Hand Covers Bruise
Pardon me while I burst into flames,
I've had enough of the world and it's people's mindless games.
So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame.
Pardon me, pardon me, I'll never be the same.
—Incubus
His cellphone started to vibrate loudly on the table, drawing the attention of a few people in the room. One look at the screen and he knew he had to take that call outside. The speaker in front of the presentation went silent when he stood up.
"Keep going, Thanisson. I'll be back shortly," he said before stepping out of the debriefing meeting he was having with his team. "Snoke," he greeted the person at the other side of the line, namely his boss.
"How are we doing with Operation Finalizer?" Always straight to the point, which he actually appreciated, since he didn't have any time to lose.
"If you expect me to give you good news, you won't have them today."
"You were given this case one month ago. I expect you to have results by now."
"Oh, I have results, but they're not worth mentioning at this stage." That was a total lie, he didn't have anything of importance as of yet despite having the best working for him, although the truth was they hadn't been able to focus on it much, not with everything else they had been working on. "Besides, you know better than no one this takes time and that we have our hands full."
"I don't care. We don't have much more time. Between how sensitive the project is, how bad it's been handled and the disaster in Washington, everyone is nervous and trying not to fuck it up. If we don't present the committee something soon they'll remove us from the case and give it to someone else."
"Understood." He made a pause, thinking of the timeline he would need to follow. "I need at least two months to get things in order, specially with the holidays coming up."
"One month," stated Snoke. "I'll call you in two weeks and you better have made some progress," he added, serious enough for Hux to know he wasn't up to his rebuttals.
They talked around ten minutes more, moving on to other cases Snoke needed to discuss. Before hanging up, Snoke insisted on Finalizer once more. "Show me why they call you the Irish wolfhound," he challenged. "Find an angle, Hux. Make it your priority."
After putting away the phone in his pants pocket and gritting his teeth after hearing the nickname he had earned years ago from his mouth, he entered the conference room. He barely paid attention to what was being said, lost in his thoughts for what needed to be done. Snoke was a demanding and critical boss, always a pain in the ass, but so was he with the projects he was entrusted with, which was why the old man had come knocking on his door with an unbeatable offer. It had been a no brainer to accept and not just for the money. Snoke's experience and impeccable track record, as well as his network at high levels, was very well known in the sector, and so was the fact that he had better and more ample resources than most departments did.
The meeting lasted around half an hour more and by that time Hux already had a plan in mind. "Unamo, stay a moment please," he asked quietly while everyone started to exit the room. The woman in question, shorter than most and with her black hair tied in a tight bun over her nape, nodded and approached him. Once the two of them were alone, Hux continued: "I know you're swamped at the moment but do you remember the people I told you to look up?"
"Yes, sir. I've only been able to do a swift research since I've had more pressing things," answered Unamo, holding in her hands the folder with her notes from the meeting. "I understood you wanted the reports by the end of next week."
"I'm going to need them sooner," informed Hux, resting part of his bottom on top of the conference table. "We need to speed things up with Finalizer. Drop whatever you're doing and focus on this."
Unamo suddenly seemed worried. "But sir, I'm currently working on Neill's-"
"Don't worry about Neill, I'll take care of him. Spend today doing as much research as you can. Tell Finn to put you up to date," he said referring to the man he already had going through the documentation received during the course of the past month. "I'll meet with you two at seven to go over what you have. Then we'll see how we follow up."
One week later...
"What the hell are we doing here, Rey?" complained Ben taking a peripheral view of the well and modern decorated place, with golden lighting, large mirrors and abstract paintings gracing the walls. It was located in downtown Chicago, in a trendy street full of other restaurants and bars that weren't far from two of the city's most famous nightclubs. He didn't feel he fitted there at all, specially not with the clothes he was wearing: a black bomber jacket, jeans, motorcycle boots and an ample scarf around his neck. Still, he followed his girlfriend, remembering he had promised to behave during that Friday evening of December. His stomach rumbled once again and he just wished they would get at least something to eat.
"Speed dating," Rey answered walking towards the back, where a group of people had already assembled and were talking amongst themselves animatedly in a room already set for the event, with small tables and chairs placed in a square row line. She welcomed the warm interior of the restaurant after the freezing temperature outside. She also noticed some of the people already wore a small card with an identification letter pinned to their chests.
"Are you kidding me?" Ben went up the two steps that led to the lounge and stopped at her side. He noticed right away how Rey catched the attention of most of the men present, and also some women, which only made him sigh tiredly. It wasn't a surprise, considering how nicely she had dressed for the occasion. She wore a semi-transparent long sleeve beige blouse, a high waist but loose burgundy skirt, black stockings and ankle heels. He always tried to repress his cave man impulses when it came to Rey, jealousy included. But there had been times when he just hadn't been able to, which always made Rey feel powerful and in control of their relationship, true on all accounts. "You're really going to make me waste time on this shit?"
"Yeah..." drawled Rey without a bit of guilt, taking off her coat and short jacket. "I'm tired of fucking you, we need to spice things up- Phasma!" she exclaimed when she saw the tall blonde woman at the other corner of the room, rallying towards her and leaving him alone.
Ben knew the first part of what she had said wasn't true, but that the second was. Since they were together they had had a lot of fun and an undeniable chemistry that he himself hadn't felt in a very long time with other partners. And, what was more telling of him, he had come to care deeply for her. But at times, their sexual appetite asked of them for more, so they went out and sought it. Over the past few months they had slept several times with a third person, mostly women, and although it had been okay and different-sometimes difficult to coordinate and communicate with someone they didn't know well-, Ben could tell it wasn't what Rey was looking for. Despite that, he would have never come so low as to consider speed dating as a way to meet other people and he understood right away why Rey hadn't told him where they were going. In his view speed dating was boring and a waste of time, with everything already pre-established and with no amount of spontaneity. It felt artificial, everybody trying to show the best version of themselves in such a few minutes, and what was worse, you had to pay to participate in it. It was for those reasons that he had already discarded all the people in that room, no matter what Rey said.
He didn't follow her and instead took off his scarf slowly, knowing there wasn't a way out of this unless he wanted to have a fight, which he thought was not worth it. Better to let time pass by until it is over. He suddenly felt stared at by some of the people in the room and he glowered at them before going for a drink at the bar set on one side.
"Rey! I'm so happy to see you!" Phasma engulfed the younger woman in an embrace, beaming at her when they separated. The organizer of the event had a powerful and sleek presence, with her striking platinum short hair and her impressive figure dressed all in black with tight leather pants, a long fitting blazer jacket that showed her forearms and high heels.
"Me too! I'm so excited for this," Rey answered with a big smile. "How's everything? Is Misha doing okay?" she asked, referring to her friend's partner. "I know I've been a bad friend, but you can't imagine how busy I've been with classes and exams lately. Sometimes I don't know how I stay afloat… We should meet at another time and catch up," she added quickly, not letting go of the other woman's larger hands.
"Yes to that and, don't worry, I understand. I've been a student too," said Phasma downplaying it. "Misha is fine. She couldn't be here today, had things to do with her sister. But she told me to say hi to you and to give you a big hug," her arms went around Rey once more. "As for me," she gestured, sweeping one hand over the room when they broke apart, "I can't complain. Making people happy, or trying to at least."
