Chapter 11
"Ben..." Felicity whispered as she moved close to him.
"Hey," he said as he took her hand into his quickly, moving so he stood in front of her. "Noel, what are you doing here? You have no right being here after what you pulled."
"What? What I did is nothing compared to what you are going to do to her," Noel replied, as he moved closer to where Ben stood, trying to intimidate him with his posture.
But Ben was not affected, and stood his ground. "I want you to get out, right now. Felicity and I are none of your business anymore, you need to leave."
"Felicity and I are friends..." Noel started.
"No, no, I don't think you are. Not after what you put her through. Your friendship ended when you tried to kiss her," Ben said strongly.
"You can't decide who Felicity is friends with, that is up to her," Noel replied angrily.
"Well, I don't think I need to do. She has pretty much told you that herself, hasn't she?" Ben paused, watching Noel closely. "God, man, you have no idea do you? Do you ever even listen to her? Or are you always thinking about you and what you want?"
"I care about her, she knows that. Felicity, tell him that you and I will work this out, you know that we will," he looked imploringly at her.
"Noel, I-I really don't think that we can. I just don't think we can, I'm sorry," she said as she looked at her hand in Ben's, then at the ground.
"Felicity.." Noel started as he moved closer to her.
"No way, man, get away from her. Stop. Don't come any closer to her," Ben said firmly, preventing his movement by putting himself in front of Felicity.
"What're you gonna do, Ben? Beat me up like you beat up that guy Randy? Right in front of your girlfriend?"
"No, I'm not. You are not worth the energy. You can't even see how much you have hurt her. You need to leave, now. I mean it, man, get out and do not ever come back."
"This isn't your apartment, you can't tell me to get out. I lived here and I need to get my stuff. Besides, Felicity and I were talking before you interrupted us," Noel said, refusing to back down.
"Sean will send you whatever stuff you have left. And I really don't think you were talking, from what I could see you were doing all the talking and she was trying to get away from you," Ben said.
"Ben, wait. Let me say something. Noel, "she said as she turned to look at him. "Just go, there is nothing left for us to say to each other. You said what you wanted and it still doesn't change anything. I can't talk to you anymore."
"Felicity, what we have, it is too special to let go, you know that..." Noel said as he tried to get her to look at him again.
"Man, you aren't even hearing her. You two are through, that's it. It's over. You need to get out," Ben said, pointing to the door. When Noel still didn't move, Ben went closer to him and directed him to the door. "It's time to go."
Noel, finally realizing his defeat when he saw that Felicity could not even look at him, moved towards the door. "Well, I still think you should think about it, Felicity. Maybe you will change your mind."
"She doesn't need to think about it, you have made the decision for her. Now, go. Get out, I mean it man, now," he said nudging him to the door.
Noel finally left, after looking at Ben with a look of disgust and then looking back at Felicity, who finally looked at him. She looked at him and saw a stranger, and he saw that reflected in her eyes. He left quietly, as the realization hit him hard that he had lost her a long time ago.
Felicity stood there, unable to move for minute after Noel left. Ben came to her and took her in his arms, whispering "I am so sorry, babe. I'm sorry that he put you through that. It's okay now, I am here."
She wiped her tears on his shirt and let her head fall onto his chest, where she always felt safe. "That was it, wasn't it? I won't see him again, will I?"
"No, I don't think that you will. But it is best that way, he doesn't respect you. I don't know that he ever did. He certainly doesn't love you, though he may have said that he did," Ben said softly into her shoulder.
"I just can't believe it," she said as she came out of his embrace. "How did it get so bad? We used to be friends. Maybe we never were and I was just fooling myself. I don't know."
"I'm sorry, babe. I know he meant a lot to you at one time. But I'm here," he said as he touched her face lovingly, wiping her last remaining tears with his finger. "Do you know how much I missed your face?"
"I can't believe you're here," she said with a smile, as she started to recall that he was home a day early.
"I know," he whispered as he continued to hold her face in his hands lovingly.
"How come you are home early anyway?"
"Well, I wanted to surprise you. But it didn't work out the way I had planned," he said with a smile, as he saw her starting to calm down.
