A/N: I don't really have a note for this chapter, but I've been writing A/N's before the start of each one and I like to keep it consistent lol
OH I do have a note: To the guest who reviewed last chapter, Han and Leia make an appearance real soon!
Also, fair warning, Ben's got drunk idiot friends in this chapter. Their conversation contains very obscene language. Sorry, I needed them to look bad.
~XVI. Poker Night~
After the night of their bonfire, it seemed like Ben and Rey fell back to their comfortable routine (before Baz). They had breakfast in the mornings and dinner together every day. And on her days off, lunch included. Their conversations were full of laughter and light teasing and as Rey promised, she spent an hour or two a day helping Ben study for his pilot's exam. The boundaries that were crossed that night were never brought up. It seemed like an implicit thing because they were each trying to figure out if it meant something or if they were just caught up with the events of that night. The only progress that surmounted on that front was that they started sharing a blanket during their movie nights (minus Rey snuggling up next to Ben), but at times she would stretch her legs over his lap and vice versa. Likewise, when they would say goodnight, now they gave each other prolonged hugs. This, they thought, this they could do every day.
About a month later, Ben and Hux's old college friends were in town. They planned to have a poker night (like their college days) at Hux's place, but he had forgotten that Phasma was dog sitting a neighbor's pair of golden retrievers the same night and one of their friends was allergic. So, Ben had asked Rey if he and his buddies could have their game night at the loft. Rey didn't think Ben needed to ask her, but she appreciated it, nonetheless. She agreed of course since it fell perfectly on the day that she was to go out to dinner with Rose, Finn and Poe. It had been such a long time since their last get together (minus Poe's birthday), and Rose's sister Paige was in town anyways, so it was the perfect night for the two of them.
Rey had gotten off work a bit late and informed her friends that she'd instead meet them at the restaurant and not at Rose's apartment to start. She finally made it home and rushed up to the loft and opened the door, turning the heads of several men.
The couch was pushed against the wall of the bookshelf for the time being so Hux's enormous poker table could be set up for the five men to sit. When Ben saw Rey, his face lit up, to which only Hux had noticed and grinned to himself while his friend got up to greet her.
"Hey," Ben smiled gently at her.
She smiled back at him and started to shed her jacket and purse off her shoulder. He walked over to help her out of her coat, something he'd been doing lately as well. She didn't mind of course; she liked the sentiment. Not like Hobbie ever did anything gentleman-like for her even during their courtship.
"Sorry for interrupting," she sheepishly waved at the strangers.
The other men placed their cards down and stood up as well. They hadn't expected a visitor, let alone a woman. Nor had Ben even mentioned anything.
"Hey Hux," she greeted the only other person she knew first. He went over to give her a hug. "How's Phasma doing?"
"She's pet sitting for a friend. Woman's been trying to get me to get a dog of our own for years," he rolled his eyes.
"Be careful, she can be very intimidating. Or else you'll end up with like six dogs," she and Hux laughed.
Ben liked that Rey was friends with his friends. She was already friends with his oldest pal Poe, but that was before they met. Hux and Phasma were the closest thing to family as Ben wasn't as close with his parents these days and this mutual likeness among them was a sense of confirmation or approval that she was welcomed in his life by everyone. Well, at least his friends. If he had thought like this a couple months ago, when the awkwardness clouded the air, he wouldn't even think about wanting some kind of approval. Now, if he were being honest, neither he nor Rey were sure if this was just a roommate thing anymore or an actual budding relationship.
After Hux's chat with her, Ben gestured for Rey to meet the other guests.
"Guys this is Rey." He turned to her and nodded at the three men. "This is Quinn, Peavey and DJ."
"Hi," she waved at them.
"Well hello there, pretty lady," Quinn greeted her. "Ben's told us nothing about you."
"That's alright. Ben didn't tell me anything about you all either," she kidded.
They all laughed at her remark.
"How in the world did our buddy score you?" his friend DJ asked.
"Yeah, there's no way in hell that you two are together," a noticeably drunk Peavey added.
Unfortunately for Rey, the men had started their poker game almost two hours ago and his three friends already had a great amount of alcohol to drink. Ben, like Rey, still didn't drink alcohol since their Vegas trip and Hux, as Phasma had told her, was Irish so he knew how to hold his liquor. Therefore, she treaded lightly.
"They're roommates," Hux stepped in.
She was very grateful for him at the moment as Ben was seemingly quiet, a mixture of uneasiness and irritation revealed on his face.
"Ben is in between jobs and Rey's in between couches. They're mutual friends with one of Ben's old buddies. Relax it's just a temporary thing." Hux knew not to bring up the whole Vegas incident, something Ben demanded of him before the others came over.
"That explains why it's so god damn clean here!" Quinn exclaimed.
"Ben isn't so bad," she lightly joked. This caused them all to laugh again.
