Chapter three is finally here! Sorry for the delay, life can become pretty hectic sometimes! Also, I got into a little bit of a writer's block. Whoopsie.

Thank you to all of the reviews, favorites, and follows this story has gotten thus far. Y'all never cease to amaze me.

As always, I hope y'all enjoy!

(P.S.A) I'm spicing it up this chapter with a little bit of 3rd Person-POV. Still deciding which type of POV I want to use for this story.

Saturday, October 14, 1939 | Part II

Once it finally reached six o'clock, Rey decided to head downstairs to save Ben from Ahsoka's ongoing interrogations.

She placed her hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and then proceeded to open it. As she walked through the hallway and towards the winding Victorian staircase, the pumps she was wearing started to make the sound of their people.

Upon hearing the pitter-patter of Rey's pumps, Ahsoka and Ben turned their gazes out of the parlor and towards the staircase.

"Looks like Rey is ready to grace us with her presence," Ahsoka trumpeted with a blissful grin before getting up from her chair and heading towards the foyer of the house.

Rey slowly made her way down the rickety staircase, with each step seeming to make more noise than the last. In that moment she did not know which was louder, her pumps or her frantic heartbeat. Finally, when Rey rounded the one curve in the staircase, her eyes instantly locked onto Ben's. He had the same crooked looking grin on his face like he had at the rumble, and it made Rey's heart soar.

"Doesn't she look lovely, Ben?" Ahsoka's blue eyes sparkled as she looked upon her adoptive daughter.

Ben nodded in response while maintaining eye contact with Rey before becoming slightly flushed, "I think lovely is an understatement."

Her eyes widened instantly at the compliment before a large goofy grin appeared on her face as well, "Thank you, Ben."

This evening, Ben was sporting a navy colored blazer with dark brown slacks. Underneath was a white collared shirt with a spiffy looking tie to bring the whole outfit together. Draping off his left arm was his trench coat, which was of a darker brown shade.

His broken nose was healing quite nicely, and the bruise was starting to fade ever so slightly. Still, he looked more menacing than he actually was. One of the first things she noticed since their last visit was that he got a haircut. His longer locks were gone, but his dark hair was still slicked back with pomade. Nevertheless, he looked very charming and handsome.

"Shall we?" Ben said while motioning towards the door.

Rey smiled and put on her burgundy puffed coat before giving Ahsoka a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "As always, I will be back by midnight."

A small smile made it's way across Ahsoka's face before she turned towards Ben, causing her expression to disappear, "Remember what will happen if you hurt my daughter."

He straightened up before speaking with reassurance in his deep voice, "Don't worry ma'am, I'll take good care of her."

Before leaving the foyer, Ben put on his dark colored trench coat and then opened the ancient mahogany door. As both of them headed out of the house, Rey was happy to see that the rain had finally stopped for the day. She breathed a sigh of relief.

That was one of the things that Rey hated the most, the rain. She loved when the sun was shining bright over the city. During those types of days, Rey could be found on the front porch, sipping on some sweet-tea while reading Jane Eyre. However, those types of days would start to become limited as autumn turned into winter. At times, Chicago was one of the most miserable places on the planet, or at least that is what some of the citizens of the great city thought. Although it had a history of being dubbed, "The Windy City," Rey thought it should be renamed to, "The City that Doesn't Seem to Get Sunlight 9 Months of the Year." One time when she was around eight years old during the height of the Great Depression, she thought about contacting the Mayor of Chicago to get the nickname changed. But as she sat down at her desk with an inkwell pen and paper, she decided it would be a silly thing to write the Mayor about when there were children who were starving on the streets.

Rey was brought back to reality when she heard the sound of jingling coming out of Ben's pockets. In his large hands, he held a pair of keys.

Rey looked at them and then up at him, "What are those for?"

Ben laughed a little, "For my truck."

Rey instantly perked up, "You have a truck? I've never ridden in one before."

He looked down at her and smiled before heading onto the sidewalk, "Yes, she's one of my pride and joys."

From there, Rey and Ben walked down the sidewalk, and every so often Ben helped Rey over fairly large puddles that had formed due to the heavy rainfall. After around forty-five seconds of walking, a forest green 1933 Ford pickup truck came into view.

