. Her eyes were wide open, scanning his whole face as he got closer. They kissed. When he opened his eyes he saw her staring at him and he sat up away from her, he touched his neck awkwardly, "Sorry, I don't know what I was doing." He stood up to leave the room before he hear a sound come out of her mouth as he approached the doorway. He turned around to see her sitting up and smiling at him.
The next morning they didn't talk about what happened. They each did their individual morning routines without interacting much, Ann doing her best without access to any of her own toiletries. When she was finally made her way to the living room Benjamin stood by the front door and asked if she was ready to go. She did a breath check before asking, "Got any gum?" He pointed to the kitchen counter where a pack of gum was laying. She snagged a piece before following him out the door. Their car ride was filled with radio chatter and little conversation. As they approached the hamburger shop Benjamin turned down the radio and scanned the parking lot. The other cars were there but no one was outside. He left out a sigh of relief, "Thank god, I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea about you and I getting her together."
"You mean you don't want anyone to know we kissed?"
"Now? This is when you want to bring that up?" He parked, "Here, you go in first, and I'll go in in a minute."
Ann hopped out of the truck and stuck out her tongue, "Thanks, punk." Then made her way in through the back door. As she put on her name tag and tied her hair back Benjamin walk in and looked at her, "I have to deal with her again today?" he spoke to no one in particular has he made his way to the grill. She giggled to herself and got to her station at the register next to him. No one had sensed any difference as the went back to their usual bickering and joking insults. She did get asked where her car was by a coworker, but she simply told them what happened, leaving out the parts with Benjamin of course.
The work day wound down and Ann and Benjamin got to leave right as scheduled. He went out to his truck first, and when she went out after him she ran to the truck before anyone could come out and see. Once again they had an uninteresting drive, that is until they got to Shifty's and had to part ways after almost 24 hours together. They both unbuckled their seatbelts, and as if they could read each other's minds they embraced each other and locked in a passionate kiss. His body pushing to lay her down across the bench seat, she followed his lead and he was soon on top of her. Their lips only breaking for brief moments between kisses. As the air began to feel thin they broke their grasp on each other and composed themselves; they both laughed as they saw each other's messy hair and rosy cheeks.
"Did you maybe want to come by my place for a bit?" she asked as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
He gestured to her car, "Lead the way."