"Well whatever you're doing, keep at it, girl! The loft is clean and there's more than just beer in the fridge," DJ winked at her.
With the lingering conversation and her palpable discomfort, Rey decided it was time to excuse herself and let Ben and his friends resume their game. She was already late as it was, and she wanted to leave and see her friends as soon as possible.
Ben and his friends settled back in their seats and continued their game. Thankful for Hux, he was able to avoid any mentions of Vegas or the status of his and Rey's actual relationship. His other friends were in fact chums, but not as much as his friendship with Hux and even Poe back when he was younger.
He remembered exactly how less of friends there were and more of just acquaintances that day when they started getting rowdier and drinking way too much beer.
"Dude seriously," Peavey nudged Ben after a while. He drank the most out of them all. "How the hell did you land that girl?"
Hux haughtily grinned. He was the only one who knew the truth, the entire truth. Whether Ben or Rey cared to admit there were feelings between them, nothing went past the redhead.
"Yeah, she's way out of your league, dude. Not even the kind of girl you go for," DJ said. "And that accent, so damn sexy."
"Ben has matured since you guys last saw him," Hux added.
"Yeah, he went and found a girl to own. That Rey is something," Quinn wolf-whistled at the thought.
"Hey now, no one owns anybody," Ben started to get defensive. Drunk or not, he'd hope his friends treaded lightly on the Rey matter.
"Oh, so she owns you?" DJ chuckled, "So you're her bitch?"
His three drunk friends obnoxiously sniggered.
"And to think playboy Ben becomes a one-woman man. She must be amazing in bed," Quinn stated.
"Guys…" Ben warned. Even Hux was disgusted.
"I thought Baz was a wild one," Peavey snorted. "Rey must be one of those good girls on the streets but a freaking slut in the sheets."
Ben glowered at them, bunching up his fists as he grabbed onto some poker chips on the table to tame his growing rage.
"Okay that's enough beer for you Peavey. You too Quinn," Hux tried calming down their drunk friends.
"No seriously, you got her whipped? She whip you?" DJ questioned allowed. Then he turned to everyone. "Because there is no way in hell our pal Ben here has a roommate of the opposite sex and is not taking advantage of banging her every second. I bet if we weren't here the two would be getting busy already."
"It's not like that, you guys," Ben sneered, the grip on his hands grew tighter.
"Oh-I-get-it," an even drunker Peavey than before started slurring. This man practically inhaled his beer. "She's-not-puttin'-out, huh?"
"What a prude!" DJ spluttered with a hyena laugh.
"You better mark your territory before she runs away!" Quinn crudely sniggered.
"Guys, seriously quit it!" Ben hissed.
"Oh look, Ben's blushing over his little girlfriend!" his college buddies continued to torment him.
Ben's face flushed red. Not for the blushes he'd been having lately because of Rey, but for the very offensive, very vulgar things his drunk college buddies had been saying about her. He was enraged. Rey was not like that and it bothered him that anyone would even have those thoughts about an amazing girl like her. This needed to stop before he did something to someone he'd regret later.
But before he could throw a punch, Hux stopped him.
"Come on you guys, be respectful," he tried diffusing the situation.
Among them, Hux was the most responsible. Probably because he grew up with military parents and he was the one with the long-term girlfriend. He never bantered like this with them. Even his light teasing with Ben about Rey, Hux would never overstep boundaries. And for knowing Ben longer than the other guys at the table, Hux knew his best friend's 'college days' were way behind him. It also didn't hurt that he was on Rey and Ben's side, wanting his best friend to pursue an actual relationship with this woman.
"You spend way too much time with Huxy over here, Ben," DJ said. "He's probably rubbed off on you and now you're going soft for a girl huh?"
"Well we can't all live the old glory days in college, DJ. We all got to grow up some time," Ben scowled. He was getting very edgy with them.
"Hey, you be a boring old man, I'll party 'til my liver explodes," Peavey said before chugging down his beer. His 12th beer.
"So, you two," Quinn started, "You're not together?"
Ben glanced at Hux. His redheaded friend didn't know what to say to help him out with this question. He knew it was a complicated matter.
"We're just roommates… That's all," he said coldly.
After a brief silence.
"So… you wouldn't mind if I fucked her?" Peavey menacingly grunted.
Ben nearly jumped from his seat intending to deck Peavey in his face when Hux, who had faster reflexes grabbed Ben by the arm to prevent a horrible fist fight from ensuing.
"Okay, I think we're about done here," the redhead announced to the others. Drunk as hell, it didn't faze them that Ben was acting violent. "Ben, just walk it off," he suggested to his friend.
It took Ben all his might not to flip that poker table over and break his buddy's jaw. Instead, he listened to Hux and stood up to briefly leave their game.
"Aw come on, Benny boy, we were just bullshitting!" DJ drunkenly hollered.
