Keeping it secret

Leslie Knope is not that sneaky. Ben knows that. He's the one who told her so the night she pimped Ann to get Chris to increase the parks budget. That's why he recognizes that her idea to keep their new thing secret might not work so well.

Laying in his bed, at 1:30am, the last thing in his mind was sleep. He was too elated with this new development, and just wanted to re-live the last few hours over and over again in his head …

[begin flashback]

Ben arrived at April's house for April and Andy's dinner party. Not knowing what to bring, he brought a case of Miller light. Little did he know that it wasn't exactly a dinner party. Andy and April had chips, pigs-in-a-blanket, and donuts.

Sometimes he wished he wasn't so punctual. He was the first to arrive and felt awkward being there with just Andy and April. They weren't big on conversation, so he just sat down and feigned interest in April's dvd collection. It was no surprise to him that April should have an extensive collection of horror movies.

He felt a wave of relief and inner happiness when he saw one Leslie Knope appear at the front door. God, she looked so lovely with a pretty blue dress that hugged her body in all the right places… Though he sometimes tried to pretend that he wasn't, he knew deep inside he was completely smitten with this little blonde. She flashed him her signature smile as she made her way to his side on the couch. He couldn't help but smile back. He was pretty sure he must have looked like a total idiot, but at that point he was beyond caring.

Leslie sat a bit closer to him than he expected. Her perfume was intoxicating. Who was he kidding, everything about her was intoxicating! The woman was downright magnetic.

"How are you doing tonight, Benjy?" Leslie asked with a playful smile.

"Better now that you're here." Oh my god, he thought. Did he just say that? He felt like hitting his head against a wall. Instead, he took one big sip from his beer bottle and hoped she didn't take him too seriously.

"What are you drinking? Miller light?" She reached over and touched his hand to turn the bottle around so she could read the label. Her hand felt soft and warm on his skin.

"Yes, would you like one? I brought a case. I can go get one for you…" by the time the word you was out of his mouth, she was taking a long, sensuous sip from his bottle. This was going to be a long night.

Once everyone had arrived, April and Andy suggested they all play charades. They were separated into two teams: Leslie, Ben, Tom, and Ron in team 1, April, Andy, Jerry, and Ann in team 2. At first the game was a total disaster. No one understood what anyone else was mimicking. Tom did some twilight series book names that no one from his team got, and Leslie did heroic women leaders that were more than a little obscure. Ben did some some Battlestar Gallactica references.

After a few more shared beers, Ben and Leslie were practically glued to each other on the couch. They'd had to scoot closer to each other once Jerry sat beside Leslie. To make a bit more space, Ben put his arm up on the couch seat, behind Leslie's head. If he was a bit more daring he could let his arm slide down and wrap it around Leslie's shoulder, but alas he was not, and up his arm stayed.

As Leslie got more tipsy from the beers, though, her head started falling backward into his hand. Once her hair made contact with his fingers he couldn't help himself and started twirling a piece of her hair, absentmindedly, as if nothing unusual was happening. No one seemed to notice, maybe not even Leslie. Except, once he started playing with her hair she relaxed a bit more, letting out a long, deep sigh.

The sigh startled him a bit, and he turned his head towards her to see whether she was about to say something. At the same time she had turned to look at him. Once their eyes locked it was as if the rest of the party had faded into the background. Ben and Leslie were in their own little bubble. He was finding it hard to do anything but look into her eyes. This was getting too intense, he thought. If they didn't stop what they were doing, soon they'd be making out like teenagers, sitting beside Jerry on April's couch, in front of everybody.

Leslie must have thought the same thing, because soon she got up to "go get some fresh air" and left a big, cold, empty space by his side where her body had been touching his.

Suddenly Ben didn't want to be in that room anymore. Not without Leslie. Maybe it was the 4 beers he'd shared with Leslie earlier that night, or maybe it was the fact that he had just spent the last 2 hours or so sitting very closely and intimately with the loveliest woman he's ever met, and she had let him play with her hair… but he felt himself bolder and more courageous than usual. He was going to go find her, and tell her how he felt. Determination sprung him up from the couch in search of Leslie.

Once he made it outside, Leslie seemed surprised, but not unpleasantly so, to see him.

"Look, Leslie, I have to talk to you" He said, moving a bit closer, tentatively.

"I know, it got a little weird in there, I shouldn't have been sitting so close to you, I'm sorry" she was already jumping to conclusions, her eyes averting his. Suddenly she seemed very interested in his shoes.

Ben let out an exasperated sigh, "don't apologize, Leslie, I was the one playing with your hair, I mean, you must know how I feel by now" his voice soft and slightly shaky with nervousness.

"What do you mean? I don't know anything, we're just colleagues who also happen to be friends, I mean, you don't have to say anything to make things seem like they mean something because they probably mean nothing, it's just like…" She was doing her Leslie rumbling thing again. He could tell she was nervous by her elevated voice and the sentences that ran in loops.

Instead of trying to wait for a pause, he just took the opportunity to swoop in and kiss her. She was surprised and a bit taken aback, but she didn't pull back immediately. She stayed still and let him finish the kiss. He took that as a sign of encouragement so he made the kiss last longer, lingering a bit and then kissing her cheek once, sweetly, before pulling back to look at her.

"So… that's how you feel, huh?" She smiled and laughed a bit, trying to break the tension with humor.

