Thank you so, so much for all your reviews guys! I'm glad you liked Will and Alexis' cuteness! I can't answer some of your questions without giving too much away, but if I say the main plot of this story hasn't even begun yet, then that should give you an idea- most of your suspicions are bang on the money. Honestly, if I manage to write all that I want to write then I'm barely a third of the way through. Sorry guys, there's a lot more still to come if you stick with it! And yes, all of the Benedicts will feature later on, and so will a scene with Will meeting Lex's family. Anyway, please leave a review! If I didn't get reviews I honestly wouldn't bother to update, so I'd like to thank you guys for all your lovely comments- you guys rock! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Twenty minutes later Rach, Will, Monty and I headed off to the car. Will had his arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I was pressed comfortably into his side. Rach was informing Dan about the outcome of the match as he'd been off at football training, so we had a little time to ourselves on the walk back.
"You sure your ankle's okay?" He asked, noticing the way I was slightly babying it as I walked.
"I'll be fine."
"Do you fancy going out for lunch or something?"
"Sweaty and in my netball kit? Are you kidding, Will?" Netball kit definitely did not constitute 'eating out' attire.
"I don't mean now! I was thinking we could go back to your flat and you could change and shower first."
"Inviting yourself over? A bit presumptuous don't you think, Mr Benedict?" I replied haughtily. He stammered then, trying to correct himself. "I'm kidding, Will! I knew what you meant, don't worry. But how about we order in? I mean, you look beat."
"That sounds great, actually. I've got a bit of work I need to finish off this afternoon anyway. Pizza?"
"You're the man of my dreams: meat feast?"
"Right on sweetheart!" We high fived each other at that.
"You two are such dorks, honestly." Rach said as she watched our exchange, ending her phone call. "So, what's the plan for today then?"
"Oh, we're just going to go back to mine, order some pizza and chill."
"Sounds good, guys! Do you fancy doing something together tonight, though? I mean, me and Dan are free, so I was thinking maybe we could double date? There's that new restaurant that's just opened up a couple of miles away from me, if you fancy trying that?" I looked up at Will.
"What do you think?" I asked him.
"That sounds good to me, but only if you fancy it too, sweetheart?" I nodded at him.
"Yeah, that sounds lovely, Rach. We can celebrate today's victory with cocktails! Oh, and your's and Dan's engagement; we haven't had a proper celebration for that yet!"
"I like your thinking, girl! Okay, I'll book a table for half seven. Does that sound okay?" We both nodded.
"Sounds perfect." I said as we reached the car and climbed in. Dropping Rachel off at her house, we agreed to meet her and Dan at the restaurant at half seven, before heading off back to mine.
"Do you need to get anything from your hotel for tonight?" I asked Will, glancing at his outfit. "I mean, not that your outfit isn't lovely, but-"
"Nah, don't worry, Lex. I didn't get chance to check in this morning, so all my stuff's still in my car. I've got an outfit change in there, don't worry." I nodded, letting him doze whilst I drove home. Pulling up, I nudged him gently.
"Hey Will, wake up. We're here." He yawned, shifting in his seat, causing Monty, who was still sat on his lap, to jump to attention. I sniggered. "Come on, guys. The sooner we get inside, the sooner we can order pizza." That certainly got Will's attention, and he was out of the seat in no time. Food was definitely what motivated men; there was no doubt about it. I grabbed my kit bag from the back seat whilst Will went to his car to grab his suitcase before we headed up to my flat.
"So a meat feast, yeah? They're massive, so one should be enough between us, if that sounds okay?" I asked as I let us in.
"Sounds good to me, sweetheart."
"Okay, make yourself at home. I'll ring for it now before my shower." It was half twelve now and it usually took at least half an hour or more to arrive. He nodded, letting Monty off his lead and settling himself on the sofa with his laptop whilst I dialled Domino's to place our order, fumbling around for some cash from my purse in preparation. If I didn't sort out the money before it arrived I was always left faffing around for it, and the poor delivery boy was left waiting in my doorway. Finding a £20 note in my purse, as well as a handful of change, I left it all on the dining room table in a heap.