"I'm glad you came when you did. I am so happy to see you," she said as she moved closer to him, leaning in to give him a sweet kiss.
They continued to kiss softly, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "God, I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too," she replied as they broke the kiss. "So, tell me, what were your plans for when you surprised me?"
"Felicity, we don't have to do that now, you just had a hard time. I just want to hold you, I missed doing that," he said as he caressed her back and arms.
"Ben, I am not going to let Noel ruin our night, I won't let him do that. My boyfriend came home early to surprise me and I have to thank him for that," she said as she moved him towards the bedroom.
"Are you sure? I mean, we can just sit here on the couch or something," Ben said with concern.
"Ben, I want to go to our room. Come on," she said as she led him into the bedroom by his hand. She closed the door behind her and turned to see him looking at her with such love and concern, she nearly cried. "Ben, I'm okay, really. I'm so happy to see you."
Ben shyly smiled as she led them to the bed. When he sat down beside her, he was overcome with the love he felt for her and took her face into his hands. "I love you so much," he said.
"I love you, too. Now, let's have the perfect reunion that you were planning," she said with a seductive smile on her face as she pushed him back onto the bed.......
Sometime later, Felicity lay in Ben's arms as he caressed her back with his fingertips. "Oh, that feels so good," she murmured as she kissed him lightly on his chest, running her fingers just below that.
Ben laughed and said, "Good, that is what I had in mind."
"What else do you have in mind for me tonight?" she asked as she moved her hands just below the covers.
"Hmmm....well, you will have to wait and see. Just let me catch my breath for a minute," he chuckled. Then as he felt where her hand went, he took a sharp breath in.
"I think we need to have a repeat performance, whenever you feel ready," she whispered sexily into his ear. She laughed when she felt him grab her butt and move her until she was on top of him. "It seems that I have convinced you."
"Yeah, you didn't have to work too hard at that," he said just before capturing her lips with his in a passionate kiss. It was a kiss that they both felt all the way to the tip of their toes. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and onto her butt, caressing her tenderly, but with anticipation. She brought her lips to his neck, kissing his earlobe and licking from his ear down to his throat in a manner that had Ben shivering and wanting more. He took her in his arms and moved her until she straddled him. He brought his hands to her breasts and circled each nipple with his thumb, watching in delight as she started to succumb to his touch. He brought his mouth to one breast and kissed it fully, before lying back down and moving her until he felt her body aching for him. She took him inside, slowly at first, then increasing her movements as their passion took them over yet again.
She collapsed atop him and laughed softly. "I'd say that you caught your breath just in time."
Ben laughed and said, "Yeah, I noticed that too."
They stayed like that for some time, neither wanting to separate. He moved his hands through her hair and whispered again how much he loved her as their breathing started to slow. She moved off him slowly, then moved into his arms again. It wasn't long before they fell asleep, exhausted and fulfilled.
The next morning, Felicity woke up to the feel of Ben's breath on her neck. He was planting soft kisses below her neckline and on her back. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
"Hey," she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes for a minute. "How long have I been asleep? Is it real late?"
"No, no, it's not late. You were real tired, I must have worn you out," he smiled.
"Yeah, you did," she giggled. "It was a long night."
"Yes, it was" he said, pausing to look at her closely. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
"Yeah, I am good. I really am. I feel like I am finally home. You are back in my arms, so I feel the best I have ever felt."
"That's good to hear," he said as he wrapped his arms around her once again.
"Thank you for last night, for coming home and surprising me. What you did...what you said to Noel, I mean, it really meant a lot to me."
"You're welcome. And you should get used to it, that is what I will always do, help you and look out for you. We're going to me married, you know. In case you've forgotten."
"No, I haven't forgotten," she laughed. "Though I will be so glad when I can actually wear my ring. We need to tell everyone soon so I can show it off."
"Okay, we will," he replied then kissed her on the top of her head. He was quiet for some time, before saying something else. "Felicity, can I tell you something?"
"Sure, you know you can tell me anything," she said as she looked up at him.