"I can see that," voiced Rey looking in awe at all the people that had signed up. There seemed to be more than twenty people in the room. "I brought Ben with me," she pointed at him with her finger, standing alone at the bar, drinking a beer.
"Really? I thought you told me he wasn't into this," said the host when she located the dark haired man.
"And he isn't. That's why I didn't tell him we were coming." There was a trace of mischief in her tone.
Phasma laughed out loud, specially after seeing Ben's uncomfortable face. "How long have you been with him now?"
"Almost a year," Rey answered, smiling at Ben with fondness when he met her eyes.
"Does he treat you well?" From that distance, Phasma sized the man up, noticing right away that he seemed older, humorless to no end and guarded. She wondered what he could offer to such a special woman as was Rey, who was full of vitality, determination, intellect, joy and an enormous heart. Definitely something if she was with him.
"Yes, he does," the young woman replied looking up at her friend in confidence, "though we had a rough start. It took me some time to get him, with that hard and serious facade he wears most of the time, but he's soft inside," she admitted knowing that Ben wouldn't recognize that out loud. Involuntarily, her gaze searched for him again and found him talking with Mitaka, Phasma's assistant, who carried a tablet in his hands. After Ben pointed at her, she saw the shorter and skinny young man check something in his tablet. Rey assumed he was making sure that everyone that had signed in was in the restaurant.
"I'm glad to hear that, babe." Phasma put one arm over her shoulders with affection, happy for her.
"Thanks." Rey put her own arm around her waist in return. "Before we start, any inside on the people here today?" She sent her a knowing look. "Someone we should pay attention to?"
Phasma took a couple of seconds to skim her gaze over everyone's faces, trying to discern who could match with Rey and her long-faced boyfriend. "Any preference? Man, woman?"
"Man better," Rey replied. "Our last encounters have been with women and I want to change." The time they had slept with another man, Ben and him hadn't engaged much, mostly focusing on her. It had flattered and disappointed her at the same time. She wanted to find someone with whom both of them felt comfortable enough for it to be a three way fuck, but as she had witnessed during the past few months, it wasn't an easy task. It didn't help that Ben was very picky and sometimes felt irrationally threatened by other men.
"Alright, I have two," said Phasma as if she was a conspirator, lowering her voice, "though they might be old for you."
"Ben is a decade older than me, so age is not a problem," Rey quickly clarified.
"Fine. Then you have Poe, the tanned guy close to the window in a navy blue jacket." Rey spotted him; he was talking with a dark skin colored man. Just on a first impression basis, she found him dangerously attractive. "Besides being good looking, he's friendly and makes everyone feel at ease. A little brash and headstrong sometimes, but he's definitely a good candidate," Phasma summarized. "He's already been to other of my speed dates. I would say that due to his job he might be more into something casual than serious."
"Okay," said Rey nodding, interested, storing the information for later.
"Hux is another option. On your left, the only redhead in the room, talking to a blonde woman." When Phasma saw that Rey had located him, she resumed in hushed whispers. "What he lacks in sex appeal he has it in charisma. Very intelligent and sure of himself. He can be a prick if he doesn't like you or if he thinks you can't keep up with him," she explained. From that distance, Rey only saw his profile, and despite how well dressed the man was, in grey slacks and a wine colored sweater over a white shirt, Rey didn't feel very convinced at first. Regardless, she decided she was going to have an open mind. "Our families have known each other for a long time, so I've known Hux since we were little. I would have never expected him to be into something like speed dating. But he asked me to sign him in this time and here he is. He's divorced by the way-" She suddenly covered her mouth and turned to Rey fast. "Don't you tell him that I told you," Phasma warned her with wide eyes when she realized she had disclosed more details than was intended.
"My lips are sealed, Phas," assured Rey, making a gesture with her fingers on her mouth. "That's very good intel, though, so thanks," she half joked. "Okay, I'm going to leave so you can get this thing started."
"Yes. I think everyone is here already." She looked over the full room again and then at her wrist watch. "And it's time."
"Alright. I'll talk to you later," said Rey, winking at her before going in Ben's direction.
Phasma greeted a couple of other people briefly and then went over to where Mitaka was. She confirmed with him that everyone was there and then gathered their attention by ringing a bell that she had previously placed on one of the dark wooden empty tables.
"Okay, everyone, listen up. We're about to start. I know some of you already know this," she saw Poe smirk at her, "but I'll explain for everyone else. As you already know, this is an open sexually oriented speed dating event, which means you'll have an ample and varied group of persons from where to choose from. This time we have two different couples: Sella and Kaydel and Rey and Ben, who are looking to expand their relationships. If you're not into that, just be nice and wait for your next date. You'll get to meet fifteen different people in intervals of three minutes that I'll signal with this bell." She showed it to everyone raising the hand holding it. "Be quick to change seats because time flies. The people seated on the inside ring will remain there while the ones on the exterior ring will move from one table to another." Ben wasn't discreet about it and walked to claim one of the chairs of the interior ring, attracting some sardonic gazes his way, Phasma's included. He wasn't about to move his ass every three minutes for those losers, he thought. "Mitaka should have given you an ID letter, so everyone can identify you, a scorecard and a pen so you can rate and keep a track of your impressions of each date. If you don't have them, please let us know. Any questions?" The room remained silent, so Phasma wrapped up her introductory speech. "Alright, let's get started then. Please choose a seat and wait for the sound of the bell. I wish you all the best of luck. Just be yourselves and have fun."
Phasma and Mitaka moved off to one corner of the room where they had left their things while everyone sat down. There was only one chair where Ben had stationed himself, his bomber and scarf already hanging on the back. Rey was about to ask for another one when Ben circled her waist with one arm and made her sit on his lap. Fine with the arrangement, Rey turned to look at him.
"You ready?" she asked eagerly, holding the scorecard and pen in her hands, having already pinned the ID letter card to the front left side of her blouse.
"I'll let you do all the talking," said Ben, taking another swallow of his beer before leaving it on the table. From where he was seated, and using the large mirror that hung on the wall in front of them, he could almost observe everyone in the room. All of a sudden, his eyes crossed paths with a ginger-haired man that was staring at him way too intently. Idiot. Ben held his gaze undeterred until Rey pinched him lightly on one thigh with her fingers.
"Oh, c'mon Ben, we might find someone interesting here," Rey expressed with the youth and optimism of her age. Ben didn't blame her, at twenty the world felt like a completely different place. "You need to take part in it," she insisted.
"Just be glad that I didn't already leave," he answered somewhat morosely, looking up to see if the redhead was still studying him. He wasn't. The woman that sat across from them broke his line of vision in the mirror.
Rey scrunched up her nose but didn't take his words at heart. "You're a killjoy you know… At least give me a score after each date, yes? From one to ten, ten meaning you liked the person very much and one very little."
Ben snorted and was about to reply when the initial bell ring sounded loud, like the starting gun in an athletic olympic competition. The room suddenly became a hive of bees with all the participants taking at the same time in rushed turns to make the most of the time they had been given. The woman in front of them, called Jess, with long blue hair except for one side of her head over her ear where she had cut it very short, tried to make conversation with both of them, but she soon figured that Ben wasn't interested in what she had to say and just focused her energies on Rey.