"You guys are shit heads," he heard Hux scoff at them.
As if nothing happened, they continued to talk, thankfully not about Rey anymore, but still stupidly and still super drunk.
Those three guys were always trouble when they were under the influence. In their defense, they never realized let alone remembered what they did when they're drunk. But this was no exception. Dare he say they were offending someone he cared a lot about. Ben certainly needed a breather from them, so he made his way over to the kitchen to grab a soda. It was days like these that he wished to bottom out a bottle of scotch or a six-pack of Michelob Ultra's. But he and Rey, for no real reason, had still decided to hold off on alcohol just for the sake of it. It was something, somewhat of a promise the two of them have kept with each other since the whole Vegas debacle. But boy were his college buddies tempting him to break that streak.
When he reached the kitchen, his hand was ready to grab the handle to the refrigerator door when something in his peripheral caught his eye. Or rather someone. He turned his head and feared the worse. Rey was standing at the end of the hallway right before it opened to the living room. Her face was in shock, a tear rolling down one of her cheeks.
Shit.
She didn't need to say anything. He knew she heard his idiot friends and their rash conversation. When her eyes met his, something registered in her to finally move. After being frozen in place for what felt like forever, she quickly wiped her cheek and dashed back to the bedroom. Ben forgot all about his soda and his friends and quickly paced down the hall as well, trying not to spark attention. While his drunk friends were oblivious and still chatting mindlessly, leave it to Hux to notice a hurried Ben walking past them down the hall. He got the sense that someone may have heard something they weren't meant to hear.
Rey didn't mean to eavesdrop. She respected Ben and they respected each other to allow as much privacy as needed. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Finn group texted that he was running late as well so the plans to meet up at Rose's apartment were tossed and everyone would meet at a restaurant near Poe's bar instead at 7:30 PM. Rose then texted Rey asking if she wanted to get picked up since she was on the way and the girls would share a cab to their destination. This was a relief for Rey since she was already behind schedule. She had finished getting ready and it was almost 7, the time Rose would be there. She quickly decided to make a small cup of coffee as she knew her friends would want to stay out late to talk and catch up. On her way out of the bedroom she tried to stay out of the way of Ben's poker game, so she tiptoed down the corridor carefully as to not bring any attention to herself. And if she were being honest, Ben's friends were a bit much when they greeted her. She was looking forward to having a relaxing night out with her friends.
However, as she reached the end of the hallway, she heard her name spoken by one of Ben's friends. She stopped in her tracks. For the next minute or two her body shut down. What she was hearing. The words they were saying to Ben about him, about her… She couldn't believe it. Was that how people projected them? Was that how she was projecting herself to Ben? Is that how Ben thinks of this situation? This cloud of indignity and shame was slowly rising in the pit of her stomach when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit her harder than anything said from anyone else.
"We're just roommates… that's all."
Before she knew it, a single tear formed and escaped the confines of her pupil and slithered slowly down her burning cheek. It's not like she hadn't heard him say it before. She said it as well. They agreed to label it that from the start. So why was it affecting her now? Before she could even think of doing anything or actually think anything about it, she met eyes with her 'roommate'. This woke her up, sending her back towards the direction of the bedroom.
Rey shut the door quietly and headed into the bathroom to touch up her makeup. She heard the door to the bedroom open slowly and shut softly. She couldn't escape this. He saw her. She had to confront him sooner or later. She closed the tube of her mascara and bravely walked out of the bathroom door and into the room. With every ounce of strength she could muster, she acted like nothing was the matter. Ben on the other hand didn't hide his looks of pure concern and guilt on his face.
"Rey…" he began. But he didn't know what to say next.
She glanced at him for a brief second. Then she made herself busy. She walked over to the nightstand and grabbed her phone to see if Rose or anyone had texted her.
"Sorry I'm still here. Change of plans. They pushed dinner back a bit. Just waiting for my Uber."
"I-I can take you," Ben offered. Screw his friends.
"Ben, you have guests."
"It's alright, Hux can watch the place for a bit."
"I don't want to impose that on him."
This whole time, Ben was staring vigilantly at her as she kept her eyes glued to her phone, fiddling mindlessly between random apps and messages threads. He couldn't take the piercing tension anymore.
"Rey."
The desperation in his voice when he said her name was unmistakable. It was enough for her to stop her fidgeting, take a deep breath and look up at him.
"Yes?" she said softly. Though she tried sounding confident, there was still a crack in her voice in saying a simple word.
"I…" He still didn't know what he could possible say to fix any of this. Pathetically, he answered with the most generic response. "I'm sorry."
She fought her very best not to cry or even let her eyes get watery again. Instead, she kindly smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing to be sorry for, Ben," she lied.
Then again, maybe it wasn't a lie. He really did have nothing to be sorry for, right?
"No," he huffed.
