Chapter Two:

When Rey opened her eyes, the room was dark. It took her a moment to remember she was in a stranger's bed. She looked around the room and realized he - Ben - must've cleaned up while she was sleeping.

She still had a dull ache behind her eyes, her mouth felt horrible and she still felt, well, off. But, she felt better than she had this morning. She noticed the water next to her bed and took a short, careful sip, not trusting her stomach yet.

She heard the familiar laugh-track of the television coming softly through the open doorway.

She padded lightly through the hallway, clutching her water bottle tightly as she made her way to the living room.

Ben was reclined in the middle of his couch, legs straight in front of him. There was a smirk on his lips as he watched the show in front of him.

"What time is it?"

"Rey. I didn't hear you get up." He brought his legs to the floor as he leaned for the remote, pressing the mute button. "It's almost six in the evening. You slept for about nine hours."

"What are you watching?" Rey came closer, sitting at the opposite end of the couch. "You don't seem like a Friends kind of guy."

"No? What kind of guy do I seem like?"

Rey looked down at her hands. She took a sip of water and shrugged. She stared at his face; a faded scar ran down his cheek, the tip of it peeking out from above his eyebrow. He had bruise like coloring under both his eyes; he looked tired. "Did I come home with you or something?"

"What?" Bens eyebrows furrowed. "No." He sighed. "Look, what I'm going to tell you will probably be very upsetting."

"Okay," Rey enunciated each letter.

"Well," Ben stood and walked toward the kitchen. Through the open concept, Rey watched as he opened the refrigerator and took out a mug, then turned and put it in the microwave. "How well do you know the man you were with last night?"

"Uh," Rey closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead. "Can I have some more Advil?"

He opened a cupboard and took a bottle out, just as the microwave beeped. He made his way back into the living room and sat an arm's length away from Rey, putting the Advil and mug down in front of her. "The peppermint tea from this morning," He clarified.

"Thank you." She picked the bottle up from in front of her. "Kent was a regular at the coffee shop I worked at. When he heard the store was permanently closing, he asked me to go on a date with him."

"So what did you do last night?" Ben asked as Rey shook two Advil into her palm.

"He took me to dinner and then we went to DRK. Why? What happened?" Rey swallowed the Advil, her mood worsening with every second.

"I saw you come in with him and… you only had one drink with him. You were barely there for half an hour. He was trying to leave with you and you could barely stand - I think he put something in your drink when you went to the washroom."

"Oh my God. That - Oh my - that prick." Rey stood, forgetting about the tea.

"What?"

"That piece of shit! Who does he think he is?! What kind of-of monster…"

"Rey -"

"Do you know what I'm going to do to if I see him again? I-" Rey made her way toward the kitchen and picked up the clutch she had brought on her date last night. "I have to do something. I have to go."

"Are you okay? Do you want me to go with you?"

Rey shook her head. "I have to go," she repeated. She slid her shoes on and just like that, she was gone.

"Hey Sunshine. You got here just in time, the pizza should be here any minute." Finn called from his bedroom as he heard the door close.

"Ugh," Rey answered as she dropped her purse on the kitchen table, her cheeks red from the cold.

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to come in here and say Mr. Coffee Man had charmed the pants off of you." He paused for a moment. "Literally."

"Just you wait." Rey stripped her dress over her head as she made her way towards her shoe box-sized bedroom. She threw her dress down on the floor and opened her dresser drawer. "Do we have any wine?" She called towards Finn, who had made his way to the living room, as she slipped on a pair of oversize pajama bottoms and a white tank top.

"That bad, huh?" She could hear the fridge door open, followed by a cupboard. As she padded into the kitchen, Finn was filling two glasses with leftover rosé.

"Alright, spill."

"Well," Rey started, taking a sip of wine as she sat down on the mismatched plush chairs in their tiny living room, seemingly forgetting that she was sick hours earlier. "He picked me up, we went for Italian and then we went to a bar in Central Park West. He seemed nice - and then I woke up in a strangers apartment."

"Not Mr. Coffee Man's apartment?" Finn balked.

There was a knock at the door. Finn placed his wine glass on the makeshift coffee table in the center of the living room. He accepted the pizza boxes from the man at the door and thanked him, then trudged into the living room and set them down.

"You got two pizzas?" Rey laughed.

"You know I don't let your nasty green olives touch my pizza! Just be happy I was even thinking of you or you'd be sitting here watching me stuff a whole pizza in my face and you'd be S.O.L." He joked. He lifted the lid of the first box and held it out to Rey. "Yours."