"Score?" Rey asked him in a whisper, turning to look at him when the first three minutes were up and before their next date sat in front of them.
"A one," Ben voiced just to say something when Rey's brows went up expecting an answer. He hadn't really paid attention to what had been said, and in all honesty, he hadn't been allured by the woman's appearance or her tone of voice. He saw Rey roll her eyes and face the new person about to ruin their next precious minutes, a bawl man with some tattoos showing on his neck under his shirt. Not even speed dating material, thought Ben with the first impression he got of him. Unnerved by the fact that this individual also wanted him to talk and take part in the poor and bland conversation, Ben fished his cell phone out from his jacket pocket and entertained himself with what his smartphone had to offer, which was a lot more and definitely better than that waste of time Rey had conjured up for their evening.
"You're not even trying," accused Rey, turning her face but not looking at him directly when the next grade he gave was a zero. "You're leaving me alone here."
"This was your idea," he rebutted, one of his hands still resting on her hip while the other held the mobile.
"Yes, for something that's supposed to be for both of us," she acknowledged, in case he hadn't noticed. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered doing things that Ben didn't appreciate or thank her for, when it was beneficial for the two of them. Good thing that her determination almost always won out. "Show some interest or else I'll make the final decision on who I like," Rey warned. "And know for sure that I won't have any of your bullshit if I choose to go on another date with someone from here today."
Ben let out a deep sigh, but didn't retort anything back. He did pay more attention to the following dates, listening in the background to what the other persons and Rey talked about. However, that didn't stop him from acting as if he didn't give a crap about the whole thing, checking his mobile frequently, observing the different persons through the mirror, and not intervening in what was being said except for a couple of times where he felt the need to be sarcastic.
Most of the dates that passed by their table ended up with contradictory feelings: they were enraptured by Rey's vivacious and lovely personality, as well as by her fresh beauty, but put off by Ben's don't-mess-up-with-me facade and discouraged by his cold-shoulder behavior towards them.
Rey took a look at their scorecard after the ninth date, checking Ben's rates, which she had scribbled under one column, and hers, which were right next to his. In most cases, her numbers were three to five points above the marks Ben had given her. He hadn't passed anyone, except for one woman to whom he had given a five. Just by looking at his grades one would think that he was a harsh judge or that he had too high expectations. Rey knew better; he was just being as insufferable as always. Her spirits went up when she saw who came up next.
"Look how handsome our next date is," she whispered to Ben when Poe Dameron approached. "Pay attention to him, okay? Phasma thinks he can be a good match for us."
Ben acted the same way he did with the others and only crossed a couple of words with Poe during the three minute period. Dameron didn't seem to mind and gladly conversed with Rey, exchanging information quickly as the questions piled up. They learned that he was from Guatemala but was currently living in Los Angeles, that he worked as a private pilot, that he knew how to play guitar and that he was also into ping-pong.
Rey liked the tanned man a lot and was surprised when Ben seconded her impressions by giving him a seven.
In the few seconds they had before the following date, Ben repositioned Rey on his lap, her legs hanging around his thighs, and stretched his neck from one side to the other. In doing so he realized the red-haired man was only just two tables to their right. Peeved by his earlier uncomfortable stare, Ben devoted himself to studying him like a scientist would a laboratory animal during the next two dates. If the guy felt observed in those six minutes, he didn't show it in any way. This annoyed Ben, for his intention had been to aggravate the man beforehand. What probably annoyed him more was that deep down inside his curiosity was piqued. Physically, save for the rarity of him having red hair and very fair skin, the man left much to be desired. Of skinny complexion and definitely not handsome-not like the Guatemalan man they had met earlier-, Ben didn't think he would have looked twice at him out of this situation. On a positive note, though, he was well groomed. The regal way in which he moved his hands and his politically correct facial expressions told Ben that he had been educated in a wellborn family.
"Score?" Rey asked him resting her back on his chest, breaking his train of thought.
Having put away his cell phone, he embraced her with both arms around the waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"I didn't listen to anything that was said," Ben confessed without remorse.
"I know," she said unimpressed. "Tell me a number anyways, just for the sake of writing it down."
Her indifference to whether or not he paid attention told him that maybe she was getting tired of the event herself. Ben couldn't blame her. After more than ten people it was becoming tedious and it was obvious that meeting the next new date didn't feel as refreshing for Rey as it had at the beginning.
"A two?" Ben suggested in regards to date number twelve, trying to be nice by not saying one again.
Rey included it in the scorecard together with her own grade. "The one coming up was also recommended by Phasma for us," she told him quietly before straightening up and offering a welcoming smile to the thirteenth candidate.
"Really?" he breathed to himself with dark humor, putting some locks of hair away from his face. He felt it was ironic, given his six-minute fixation on him. He might even enjoy that date in particular.
"Hello, I'm Armitage," Hux greeted, extending his hand towards Rey before he had even taken a seat.
Rey took it in her smaller one and was surprised by how cold it was. Ben was a walking oven and she couldn't count the times she had cuddled on top of him like a cat just to get warm. "Hi, I'm Rey and this one here is Ben," she said, slapping lightly with her free hand his boyfriend's leg a couple of times as if he was cattle.
"Were your parents drunk when they named you?" Ben mocked wanting to see if this recommendation was made of sterner stuff or not. He hadn't missed the ginger's accent, similar in some way to Rey's. It only made his curiosity grow more.
"Ben!" Rey exclaimed in low key, turning her torso around to reprimand him with a hard glance.
"Not more than yours when they conceived you," was Hux's equally mocking reply.
Ben had to give him credit, the guy wasn't easily intimidated.
Out of disbelief, Rey almost laughed out loud by the deserved harsh remark, facing their date again and seeing the smart smirk reaching his light green eyes. She opened her mouth to get the conversation back on track, but instead nothing came out of it when she felt something stirring underneath her, under her bottom, something that she knew very well. Are you kidding me, Ben? she thought, glancing back at him, her lips on the verge of an unexpected smile for what that meant.
Hux saw the couple exchange a personal look, but couldn't comprehend its meaning based on the dark-haired man's unreadable expression.
"Alright, tell me about yourselves," Hux said, regaining their attention. He pushed his fringe away from his eyes with one hand and then leaned on the table, resting his crossed forearms on top of it. Ben was surprised by the change in his body language. He hadn't seemed that interested in his previous two dates, where he had sat back, marking distance. "Are you the beauty and the beast? Sweet and sour? The maiden and the death?" For every nice word he pronounced Hux looked at Rey and for every bad-implying one to Ben. There was a trace of defiance mixed in with mischievousness in his words.
"Is this guy serious?" Ben muttered under his breath, his sharp gaze warning him at the same time that his cock hardened even more. Armitage-he still couldn't believe that was really his name, it sounded like a planet exploding-, didn't know how close he had been with that description. Since as long as he could remember, people in general had considered him ugly on a first impression basis, and yes, his personality had turned sour soon before he had reached adolescence. As for death, well, it had been his travel partner a lot earlier than for most people.
"Hey, don't be so harsh on Ben," Rey said in his defense, frowning her brows at what she considered an unfair attack on her boyfriend.