"Here she is," Ben gleamed with admiration before unlocking the passenger side and opening the door for Rey.

Rey looked the pickup truck over before making her way into the vehicle. It had several spots of rust on it, but Rey was able to tell that it was very well taken care of. After closing the door behind Rey, Ben made his way over to the driver's side and slipped in next to her before putting the keys into the ignition.

"So, where are you taking me?" Rey questioned while looking over at the dark haired man sitting next to her.

"It's a surprise," He smirked.

"Really? Not even one hint?"

"Nope," he stated while turning the key and causing the engine to roar to life.

"The movies?"

"Nope."

"The diner?"

"Nope."

"The moon?"

"Sadly, no."

Rey started to become slightly agitated because she was someone who was not overly fond of surprises. For Rey's tenth birthday, Ahsoka planned a surprise birthday party, and it ended up being a complete and utter disaster. From then on, surprises, no matter the scale, were not Rey's favorite thing in the world.

Putting the truck into gear, the vehicle started to move forward towards their destination. Where? Rey had absolutely no idea. He could be kidnapping her for all she knew. He did seem to have a reputation after all.

A reputation for what?

Again, something she had no idea.

Rey began twiddling her thumbs and looked out of the window to her right. Although the rain had stopped, it was still a gloomy October day in Chicago. She almost shuddered at the thought that the weather would be like this until around May. Why did she have to live in the Midwest where the sun barely showed itself? After contemplating moving to Florida where the sun shined all year around, she looked down at Ben's right hand, which every so often changed the gear to make the truck either go faster or slower.

"Having fun?" Ben mused while looking over at her.

Rey almost jumped at hearing his voice for the first time in several minutes, "What?"

"You're looking at my hand," he chuckled a tad before switching into fourth gear and glancing back over at Rey.

"I still haven't gotten behind the wheel to begin driving lessons. It just fascinated me is all," She stated while turning her gaze out of the window beside her.

In that moment, an idea came to the forefront of Ben's mind. He could teach her how to drive. Why not? He's been driving for several years now. Sure, he could be an ass sometimes when he got a little bit of road rage, but nevertheless he was a pretty good driver.

"How about one day I teach you how to drive?"

Rey's heart almost skipped a beat, "You'll teach me how to drive?"

He nodded while turning down to third gear and then shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

Yet again, a wide grin made its way across Rey's face, "That would be wonderful Ben."

Ben responded with a crooked grin of his own before it fell silent in the car once again. He noticed that the girl next to him kept playing with her fingers, a nervous habit he suspected. Hoping to ease her nerves, he decided to speak, "We're almost there."

She looked around at her surroundings, and could tell that they were heading a little bit out of the city, towards the village of Rosemont. Rey had been to Rosemont before to see a showing at one of the theaters, but it had been years since she was on this side of town.

Before long, Ben turned off of the busy street and into one of the public parking lots. He cut the engine, got out of his truck, and meandered his way over to Rey's side before opening her door.

"Such a gentleman," she said with a smile while getting out of the truck.

"Thank you. Now, our destination is right around the corner."

And with that, the two of them made their way out of the parking lot before turning a left at the corner. Right in front of them was their destination: a bowling alley.

"Bowling?" Rey acknowledged while looking across the street at the neon sign.

"We could always go somewhere else," Ben suggested nervously while looking down at her and then over at the building.

"I'm just surprised is all."

"Surprised by what?"

"Surprised that you want to get your butt whooped on the first date," Rey could barely keep in a smile as she gazed up at Ben.

His eyes widened a bit and a sly smile came across his face, "Is that a challenge?"

"Mhm. You bet it is."

"Oh, so now we're making bets? You're digging yourself into a much deeper hole, Miss Rey."

"Hey! That's not what I meant," she chuckled while hitting his shoulder lightly with her hand.

Ben looked down at her amazed. She was one of the first girls, besides his own mother, that had talked to him in that type of manner. Other girls he had taken out in the past were ditzy and shallow. They didn't have much substance to them other than their looks. But Rey was different. She was strong and feisty. Boy was she feisty. He could already tell that she was one of a kind, and he wanted to know more about the girl standing beside him.

Once the thoughts left him, he smiled with that same old crooked grin before nodding across the street, "Come on. Let's see if you actually have game."

