“OKAY, WE DON’T HAVE any guests. Tell me about it before the lunch rush,” Talia pleaded to Katherine. She had told her about running into the hot guy from the grocery store, but promised to share more when they had time. Now, knowing that the lunch rush was only a few minutes away, she tried to take advantage of the down time.
“It’s not much to tell,” Katherine blushed, a smile quickly spreading across her face.
The truth was, she had
n’t stopped thinking of Ben since the two parted ways after breakfast the previous morning. She’d wanted to share the details with Talia since she got to work, but now that she had the time, she felt a bit embarrassed by her giddiness. For the first time, she felt like a girl again, crushing on a boy.
“Don’t get modest now. I want to know everything!” Talia prodded, placing her hands on her hips.
The shop was empty besides one guest sitting near the window, typing away on a laptop while nodding his head to the music blaring through the speakers of his headphones. Katherine knew it was the perfect time to share, so she took a deep sigh, forcing her smile to shrink.
“I went to Fitness Planet really early yesterday,” she began, shaking her head as she thought back to that morning. “I don’t even know what made me go so early, I just decided on a whim,” she recalled.
“It was fate!” Talia blurted out, before even learning what happened.
“I don’t know about all that, but I had a really good training session in the boxing ring. It was so much fun, and I felt powerful,” she admitted, watching the pride shine on Talia’s face as she listened closely.
“Then we finished and I saw him standing near the benches,” Katherine continued.
“Ben?” Talia asked, needing to confirm her suspicions.
“Yes,” Katherine smiled, impressed that Talia had remembered his name.
“What else??” she asked eagerly.
“I remembered what you said to me about not letting my past dictate my future. I don’t know what got into me, but I just marched over there, sweaty and all, and apologized for being a weirdo at the market.”
“No, you didn’t!” Talia shrieked, grateful that the only guest couldn’t hear her outburst over his music.
“I did!” Katherine yelled, and the two women erupted into laughter.
It was so unlike Katherine to approach a man, and although they had only recently become friends, Talia knew how out of character this behavior was. It was a clear indication that she was stepping out of her shell and while they were both shocked, Talia was happy for her friend’s bold move.
“What did he say?” Talia asked, when she finally regained her composure.
“He was so sweet. I think he thought I was scared of him or something. He sent the flowers to apologize, but he said sorry again and promised not to bother me anymore,” Katherine repeated Ben’s words verbatim, as their interaction was still fresh in her mind.
“We don’t want him to do that! We need more flowers!” Talia teased, and again Katherine fell into a fit of giggles.
In that moment, Katherine realized why dating hadn’t been fun in years. It was because she needed girlfriends to share the details with. Watching Talia’s expressions as she listened to the story was almost as exciting as talking to Ben.
Again, Katherine found herself smiling and laughing more than ever, and the fact that this occasion was also because of Ben made her stomach fill with butterflies. Even when he wasn’t around, he had a positive influence, and she liked that.
Her life was one full of fear and worry, always looking over her shoulder for Tim to ruin whatever happiness she had found. Ben had managed to cut through all that, pushing the fear out of her heart, and just possibly making room for something else.
“I told him about my workout, and he volunteered to help me. So, we get in the ring and he’s telling me when and where to punch and I’m following him around the ring,” Katherine demonstrated, throwing her fists in the air.
“No way!” Talia exclaimed, bringing her hands to her face to cover her gaping mouth.
“Yes! It was so much fun. When we finished, someone else needed the ring, but I wasn’t ready to leave him, it was weird.” Katherine said.
That was what shocked her the most about Ben, how he could give her the feelings she hadn’t felt in so long—feelings she recognized as desire and longing. Whenever she was around him, something inside her wanted more, whereas she was typically trying to get away from people.
“You like him,” Talia said calmly, as if it was so obvious, yet she knew her friend might have difficulty embracing her feelings.
“I asked him to breakfast,” Katherine admitted, pressing her lips together to hide her teeth.
“Katherine! Who are you and where have you taken my friend?!”