"He's a big boy, I think he can handle it," Hux voiced looking at the aforementioned, daring him to demonstrate the opposite. "Specially if he's with someone like you."
"You presume too much if you think you know me," said Rey without malice, the start of a smile on her lips. It was obvious to her that their date was teasing them in a lighthearted manner to break the ice, or so she thought.
"I don't need to know you to see who's in charge here."
That seemed to leave both Ben and Rey speechless for a couple of seconds, since to a large extent he was right. Since the beginning, she had been the one to wear the pants in their relationship.
"Besides, I can already feel the chemistry between him and I." Hux pointed at Ben with one finger, as if a thin red thread of wool already connected them and he was just making sure that he could tug to prove it so, "which means it is you who I have to focus on."
Ben was boiling, both from arousal and from dislike for this guy, his hands holding Rey by the waist more tightly than he should. Not only had this man insulted him already, but he had the face to treat him like a secondary dish. His guts turned him on, for sure, he welcomed it after more than ten dull, blabbery people. But the only thing he could think of at that moment was sticking his big cock in his small mouth just to shut him up.
"Two can play at this game, you know" said Rey resting her elbows on the table and holding her face between her hands, putting on her 'good girl' features. "Are you the only carrot in the room?"
Ben tried to stifle laughing out loud, failing miserably.
"Fair." Hux smiled as well, unaffected. "And yes, I suppose I am," he confirmed, glancing around the room and not finding any more redheads. "I'm definitely edible," he insinuated, looking first at her and then at Ben.
He for sure did, Ben thought after observing him more closely. He looked all soft and pale and prim, like glazing on a cake, his hair the cherry at the top. Rey laughed quietly, starting to find him attractive.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"Ireland, although I spent most of my adolescence in Germany."
"Oh, then we're neighbors!" Rey's eyes lit up. "I'm from London."
"I kind of imagined with that accent," he said warmly. "I worked there several years before moving here to the States." Hux was aware of Ben observing him intently, just like he had done during his previous two dates.
"Why Germany?" Rey asked.
"Because of my father's work at the time. What about him?" He signaled Ben with a gesture of his chin.
Rey gave her boyfriend enough time to answer and when he didn't she did for him. "Ben is a local, born and bred here in Chicago. Have you been married?"
A funny expression crossed Hux's features, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. "Yes, once. I've been divorced for many years now."
Rey was very glad to confirm he was telling the truth after the gossip Phasma had told her earlier. "How many?"
Hux thought about it for several seconds. "Around eight to be exact."
"Alright. Do you have kids then?" continued Rey.
Hux smirked. "Yes, two, a boy of eleven and a girl of ten. You are quite an interrogator. Are you already filtering me based on my answers? Is having kids a bad thing?"
"No, of course not, I'm just curious," clarified Rey quickly with a friendly smile, blushing a little for her audacity. Truth was that she knew he was older because Phasma had told her earlier, probably close to Ben's age. That meant he had a decade more of life baggage than she did and it was good to know where he stood right from the start. It wasn't as if she hadn't asked these same questions to the previous dates, with different reactions every time.
"Good to know," said Hux. "It's my turn now. How did you two meet?"
"At a party," replied Rey.
"Really?" Hux faked astonishment. "I didn't expect him to be party material." He reclined backwards, resting his back on the seat.
"You don't seem to be either," Ben told him boldly, holding his amusing stare.
"You should see me with a few more drinks, Ben." The flirting tone wasn't missed by any of them and neither was the use of Ben's first name, as if they were already friends.
Rey was speechless. Despite Ben's cold tone and demeanor, she knew this man was affecting him in ways no one had for a long time beside herself. The more Hux picked on him, the more horny he got. She moved a little on top of him to accommodate his obvious boner better and to let him know she was aware of it. No matter how this date ended, Hux was definitely one of the winners of the night, if Ben's body was any indication.
"And how long have you been together?" Hux continued.
"Almost a year," answered Rey.
"I see. So this is getting serious…" Hux looked at them both, thinking how the two of them made a very singular and intriguing combination, for not only was Rey much younger than Ben, she also had all the brightness, spontaneity and warm-hearted nature he did not. Ben couldn't imagine why the time Rey and him had spent together could be relevant for him. "And what is it exactly that you're looking for in a third person that joins you? Just a little fun or something with a more long-term view?"
"We're actually open to anything," replied Rey. "The important thing is for both of us to feel comfortable with the person and to be invested equally in him or her. I for one would like to find a more stable partner, but I don't know about Ben," she expressed looking at him over her shoulder, raising her brows, encouraging him to talk and participate.
"It depends on the person," he said, pleasantly surprising Rey. He sent Hux a glare that showed how he doubted him to be that person. However, that could very well be a big bluff seeing how conflicted his feelings were. In just two minutes Hux had irritated him to no end but had also turned him on with just the same fervor, and using only words. The latter bothered him a lot, for he hadn't expected anyone in the room to elicit those kinds of physical reactions in him. "Have you done trios before, Armitage?" Ben used his name the same way he had used his, smugness all over it. The bold question was intended to uncover him in case he had not, but smartly enough, Hux sidestepped it with ease.
"I'll let you discover that if we get to a second date." Again, there was an unequivocal flirting aura that was accompanied by knowing green eyes. Both Rey and Ben felt attracted to that mysterious halo Hux was teasing them with. "But what about you, have you fucked a redhead before?" Directed mainly to Ben, he asked it in a way that really meant have you fucked someone like me before, to which the answer was obviously a categorical no. "And please, don't choke on my name. Just call me Hux, my surname"
Rey was faster than his boyfriend answering. "I haven't, but I wouldn't mind having the pleasure of doing so."
Behind her, Ben's eyes widened and his jaw hung open, startled by seeing his girlfriend continue the seducing game that was taking place. His glare hardened on Hux when he spoke.
"Trust me, I am the one who wouldn't mind pleasuring you."
Rey laughed, her cheeks blooming openly, and earned in return Hux's dashing smile. Ben, for a moment, felt outside their gurgling bubble and huffed because of it. "Okay, let's try not to stray anymore," said Rey. "What do you work in? If you don't mind me being rude on our first date. I promise I won't filter you based on what you say."
"You can be as rude as you want with me," continued Hux, adding, if possible, more innuendo to the conversation and straying once more. He saw Rey roll her eyes dramatically, but in a way that Hux knew she felt flattered by his advances. Ben was another story. His scowl led Hux to believe that he was jealous. "I work in the IT department of a small company here in Chicago. And you? Do you work, study?"
"Both," answered Rey. "I'm majoring in journalism and working part-time in a local newspaper. As for Ben-"
"No, don't tell me," Hux interrupted her, raising one hand. "Let me guess," his face turned foxy-like. "A bus driver?" He almost erupted in laughs when he saw Ben's expression darken. "No? A choir boy?"
Rey laughed as well as she shook her head, finding the moment very funny. Suddenly, the bell that signaled the three-minute period rang and Hux started to get up, although he didn't refrain from continuing his enumeration. "A serial killer?"
"No," replied Rey wishing he could stay more. All in all, Hux had been one of the best dates of the evening, and for once Ben couldn't deny that, not after his boner, which was still kneaded under her bottom.
"A babysitter?" Hux was already standing on his feet and moving on to the next table, his teasing eyes still on Ben.
