You didn't want to admit it to yourself, but you were counting down the days until Saturday night's dinner date.
... but it's not like you had much else to look forward to, right?
The week progressed at a crawl, and at unusually hot temperatures. You didn't need to garden at 4am to avoid Ben anymore, but you kept it up because the heat during the daylight hours was unbearable.
You were watering the flowers somewhere around 4:50am on Thursday when a familiar voice made you jump a foot in the air.
"Hello there." Ben said. You whirled around with a scream, inadvertently turning the hose on him. Ben took cover behind the garden fence, and you immediately dropped the hose, feeling incredibly foolish.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz." You run to the faucet and crank it off, barely registering that you were only wearing your bathrobe, and you had absolutely nothing on underneath it, as you crouched by the spigot.
"Ben, I'm so sorry." You apologized again. Ben was grinning at you while still wiping his face. He was barefoot, as usual, and had a cup of coffee with him. And he was soaked, thanks to you.
"It's all right, my dear. It's my fault for surprising you. I should have known better."
"At least let me get you a towel and warm up your coffee..." You pleaded, mentally kicking yourself still.
"All right."
You led Ben inside and fetched a towel from the hall closet, finding him in the kitchen looking at the art on your fridge.
"You saved Anakin's masterpieces, I see." He said warmly. You ducked your head in embarrassment and handed the towel over.
"I don't really get any gifts, let alone fine art from the galaxy's teeniest speedracer." You said. "When he becomes famous, these will be my retirement fund."
Ben laughed heartily from underneath the towel, his hair sticking up in every direction when he emerged. Your eyes met, and something squeezed at your heart. To keep from getting completely derailed by Ben's looks, you snatched up his coffee cup and went to the Mr. Coffee to refresh it. When you turned back to Ben, you could have sworn his eyes were appreciating you from the back, but the twinkle in his eye could have been his usual joie de vivre.
"How come you were up so early?" You blurted, trying to gloss over the fact that you'd caught each other staring.
"To see you, of course." Ben sipped his coffee, then reached over to the fridge and opened it. "Pardon my forwardness, I need some milk for this strong stuff you've brewed me."
Your hands touched while reaching for the carton of milk, and you made a mental reminder to buy some batteries for later, when you're replaying this whole interaction from the comfort of your bed. Unfortunately, thinking about your vibrator stalled your forward motion, and Ben delicately plucked the milk carton out of your hand, added some to his cup with a flourish, and replaced the carton before your brain had a chance to catch up completely.
"I think I need some coffee too." You say, completely derailed at this point.
"Oh?" Ben chuckled, "should I leave this out?"
"Um, no thanks. I drink it plain."
Ben made a face, and you gratefully escaped back to the coffee maker. This interaction was not going to plan at all.
"I'm sorry, it's early and I'm all over the place." You say, pouring your cup.
"No worries, my dear. I apologize for interrupting your routine this morning. I just thought we could spend a little time together without our favorite little monster causing a scene."
You accidentally overfilled your coffee cup at his words, splashing it all over your bathrobe.
"Oh gods, now it's me causing a scene." You grumble. "One moment."
You want to practically run to your room to change into something, anything, that will endear you a little more to the man in your kitchen, but fate has other plans. The tastefully art deco drawer handles that you installed last year betray you by catching on your bathrobe belt. Your momentum undoes the knot at your waist, and suddenly you are giving Ben a full view of everything you have to offer, right here in your kitchen.
Why didn't you put on underwear this morning before going out to water? Why?
You both were spurred into action, Ben turning his fiercely blushing face away and closing his eyes, and you frantically trying to cover yourself up. For a moment, you both were completely silent.
"Um, I think I'll go-"
"Change?"
"-Right, change. One second."
You gratefully ran to your room, silently screaming at yourself.
Why didn't you put on underwear? For fuck's sake, woman!
IF you were going to go 'round the proverbial bases with your absolutely gorgeous neighbor, it certainly wasn't going to be an awkward event in your kitchen at 5am. How could you even show your face to him after that series of unfortunate events?
You patted down your new outfit, which consisted of soft sweatpants and a tee shirt, splashed water on your face, and then returned to the kitchen, steeling yourself.