"You know that I enjoyed this paramedic thing, right?" he said somewhat reluctantly.
"Yeah," she replied, encouraging him to continue.
"Well, I am not sure that is all that I want to do. I mean, I feel like there is more to do than that. I don't know, I guess I've been thinking, I know this is crazy, but.... And you can't laugh at this," he said."
"I won't," she said gently, encouraging him to continue.
"I think maybe, that maybe, I want to be a doctor." He stopped and looked at her to judge her response.
She just giggled, laying her head on his chest.
"Hey, you said you weren't going to laugh. I mean, I know it may be crazy, but is it really that funny?"
"No, no, Ben. That's not it. It's just you seem to have come to some conclusions over the summer and it's funny that is was I did, too."
"Really, what?"
"Well, I don't want to take away from what you were saying..."
"No, go ahead. What have you been thinking?"
"Well, I guess it was just a thought. When they had a class of kids in some summer program come into the museum for a tour, I ended up helping them out. And it got me thinking, I love kids. Maybe I could teach? Is that something you could see me doing? You know, teaching kids art."
"Yeah, of course, you'd be great at that. All the kids would love art then," he said with a smile.
"Really? Hmm...maybe that is what I should do then," she said softly. She paused for a moment, letting it sink in before saying, "So, a doctor, huh?'
He laughed and said, "Yeah, is that stupid?" He looked at her with concern, really wanting to know her opinion of his idea.
"Ben, I am certain, completely certain, that you can do it. You are caring and hard working and sensitive. You care about people, you always have. That is what will make you a great doctor," she said as she looked him straight in the eyes, ensuring he heard every word she said.
"You really think I could do it, then?" he asked, still a bit unsure.
"Yes, Ben. I am sure. Medical school will be tough, but it is for everyone. And if this is what you want, then I am sure that you can do it."
"Thank you," Ben said softly, looking at her with adoration and love.
"For what?" she asked.
"For always believing in me. I don't know how or why you do, but it really...it really means so much to me," he said quietly.
She looked at him with love in her eyes and said simply, "I know."
"Ben..." Felicity whispered as she moved close to him.
"Hey," he said as he took her hand into his quickly, moving so he stood in front of her. "Noel, what are you doing here? You have no right being here after what you pulled."
"What? What I did is nothing compared to what you are going to do to her," Noel replied, as he moved closer to where Ben stood, trying to intimidate him with his posture.
But Ben was not affected, and stood his ground. "I want you to get out, right now. Felicity and I are none of your business anymore, you need to leave."
"Felicity and I are friends..." Noel started.
"No, no, I don't think you are. Not after what you put her through. Your friendship ended when you tried to kiss her," Ben said strongly.
"You can't decide who Felicity is friends with, that is up to her," Noel replied angrily.
"Well, I don't think I need to do. She has pretty much told you that herself, hasn't she?" Ben paused, watching Noel closely. "God, man, you have no idea do you? Do you ever even listen to her? Or are you always thinking about you and what you want?"
"I care about her, she knows that. Felicity, tell him that you and I will work this out, you know that we will," he looked imploringly at her.
"Noel, I-I really don't think that we can. I just don't think we can, I'm sorry," she said as she looked at her hand in Ben's, then at the ground.
"Felicity.." Noel started as he moved closer to her.
"No way, man, get away from her. Stop. Don't come any closer to her," Ben said firmly, preventing his movement by putting himself in front of Felicity.
"What're you gonna do, Ben? Beat me up like you beat up that guy Randy? Right in front of your girlfriend?"
"No, I'm not. You are not worth the energy. You can't even see how much you have hurt her. You need to leave, now. I mean it, man, get out and do not ever come back."
"This isn't your apartment, you can't tell me to get out. I lived here and I need to get my stuff. Besides, Felicity and I were talking before you interrupted us," Noel said, refusing to back down.
"Sean will send you whatever stuff you have left. And I really don't think you were talking, from what I could see you were doing all the talking and she was trying to get away from you," Ben said.