"No!" exclaimed Rey with a wide smile, glancing also at his boyfriend, who was serious and stoic, seemingly putting up with the rain of absurd jobs that were leaving Hux's mouth.
"A hairdresser? With that flamboyant hair…"
Rey saw the two men exchange one last incendiary glance before Hux focused on his next date.
"Score?" she asked him.
"A fucking minus ten," muttered Ben.
Unable to hide the smile lighting her face, Rey wrote in the card a ten under Ben's column for their thirteenth date and then greeted the person that was seated in front of them.
The remaining two dates of the night went by pretty fast, with Rey conducting them in a similar fashion as the first twelve. Ben's hard on eventually died, but his attraction for Hux continued. He observed him during the following six minutes, not in a vigilante manner like he had done earlier, but with a horny fixation. Ben couldn't believe how much he wanted to fuck the man, for no other reason than the sizzling chemistry he had felt with him across the table in the interval of three single minutes, when he didn't believe in such nonsense.
Hux wasn't as effusive or teasing with the next two people as he had been with them, and that silently satisfied Ben. In a couple of instances, where he smiled and wetted his lips, Ben knew without a doubt he was the intended recipient of those, meant only for him. It became true when Hux finally glanced at him during his last date. Ben felt newly electrified by those light green eyes, his cock reliving the ghost of his earlier erection.
Everyone stood up when the bell rang for the last time and gathered mostly in the interior of the square set by the tables. Knowing glances were exchanged by those that had felt good vibrations between them and relief by those who had wanted the event to be over for not meeting their expectations. Ben, in the latter group, welcomed the blood circulation on his legs again after more than forty minutes, despite Rey not being that heavy.
"Thanks very much for attending everyone," said Phasma raising her voice to get the attention of the people in the room. "I hope you had a nice time and met some interesting people, luckily someone you already feel a connection to. Before leaving, please give Mitaka your scorecard indicating, in order of preference, the ID letters of the persons you would like to receive contact information from. Tomorrow during the day you'll receive an email from us confirming which dates worked reciprocally for you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask us. Have a great night!"
"I'm starving. Let's get out of here," ordered Ben with his jacket already on, starting to head towards the exit, not glancing backwards anymore to look for Hux.
"Wait," Rey grabbed him by the forearm. "I want to say goodbye to Phasma and I have to hand over the scorecard," she said, giving him her purse, coat, scorecard and pen so she could put on her jacket first. When she was finally ready, with the help of Ben, she retrieved the card and pen back from his hands and wrote on it. "Hux, Poe and Vanessa, in that order. Is that okay for you?"
"Whatever you choose is fine." Rey snorted when he gave her the purse back. "Just don't put me through this again. I'll wait for you outside." He turned around after that and went to the exit.
Rey woke up in the middle of the night and found the other side of the bed empty. A look at the digital clock on the nightstand, the only source of light in the room, told her it was around four in the morning. Rubbing her eyes and her temples, to dissuade the light headache she had, she sat on the mattress naked and tried to focus on reality.
After the speed dating event, they went for dinner to a Chinese restaurant in the same street, at a fairly close walking distance. Ben, hungry as a wolf, ate a lot more than she did, and that in itself considerably improved his mood. Rey teased him a couple of times about his boner with Hux and how the speed dating hadn't been such a bad idea if at the end they found someone who fitted them. She secretly wished that of the three dates she had picked, Hux would choose them back. Ben listened to her and let her make jokes about it but belittled his physical reaction to the redhead. They spent the rest of the evening talking about how their week had gone and plans for the weekend since, despite the daily phone calls, they hadn't seen each other in several days.
Their next stop that night was a pub a couple streets away, as Ben had his motorcycle already parked nearby. He only had a drink, but Rey, taking advantage that she didn't have to drive, took a few more. It didn't take long for her to get tipsy and to start kissing Ben in a very bold manner. Later, she clung to him like a koala while he tried to open the door of his apartment, and once inside, their passion was unleashed. Despite telling him that she was tired of fucking him truth was she couldn't have found a better partner sex-wise. Ben was intense, but he was also attentive. Like a premium sports car, he had an impressive body, knew how to change gears flawlessly at the precise moment and always kept a spirited performance. Not only that, he usually accepted her suggestions to keep things interesting and what probably shocked her more at first, he was open to more outside of their relationship. It wasn't strange then the stupid smile that displayed on her face when she remembered the sex from hours earlier.
After taking a couple of sips of the water bottle sitting next to the digital clock, Rey turned on the small lamp and got out of bed. She put on one of Ben's enormous hoodies, which fell past her mid-thigh, and a clean pair of socks she took out from his drawer. The house wasn't exactly cold but it wouldn't do her any good to walk around nude in the middle of winter.
She went to the living room and found Ben sitting at his desk, looking at the computer screen with no other lights on. It wasn't the first night she had woken up to discover him there. If there was something she had learned early on about Ben is that he almost breathed through computers and that in the past they had been his weapons.
"What are you doing here at this hour? Bed is cold without you there," she said, embracing him from behind, resting her chin on his trapezius muscle. She nuzzled his neck with her nose before placing a soft kiss there.
"Not much, apparently," was his aseptic answer. From it Rey deduced that whatever he was trying to achieve was not working.
Rey focused her eyes on the screen where there were several windows opened. She didn't understand the typed commands in two of them, but in the third one she recognized Hux's red hair and his facial features in a small square photo posted in a website.
"Is that- is that who I think it is?" she asked perplexed, blinking several times to adjust to the white light. Then something clicked in her mind and she understood what he was doing. "Oh please, don't tell me you're trying to hack him." She looked at him from her position expecting an explanation, her warm breath bathing the skin of his neck, but Ben remained silent, typing another command in one of the windows. This wasn't anything new either. Rey knew about Ben's past as a hacker and what it had entailed; she simply wasn't used to seeing him do the actual hacking. "Isn't this the kind of stuff that got you into jail?" Meaning he should stop doing it just to not get into trouble again.
"I went to jail for something a lot more serious than hacking a single person, you know that" replied Ben, opening a new window on the screen and typing some more. He knew Rey's words were well intended, that she was just worrying about him, not criticizing. The memory of how he had opened up to her about the whole matter surfaced in his mind.
They had already been dating for several months and things were turning serious very quickly. One night in his apartment, after having sex, with Rey's athletic figure hugging him on the bed, her head resting on his chest, she casually admitted that she was really falling for him. The only stupid words to leave his mouth in a derogatory tone a second later were: "How can you know you're falling in love when you've lived so little. You're only twenty." He made Rey's declaration sound like the dumbest thing he had heard all year. Ben himself thought he had been in love once, when he was a teenager, but that love had been atrociously stripped away from him before it had the chance to flourish. It was probably what had made him wander like an adrift boat the following years, until Rey crossed his path.
Rey sat up on the mattress and threw the sheets and blankets apart, obviously hurt. "If you don't think I can determine my own feelings then why the hell are you dating me?" she said standing up and picking up from the floor her underwear.
"Rey." Just the soft and regretful way in which Ben pronounced her name tried to be an apology. He couldn't see her facial expression, only the shape of her body moving outlined by the dull streetlights' orange light that entered through the blinds of the bedroom window.
