Ben's Day Ch. 04

As the bus pulled into the station, people started getting off. Ben helped Ashling gather her things from the overhead compartment and carry them out into the station, spotting Juliet and Sam only briefly as they passed them, the former looking glum, staring at the floor, while the latter fixed Ben with a quizzical look before passing out into the street, probably off-put by being audience to two hours of what must have been cringingly intense flirting from the outside, but Ben didn't care what Sam thought. At least not this time around.

"Thanks so much, Ben!" Ashling said as she pulled one of those big backpacks made for long camping trips from beneath the bus into the station behind him, "Most folk would just watch me struggle with all this like, or push past me like Captain Gobshite over there."

Ben chuckled as he followed her eyes to where the middle aged man who had pushed her earlier was hurrying through the station towards the exit, "don't worry about it."

"So you said you wanted me to show you around the city," Ben said, "did you have anything in mind? It's supposed to be frigid all day so I'm not sure you really want a walking tour."

Ashling flashed him a big grin as she threw her coat on.

"Oh Ben. Such a nice boy!" She leaned forward to her face was close to his, just a few inches shorter, and the tapped his nose, "I was hoping you were catching on. Maybe I need to be a little less subtle, like?"

She shrugged, her face barely an inch from his, and turned her back to him, grabbing her snow pants, and bending over to pull them on, which, for a moment, resulted in her bending over in front of him, her firm, muscular, and frankly ridiculously bubble-shaped butt—clothed only in skin-tight leggings—suddenly in front of him, sticking back to bump against his crotch as she stepped each foot into the snow pants. Ben's eyes went wide, quickly looking around at the other people in the station before back at her ass, which pressed against him for a good three or four seconds. He looked away, down towards her hands, wondering what was taking so long, just as she turned from whatever she was doing to look back at him over her shoulder, waggling her eyebrows suggestively before standing up and finally pulling the snow pants over her leggings.

Ben's eyes widened, and he did his best to try and turn his embarrassed, excited grin into something more cool and confident. He didn't do a very good job.

"I've got nearly twelve lonely hours before I need to be at the airport, like," she then said, her irish lilt and mischievous eyes drawing him in, "I just want you to help me fill that time, if you follow my meaning."

Ben nodded. She wasn't being that subtle, but he was trying to play things cool. He wasn't used to getting this much attention from the opposite sex, or rather, he usually shut things down pretty quickly by mentioning he had a girlfriend before the flirting got this hot and heavy. He had never spent much time being single since the end of high school, and so flirting like this was a bit new to him, even though, according to his female friends, he had often had a bit of a fan club of women who had a crush on him throughout high school and college.

"Let's start with some coffee," Ben suggested, regaining his composure, "I know a place that's not far, we can get warm and caffeinated and see if we can't figure something out."

Ashling nodded, clearly just a bit disappointed that his suggestion hadn't contained some hint of innuendo, but she agreed, and they set out into the cold again, walking to the same cafe he had gone to the first two times. It was positively frigid, as always, but it was a short walk. Ben was starting to think of the place, along with the customers who were always there and the big mohawked barista, as sort of a home away from home.

"Ooh it's nice in here!" Ashling said as they stepped in, immediately stripping off her top layer of winter clothes and throwing her coat over the back of a chair, "smells feckin' amazing, like!"

"What do you drink?" Ben asked, reaching for his wallet.

Ashling's mouth curled as she chuckled inwardly before answering, "A lot of things. But I'll take an espresso for now."

Ben nodded and went over to the counter and ordered both of their drinks, as well as nabbing a couple scones. As before, the big barista told him that he'd bring their drinks by the table, and Ben thanked him and heaved back over to Ashling, pulling out his phone to check a text on the way over. It was Tomm.

T Hey you in the city yet?

B Yeah grabbing coffee.

T Cool cool just let me know when you're done with the conference and I can meet you somewhere. Drinks?

B I'm actually skipping the work thing. Drinks might be good later though. I'll let you know.

As Ben approached the table, he saw Ashling was scrolling through her phone, her face looking uncharacteristically gloomy and angry as she poked at the little screen.

"Everything ok?" He said, putting the scones down between them, "you look like Captain Gobshite just pushed you over again."