"Ben, wait. Let me say something. Noel, "she said as she turned to look at him. "Just go, there is nothing left for us to say to each other. You said what you wanted and it still doesn't change anything. I can't talk to you anymore."
"Felicity, what we have, it is too special to let go, you know that..." Noel said as he tried to get her to look at him again.
"Man, you aren't even hearing her. You two are through, that's it. It's over. You need to get out," Ben said, pointing to the door. When Noel still didn't move, Ben went closer to him and directed him to the door. "It's time to go."
Noel, finally realizing his defeat when he saw that Felicity could not even look at him, moved towards the door. "Well, I still think you should think about it, Felicity. Maybe you will change your mind."
"She doesn't need to think about it, you have made the decision for her. Now, go. Get out, I mean it man, now," he said nudging him to the door.
Noel finally left, after looking at Ben with a look of disgust and then looking back at Felicity, who finally looked at him. She looked at him and saw a stranger, and he saw that reflected in her eyes. He left quietly, as the realization hit him hard that he had lost her a long time ago.
Felicity stood there, unable to move for minute after Noel left. Ben came to her and took her in his arms, whispering "I am so sorry, babe. I'm sorry that he put you through that. It's okay now, I am here."
She wiped her tears on his shirt and let her head fall onto his chest, where she always felt safe. "That was it, wasn't it? I won't see him again, will I?"
"No, I don't think that you will. But it is best that way, he doesn't respect you. I don't know that he ever did. He certainly doesn't love you, though he may have said that he did," Ben said softly into her shoulder.
"I just can't believe it," she said as she came out of his embrace. "How did it get so bad? We used to be friends. Maybe we never were and I was just fooling myself. I don't know."
"I'm sorry, babe. I know he meant a lot to you at one time. But I'm here," he said as he touched her face lovingly, wiping her last remaining tears with his finger. "Do you know how much I missed your face?"
"I can't believe you're here," she said with a smile, as she started to recall that he was home a day early.
"I know," he whispered as he continued to hold her face in his hands lovingly.
"How come you are home early anyway?"
"Well, I wanted to surprise you. But it didn't work out the way I had planned," he said with a smile, as he saw her starting to calm down.
"I'm glad you came when you did. I am so happy to see you," she said as she moved closer to him, leaning in to give him a sweet kiss.
They continued to kiss softly, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "God, I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too," she replied as they broke the kiss. "So, tell me, what were your plans for when you surprised me?"
"Felicity, we don't have to do that now, you just had a hard time. I just want to hold you, I missed doing that," he said as he caressed her back and arms.
"Ben, I am not going to let Noel ruin our night, I won't let him do that. My boyfriend came home early to surprise me and I have to thank him for that," she said as she moved him towards the bedroom.
"Are you sure? I mean, we can just sit here on the couch or something," Ben said with concern.
"Ben, I want to go to our room. Come on," she said as she led him into the bedroom by his hand. She closed the door behind her and turned to see him looking at her with such love and concern, she nearly cried. "Ben, I'm okay, really. I'm so happy to see you."
Ben shyly smiled as she led them to the bed. When he sat down beside her, he was overcome with the love he felt for her and took her face into his hands. "I love you so much," he said.
"I love you, too. Now, let's have the perfect reunion that you were planning," she said with a seductive smile on her face as she pushed him back onto the bed.......
Sometime later, Felicity lay in Ben's arms as he caressed her back with his fingertips. "Oh, that feels so good," she murmured as she kissed him lightly on his chest, running her fingers just below that.
Ben laughed and said, "Good, that is what I had in mind."
"What else do you have in mind for me tonight?" she asked as she moved her hands just below the covers.
"Hmmm....well, you will have to wait and see. Just let me catch my breath for a minute," he chuckled. Then as he felt where her hand went, he took a sharp breath in.
"I think we need to have a repeat performance, whenever you feel ready," she whispered sexily into his ear. She laughed when she felt him grab her butt and move her until she was on top of him. "It seems that I have convinced you."