"Don't fucking judge me by my age," she warned, putting on her t-shirt as well.
Ben knew he was at a crossroads, at a point where whatever he did or said would affect his future with Rey for bad or for good. He had had previous partners, some longer than others, and mostly for a physical kind of relationship than a sentimental one. In those, as soon as it started to get complicated he usually ended things and moved on with his life. This time, however, felt different, he had doubts. At the beginning, he had been surprised that their first hook-ups had eventually progressed to seeing each other on a weekly basis. Not so much for him but for Rey, who he thought would get tired of him pretty quickly. He wasn't an easy man to deal with, even less so to make a connection with since he didn't let others get too close. But as time went by he saw how unique Rey was. She hadn't been corrupted or battered by life yet, or not in the way he had. Her gaze was still clean like a crystalline lake in mid-summer, full of dreams and adventures to conquer. Without wanting to, he started to feel an attachment for her and, even though he had never considered himself boyfriend material, this time around he wanted to try just to keep Rey by his side.
"Alright. Then I have something important to tell you," he said from the bed, still laying in the posture in which she had left him.
"What." She didn't hide that she was upset. She put her arms akimbo and waited for what he had to say.
Ben braced himself. Anything of what he was about to tell her could be a relationship breaker. "I've been in jail."
Rey remained silent and motionless for a few seconds as his words hung in the air.
"Repeat what you just said," she demanded.
"I've been in prison. I'm an ex-convict."
"For what?"
"For computer hacking."
Again silence.
"Why-... why are you telling me this now?" Rey seemed to have lost her ground, her hands falling from her hips. She sounded disoriented, her annoyance slowly evaporating.
"Why do you think so?"
Ben hoped she could understand that their relationship mattered to him and that in the same way she had opened her heart to him he was now offering his own token of trust by sharing his dark past with her. The following seconds kept Ben in a nervous suspense until Rey moved closer to her bed stand and lighted the lamp resting on it.
"I need to see your face," she said as she got on the bed again, sitting on her knees next to him. "How long were you in prison?"
"Five years," he responded, looking at her, appreciating her tousled brown hair. He arranged the pillows behind him so his head would be more elevated.
"When did it happen? I mean, at what age-?"
Ben replied before she could finish, understanding what she wanted to know. "When I was seventeen."
During the next hour or so they delved into a deep and long conversation where Ben answered Rey's questions as best he could. She tried to keep a blank expression all throughout, but her young features betrayed her more than once. Ben noticed that there also were moments where Rey didn't prod for more information when she saw how difficult it was for him to talk about it. They both became quiet when Rey was aware of most of what had happened to him and in what he had been involved in.
"Have you hacked me?" she asked fidgeting with her fingers, making them both come back to the present. Now she was seated on the mattress, her legs bent on one side like the tail of a mermaid. It would be naive of her to assume that he had left his hacking abilities behind. She actually didn't want to hear the answer, but given how things were and how Ben was putting all his cards on the table, it was better to know the truth.
Ben exhaled resoundingly, lowering his gaze. "I have. Once. At the beginning, after we first fucked."
"Why?" Rey said sadly, unable to comprehend his motives, searching his face.
"I could tell you that because I wanted to know more about you, which was also true, but… I did it because I could." He crossed his arms on top of his chest and continued. "People read, dance or go to the theater as a hobby. Mine is hacking, all sorts of things. I know you may not be able to understand it, but it's part of who I am."
Setting aside for a moment the kind of information he had had access to by illegal means, she focused on a more important subject, the foundation of their relationship, which seemed to be breaking into a million pieces.
"How am I supposed to trust you when you invade my privacy? How do I know if you're telling me the truth or that if we fight you won't use something you obtained behind my back against me?"
"You're the first person I have told everything to, Rey," he said sitting up on the bed, the sheets and blanket falling to his waist and exposing his nude and ample torso. He reached for her hands and looked into her eyes. "I could have lied to you or just concealed what I do, but I haven't."
Despite seeing his dark brown eyes, Rey felt very insecure. "And that's supposed to comfort me? I don't know if it's enough." She broke the contact between them, turning around and leaving the bed. "I feel at a disadvantage here. I really don't know who you are, who I've been dating these past months."
Ben saw her start to put on the rest of her clothes and suddenly felt the intense need to yell at her that he had just told her, told her the incident that had marked him for life. She was leaving, leaving him for good after what she had just learned. Her rejection stung like nothing had in years and as a result he started to build a wall between them, quickly. He cursed under his breath that she had asked him to treat her like a fucking adult, when it was obvious that she couldn't take it. He had overestimated her.
"I knew I shouldn't have told you anything," he said angrily, sitting on the side of the bed and putting his clothes on as well, a pair of sweatpants and a worn t-shirt. He felt endlessly stupid for having bared himself to her, for being vulnerable. "I guess you're not as in love now as you thought you were, huh?" He continued spitefully. Without looking at her, he stood up and went to exit the bedroom. "Don't slam the door on your way out."
Some minutes later, Ben sensed Rey's presence in the living room, where he had sat on the sofa cross-legged with his laptop. He forced himself to ignore her, wishing she would leave so he could feel sorry for himself.
"You want me to leave then?" she asked, standing in the space that connected the living room with the entrance hall.
"Do whatever the hell you want, Rey," he spitted as if he didn't give a damn, keeping his eyes on the screen on purpose.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Rey take a couple of steps towards the apartment door. Something inside him sank painfully with regret. Then she stopped and stayed motionless for Ben didn't know how much, but it felt eternal. He couldn't really see what she was doing without giving himself away, so he waited. Rey finally turned around and walked in his direction. She sat down next to him on the couch with a 'plof', touching him. Ben's heart started to drum wildly as he felt the temptation to close his laptop's screen, where an opened window with a black background waited for him to type his next code. He didn't.
"I wasn't going to leave as in 'we're done'," she started slowly, her head resting over the top of the couch's back seat, looking at the ceiling, her hands in her jacket's pockets. "I just need some fresh air to assimilate everything you've told me. Maybe you can't fully understand that I'm freaking out at the moment. I feel like I've been dating a man who I barely know, a stranger that has looked into my personal things without my consent. My instinct is telling me to fucking run right now, but even with that, I don't want to make any rushed decisions in the heat of the moment, specially after knowing what you went through." Rey closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Come with me? Outside?"
Ben was speechless, not believing she hadn't left already. He was amazed by how mature Rey sounded despite her age and immediately felt like a jerk for doubting her so fast. Throwing the laptop at his side on the couch after closing it, he stood up and went to put on a pair of tennis shoes and his black parka coat. "I'm ready," he said near the door, holding the apartment keys in one hand and his cellphone in the other.
They remained silent during the elevator ride to the ground floor. Once in the street, they started to walk in the direction that led to a small green park. It was close to twenty to three in the morning and there weren't any wandering souls awake.
"How did you hack me?" Rey asked, pulling the neck of her jacket tighter in response to the chill of the night.
"Your phone." Ben took out a pack of cigarettes from his coat and lit one. He wasn't a regular smoker, but he always felt the need to have one when he found himself in unsettling or tense situations.
