First Date
Ciara woke up the next morning excited about her first date with Ben. She got up, showered, dressed, and left for her shift at the pub.
After her shift, Ciara raced home to get ready for her date. She was putting on her perfume when Tripp walked in.
" What are you doing here?"
" I live here, remember."
" Yeah, but I thought you moved out."
" Yeah, well, I changed my mind."
" Why?"
" Claire talked me out of it."
Ben tried to get a reservation at Doug's Place, but Julie wouldn't give him a table.
Back with Ciara, she was still talking to Tripp.
" Last time we talked. You were pretty insistent that you wanted to move out."
" Yes, and you tried to talk me out of it. Looks like you've changed your mind, too."
" You were right. The two of us living together is not a good idea."
" Yeah, so is dumping me for a serial killer, but you know who am I to judge."
" You know that's not why we broke up, Tripp. I couldn't trust you anymore. You set Ben up, and you lied to me."
" So what changed? What changed since the last time we talked?"
" I guess I just had some time to think things over."
" Claire said you guys would have trouble making rent if I moved out."
" Yeah, well, I got a job at the Brady Pub, and I will be making more than enough to cover your share."
" Good for you," Tripp said as he sneezed.
" Oh, that's right, I forgot you were allergic to my perfume."
" Yeah, well, it's not really a problem anymore now, is it?"
" You going somewhere special tonight? You have a date with Ben. That's what's changed; that's why you want me out; you're with him now."
" I don't want to talk about that with you."
" After all the times you swore you didn't have feelings for him. Didn't take you very long, did it?"
" That is none of your business, Tripp."
" Yeah, right, well, have fun. Don't let him set you on fire or strangle you with a necktie."
Ciara just shook her head, grabbed her purse, and left her room.
Ben walked out of Doug's place and headed for the pub.
" Hi there."
" Hi."
" You look... incredible."
" Thank you. And thanks for picking me up here."
" Yeah. Of course."
Ben pulled flowers from behind his back.
" These are for you."
"They're beautiful. Thank you."
" I'm glad you like them."
" Yeah."
Claire walked out of the pub. And said, " Would you guys get a room?"
Ben cleared his throat and looked at her.
" Just not at our place."
" I thought you didn't have a problem with Ben."
" I don't, but Tripp does, and he lives there too."
" So, do you just not have anything better to do, Claire? Because we definitely do."
Claire looked at them and said. "Whatever," and walked away.
" It's like she lives to annoy me."
" No, no, no. Don't let her bother you. Especially not tonight."
" You're right. Not even Claire can ruin this evening. I'm just I'm just happy to be here with you."
" Me too."
" So, where are we headed?"
" Mmm, well, the restaurant I wanted to take you to was... they're all booked. So uh..."
" Gotcha."
" Um... okay, well, we could just eat here."
" Are you sure? You work here."
" At least we won't have a problem getting a table."
" Well, besides that fact, your Uncle Roman hates me."
" Uncle Roman's not here. And besides, this is my family business, too."
" Of course. I mean. Is there any restaurant in this town not owned by one of your family members?"
" No."
They walked to the door and saw the closed sign.
" Well, so much for that plan."
" Well, we could sneak in and cook for ourselves."
" I have a better idea. You trust me?"
" I trust you."
They held hands and walked off together.
They went to the park, and Ben pulled out a blanket and said, " You know what the difference between a picnic in the summer and December is?
" What?
" The blanket goes on top instead of underneath."
" Cozy."
" Yeah."
Ben put the blanket over the both of them and put his arm around Ciara.
" Are you disappointed? I know I promised you a nice dinner out, and here we are waiting on takeout Chinese that still isn't ready yet."
" Hey. I will take this any day. Besides, I don't want you spending all your money on me. Did you even get your first paycheck from your new job?"
" Soon. I got my first assignment."
" Feels nice having a job, doesn't it?"
" So nice."
" Yeah. You haven't even told me anything about it. Do you like it? Who are you working for?"
" You are looking at the new head of security..."
" Mmm!"
" For Stefan DiMera."
" You're working for Stefan DiMera?"
" And... living in his mansion."
" Oh, wow. Okay. That just made things a whole lot worse."
" And you're upset."
" He's a terrible person, Ben. He took advantage of my cousin Abigail and drove her insane. The guy is a monster."
" A lot of people say that about me."
" But you're not a monster. I know you. And if you're trying to get people in this town to see you differently..."
" Then working for Stafan isn't the greatest career move. I get it, but..."
" No."
" Ciara, I got turned down by business in this town. I couldn't even get a job washing dishes at a dive bar."
" Have you ever worked in security before?"
" Not technically. I think Stefan is just looking for somebody who can intimidate people. For better or worse, that is my skill set."
" Do you trust him?"
" Enough. I think we just kind of get each other, you know? From one parish to another."
" I'm not really sure how to feel about that, Ben."
" Look, I know your family hates Stefan. And I know they hate me too. But I needed to get a job. Is this a deal breaker?"
" It's your life."
" I know. And I know this is our first date, but I'm just hoping that maybe someday..."
Ben held Ciara's hand and looked her in the eye.
" If Stefan ever asked me to do something that crosses the line. I'm not gonna do it. I will quit first."
" Cross what line, Ben? Are you talking about killing people?"
" Ciara, I am never going to do anything to put what we have in jeopardy. You're way too important to me."
" But my mother is still on your case. She'd like more than anything to lock you up, and you've gotta stop giving her ammunition, Ben."
" I've told you this a million times. You are the only person that has ever believed in me. No matter what...you're always going to come first...okay? I promise you."
Ben rubbed his thumb over Ciara's cheek and looked into her eyes.
" Good. Cause I don't want to lose you."
Ben's phone beeped in his pocket, and he pulled it out.
" Food's ready. Is it really 9:30 right now?"
" Why? What's wrong?"
" I just had a work call."
" Okay. Uh, I'll just go pick up the food. And I'll be right back."
" Thank you."
Ciara went to get the food so Ben could make his work call. When she got back, they had dinner together.
" Would you like some chicken?"
" Sure."
Ben brought the chopsticks to her mouth to feed her a bite.
" That's really good."
They continued to eat and laugh together.
Ben handed Ciara a fortune cookie.
" Thank you."
Ben opened his cookie, looked at the paper, then looked at Ciara.
" Good things come to those who wait."
" That's kind of cliche, isn't it?"
" Yeah. I'm hoping it's true."
" So I'm a good thing?"
Ben put his arm around her, leaned in, and said, " You are a great thing."
" Why don't you open up yours."
" Okay."
Ciara set her container on the ground before opening her cookie.
" These things are so stupid anyway."
" What? What's it say?"
" It says..."
" My date will end with a kiss."
" But we already knew that."
Ciara pulled Ben in by his jacket and kissed him.
After their first date, Ben and Ciara spent every free moment together. Both of them found who they were looking for.