"Yeah, you didn't have to work too hard at that," he said just before capturing her lips with his in a passionate kiss. It was a kiss that they both felt all the way to the tip of their toes. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and onto her butt, caressing her tenderly, but with anticipation. She brought her lips to his neck, kissing his earlobe and licking from his ear down to his throat in a manner that had Ben shivering and wanting more. He took her in his arms and moved her until she straddled him. He brought his hands to her breasts and circled each nipple with his thumb, watching in delight as she started to succumb to his touch. He brought his mouth to one breast and kissed it fully, before lying back down and moving her until he felt her body aching for him. She took him inside, slowly at first, then increasing her movements as their passion took them over yet again.
She collapsed atop him and laughed softly. "I'd say that you caught your breath just in time."
Ben laughed and said, "Yeah, I noticed that too."
They stayed like that for some time, neither wanting to separate. He moved his hands through her hair and whispered again how much he loved her as their breathing started to slow. She moved off him slowly, then moved into his arms again. It wasn't long before they fell asleep, exhausted and fulfilled.
The next morning, Felicity woke up to the feel of Ben's breath on her neck. He was planting soft kisses below her neckline and on her back. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
"Hey," she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes for a minute. "How long have I been asleep? Is it real late?"
"No, no, it's not late. You were real tired, I must have worn you out," he smiled.
"Yeah, you did," she giggled. "It was a long night."
"Yes, it was" he said, pausing to look at her closely. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
"Yeah, I am good. I really am. I feel like I am finally home. You are back in my arms, so I feel the best I have ever felt."
"That's good to hear," he said as he wrapped his arms around her once again.
"Thank you for last night, for coming home and surprising me. What you did...what you said to Noel, I mean, it really meant a lot to me."
"You're welcome. And you should get used to it, that is what I will always do, help you and look out for you. We're going to me married, you know. In case you've forgotten."
"No, I haven't forgotten," she laughed. "Though I will be so glad when I can actually wear my ring. We need to tell everyone soon so I can show it off."
"Okay, we will," he replied then kissed her on the top of her head. He was quiet for some time, before saying something else. "Felicity, can I tell you something?"
"Sure, you know you can tell me anything," she said as she looked up at him.
"You know that I enjoyed this paramedic thing, right?" he said somewhat reluctantly.
"Yeah," she replied, encouraging him to continue.
"Well, I am not sure that is all that I want to do. I mean, I feel like there is more to do than that. I don't know, I guess I've been thinking, I know this is crazy, but.... And you can't laugh at this," he said."
"I won't," she said gently, encouraging him to continue.
"I think maybe, that maybe, I want to be a doctor." He stopped and looked at her to judge her response.
She just giggled, laying her head on his chest.
"Hey, you said you weren't going to laugh. I mean, I know it may be crazy, but is it really that funny?"
"No, no, Ben. That's not it. It's just you seem to have come to some conclusions over the summer and it's funny that is was I did, too."
"Really, what?"
"Well, I don't want to take away from what you were saying..."
"No, go ahead. What have you been thinking?"
"Well, I guess it was just a thought. When they had a class of kids in some summer program come into the museum for a tour, I ended up helping them out. And it got me thinking, I love kids. Maybe I could teach? Is that something you could see me doing? You know, teaching kids art."
"Yeah, of course, you'd be great at that. All the kids would love art then," he said with a smile.
"Really? Hmm...maybe that is what I should do then," she said softly. She paused for a moment, letting it sink in before saying, "So, a doctor, huh?'
He laughed and said, "Yeah, is that stupid?" He looked at her with concern, really wanting to know her opinion of his idea.
"Ben, I am certain, completely certain, that you can do it. You are caring and hard working and sensitive. You care about people, you always have. That is what will make you a great doctor," she said as she looked him straight in the eyes, ensuring he heard every word she said.
"You really think I could do it, then?" he asked, still a bit unsure.
"Yes, Ben. I am sure. Medical school will be tough, but it is for everyone. And if this is what you want, then I am sure that you can do it."
"Thank you," Ben said softly, looking at her with adoration and love.
"For what?" she asked.
"For always believing in me. I don't know how or why you do, but it really...it really means so much to me," he said quietly.
She looked at him with love in her eyes and said simply, "I know."