"Right." I said once I'd rang our order in. "I'm going to head for a shower. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, turn on the TV if you want, and if Monty starts growling it's probably because he's hungry. I'll feed him when I get out the shower as it's a tad too early now."
"Thanks, I will." He said, looking up from his laptop. "I'm just gonna try and finish some work off while you're in the shower, so then I won't feel guilty for not working today."
"Okay, I shouldn't be long. The pizza isn't supposed to arrive until one." I glanced at the clock, it was half twelve now. "And I should be out of the shower by then, but if it's earlier can you get it for me? I've left some money on the table."
"Sure thing, sweetheart, but I'll pay."
"We are not having this argument again, Will! Come on, I mean it's my house, so I pay."
"Okay, fine. If you pay for the pizza, I'll pay for our meal out tonight. Deal?" I scowled at him.
"That's not fair. You know that tonight will be more expensive than pizza."
"Take it or leave it, sweetheart." He said with a wink, shutting his laptop so that he could look at me more clearly. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at me. There was clearly no room for negotiation.
"Alright, okay." I headed for the bathroom. "But I'm buying my own drinks, you can only pay for my food."
"I didn't agree to that, sweetheart."
"We'll see, William." I replied, walking into the bathroom. I turned on the water and stripped my sweaty kit from my body, dropping it into my wash basket. A hot shower was the most glorious thing known to man after a netball match. A hot bath was even better, but I didn't have enough time to bathe properly before the pizzas arrived. Eagerly, I stepped into the hot spray, coating myself in shower gel and watching the soapy suds trail down my body before disappearing down the drain. Once I'd gotten rid of most of the grime I moved onto my hair- working the products in thoroughly, leaving it smooth and knot-free. Finally, I gave myself another lathering of fruity shower gel and a last rinse before I turned the water off, feeling infinitely cleaner, and better for it. Wrapping a towel under my arms I headed to my room to change into some comfortable clothes: a pair of leggings and a t-shirt being my outfit of choice. Running my fingers through my hair I brushed it carefully- not wanting the curls to frizz. Once I was satisfied, I walked back to where Will was. He was still working away at his laptop in the same position I left him in, but Monty had come and sat next to him. I watched from the doorjamb for a moment as Monty rubbed his head against Will's arm, and Will absentmindedly leant down to stroke him in response, still concentrating on the screen. It was adorable. I watched them for another minute before making my presence known.
"So, no pizza yet, then?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen. Will looked up, startled.
"No, not yet." I nodded, picking up Monty's food bowl and filling it with food for his lunch. His water bowl was still full, so I didn't need to re-fill that. He trotted over and scarfed it down as soon as it touched the floor, before looking up at me and begging for more. I leaned down to pet him.
"No, Monty. You can have more at tea time- that was it for lunch." He seemed to accept this, trotting off happily to sit by his new best friend, Will. What a turncoat. "So, how's work going?" I asked Will as I searched through my cupboards for some plates and a pizza cutter in preparation for our lunch.
"I'm getting there." He said with a sigh. "Someone hacked into our systems and damaged it. Thankfully they weren't able to get any data- my system's too tight for that. I've managed to repair it now- it's up and running again, but now I've got to add to our systems. I can't believe they got so close this time- I can't let it happen again. It's just creating a newer, better system is challenging, so I've just tried to add to the old. I've rang Yves to get him to look over it, but even he's stumped. That hacker was an expert!"
"Yves?"
"My younger brother. You know, Phee's husband?" Yes, the Benedict I used to hate with a passion.
"Oh yeah, right. Sorry- mental blank. Is Yves good with computers then?"
"Yeah, he's a genius with them. He helped design apple's security."