Ashling sighed and put her phone down on the table, screen down, and shook her head.

"I'm...well no. Not really," she said, grabbing the scone and nibbling at a corner, "thanks for this. Really. Look I...I'm sorry if I've been a bit...slutty, or whatever. I thought I could do it, but you seem like a really nice guy and I don't want to just use you, like."

Ben's flirty, friendly smile softened, and he sat down across from her.

"You're not using me. I don't think," he said, shrugging, "I admit you've been a bit more forward than I'm used to, but I'm not complaining."

Ashling cracked another one of her intoxicating smiles.

"Well...I'm glad you like it. I like it too. But I'm not normally like this, and seeing you buy me a coffee and everything...I feel like I owe you an explanation since you're being so nice to me."

Ben shrugged, "I like being nice to you. It means you talk to me, and I get to hear your cute accent more."

Ashling grinned and blushed a bit again.

"You like it? I've never really thought about it. It's just how I talk, like. It's not posh or anything."

"I guess that makes sense. Over here, in the States, pretty much any accent that's not from here sounds nice, but yours is...special," Ben explained, a bit embarrassed about being so genuine, "It's like everything's a little song that ends in the word 'like,' and when you laugh it's hard not to smile with you."

Ashling's pleased grin widened, her face getting redder, and she kicked him lightly under the table, "You're such a little charmer!"

Ben shrugged, and she shook herself, taking a deep breath.

"Look," she began, "I came here to go cross-country skiing with some old friends from uni and my fiancé, Ian, but the night before we were supposed to leave, the fucker dumps me, like. Says he 'met someone else,' someone 'more his speed.' He's a doctor from London, so I guessed it was probably some other doctor or nurse in the hospital he works at...or someone else whose profession is more...respectable as far as his parents are concerned. Maybe someone with a posh accent and a graduate degree rather than an Irish girl who works at a gym and makes some side money as a fitness model online—which as far as his parents are concerned makes me practically a porn star, like.

"Anyway, I kept the ticket—I sure as fuck didn't want to stick around and deal with him instead of go on this trip—and met up with our friends here, but half of them were his friends first, and so it obviously wasn't as nice a trip as I had hoped. I did a bit of stalking online, and saw that the two of them are already on some other trip, posing in swimsuits in fecking Australia! I know it's shitty, but I'm looking at these pictures and I can't help thinking that this bitch looks like a scrawny goblin with a big nose and all the curves of a ruler, which at first makes me feel better, but then just makes me think that she must be so much better than me in every other way, and..."

Ashling was starting to tear up now. She paused to wipe her nose with a napkin and take another nibble from the scone.

"Anyway, it turns out she's a brain surgeon at his hospital. A really really good one, like. So when I came on the bus this morning, I'd been suffering through a whole week of skiing with his friends, learning all of this shite about his perfect brilliant surgeon woman, and I had talked myself into finding the first halfway-decent-looking guy I could and fucking his brains out, hopefully taking a few pictures to make Ian jealous."

Ben's phone buzzed in his hand. He ignored it for the moment, and was about to respond when he saw Ashling looking past him with pure rage on her face.

"The fuck are you laughing about you little shite?!" she shouted.

Ben turned around to see a familiar face: the black college student, with the glasses and the laptop, that had spotted Vic's sexy snaps from over his shoulder the first time around. His eye were a bit wide, and he held up his hands defensively.

"Hey I'm just trying to do my work. You're the one yelling about making a sex tape or some shit in the middle of a café!"

Ashling glared at him for a good five seconds before relenting and hiding her face between her arms, sobbing. It was at this point that the Barista came by with Ben's pourover and Ashling's espresso, which he put down on the table gingerly before hurrying away from the angry crying irish woman. Ben nodded at him and thanked him, before putting a hand on Ashling's arm.

"I'm sorry, Ashling. That sounds terrible," he said in a quiet voice, "You don't need to feel bad about anything as far as I can tell. No matter what, breaking up with you like that was a shitty thing to do—and honestly I'm flattered that you thought I was 'halfway-decent-looking.'"

Ashling laughed through her sobs, peaking over her crossed arms with one eye.