"Yes, I like you Leslie, I want to kiss you again, and I want to take you out on a date." He looked at her intently as he said this, still a bit nervous and serious, unsure of what her response would be.

"Ben, Ben, Ben… I really don't know. I like you too, but I think it would be an obvious conflict of interest if we dated, I mean, you're controlling the budget and if you were to allow more money to the parks department people would start talking, and I don't want this thing between us to reflect badly on the parks department.

Ben didn't know what to say. This was not turning out how he'd expected. "So it was ok for Ann to try and get money out of Chris but it's not ok for you to do that with me? I don't get it Leslie!" he ran a hand through his head and paced from side to side as he questioned her.

"Well, yeah! Ann doesn't work for the parks department, and she and Chris weren't really at all like you and me" Leslie seemed to seriously believe there was a difference.

Ben was getting a bit frustrated. "Ugh, O kay…" he said slowly, as if trying to understand what the big difference truly was. Sometimes he knew exactly what Leslie was thinking. This was not one of those times.

It didn't seem possible, but things got even more awkward. Nothing like standing there with nothing to say after the women you so badly want to be with tells you it's not possible. Ben started turning his back on Leslie, heading back inside the house when she gripped his wrist and made him turn back.

"Maybe we can keep it a secret for a while. See where it goes before going public". What! The least sneaky person he knew was suggesting that they have a relationship in secret? She must have been out of her mind.

"Leslie, you and I both know you are not that sneaky." He laughed nervously.

"Is that a challenge Benjamin Wyatt? Because it sounds like you just challenged me." She came a little closer, with a mischievous smile and a glint in her eye. By then he was grinning like an idiot. He reached for her hand and brought it up to kiss her fingers. Then he leaned down and slowly, gently kissed her lips. She brought her arms up to his shoulders and pulled him a little closer. Tightening his arms around her waist while deepening the kiss, he pushed them both against the outside wall of the house. That elicited a soft moan from Leslie, which made Ben so incredibly turned on he pushed into her a little harder.

That first make-out session with Leslie could only have been described as heavenly in Ben's mind. It would have been even more perfect had he been able to take her home and continue what they were doing with more privacy. Unfortunately for Ben, though, Tom chose that moment to come out of the house yelling "Leslie, Ben! Where are you? You have to come in and see this!"

Ben instantly sprung away from Leslie, as much as it physically hurt him to do so. She, in turn, tried to fix her hair and smoothed down her dress without being too obvious. Ben ran a hand through his hair and waited for Leslie to follow Tom inside. He took a deep breath and made his way in as well.

Once inside they pretended nothing had happened. Just business as usual, walking in to see Andy playing guitar hero and Jerry playing the air guitar. As they joined the rest of the group, standing around the living room, Leslie tried to keep a safe distance from Ben. Ben, however, didn't have as much self control. Once standing next to her, he slowly crept up to stand closer, making sure no one was watching. His hand made contact with the small of her back and started moving in circular motions, smoothing over the fabric of her dress.

She shot him a disapproving look, pleading with him to stop before they got caught. He just smiled demurely but kept doing it. So Leslie excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she came out he was waiting by the door. Instead of letting her out, he quickly pushed the door in and locked both of them inside.

"Ben, you're insatiable". She laughed while he nibbled on her neck. Ben pushed her against the door and ran his hands over her side, moaning a little at the renewed contact.

"I'm sorry, ok? I just couldn't help myself. This 'keeping it secret' thing has barely even started and it's already driving me crazy! All I wan to do is get you alone so we can do this…(kissing her neck) and this...(running his hands down her backside and pushing her hips against his) and this…(kissing her passionately till he took her breath away)"

Leslie was beyond breathless at that point. "Ok, I believe you! I'm irresistible, and you make some very strong points. But you need to pull yourself together Benjamin Wyatt! If we can't keep up this secret thing through this party, we'll never be able to do it in our normal daily lives." She said as she discreetly opened the door and let herself out.

Ben had to spend a few quiet minutes in the bathroom to cool off before going back into the party.

After another hour, the party finally drew to a close. Ben was sad he wouldn't be close to Leslie anymore, but he also felt hopeful that they'd be alone again in the near future. Tom. Ron, Ann and Jerry all went to their cars while April and Andy waved good bye. Leslie and Ben lingered behind a bit, unwilling to part each other's company just yet.

"Where are you parked, I'll walk you to your car." Ben said, casually.
"Oh, thank you. I'm over there" Leslie said, leading the way. They walked slowly, and by the time they reached Leslie's car, they were alone. Andy and April had closed the door and gone inside.

Ben took that as an opportunity to kiss Leslie's neck from behind while she unlocked her car door. She sunk back into him a bit, giggling, and he wondered if he'd ever be the same again, now that he knew what this felt like.

Leslie turned around, gave Ben a very sensuous kiss, and sat down behind the wheel of her car.

"So, when can I see you again?" Ben asked, his arm leaning on he top of Leslie's car window.

"Tomorrow at work?" She replied with a smile.

"Ok" Ben was unsure when the next opportunity to kiss her would present itself, so he lowered his head and gave her a peck on the lips. She drove off and he stayed back, watching her car drive away.

[end flashback]

Ben lay awake in his bed, thinking of Leslie and wishing she was there with him. He wondered what it would be like the next time they saw each other. When would he be able to touch her again, or even kiss her. He decided then and there that the next time he had the chance, he'd set a "secret date" with Leslie Knope. This helped him relax and finally give into slumber.