"Wow! That's really impressive! But I guess he's still not as good as you, right?" I asked cheekily.
"You got it, babe! I'm the best there is." He flexed his biceps for emphasis.
"Modesty has always been one of your finest qualities, Will. Do you fancy a drink?"
"That's what my mother always said! And yeah. Hang on; I'll come help." He shut his laptop and came into the kitchen before I could tell him not to inconvenience himself.
"Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." I said as I grabbed two glasses from the cupboard in preparation. "I've got coke, orange juice or milk. Oh, or I've got squash if you fancy that?"
"Squash?"
"Yeah, squash. You know cordial?" He still looked bemused. "You don't know what squash is? Seriously? Wait, no you must have heard of it, maybe you call it something different in the states." I opened my cupboard to reveal my collection. I had every flavour under the sun: blackcurrant, orange, cranberry, lemon, lime, lemon and mango, cherry, apple, pineapple. I was obsessed. If it existed I had it, or had tried it.
"That's squash?" He asked, looking at the bottles.
"Yeah, you just mix it with water and hey presto: squash!"
"Why don't you just drink it? Why add water?"
"Will, believe me; you do not want to try undiluted squash."
"So it's like kool-aid, then?"
"Kool what?"
"Same principle: you add water to dried powder and you get a juice drink." I looked at him disgusted.
"That is so many levels of wrong!"
"Says the girl adding a liquid to a liquid!"
"Alright, enough trash talking squash. Don't knock it until you've tried it! You wanna try it, virgin?" He let out a choked cough at that. "Squash virgin, I meant! Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter!"
"I wasn't thinking that!"
"Yeah, yeah, virgin. Now which, if any, do you want to try?"
"Sweetheart, I'm the furthest thing from a virgin.
"Oh, so would you prefer man whore?"
"I'll stick with squash virgin, thanks. And cherry please."
"A good choice: cherry to pop your cherry!" I laughed, squealing as he grabbed me lightly, and began to tickle me. "Okay, okay! I surrender!" I screamed between laughs. "But you have to admit, that was a good one!"
"Sure, sure." He said, finally releasing me. I grabbed the glasses and poured us each some diluted cherry, before going to the tap and filling them up with water.
"Bottoms up." I said as I passed him his glass to try. He took it warily, sniffing it suspiciously, before taking a tentative sip. He licked his lips afterwards, savouring the taste. "So?" I asked, eager to hear his thoughts.
"Sweet, but nice. Really nice, actually." I grinned happily.
"Cheers." I raised my glass to him and we clinked them together. "To us."
"To the future." He said, taking another step towards me. I could feel the kitchen counter at my back- I couldn't escape; not that I wanted to. We were so close; I could feel his warmth. Instinctively, I tilted my face to his, our lips drawing closer together. My arms wound around his neck, and I shut my eyes in anticipation.
And then the doorbell rang. We both jerked away from each other at the noise.
"Ah-"
"I should probably go and get-"
"Yeah, probably I-" He unwound his arms, and I extricated myself from his hold.
"I'll just go and-"
"Yeah, sorry I-" He said as I turned to leave. I picked up the cash from the table and headed to the door, hearing him mutter something under his breath as I left the kitchen.
"Will, could you bring the plates and glasses through, please? Just drop them on the coffee table, and I'll bring the pizza." I asked as I opened the door, taking the pizza from the delivery boy and handing him the cash. I closed the door and brought it through to the living room as Will was setting the stuff on the coffee table.
"Here we go: a Domino's special!" I said with gusto, laying the box on the table and handing Will a plate. I sank down onto the sofa, and flipped it open- it looked mouthwatering. "Come on, dig in!" He joined me on the sofa, handing me a piece before helping himself to a slice.
"This is so good!" He exclaimed after his first bite.
"I know, I swear it's the best there is! Oh, should I put something on while we eat?" I motioned to the TV.
"Yeah, sure. I'm not fussed." He said, helping himself to his second slice of pizza. I grabbed the remote, and flicked through to Netflix.
