golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter two

back in his hotel room, ben changed into jeans and a jacket, and messed with his hair. at 5:15, he left and pulled up the directions on his phone. he got to the coffee shop before eliana, and took a seat by the window. the waitress came up to his table.

"you waiting for anyone, hun?" she asked.

"uh, yeah."

"i don't think i've seen you around."

"i'm from out of town, touring with newsies." ben explained. "the girl i'm meeting said this place was really good."

the older woman smiled. "a date?"

ben nodded.

"what's her name?"

"eliana dempsey." ben said. "i met her at the gym earlier today."

"oh, sweet ellie." she smiled and shook her head. "that girl is gonna work herself to death at some point."

ben laughed. "i sure hope not."

"well, i'll let you be, just call me over when she gets here."

ben didn't have to wait long. a couple minutes later, she walked in. her hair was down and wavy, and she was wearing a sweater and a plaid skirt. her cheeks were flushed from the cold, her nose a cute shade of pink. ben waved to her from the table and she smiled, then sat down across from him.

"i'm so sorry i'm late, i realized that i have no idea what i'm supposed to wear to a musical." she laughed.

"you look perfect." ben smiled. "i would've ordered you coffee, but i didn't want to get it wrong or anything." he laughed nervously.

"oh my gosh, that's totally okay. i don't drink coffee anyway."

"really?" ben's eyes widened. "how do you survive?"

"i live on juice and smoothies." she laughed. "i had to drink coffee religiously from when i was ten to fourteen to stunt my growth, and i hated it, so i just haven't had it since."

"damn. i couldn't function without it."

the waitress came over, and ben ordered an iced coffee, while eliana got a citrus pressed juice. she took a sip and grimaced a little bit.

"is that stuff good?" ben asked.

"relative to other flavors, yes." she scrunched up her nose as she swallowed another sip.

"so, no?" he raised an eyebrow, and she laughed. "let's just say it's an acquired taste."

"why do you drink it, then?"

"i'm on a really strict diet. you don't get to be a world champion by eating whatever you want." she sighed, seeming a little tired of her words, like she'd heard them a million times. "at least, that's what coach easton says."

ben looked a little shocked. he'd thought that being a dancer was a lifestyle, but eliana was on a completely different level. sure, ben watched what he ate, but he didn't worry about it constantly.

"wow. your entire life revolves around gymnastics, huh?"

eliana shrugged. "i mean, yeah. i dropped out of school in sixth grade. i train six to eight hours a day, six days a week."

"i get what that's like." ben nodded. "i got ragtime on broadway when i was eleven, and i've been working ever since."

"so, what's tour life like?" she asked.

"super fun." he smiled. "it's hard, though. as soon as you get used to a place, you're gone."

"right." she nodded. "how long are you here?"

"longer than most, since there's such a big audience in chicago. we're doing five weeks here."

a smile came to her face at the thought of having more time with ben.

"where to next, then?"

"boston. i think we're there longer too."

"oh." she frowned. "that's really far away."

ben nodded. "yeah." he looked down at his coffee cup and drummed his fingers against the table. "you have any siblings or anything?" he changed the subject.

"a brother, sam." she answered. "he's in college, so we're not super close. you?"

"an older brother and sister, and a twin sister, emma." he said. "em and i are close, but nick and kate are like six years older."

"yeah, sam's a senior at northwestern, he's super smart. an engineering major."

ben nodded appreciatively. "wow. that's impressive."

"he makes sure we know that." she laughed. "there's always been a sort of a competition between us, and he doesn't like to lose."

"what do you mean?" ben cocked his head to the side.

"i mean, when i started getting good at gymnastics, i guess he felt threatened. he constantly feels the need to tell us how smart he is."

"ah, gotcha." ben smiled sympathetically.

he checked his watch, making sure that he wouldn't be late. 6:15.
"oh, shit." he muttered. "we should go, there's only forty five minutes until the show."

"oh, alright!" eliana pulled out her wallet and went to grab the check, but ben's hand landed on top of hers. her cheeks flushed again, and he grinned at her.

"it's our first date, i think i should pay."

"oh, it was just a-"

"exactly. i got it." he pulled out a debit card and went to the counter to pay.