Ben was puttering around the space like he'd moved in. The coffeepot was bubbling with fresh brew, and he was drying a dish from your sink he'd just washed. The smell of toast wafted over from the toaster.
"I hope you don't mind, my dear, I decided to help myself to breakfast and some more of that floor polish you call coffee while waiting."
"That's fine," You said, relieved that he didn't want to re-hash the events of the previous few minutes you'd spent together. You accepted a fresh mug of coffee from Ben before he returned to the sink, and were left to admire how heartbreakingly domestic and right he looked in your kitchen.
"Um, any plans for today?" You ask tentatively, trying to put your mental train back on the tracks.
"Only the blessed release of a midday nap and no high-pitched voices until bedtime," He replied, "Anakin's babysitter takes the morning shift while I work, and then he goes to daycare, and then my Father picks him up for the rest of the day. It's the best day of the week, in my opinion."
"And so you're here in my kitchen at 5am... Why? When you could be asleep?"
"I won't be doing much sleeping after the events of this morning, I assure you." Ben said it at such a low volume, with his face toward the sink, that you almost thought you'd hallucinated it.
"I mean, after a cold shower, it's best to start the day, yes?" He said, louder this time. The tops of his ears were bright red, but you refrained from comment since your brain was having difficulty processing. Only when Ben looked at you for affirmation did you pull your mind out of the gutter and reply. Well, somewhat.
"Yes, a cold shower." You mumbled. Your eyes met his, you both took in each others' reddening complexions, and you privately decided now would be a great time for your kitchen floor to swallow you whole.
"I'm going to ask you something impulsive..." Ben said.
"Yeah?" Your heart was fluttering hard enough to burst at this point.
Ben stepped closer to you and delicately tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, his touch feather-soft.
For a split second, you thought this would be the moment. Ben would lean down and cover your mouth with his, and you'd engage in carnal acts against your kitchen counter the way you'd always dreamed.
"Come to the arboretum with me."
You blink up at him in confusion for a moment, since it didn't sound like he was asking to ravish you on your kitchen floor.
"That's not a question." You replied, making Ben laugh.
"You are correct, my dear. Would you do me the honor of spending the afternoon at the arboretum with me?"
"The what?" You were nonplussed.
"The botanical gardens and arboretum on the other side of town, near the university. It's one of my favorite places and I'd like to share it with you."
"All right, what time?" You asked.
"I'll pick you up after lunch and that midday nap." Ben took the hand not holding your coffee and kissed it before heading toward the front door. Your fingers tingled, and you were so distracted you almost forgot to say goodbye. Ben closed your front door with a laugh and a wave.
In Ben's absence, your kitchen seemed gloomier. The dishes were done, coffee was brewed, and you felt like something was missing. And you felt impossibly aroused despite the backlog of embarrassment the morning heaped up. The clock read 5:18. Time to go look for some batteries.
It was embarrassing to admit that you hadn't looked your vibrator in its battery case eyes in quite some time. Ben's presence in your life had stirred the bubbling cauldron of your arousal, but with everything else going on you hadn't really been in the mood for some time now. So the batteries had been sacrificed to electric toothbrush when it last died, and you hadn't remembered to put Duracells on the shopping list. Swapping the batteries back wasn't an option, since they were on their last bit of charge, and you weren't feeling particularly brave when it came to going manual for this activity.
Which left you to choose between waiting for the store to open, and asking Ben for batteries.
To do one of those things, you had to create an iron-clad lie that would pass a polygraph, or he would know you were trying to get off with his batteries. And for the other option, it was going to be about a three hour wait. Which meant you could experiment with going manual while you waited.
You slid in between the sheets sans sweats, cursing your cowardice.
...Only to emerge about forty minutes later, frustrated beyond belief. Your pussy throbbed from all the different pressures and speeds you'd tried on it, but nothing had stuck. So, off you were going to go across the street and ask for batteries for your toothbrush. You'd even decided to bring it with you for effect.