"Anything in particular you fancy?" I asked as I waited for it to load, finishing off my slice of pizza as I did so.
"Lady's choice. Well, as long as you promise not to subject me to 'Gossip Girl' or '90210'. Sky and Phee are obsessed with those- it drives Zed and Yves mad."
"Don't worry, they're definitely not my sort of programmes." I said with a laugh as the screen flickered to life, pulling up my most recently watched programmes, all of which seemed to be about detectives. "Sorry." I explained. "I have a slight obsession with crime programmes."
"Yeah, you don't say!" He replied with a laugh, his eyes flitting over the screen. "Oh, you're watching 'Breaking Bad'. Man, I love that show."
"It's great, isn't it? I've nearly finished the first season after a week: I'm a total binge watcher."
"It gets better- I'm half way through season two, but I haven't watched it in a while. Why don't you put it on? It'll do me good to re-cap, and I don't want to interrupt a binge-watching session."
"Sounds good to me." I said, clicking on the latest episode, and glueing my eyes to the screen.
We demolished the pizza in no time. Well, I say we, but Will managed to finish off nearly two thirds of it as I couldn't manage my half. I didn't know where on earth he put it- the boy was a human dustbin! After a couple more episodes we took Monty on a quick walk around the neighbourhood to let him do his business, before we both got down to some work. We sat in companionable silence for the rest of the afternoon. My feet rested in Will's lap as he typed away on his computer and I finished off my lesson plans for the next two weeks.
His eyes started drooping a couple of hours later, his tiredness seeming to finally catch up with him.
"You okay?" I asked him, tearing my eyes away from my work. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Yeah, just tired is all. You okay if I take a quick nap- I just don't want to fall asleep at the table tonight."
"Sure. You can use the spare room if you want?" I offered.
"Nah, it's okay. I can nap anywhere, and this sofa is so comfortable." He stretched out as far as he could, but with me in the way his legs were still awkwardly bent in order to fit on.
"Wait, come here." I said, grabbing a pillow for my lap and patting it. "Put your head here and then you can stretch out fully." He did as I suggested, swivelling his body so that his head was now where his feat once were. He settled comfortably on the pillow, yawning and stretching his legs out fully.
"Thanks. You sure I'm okay here? I mean I'm not disturbing you, am I?"
"You're fine." I said, picking up my lesson plans again. "I'll wake you up before we have to get ready for dinner."
"Mmm'kay." He managed to mumble before he was out for the count. I snickered at that; he was obviously a lot tireder than I'd first thought. I worked in silence for the next few hours, gradually and methodically sorting out a series of lesson plans that would keep my class on schedule. It was about half five when Will finally roused from his nap.
"Hey sleepyhead! Feeling better?"
"Much, thanks. How long have I been out?"
"About two and a half hours give or take."
"Wow, really? That long? I guess I was really tired." He sat up straight and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Yeah, I was about to wake you as I thought we better start getting ready for tonight. I think we should set off from here at about quarter to seven so we've got time to get to the restaurant, which leaves us about an hour and a quarter to get ready. I know we won't need that long, but I thought you might like to have a shower and freshen up? There's clean towels in the airing cupboard, and you can help yourself to any of the products in the bathroom- I think I have some male ones somewhere."
"That sounds perfect." He said, standing as he spoke. "I won't be too long in the shower, but I do need to have a shave." He ran a hand along his stubbly chin as he spoke.
"There's an electric shaver socket next to the sink. I'm not bothering with a shower as I've already had one after netball, so you can be as long as you want. I'm just going to finish off this plan and then I'm going to get ready. I'll be in my room if you need me, so just give me a shout."
"Will do." He replied, grabbing his suitcase from next to the door and wheeling it to the bathroom. "See you in a bit, sweetheart."
Review? If I hit 300 (ahhh!) then I'll update tomorrow! Hugs x