He took a step forward, with Rey not even responding to his actions. It crushed him. He knew she was shutting herself off.
"I know you heard my idiot friends outside."
"They're drunk," she tried to reason. "I see drunk people all the time at Poe's bar."
"Rey," Ben pleaded. He hated that she was being brave, he hated that she was dismissing him. "Please. Don't take anything they said to heart. It's none of their business. I'm sorry if they hurt you or anything. Really."
"Ben," she said softly. "Really. I'm fine. I know they're drunk and obviously you and Hux didn't say anything, which I thank you for that. But I'm a big girl. I can handle drunk idiots."
He still wasn't sure about this. He felt him and Rey slipping back into the 'awkward and uncomfortable' stage of their shared living space. It was so long ago and the newfound comfort level they were on was something he very much didn't want to lose.
"I mean, it shouldn't bother you either," she was trying to brush it off as best as she could. "It's not like we're really a 'thing' anyway. We're just roommates, right?"
Roommates.
That word hit him like a ton of bricks. Granted, he had said that to his friends just to shut them up, but hearing Rey confirm it - that hurt.
Rey sensed that that word affected him too. His desperate plea to talk to her had suddenly resolved into stark silence.
Thankfully, Rose texted her and Rey had a true reason to end their conversation. She politely said goodbye to Ben and walked past him quickly, hoping he wouldn't stop her. He didn't. He was still disoriented to what she had said.
Rey reached the living room and saw that Ben's friends had taken a break from their poker game. Peavey and DJ were taking a smoke break out on the balcony, and Quinn was out with them, drinking a beer while they chatted. Hux was in the kitchen pouring himself some soda to mix with his Jameson. He looked up and greeted Rey while she put her jacket on.
"Hiya, where you off to?"
"Rose's sister is in town, going to meet up and have dinner," she said cheerfully as if the last ten minutes never happened.
"Where's Ben?" he asked before sipping his concoction.
"Oh, he's just freshening up," she tried to dismiss it.
Rey walked towards the door and placed her hand on the handle. But before she left, she turned back to Hux.
"Do me a favor and look after him for me ok?"
She didn't know why she said that, why she even requested Hux to do such a thing. But she couldn't take it back now. She said it aloud.
"Of course," He gave her a playful salute. She chuckled. She was glad Ben had a friend like Hux. "And Rey?"
She was caught off guard when he called her name again. She thought the pleasantries were over and was already halfway out the door to leave.
"Hmm?" she said, turning back around to face him.
"Our friends really are morons. Ben isn't like that. Trust me."
She believed him. She believed Ben. But what she couldn't accept was what he said about their 'relationship'. More like how he said it. It was the truth they projected and the truth they said to others. But they never once said it to each other. That was until she did for the first time to him in the bedroom moments earlier. Now the term seemed to mean something else and she wasn't sure if she was happy about it.
She lightly smiled and nodded to Hux then shut the door.
Rey made her way downstairs to an awaiting Rose and Paige at the lobby of the building.
"Rey!" Paige, Rose's older sister hollered.
Rey waved at the sisters and rushed over to them. She hugged Paige first.
"Damn girl, nice place! Better than that boring old apartment building you had across town."
Oh right, Rey thought. Paige didn't know she didn't live at Hobbie's anymore.
"Ahh I'm so excited for dinner with everyone!" her best friend hugged her tightly. "It's been too long!"
"Yeah, I'm starving." Rey tried to be enthusiastic. But it wasn't convincing at all.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Paige sensed something off about the usually optimistic Rey.
Rey made a flippant gesture with her hand.
"Is it Ben? Did he do something?" Rose suddenly grew worried.
"No, his college friends are over. They were very… 'college behaved'. You know, rowdy," she tried to play it off.
"Ahh," Rose chuckled.
"Wait who's Ben?" Paige was out of the loop.
"Sis, we have a lot of catching up to do!" Rose said before looping her arm around her best friend's and her sister's as the three girls walked over to the awaiting Uber.
Normally Rey wouldn't want anything of her and Ben's Vegas weekend shared with anyone outside of their circle. But she had known Paige almost as long as she had known Rose and she trusted her. She was an extended part of Rey's family of friends but since she lived in Chicago, she only visited every so often. As they reached the car, Paige was basically caught up with the important stuff at least.
"YOU'RE MARRIED?!"
"Oh girl, that's just the beginning," Rose laughed.
Rey temporarily put the conversation she had with Ben aside and chose to enjoy her night out with her friends. While she knew Paige would grill her with questions, Rey would answer her the same way she's been answering everyone else. And as best she could, she would put a braver face on tonight when she had to say that she was living with a 'roommate'.
A/N: Preview of next chapter: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
"There he is! The man of the hour!"
"Ben dear, it's so great to see you!"
"Mom. Dad... W-what are you guys doing here?"