It was nearing the end of the game. Rey was up by one strike, which Ben thought was pretty impressive since he was not deliberately letting her win. Finally, it was his last turn. He made his way up to the line, put the bowling ball up to his mouth saying sweet words of encouragement, before he swung his arm back and released the ball onto the shiny wooden floor. The ball made its way down the alley until coming into contact with the pins. In the wake of the destruction, two pins were left standing on either side of one another.

A defeated sigh escaped from his lips while Rey sprung out of her seat, jumping with excitement before walking over to Ben and reaching her hand out, "Good game."

"You as well," Ben stated with acceptance while reaching out and grabbing ahold of her hand. Instantly, he noticed how much smaller it was compared to his. Not only in that moment did he realize how much smaller her hand was, but just her entire presence in general. Rey was several inches shorter than himself, and of much slimmer build. Still, her head came to his torso while standing up, and he wondered what it would be like to have her head nustle into his chest as they embraced each other.

Ben began to feel his cheeks flush. This was the first time he had reacted to a girl in this way. He was never the romantic type, but in that moment, being in front of Rey, he was willing to change his habits.

"So… It's only eight. We still have four more hours till you need to be back home. Is there anything else you'd like to do tonight?" Ben admitted before he could hold back his tongue.

Rey stood there a little shocked. By now, in the past, her dates would gladly bring her back to her house to ditch her for the rest of the night since they were unable to deal with her personality, which was so different from other women of the time period. But here was Ben, never ceasing to amaze her.

"How about we go and get some coffee?" Rey suggested with a wholesome smile.

Ben's heart almost exploded. She actually wanted to spend more time with him.

"That sounds like a great idea," Ben stated while putting on his trench coat before noticing Rey struggling with one of the arm holes on her own, "Here. Let me help you," Ben addressed while helping Rey with her coat.

She blushed in response, "Thank you Ben."

"Anytime."

"Shall we?" Rey motioned towards the door.

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in one of Rey's favorite coffee shops. Rey got her usual drink, mint tea with lemon, while Ben got himself a black coffee.

She sipped on her tea while Ben took a drink of his own.

"So… tell me a little more about yourself," Rey spoke up while looking over at Ben from across the table.

Ben took another gulp before setting his cup down, "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your family."

A little wave of resentment filled his being before Ben spoke, "Ummm… I'm an only child. I live with my mother... She was a pretty prominent leader during the women's suffrage movement within Chicago. Nowadays, she works at a non-profit downtown. And my Dad… Well, he hasn't been around since the crash of '29. He told us he was going out West to find a job but we never heard from him again."

And in that moment, Ben realized he had said more about himself to Rey than he had to any girl in the past.

He silently chastised himself.

Why was he doing this?

Why was he being so vulnerable?

But he felt like he could trust the girl with the chestnut hair with the soft eyes that was sitting in front of him, so he decided to continue, "My Dad was born and raised in Chicago, but the rest of my family is from Indiana. My uncle still lives there, he's a professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Notre Dame. That's pretty much it," he let out a bit of nervous chuckle while taking another sip of his coffee.

While he was talking, Rey had noticed must have been hard for him to talk about this particular subject, since he had been fidgeting with the napkin in front of him the whole time. But in the end, she felt some sort of relief. He must have trusted her to a point, and that made her stomach fill with butterflies.

But why did he trust her?

"I'm sorry about your father. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't really have a father figure in my life either."

Ben looked up from his mug and into Rey's hazel eyes. He felt a sense of comfort, knowing that she could somewhat understand what he had gone through during his childhood.

Ben was only eight when his father disappeared. This was the point in any young boys life in which a father figure meant the whole world. The evening before he left, Ben and his father were in the alleyway behind their apartment, throwing a baseball back and forth. He could still remember the sound of the "thud" when the ball would hit his father's old catchers mitt. Once they were done throwing for the night, his father kept the little baseball. In the morning when Ben woke up and realized his father was gone, so was the ball. Over the years that ball became a symbol. His heart. His father had stolen his heart, and his childhood. From that moment on, until around the age of thirteen, Ben stayed up each night, wondering why his father had to leave them behind, especially when they were trying their best to make ends meet to survive.