You checked in the mirror to make sure your cheeks weren't too pink and your hair was lying flat, and were out the door before you could talk yourself out of it. The first rays of dawn were coming in through the trees, and your neighborhood was still silent and sleepy.
No one answered when you knocked on Ben's door, even though his Prius was in its usual spot. You mentally facepalmed, realizing you could have sent a message before you marched over here.
'Can I borrow some AA batteries? I walked over and knocked, you're probably busy' You texted.
Ben immediately read the message, then three dots appeared and disappeared as he typed and stopped. You waited for a response, rolling the toothbrush between your fingers nervously.
The door opened, revealing a very rumpled Ben. His hair was freshly damp from a shower, but had yet to be styled, and he was wearing yesterday's clothes, judging by the large mustard stain on the front of his tee shirt.
...And his fly was down. You averted your eyes immediately. The scents of his shampoo and cologne rolled out to greet and intoxicate you, making your nethers throb again.
"I'm so sorry to disturb you, I just needed batteries for this." You said lamely, gesturing with the toothbrush.
"No disturbance at all, I was just working." Ben said a little too quickly.
You both were lying, and you wondered if it was as obvious to him as it was to you.
"Um, I'll just take the batteries and go." You said, wanting to make a hasty escape.
"Here you are, my dear." He dropped four batteries in your hand.
"Thank you." You made a show of popping two into the toothbrush and offered the extras.
"Keep them, I took them out of one of Anakin's more tiresome toys." He said. He smiled, but it was clearly in a distracted way.
"You enjoy your quiet, I'll enjoy having these in my mouth." You said, immediately flushing from top to toes as you processed what you'd said. Ben gave you another smile, this one more genuine.
"You're adorable when you're embarrassed. I'll see you later, Flower."
You thanked him and made a hasty retreat back to your bed, where you set the newly refreshed toothbrush aside and put the other batteries in the device you really needed. Your vibrator was nothing fancy, just a simple wand toy you'd had since college. It had been faithful in times of need, and it was probably about to see a lot more action in the coming days.
You shimmied out of your sweats and slid back under the covers, your thoughts wholly consumed by thoughts of your neighbor. His hair, his eyes, the smells of his shampoo and cologne that had just assaulted your sensibilities. There was something about him that had grabbed you, hook, line, and sinker.
You thought about the condom that had fallen out his wallet at the market. Was he seeing someone? The thought that Ben was actively dating and merely pursuing you out of politeness had been on your mind. But that kind of thinking was hardly helpful to the task at hand here.
You switched on the vibrator and nearly yelped in surprise at the unfamiliar contact. The new batteries really made a difference.
Your mind wandered back to Ben's disheveled look this morning, and you decided to continue that line of thinking to its completion.
And while you'd never, ever, felt the need to do it before, you found yourself reaching for your toy for a second round. After a long, blissed-out nap, you were just contemplating brunch and a third round when your phone buzzed.
"How is the oral hygiene?" Ben texted. You had to think for a moment about how you wanted to reply because a million innuendos ran through your mind.
Pairs well with the cold shower. You replied. Your phone lit up with a call from Ben, which you accepted with some embarrassment since you didn't have any clothes on, and that seemed like a dangerous situation for your libido today.
"You didn't actually take a cold shower because of me, did you?" Ben's voice had a strange tone to it, and if you didn't know any better it sounded like arousal.
"I'll never tell." You decided to tread the dangerous waters of flirtation. It hadn't worked out for you yet, but how many more embarrassing things could happen today?
Ben let out a breath, and the line was silent.
"I'm sorry, my dear, I'm not really sure why I called. Perhaps I missed your voice."
"What time are you thinking for our adventure today?" You asked.
"Well, let's see. The time now is nine-thirty, I somehow still haven't gotten to work, I-"
"I thought you said you were working earlier?" You blurted, and then facepalmed. "I'm sorry, none of my business. Forget I said anything."
Ben was silent long enough that you thought he'd hung up.
"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?" He finally said. "I'll pick you up at Noon, once I've had my nap. Don't forget to finish watering."
"Oh, shit." You said in reply.
"I'll see you later, Flower." Ben said warmly, and hung up.
You set your phone down and picked up your vibrator again.