7 – Indianapolis

Felicity lugged her bags up the stairs of their hotel. Ben had already gone up to check in and unlock the door. She had been delayed getting upstairs by searching for a missing pair of shoes for tomorrow, which turned up loose in the trunk of the car.

She paced down the hall and stopped at room 256 with a deep breath. She and Ben had really connected at last, the way she always hoped and felt they would. For years, she'd dreamed that if they just got to know each other, the rest would fall into place.

Now that it had, she was terrified. Kissing Ben at the museum today had changed everything. She felt it deep in the pit of her stomach. Did Ben feel that, too? Was he even half as nervous as she was right now? With another shaky breath, she opened the door.

Ben was rummaging in his bag. He smiled and stood up when she entered. "No blue carpet on the walls. Classy, huh?"

She gave him an edgy smile. "Yeah. Very classy. The lack of three different mirrors over the bed really gives it that extra something."

Ben rounded the bed and took her hand. "I thought at least one leg of this trip we should stay at a halfway decent hotel. Are you hungry at all? I can order us something while you're in the shower."

Blushing now, she cast her eyes downward. "No, I'm fine."

He bent to give her a gentle kiss. "See you in a few, then?"

"Yeah."

Ben sat on the bed and flipped the television on. Felicity walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

When she finished her shower, she opened the door again. Ben had changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt. Hovering in the bathroom doorway, she smiled. "We kind of have this system down, don't we?"

He grinned and turned the television off. "Yeah, I guess we do." Noticing she hadn't moved, he added, "You going to stay there all night?"

Her stomach flipped over. "Uh, no." She came toward the bed and sat down.

Ben shifted and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His shoulder brushed hers. "What's the matter?"

She glanced at him, then back to the floor. "Nothing."

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

She gave an adamant shake of her head, "No. Why would I be nervous? I'm not nervous."

"Felicity."

She looked up.

Ben raised a hand to her cheek and kissed her. Pulling back, he smiled. "There's no pressure here. I'm just happy we're doing this trip together."

"I told you, I'm not n—"

"Yeah. I heard what you said, but you're shaking."

He was right. She gripped her knees. "It's just…different, now.  I—I don't think I'm ready to—with you."

His mouth curled upward. "That's fine with me, I swear." He slid backward on the bed until his back was propped against the headboard. "Come here."

She eyed him.

"I'm not going to do anything. Just come here," he urged her.

She crawled across the bed and Ben gathered her into his arms. Felicity leaned back against his chest.

Ben rested his chin on top of her head. "See? This is it. We're doing everything I wanted to do tonight, right here." He gave her a gentle squeeze.

Felicity smiled, relieved at his response, but the feel of his arms around her and his solid warmth against her back started her trembling again. "I just don't want you to think—I mean, it's not that I don't want…" She drew away to look at him. "It's different with you. I mean, it will be. Would be. If we…" She trailed off helplessly with her face burning.

He chuckled. "I don't know why you're so worried about this. I'm not."

She opened her mouth to answer, couldn't find anything to say, and closed it again. A minute later, she said, "Th-Thank you."

He pulled her close again and kissed her hair. "You're welcome."

They talked for the rest of the night, about anything and everything. Felicity shared some of her favorite high school memories. Ben told her about his track and swimming experiences. "The first time I saw you was actually at a track meet in ninth grade," he said.

"You remember that?"

"Yeah. You were sitting in the stands, wearing this bright green tank top and talking to some girl."

"Shelly Feldmeier. You came in first that day," she nodded, smiling. "Shelly thought you were cute. She was going to try and get your number after the meet, but you left before she could get the nerve to ask you for it."

Ben sobered. "Yeah, my mom needed me. She—She had to go to the hospital and get stitches."

Felicity sensed a touchy subject. She lowered her voice to a soft murmur. "Why?"

"My dad," he sighed. "He was drinking again."

Recognizing his unwillingness to continue on that subject, she changed it. "The first time I saw you was across the cafeteria." She grinned at the memory. "You were with a bunch of other guys, laughing about something." She gave him an embarrassed look. "I drew a portrait of you after that, for an art class."

Ben raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

"Yeah. There was just something about you, something about the way you smiled, and…I don't know, I liked it. We were supposed to do a live model, but I never actually talked to you, so I used your yearbook picture. The teacher gave it a really good grade. I worked hard on that drawing. I wanted it to look just like you."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then amused. "Shelly Feldmeier had a crush on me?"

