Just Me (You & Me 1)

“Is that right?” She answered, her interested peaking.

Ben sure knew how to keep a woman on their toes, and she liked the spontaneity of it all. There was nothing routine about him, all exciting and unexpected. He was the boost of life she needed after spending so much time in slow motion.

“I was just going to stop at this Mediterranean restaurant at the end of my block,” Katherine lied. It was another restaurant Talia had recommended, this one owned by a Greek family. Katherine planned to go one day, but used it as the best way to get out of inviting Ben to her place for now.

She wanted to take things slow, and bringing him to her place wasn’t in the slow plan. Thankfully, Ben was undeterred by her change of plans, adapting quickly.

“The Greek spot?”

“That’s the one,” she answered with a smile.

“I’ll see you there in fifteen minutes,” he declared, with a seriousness that let Katherine know he was looking at a clock.

“Okay then, bye!” She yelled before ending the call, surprised by her own excitement.

Dipping from one room to the next, she moved quickly to get ready, jumping into the shower before the water was warm enough. She washed her hair quickly before scrubbing her body was suds and rinsing clean.

Hoping to get dressed in the least amount of time, she opted for a maxi dress, throwing a thin cardigan on overtop of the thin fabric in case the evening chill was too cool. One thing Katherine had learned was that northern California evenings were much cooler than those in the south.

Needing a jacket was rare back home in Los Angeles, but in San Francisco, it was the norm and she was becoming used to the change in temperature. It was nice to cool off in the evenings, and layering was always one of her favorite fashion styles.

By the time she was stuffing her purse with all the essentials, Katherine was a few minutes late of their fifteen minute meet up time, so she rushed down the steps, bursting through the doors of her apartment before briskly walking down to the restaurant at the corner.

Ben was already there, waiting next to his red sports car, wearing a pair of jeans and a white button-down shirt, freshly pressed. It was like his uniform, and she was beginning to take note of why. He embodied everything casual and still professional, like he was stunning without even trying.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Ben,” she blurted out as she approached the car.

“Don’t worry. I’m just glad to see you,” he assured her, pulling her close to him as he kissed her softly.

“This is for you.” He held up the gift bag overflowing with tissue paper. She smiled, reminded of the present he had promised.

“Thank you,” Katherine took the bag. “Can I open it now?” She asked excitedly.

“Please do,” Ben nodded, happy to see her reaction.

Without further ado, Katherine dug through the ruffled paper until her fingers touched a fabric so soft, she wasn’t sure what it was made of. Slowly, she pulled the shiny purple gown from the bag, revealing beautifully draped shoulders. Holding the dress to her body, Katherine noticed the gown fell to her ankles. It was the fanciest dress she had ever seen in her life and wondered where she would ever possibly wear such a gown.

“This is beautiful,” she remarked, running the palm of her hand across the fabric.

“A beautiful gown for a beautiful woman,” Ben smirked, with perfect timing.

“What is this for?” she asked, needing more information.

Ben smiled, as if he knew her intentions and liked that she wanted to know more about his surprise. She was always thinking of the next thing, curious about the whole plan. He liked her curiosity and always wanted to expose her to new things.

“I want you to go to a charity event with me tomorrow night,” he explained, pausing to watch her reaction. My friend Will, he hosts these charity events. It’s basically a bunch of people donating money and then coming together to celebrate the success,” he admitted with a smile.

“I’ve never been to a charity event before,” Katherine thought aloud. She had seen invitations to charity events when she was a child. Her father was always philanthropic. But when she got married to Tim, he decided against participating in charity altogether.

Tim thought that everyone had the same opportunities, so he considered donating to help others a way of holding people back. But she knew it was only an excuse to be greedy, because Tim never wanted to share his successes with anyone, including Katherine. He just wanted to make more money and buy new things for himself. It was another thing that caused them to grow apart in their marriage.

“Well, I would love to take you to your first one,” Ben said, by way of asking her again to attend the event with him.

“Yes. I’d love to go,”

It was the truth and she refused to hide behind the fear of what could happen, and instead chose to follow along with all the good vibes she got from Ben. He was kind and generous, something she wasn’t used to, and she had quickly grown fond of him.

“Great,” Ben smiled, pulling her close again before kissing her two more times. “Let’s put this up. I can keep it in my trunk while we eat,” Ben offered as he packed the gown back into the gift bag before placing it in the trunk of the Audi.