Rey happily accepted a slice as Finn opened the lid of the second box.

"Whatever Mr. Pineapple and Pepperoni. Anyway! No, not Coffee Man's apartment. And that's not even the worst part. The stranger - Ben - told me Kent was trying to leave with me and I was barely conscious - that prick slipped something in my drink."

Finn turned his head slowly, gaping at her in disbelief. "What?"

"I know. It makes sense, though. I remember getting to the bar, he ordered us drinks and then the rest of the night is hazy at best."

"What if this mysterious stranger drugged you and then brought you home?" Finn asked through a mouthful of pizza.

Rey shook her head as she sipped her wine. "No. He slept on the floor, brought breakfast and I vaguely remember him threatening Kent. The more I think about it the more I can see him being total scum, anyway."

"I am so sorry, Peanut. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I mean… yeah. Nothing happened."

"But it could've."

"But it didn't." Rey said defensively, taking a big bite of pizza.

"So, how did you thank the man who saved you?"

"Saved me?" Rey scoffed, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm not a damsel in distress, Finn, you know that. You know me."

"You may not be a damsel in distress, babe, but you are, in fact, a damsel and you were in distress that night. And he helped you. Ain't no shame in that."

Rey nodded. "You're right, I know," she sighed.

"So…" Finn grabbed another slice of pizza. "How'd you thank him?"

Rey swallowed and picked up her wine glass. She cast her eyes down at her lap. "I didn't."

Ben woke up at five o'clock on Monday morning. He went for his usual hour long run and got back to his apartment by 6:05. He made a three-egg omelet - one of the only things he could successfully cook - and picked up a tray of coffee on his way to the office.

"Good morning, Mr. Solo," His receptionist smiled.

Ben nodded. "Dormé."

He entered his office and put his and Hux's coffee on his desk. He knew that Hux wouldn't be here for another fifteen minutes, so he busied himself with paperwork.

"You brought coffee?" Hux balked as he entered Ben's office. "You never bring coffee to the office."

Ben put his pen down. "What can I say, I needed a pick me up this morning."

"Did you forward me the list of topics for this morning's meeting?" Hux raises an eyebrow as he took a sip from the tall paper cup Ben handed him.

"Aren't you going to ask me what I did this weekend?"

Hux scoffed. "Benji, you do the same thing every weekend. You do the same thing every day."

"Don't call me that." Ben snapped.

"Alright, tell me what you did this weekend before that vein in your forehead explodes," Hux smirked.

"I was at DRK on Saturday night -"

"The same as every night."

Ben shot him a look before continuing. "And this girl was in there with a date -"

"And you were watching them?"

Ben sighed. "I noticed when they were leaving that she could barely stand -"

"She was probably loaded."

"Hux, you cut me off one more time I swear to God."

Hux chuckled.

"She wasn't loaded. They just got there. So, I went to see what was up - the guy had drugged her drink, Hux."

"Jesus." Hux took a long sip of his coffee and took a seat in one of the leather chairs in Ben's office. "Good thing you're a creep."

Ben perched on his desk. "Anyway, I get her home and -"

"You took a drugged girl home? What is wrong with you, Benji?" Hux stood and paced the room.

"What was I supposed to do with her, Hux, leave her there? Let the guy who drugged her take her home?"

"Gee, I don't know, you could've taken her to the hospital? Called the police? You do know who you are, don't you? Did anybody see you?"

"Just my doorman. It's not like I'm a celebrity, Hux, you're blowing this out of proportion. I made sure that - that fuck didn't hurt her and I gave her a safe place to stay. She left yesterday evening."

"You're part of New York's elite. No more extracurriculars for you, Ben. Stick to your regularly scheduled programming, okay?"

Ben sneered at him. "The meeting is in half an hour. Go, check out the game plan."

"I mean it. No more being a hero." Hux said as he left Ben's office.

Ben lingered outside DRK for a moment before sighing and opening the heavy door. The lights were dimmed, as usual, and his regular table was empty.

The same bartender who had been working on Saturday night came to his table moments after Ben sat down. He unwound a long red scarf from his next and hung it on the peg above him.

"Sir," the bartender greeted.

Ben nodded. "A gin and tonic, please, a few lime wedges on the side."

"Right away, sir."

He busied himself by checking emails - personal and business - until his drink arrived. He sighed as he picked two limes from their dish. His stomach rumbled.