"Yes," Felicity huffed. "Shelly Feldmeier. Are you listening at all to my story?"

He laughed and gave her another squeeze. "Yes. I'm listening. Go on."

"Anyway, Mr. DiGesare wanted to submit it to a school competition, so I framed it and left it in the studio for him to send in. The next day, I found out someone had spilled paint all over it and ruined it. I was so mad. It took me a long time to finish it, and it was totally wrecked. I mean, it was one of the best drawings I had ever done."

At this, Ben grinned. "Have you got your sketchbook with you?"

"Yeah. It's in my backpack. Why?"

He straightened up where he sat. "Draw me."

"What?"

"Draw me. I want to see you draw me. I never got to see the first one, and you never asked me to sit down for it, so here I am."

She burst into a smile. A happy warmth flooded her from the center out. She clambered off the bed toward her backpack, needing no further persuasion.

- - - - -

Daybreak stole quietly into the room around the edges of the curtain. A single stray beam crept across the floor, where Felicity's sketchbook lay open on not one, but three portraits of Ben: one smiling, one serious, and one sleeping. Pencils and erasers lay scattered around the sketchbook.

Felicity herself lay on her side, sound asleep. Ben was curled behind her with his arm over her. He was awake, with his head propped up on his other hand, looking down at her slumbering face. He smiled and brushed a lock of her hair off her cheek. She sighed in her sleep. Her mouth curled upward ever so slightly. Ben gathered her closer against him and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

She stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey."

"Hey," he whispered. "How did you sleep?"

She stretched, slow and catlike. "Better than I can ever remember. I had the nicest dream. How long have you been awake?"

"About an hour or so."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so peaceful, I just couldn't," he admitted. Craning his neck over her body, he cast a look at the sketchbook on the floor. "You did a nice job on those. I like them." A dimple appeared in his cheek. "Even if they are of me."

She giggled and rolled onto her back. "You have a great smile. It was always one of my favorite things about you in high school."

He looked surprised and pleased. "You had favorite things about me?"

She flashed an embarrassed grin. "I loved to watch you run, too. You looked so happy when you were running."

"Yeah," he murmured thoughtfully, stroking her hair. He laid back down against his pillow. "I don't know if I ever told you this, but I'm really glad you came to New York."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said again. "I mean, I had a lot of friends in high school…but no one like you. I guess what I'm trying to say is…thank you. Being friends with you has meant a lot to me this past year."

Felicity warmed all over. "Me, too."

He kissed her again, and she snuggled into the hollow of his arm.

- - - - -

"Did you see the way that car flipped around after the other one hit it? That was wild!" exclaimed Ben. "I thought there was going to be a total pileup."

"I know. And after the race, he just got out and walked away. How do they get the nerve to do that? It's crazy!" She made a face. "Plus, my ears are ringing from all the noise. They should give out earplugs at those things."

"I don't hear you complaining about the money you won," he teased.

Felicity brightened. "In that respect, I'd say the Speedway was better than the Basketball Hall of Fame. How about some take-out? My treat. I saw a Chinese restaurant a few blocks down from our hotel. Maybe we can find a cheesy late-night movie on T.V. and groan about it over some fried rice."

"Sounds perfect," he smiled.

From the Speedway, they went to the restaurant and ordered their take-out. When they arrived back at the hotel, Felicity turned the television on and found a channel that was playing all-night creature features. They sat on the bed to watch.

Munching on a bite of eggroll, Ben asked, "So if you had the choice between being attacked by a vampire, a werewolf, or a mummy, which would it be?"

"A mummy? Ewww. Definitely a werewolf."

"Why a werewolf?"

"Because if I threw a bone in the other direction, maybe he'd get distracted and I could run away." She laughed, tossing an imaginary toy in the air. "Fetch, wolfie, fetch!"

"I'd pick a vampire," he decided.

Felicity cringed. "Ugh. Vampires."

Ben set his container of fried rice on the nightstand and made a playfully menacing gesture toward her. "You don't vant me to bite your ne-e-e-ck?"

Felicity giggled and arched away from him. Ben made a melodramatic hissing noise and grabbed her. She squeaked and tried to get away, but he tightened his arms around her. They looked at each other, still snickering, and fell silent, staring into each other's eyes.

She smiled. "This has been the best summer."

"It's hardly even started," laughed Ben.

"That's the best part about it," she beamed.