"What kind of information did you find there that I haven't given to you freely?" Rey hadn't looked at his face since she had left his bedroom earlier, which only increased his feeling of guilt. He knew he had done wrong and that by telling her the truth he had breached whatever little confidence there was between them up until that point.
"Rey, don't make too much of it. If I had seen something weird or that I did not like, I wouldn't have seen you again."
"What the fuck-" Rey stopped walking and turned to him, raising her right open palm and looking at him in the eyes. "Give me your phone."
Ben stopped as well and hesitated.
"Don't make me repeat it again," she warned. "Give me your phone."
If he thought the critical moment had passed, he was wrong. It was clearly written on Rey's expression that she wouldn't be taken for a fool. Reluctantly, he took out his smartphone from his parka pocket and handed it to her.
Rey turned the screen towards him. "Unlock it."
Ben met her challenging stare for a few seconds and then put in the code.
He observed her move her hand so the screen of the device was facing her. Nervous for what she might do or look into in his phone, he waited with a knot in his throat, taking deeper drags from the cigarette. Everything was available to her: his apps, his emails, work and personal related, his conversations. Rey remained static and stared for a long time at the phone until the save screen popped up and her chance to snoop ended.
She returned the device to him. "I won't fall as low as you. I don't need to do it," she said gravely.
"Thanks." Ben put away his phone in his jacket. He already knew that she was a far better person than he was, but her gesture just confirmed it.
"I still want to know what you found," Rey insisted as she resumed the stroll.
"I found that you're very different than me," confessed Ben after blowing out the smoke from his mouth, the agony of the previous moments leaving him, "that you have a lot friends, a family that loves you, that you like to write, that you do charity work, that you're sexually open, that there is an arrogant idiot in your work that is making your internship there miserable, that you're into R&B music…"
Rey exhaled soundly. "And couldn't you wait to discover that with me instead of prying into my private affairs?" She kicked an empty can that was on the street, causing a thunderous noise that made Ben jump.
"Rey, you talk to me as if I have the ability to connect with other people like you do." From the corner of his eye he saw that she was going to rebate him, and so he anticipated. "Let me finish," he said. When she remained silent he continued. "I hack people all the time and you were simply one more. I was curious, yes, because I was surprised I had caught your eye. But the bottom line is that I did it out of habit. I thought that what we had had was a one night thing and that we wouldn't see each other again, which means you never would have found out that I actually hacked you." He took another drag of the already dying cigarette. "Anyways, despite what you may think, knowing those things about you helped me make conversation with you when we met again afterwards. I know it's not a valid excuse, but it's the truth." He stopped there, wanting to say a thousand things more but holding in out of fear of losing her for good. It was freeing being able to talk about his piracy practices with someone real at all, but at the same time, there was only so much a person could take and he had already unloaded a lot on Rey's shoulders.
"Did you find more things?" Rey asked with her head down, lost in thought.
It was strange for Ben that she didn't argue what he had just told her. In the time it took him to throw the cigarette butt to the sidewalk and step on it he came to the conclusion that there was something more important worrying her.
"We'll finish faster if you tell me what it is that you think I know."
"Then I would be telling you what I would rather keep as a secret."
"Are you trying to tempt me?" he joked, although his tone was serious. Maybe Rey wasn't aware of it, but a great deal of what drove a hacker to go far and beyond was the challenge. Being the first to break an impenetrable code system, obtaining confidential or sensitive information, controlling from the shadows, surfing the net to unfathomable depths for common people. It was no joke at all and Rey realized that soon enough, specially after what he told her back in the apartment. There was no doubt that if he really wanted to he would find whatever it was that she desired to keep for herself.
"Do you know that I'm adopted?" Her voice trembled when she said it, still looking ahead.
Ben frowned his eyebrows, confused. Was that what she wanted to keep hidden? Carefully, he admitted he knew.
"I do. What about it?"
"Fuck Ben," cursed Rey shaking her head as she walked faster. "That's very personal information. You shouldn't know about it."
They reached the green park perimeter, where Rey stopped and then strolled randomly around the same spot, anxious and upset, with her hands in her pockets.
"You want me to lie? To say that I don't know?" Ben asked, standing near her.
"No!" rumbled Rey.
"Then why are you getting so worked up? It's already on the table that I shouldn't know these things, that-"
"That's fucking right, you shouldn't! You probably don't realize it, but you've robbed us of the moment in which I tell you," she accused him. "Maybe you don't care about that, but I do."
Ben remained silent for a few seconds. "You were not going to tell me." It was a categorical affirmation, without hesitation, and for some reason it irritated him.
"Of course not," confirmed Rey.
"Why not?"
She looked up at him, fury and sadness dancing in the fire of her emotions. "Because I don't want people to know that my biological parents didn't want me enough to keep me by their side. Because it pains me to think that I was a bother for them, something to get rid of." Her eyes dampened, the light from the street lamps reflecting shiny on her iris. "Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to know?" She made the unfallen tears vanish with her hands. "Couldn't you find that through your hacking?"
"I'm sorry," apologized Ben, aware that they were treating what obviously was a deep wound of hers. He knew of wounds, old and uncatered, as he still carried his own as best bandaged as he could. And he also knew how it felt to not be loved by your parents, but he wasn't going to get into that.
"How did you find out that I was adopted?" Rey became more serene, recovering her composure.
"Your writing."
"You've read my documents?" Rey was astounded, a discrete trace of curiosity underlying her question. Now that she knew that he had read them she wanted to ask 'what did you think of them?'
"Only some parts of them. You have too many," he replied. "I was impressed. You actually write very well."
"Don't try to fix it now."
"I'm not."
They reached an impasse at that point, standing a couple of meters away, looking at each other in the chilly night, the only sounds being those of faraway cars driving on the streets and the ones from the nocturnal animals coming from the park.
"Would it be it right for me to assume after tonight that you're serious about this relationship and me?"
"Yes," Ben confirmed emphatically.
Rey approached him then, taking the steps that separated them until she stood right in front of him. She let herself fall towards him, resting her upper body and head on his torso, in an armless hug. It was Ben who embraced her, rounding her smaller frame with his arms.
"I want to meet your mother," said Rey against the cloth of his parka. She already knew that his father was dead.
That totally caught him unprepared. "Fuck no."
"Not that serious, then?" pressured Rey, smiling to herself.
"No- I mean, yes, but… I don't have the best relationship with my mother." He hadn't seen her since Christmas and it hadn't been a happy reunion.
"And you don't think it would help for me to meet her?"
"Let's wait a little, Rey." When he saw her expression fall, he explained further. "It's not that I don't want you to meet her, but give me time. My mother is not an easy woman." Specially where it concerned him. He always felt he had been a disappointment for her and he didn't want to imagine what his mother would think of him dating someone ten years younger than him. "Besides, you know she lives in D.C. and I don't feel like she's going to come this way any time soon."
"We could go there…" suggested Rey. "We haven't made a weekend trip anywhere yet since we're together. This could be our first one," she searched his face, trying to gauge his reaction. "It doesn't have to be anything complicated, a lunch or a dinner with your mother and then visit Washington. I've never been there and I'm sure there's a lot to see."
"I don't know, we'll see," said Ben, being evasive. Per default he wasn't a very social person, therefore even less a family man. He also wanted them both to digest that night, specially Rey, who had 'discovered' a lot about him.