"Don't tease me. I'm not pretending I'm not a wetser. You're a fecking ride and you know it."

Ben cocked his eyebrow at that comment.

"Wetser? Ride?"

She pulled her tear-streaked face from her folded arms and smirked.

"What do you think 'ride' means, like?"

Ben chuckled, shaking his head. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it.

"Wetser's mostly the same. A 'hottie,' like?" she said, pronouncing the word 'hottie' like it was some sort of strange, antiquated word.

"Got it," Ben said, holding up his hand, "Thanks. My point is, you shouldn't feel bad on my account. I've actually been through something kinda similar recently. I'd been dating a girl for over two years now—living with her—and I learned recently that she'd been cheating on me the whole time, and not just with one guy. You coming on to me made me feel a lot better about myself—and—"

Ben paused as his phone buzzed loudly in his pocket again, twice. He shook his head and continued.

"—and I'd be happy to help you feel better in any way I can," he finished, winking.

Ashling's mood seemed to brighten with his insinuation.

"You're getting a lot of texts there," she said, "sure you're not too busy to...help?"

Ben shook his head, pulling the phone out. He had three texts from Vic.

V Hey babe you make it to the city yet?

V That whole thing with that cat this morning was crazy, how did you know where it was?

V Anyway, just let me know when you're in. I was thinking about maybe checking off something from our list this evening ;-).

"It's her," Ben said, sighing, "Vic. The girl who cheated on me. I tried to break it off with her but she's won't listen. I should probably just block her."

"Maybe I can help you with that?" Ashling said with a wicked smile.

"What do you mean?"

"How do I look?" she said, leaning back, wiping tears from her eyes, tugging at her tank top to maximize her cleavage.

Ben let his eyes wander from her face, down to her chest, and back up again.

"Like a...wetser? Am I using that right?"

She blushed happily shaking her head.

"You're useless. You're a ride, but you're useless. I'll be right back," she said, scooping up her purse and walking towards the restroom, "don't run off now!"

Ben raised his eyebrows, and then looked back at his phone as it buzzed again. A snap from Vic. He sighed despite himself, lowering his phone so the guy behind him couldn't see, and opened it. Interestingly enough, it wasn't exactly the same snap as the one he had gotten the first day—but the intent was clearly the same: there was Vic, naked and wet in their bathroom, the steam from her shower still hanging in the air around her, but this picture was a selfie taken in the mirror. She had cheated her butt out a little bit, and was playing with one of her nipples with her left hand as she took the picture with her right. She was gorgeous—she always had been—but after what he had learned in the last couple days, he couldn't help but pick out her flaws. Her ass was a little boxy, not as firm and round as Ashling's, and her slightly smaller breasts and broader shoulders just made her look less attractive to him than the girl he had spent the last few hours with. Her wicked smile, meant to be sexy, just made his stomach turn. He closed the picture before it timed out, and put his phone face down on the table, feeling an uneasy mix of emotions.

A few minutes later, and Ashling had returned from the restroom. She had brushed her hair, sprayed on some perfume, and changed out of her clingy, sweaty tank top into an equally tight red top with long sleeves and plunging round neckline which hugged and supported her breasts in such a way that it both accentuated their curves as well as the toned muscles of her arms and abdomen. She had also done something with her face—some touching up with makeup or something—subtle enough that Ben couldn't quite tell what it was, but only that she looked...warmer, brighter, and less like someone who had just been crying. She strutted proudly over to Ben, taking a moment to roll her eyes at the college student at the table behind him, and then pulled up her chair so that she was sitting right next to him. Her perfume—something fruity and floral—was pleasant, noticeable but not overwhelming.

"How do I look now?" she asked meaningfully, leaning back and sticking her chest out proudly as she fixed him with a sultry smile.

"Wow," Ben said, taking her all in, "You look...really fucking hot."

"That's what I was looking for, like! I know it still looks a bit gym-like, but then again," she shrugged, "I'm a fecking personal trainer with a spot of fitness model. Most of my clothes are like this."

"I'm not complaining," Ben said honestly, his eyes darting up and down her once again; from this close, he could see the light freckles that dusted the tops of her breasts and into the valley of her cleavage, and something about having freckles there suddenly seemed very sexy, even though he had never really thought about it before.