"I was hoping I'd find you here," a voice called from behind him. He turned in his seat, drink in hand, to find Rey.

Ben sat up a little straighter. "Rey."

"Can I sit?" She gestured to the other side of the table.

"Of course. I didn't think I'd see you again… so soon." He added.

Rey took a seat and a moment later, the bartender was at their table. "Can I get you something to drink, Miss?"

"I'm fine with a glass of water, thanks."

He nodded.

"Thank you," Rey smiled bashfully at Ben. "Thank you for the other night." She took a piece of paper out of the small purse hung over her shoulder. "I'd like to invite you for dinner at my apartment tomorrow night as a… token of my appreciation. This has my address and phone number."

Ben accepted the piece of paper, folded it, and stuck it in the pocket of his suit jacket. "Rey, you really don't have to - any decent person would've done the same thing." He took a sip of his gin and tonic.

"But they didn't. There were so many people here and you were the one who - who helped me." Rey's stomach rumbled loudly just as she finished speaking. Her face turned red.

Ben put a twenty down on the table. "I know the best place to get latkes."

"I was going to have leftover -"

"Best latkes in the world. My treat." He grabbed his red scarf from the hook and wrapped it around his neck and stood.

"Okay, sure," Rey agreed and her stomach rumbled once more. She pulled her sweater tightly around her shoulders.

They walked out of DRK side by side. The wind howled and the snow blew around them. Rey started to shake; her sweater kept none of the cold air out and it sunk into her bones.

She felt a heavy weight around her shoulders as she was cocooned in a dark coat. She looked up at Ben, who was shoving his hands in his trouser pockets. "You were shivering."

"Why do you have two coats?"

Ben laughed. "This is my suit jacket. And that -" He motioned to Rey. "Is my pea coat."

Rey could swim in the amount of fabric that was around her. She wrapped arms around herself. "Thank you. I didn't realize it was supposed to be so cold tonight."

"Of course." The snow was falling around them, dancing in the lights of the streets. "Oh, it's right down here," he murmured and put a hand on Rey's back to steer her.

He quickly dropped his hand as they entered United Bakers. There were a few empty tables and they sat across from one another.

"I'm bloody frozen," Rey rubbed her hands together as she shrunk into the oversized coat.

Ben chuckled. "I love your accent. Where in England are you from?"

Rey pressed her lips together. "I don't know."

A smile played on Ben's lips for just a moment before he realized she was serious. "You don't know?"

"I moved to upstate New York with my parents when I was seven. They died in an accident when I was eight. I had no other family here and they seemed to have a hard time finding anyone in England. When my parents moved, they didn't bring many belongings with them, so I don't know much about my background." She said the words without any hint of emotion, as if she were reciting the the list of ingredients from a cereal box.

"Rey, I'm so -"

"It's fine." She cut him off. "You can't miss people you don't remember."

"What can I get for you?" The waitress interrupted, her bubble gum smacking loudly as she smiled at Ben.

"Whatever you usually get - I'm up for trying new things."

"You want me to order for you?"

"Yeah, I've never had - go ahead." She trailed off.

"Two matzo ball soups to start, an order of latkes, knish, falafel and hummus and a side order of pickles, please."

"Anything to drink?"

"I'll have a coffee, please." Rey smiled.

"Make that two."

The waitress nodded and left their table.

"So when did you move to the city?" Ben asked as he unwound the scarf from his neck.

"About four years ago with my best mate Finn. We live together. How long have you lived here?"

The waitress came back with their coffees and a bowl of cream. "Sugars on the table - your food will be out in a minute." She snapped her gum as she walked away.

"I went to NYU and stayed after that. I grew up in Pennsylvania."

Rey nestled into the warmth of the pea coat as she reached for the sugar.

"That was amazing," Rey sighed as she swiped the last pickle off the plate. "You may have created a monster."

"It's pretty addicting," Ben smiled as he dropped a few twenties into the black leather folder sitting on the table. His phone vibrated loudly against the table top. He shoved it in his pocket as he stood. "Let's get you a cab."

Rey thought of her last twenty dollar bill, tucked inside her jeans. There was a bright yellow cab idling outside of the restaurant.

"Don't forget about tomorrow, okay? I'll text you a time. Thank you for… for Saturday. And for dinner. I owe you two meals now." She smiled as she ducked inside the cab.

Ben nodded. "My pleasure. I'll see you tomorrow."

Rey was half way home before she realized she was still bundled in Ben's coat.