"I do want my parents to meet you," continued Rey, "my 'adoptive' parents, that is," she stressed. "I'll go back to London this summer to see them. You could come with me…"
Ben was uncomfortable with the idea and Rey noticed it quickly. "Too much?" she asked. "Are you feeling pressured?"
He didn't lie. "A little, but I don't mind, given what's happened tonight," he answered. "I just don't want to rush things. I want you to have time to think about everything we've talked about and for you to be comfortable with it."
"I won't feel completely comfortable, knowing that you can hack me, that you've done it once and that you can do it again," said Rey cautiously. "But to be completely honest, I've felt tested tonight, Ben. My first instinct was to leave and to forget about you, even after telling you what I feel for you. But I want to show you that I am more mature than you think. I won't give you an excuse to think that I can't handle 'bombs' like the ones you dropped on me tonight. I may be young, but I'm not stupid. Relationships have ups and downs all the time. It's a matter of how important they are for you and what you are prepared to sacrifice for them."
Ben felt he needed to make a bold statement just like the one she had just made, even if he fell short of it.
"My word isn't worth shit right now, Rey, but I promise you that I won't look into your things again…" he frowned his brows for a moment, "unless I think it is important for your safety. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes, I guess. Thank you." She hugged him, burrowing her face in his chest again. "Let's go back to the apartment. It's cold out here."
Rey stepped back, but not without entwining her hand with his first. Ben actually didn't like to hold hands, but he had indulged her every time since the first time she had slid her smaller and thin fingers in between his. He was growing accustomed to it as time went by. At first the gesture had felt alien to him, for nobody had ever wanted to hold his hand except for Troy.
They started to stroll back the way they had come.
"Was it easy to hack me?" Rey voiced as she leaned towards him as they walked.
Ben didn't want to keep talking about the subject to not risk her getting mad again, but he complied.
"Yes, although I guess that depends on who's trying to hack you. If someone's after you and knows what he's doing, there's not much you can do except for putting up as many obstacles as you can, which…"
"Which what?" Rey turned her head to the right to look up at him.
"Which leads me to suggest that you protect yourself better. Use a password code to unlock your phone instead of a slider one; they're harder to crack. Review the security parameters of your apps, making them as limiting as possible," he recommended. "I can help you with it if you want."
"Fine," she acceded.
"And, you might not want to hear this, but be very careful with what you upload online." Specially those in which she appeared with just a bikini on her Instagram. Rey was on every social network there was besides that one: Facebook, WhatsApp, SnapChat, Twitter, Tinder, and many more, whereas he wasn't in any of them except for his fake accounts.
"Haven't I shown you tonight that I'm not a child?"
"I know you're not, but you have naked pictures of yourself stored in your phone," replied Ben.
Rey snorted. "They were meant for you, smart ass, but you made it quite clear that you don't want them," she grumbled.
One night, while lying on her own bed, Rey sent him a picture of her naked boobs. In reply, Ben answered that even though he was crazy about her body he preferred for her to not send him those kinds of images. Rey had been let down and ended the conversation soon thereafter. The next morning, when she checked her phone, there were 17 unread text messages. Of those, 15 were images of unnamed women's nude breasts. The remaining two texts said the following:
Ben Solo [02:06h.]: you could be one of those in someone else's phone. Don't make yourself an easy target.
Ben Solo [02:07h.]: call me when you see this, I'll explain.
Ben had made his point, but Rey wasn't happy about the way he had gone about it. It almost caused an argument between them. When asked about where those images had come from, Ben responded that from a group chat he had with some guys he had met at the gym.
"Can you understand now why I didn't want you to send them?" asked Ben.
"Of course I do. I just wished you had been more tactful back then."
"Rey, you cannot start to imagine where images like those end up on the web and the kind of shit that's lurking out there," he said, his expression turning sour. She really had no idea. "Look at it this way, this time it was me who hacked you, but next time it could be someone that means you harm and that will use those kinds of photos to blackmail you, or something worse. I'm not going to tell you what you can or cannot photograph, or post online, but my advice is that you remove those images from your cell phone."
"Okay, okay, I get it." She squeezed his hand. "I'll take your advice. Or even better, I'll take advantage of you, of your knowledge, to protect myself. How's that sound?" She smiled at him.
"It sounds great." It was in fact what he was looking for. Who better to protect her than him the pirate? To lighten the mood more he added: "But I hope you take advantage of me in more ways than just my computer skills."
Rey laughed, stopping on the sidewalk. "Done," she said before pulling him in for a long kiss.
"Yes, I remember when you told me," said Rey referring to the night Ben had just thought of. "So I guess you're really into Hux if he's worth your hacking time, " she teased.
"I wasn't going to hack anyone, I was just looking for information. Poe and Vanessa appear online," he pointed out regarding the other two candidates Rey had picked, "but Hux doesn't, except for this page of the company he presumably works for." He remained silent for a few seconds and then continued, skeptic. "There's something fishy about him and I don't like it."
"What do you mean?" Rey straightened up and rested her hands on his shoulders, looking at the picture of Hux on the screen. He appeared younger than he had looked on the date.
"That I can't find anything of value about him on the net: no email addresses, no LinkedIn, no photos, no public registries, no social networks, nothing. It's strange." He typed a command on one of the screens. "I normally am able to find a thread from which to pull when I hack someone."
"So you do want to hack him," confirmed Rey.
"Now yes, seeing that he's opaque," he admitted.
"Maybe he's not into technology."
"Working at an IT company? Yeah right..."
"Not everyone likes to be present online," said Rey. "You aren't; not in the common form." She threaded the fingers of her hands in his black hair and pulled tenderly, making Ben look up to her upside down. "What does it matter at this moment in any case? We don't know if he has chosen us yet, and if he has, then we should try to know him in person and not by his back." Rey didn't like that Ben hacked people, not only because she thought it was dishonest and illegal but because it could put him in jail once again if he was caught. However, Ben was a grown man and there was nothing she could say to him to change his usually nocturnal habits.
"You always have this sense of expecting the worst in people." It was something that Rey had learned about him as the months went by and that she was trying to change, to show him that not everyone was mean or cruel or concealed dark secrets.
"If only you knew what people hide behind their apparent normal lives."
Over the course of their relationship, specially after that one night, Ben had told her some stories about the things he had found by hacking or surfing the deep web. It had been surrealist and unpleasant in most cases and disgusting and terrible in the worst, where she hadn't wanted to keep listening. It had seemed to Rey like Ben had a knack for discovering the ugliest of those who fell under his radar. At one point she asked him why he kept doing it, why he kept being a hacker when it had backlashed him so strongly in pre-adulthood. "Because, for good or for bad, it's actually what I'm best at," he answered.
"You think Hux is into something murky just from a three minute date and not finding anything of interest on the Internet?"
The tone wasn't mocking, but it was close. It reminded Ben of his parents when he was a teenager, who thought most of the time that he imagined things that weren't true and that half of the things to leave his mouth were crazy ramblings. He wasn't offended by Rey; she could be right. Maybe there wasn't anything there to look for and Hux was just a normal person, like Rey was. His instinct told him otherwise, though.
"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see." He minimized the windows he had been working on, put the computer on stand by and stood up. "Let's go back to bed."