"Good. Now, you say this cheating whore of a girl isn't listening when you tell her it's over, like?" She asked cheerfully.

Ben nodded. It was a little bit more complicated than that—he hadn't technically broken up with her this time around, but he had ended it with her once, and she certainly hadn't taken it well the first time, and in a way, wasn't listening, although that was mostly because of time travel.

"I think I can help you make it sink in, if you don't mind?" she said, raising her eyebrows as she reached for his phone; ben shrugged, curious where she was going with this.

With his assent, Ashling grabbed his phone, opened the camera on it, switched it to selfie-mode, and then leaned in close to him, resting her head on his shoulder and smiling serenely. Before taking the picture, she looked down at her chest with a hint of irritation, tugged the neckline down a bit more, and then looked back into the camera.

"Smile like you love me, like," she said, flicking her eyes up to him.

Ben was a bit taken aback by that, but he was starting to understand her plan. It made a certain kind of sense to him—and besides, having Ashling cuddling up against him like this was enough to make him grin blissfully regardless. He gave it his all, and she snapped about a dozen pictures in quick succession.

She looked at the pictures, swiping through them expertly, before shaking her head, "too cheesy. We could just be friends in these, like. Look at me."

Ben turned to look at her, inclining his head slightly down to stare into her big hazel eyes. her shiny brown-blonde hair had been expertly combed to look like an effortlessly attractive frame for her heart-shaped face, a few stray locks curling in front of one side of her face and dangling down to rest on the swell of one of her breasts. Her pink lips were twisted into a giddy, sexy smile as she looked up to him, biting a corner of her bottom lip lightly. Ben couldn't help but smile back. He was starting to feel an almost magnetic pull towards her—as if, if he just stopped resisting, his mouth would just fall into hers.

She snapped another dozen pictures, giggling a bit as they stared into each other's eyes, before leaning in closer to him, her head tilting up just a bit so that her lips weren't quite touching his, but he could feel their warmth on his...and then they were kissing. Ben hardly even noticed the flutter of snaps as she kept taking pictures. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, leaning harder into him as their kiss deepened, her breasts pressing against his chest as they both cheated in, each exploring the other's mouth with their tongues. It was so intense that Ben didn't really realize what was happening until he opened his eyes for a moment to see a few of the customers—including the student who was sitting behind them—staring uncomfortably, but that only made it hotter. Almost unconsciously he put one arm around her shoulder, pulling her in closer, as his other hand pressed on her knee and started to slide up the smooth fabric of her athletic leggings, gliding over her thigh. Her right hand still snapping pictures, she immediately laid her left flat against his chest, and began pulling it down, closer and closer to his groin until finally she was pressing down on the bulge of his cock as she moaned quietly into his mouth.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, the kiss was over, and she pulled away from him, her eyes once again meeting his as she gasped.

"Holy hell, that was...was fecking grand is what that was!" she said, flushed and panting, "fuck me if that wasn't the best snog I've ever had! Or if it was, for that matter!"

It took Ben a moment to parse what she had just said, panting and blushing himself. He shrugged confidently, grinning.

"If that's what you want."

Ashling looked around for the first time, and saw that the cafe was slightly more crowded than she had noticed before, and about half a dozen people in there, including the student sitting behind them, had put down their phones as if recording their kiss.

"Well, maybe we got a bit carried away for a public place, but here," she said sheepishly, handing him his phone, "there's about two hundred photos of us snogging each-other's brains out. Send her as many as you want and see if it convinces her you're moving on."

Ben looked briefly at his phone, and saw the latest photo taken. It was framed from slightly above them, an angle which both captured her impressive cleavage, bulging as it was from being pressed up against his own chest, as well as both of their hands, his sliding up the inside of her thigh, hers cupping and pressing on the bulge of his cock beneath his jeans. One of her eyes was open, looking right into the camera with a self-satisfied look, and their tongues were visibly sliding in and out of each other's mouths. It was surprisingly well-lit and well-framed, and just looking at it—even though he had experienced the moment mere seconds earlier—was getting him excited all over again.