Growing up during the 1920's, like most other children, Ben's childhood was quaint and charming. His mother was still helping with suffrage work throughout the city, while his father was away doing business. The only time his whole family was together was during the weekends, when his father would come home. One day, when Ben was around six, they had career day in their classroom, where his fellow peers brought in their father's so that they could discuss what they did for a living. Some were firefighters, policemen, or even businessmen. So that weekend, once his father came home, Ben asked him what his job was. His fathers response was, "I put a roof over your head and food in your belly, that's what I do for a living."

Although his father could be somewhat distant at times, Ben still loved him. They shared a love of sports together. Sometimes, if his father had made a few extra dollars that week, he would take Ben to Wrigley Field to see the Chicago Cubs play. But when his father left after the crash, his love of baseball faded away into the distance, just like his father. Whenever he walked by a diamond, or saw a baseball bat laying in the street, he could only think of his father. And in that moment, anger would billow out of him. As a result, when he entered high school, he channeled those years of anger and abandonment onto the football field, where he shined as a linebacker. By his sophomore year of high school, he was already getting division-one scholarship offers. He declined all of them, stating that although he was pretty good at football, he did not want to make a career out of it.

"So, tell me something about you," Ben stated while finishing his cup of coffee.

Rey thought to herself for a moment before speaking, "I love animals."

Ben couldn't help but smile. She seemed to be so innocent compared to him.

"I could tell. I saw the picture of you on the mantel."

Rey's face turned as bright as a lobster, "You did not."

Ben chuckled, "Yeah, I did."

Her eyes widened.

He winked, "Don't worry. It was pretty adorable."

She took a sip of her tea, hoping it would calm her down, "I literally look like an overstuffed marshmallow in that photograph."

Ben couldn't help but let out a massive laugh. Rey followed in pursuit, "Hey! Stop laughing at my misfortune."

"If it makes you feel any better, my mother has a photograph of me as a toddler with a diaper over my head, running buck naked into the kitchen. She keeps it on the end-table next to the couch."

Before he could finish speaking, Rey was laughing so hard that tears had begun to form in her eyes.

"That's rough," is all she could get out while trying to regain her breath.

Ben sighed, "Yeah. Try explaining that one to the football team."

The next few hours seemed to fly by. Most of the night they talked about embarrassing stories from growing up, and their laughter seemed to fill the entire space. Before long, it was time for Ben to take Rey back home.

They made their way to his truck, and he opened the door for her once more. She sat down in the seat, and a few moments later he was sitting down next to her.

After several minutes of driving, the truck lurched to a stop at a red light. Ben looked over to the girl with the curly chestnut hair next to him, "I had a really great time tonight, Rey."

She smiled when she heard his deep-voice say her name and looked over to him, "So did I."

Ben was nearly blown away when she turned his way. The streetlight next to them brightened up her face, and her hazel eyes turned into a wonderful dark green color, almost resembling the hue of his truck.

She was beautiful.

Scratch that.

She was stunning.

He piped up his remaining courage before opening his mouth, "Maybe we could do this again next weekend?"

Rey could not believe what she was hearing.

He wanted to go on a second date?

A second date?!

Trying not to sound overly eager, she smiled and then gave a slight nod, "That would be lovely."

"So… How about same time, next Saturday?"

"Sounds like a plan," Rey stated while a huge grin came across her face.

He nodded and smiled, with his same goofy grin while looking back onto the road and shifting the truck back into gear.

They made it to her house with five minutes to spare. Ben helped Rey out of the truck before walking her to the old Victorian front door.

She got the front door key out from her clutch and then looked up at the tall man next to her. He couldn't help but smile down at her before reaching over and brushing a piece of stray hair off of her cheek with his thumb and behind her ear, "I'll see you next Saturday, okay?"

Rey barely heard what he said, since she was more focused on the hand that was cupping her cheek. Nonetheless, she smiled and nodded while looking up into his caramel colored eyes, "Of course."

Ben continued to smile while he lowered his hand off of her cheek and back to his side before turning around and making his way back to the pickup on the curb. Within moments the engine roared back to life, and the forest green truck made its way down the dimly lit street.

And there stood Rey, blushing and grinning from cheek to cheek like a giddy middle-schooler.

Yayyyy! Chapter three is finally over. Still don't know if I like this chapter or not, but oh well, at least it's out of the way.

If you liked it, let me know! As always, y'all are amazing.