Fire Her Up Sneak Peak

LaTonya felt like her head was swimming between the cotton ball ringing stuffed inside her ears. The music had been too loud and she had drank way too much. She leaned against the car and looked up at the midnight skyline of Chicago. Her home. 

Ted put on some music, but kept it low and bopped his head and lightly tapped the steering wheel. His brown eyes slid to hers every now and then.

LaTonya looked away, trying to hide her tears. She didn’t want to cry yet. She looked at her phone and saw there was a message from Benji. They had exchanged numbers a couple of years ago when he went home to Texas to see his parents. It was always just a hey I brought in your package type of communication. This time he sent a pic of a bottle of wine and two glasses. Okay, Benji.

I’m on my way home.

Great.

She scrunched her face. Benji had always just been there as her intellectual neighbor. He would wear black boots under his black slacks or jeans. Then pair it with a plaid shirt and a blazer. Yeah, Benji was special. He said he wasn’t meant for Texas, but you could see it in his eccentric wardrobe. Then there’d be a hint of southern drawl he tried to hide.

But besides the random package saving, and a few conversations, Benji was on a different plane than her. She had been in his apartment a couple of times and it was all bookshelves, a couch and chessboard. She liked geek chic, but not the professional student type. More like the banker or lawyer type of geek.

When the Uber pulled up to the curb, she thanked him and got out. She made sure to give Ted a nice tip for not being nosy and letting her be alone with her thoughts.

She hadn’t even got to the steps when Benji’s door opened. He was dressed in his cowboy boots and black jeans. “Howdy,” he greeted her.

“Hey,” she climbed the stairs and unlocked the door. “I don’t have furniture anymore,” she warned him.

“I don’t mind,” he shrugged, closing and locking his door.

She waited for him to join her. Her eyes widened when Benji stood next to her. When did he get so tall? She knew the boots added a little bit of height, but he was almost six feet.

He held the door open so she could go up the stairs first. Their buildings were right next to each other, but hers had four tiny apartments while his had two large ones. They went up the stairs and to her door. Her one bedroom was small but it was all she had needed being a single woman in Chicago. She loved the bay window. She used to people-watch all the time.

“So,” Benji said, putting the glasses on the small island. “Are you excited?”

LaTonya kicked off her Jordans. “Terrified,” she admitted.

He pulled a rolled up magazine from his back pocket. “This is for you. To keep you occupied,” he explained.

She looked at the sudoku puzzle book. It was very Benji. “Thanks. I think I know how to do that one,” she said, putting it on top of her suitcase. She entered the tiny space labeled a kitchen to wash her hands.

“You just fill the squares with numbers one through nine,” he said, unable to stop dropping knowledge.

She smiled to herself, knowing he could only see her back. “Thanks,” she wiped her hands on her jeans since she had no more towels. Besides a large box of items she had sent to Australia via freight, she got rid of everything. Thank you Craigslist. She needed the money to help her survive until her first paycheck.

The wine bottle made a soft musical pop. Benji steadied each wine glass as he filled them. “How was your girl’s night?” he inquired.

“Bittersweet. I’m gonna miss those heffas,” she frowned and accepted the glass he handed her. She didn’t want to think about it.

“Thankfully you have access to Skype and Facebook. Could you imagine if this was sixty years ago? You’d have to send letters. Might actually be cool to have a pen pal,” Benji stopped talking to sip his wine.

LaTonya raised an eyebrow. He could have a conversation all by himself. This is why she had never gone past the friendly neighbor level with him. He didn’t even need her for conversation.

“Oh, damn. Let’s toast,” he said, licking his lips.

Her eyes zeroed in on his tongue and watched traces of wine disappear. LaTonya blinked. Whoa, this is Benji. Maybe she’s already had too much to drink. “Toast to what?”

“To safe travels, new adventures, and a successful career,” he suggested, running a hand through his dark curly hair.

“To all of that,” LaTonya agreed. Their glasses made a clink that sounded loud in her empty apartment.

Benji put his glass on the counter and picked up the sleeping bag.

She watched as he unrolled the sleeping bag and then rolled it the long way. “What are you doing?” she asked, getting nervous.

“Just making a place for us to sit,” he said, placing the long roll under the bay window. “Come here,” he offered her a hand.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to sit on the floor, but she had nowhere else to sit. She accepted his hand and he led her to the roll. He took her wine glass and helped her sit. Then he returned her glass. 

Okay, Benji, who are you? If she had to describe Benji, attentive would not be one of the words. Unless she was a book. He was attentive to books. Maybe this was the Texan charm he was always hiding.

He retrieved the bottle and his glass and sat next to her.

They both crossed their legs at the ankles and sipped the wine because they weren’t sure what else to do.

“So,” LaTonya pointed to his boots. “I’ve only seen you wear cowboy boots. Why?”

He smiled before licking the wine off his lips. “Texans are born wearin’ boots,” he said. 

She liked the way he said Texans. It had a twang. “Is that right?” she asked.

“Boots and guns,” he said with a knowing nod.

“So you shoot?” she asked.

“I didn’t have a choice. My daddy gave me a gun before I could walk.”

“Shut up,” she slapped his thigh playfully. “Stop lyin’.”

He adjusted to one buttcheek and pulled out his phone. “I can prove it,” he said with a push on the home button. He unlocked his phone and swiped his screen until he found the Facebook app. 

LaTonya busied herself drinking the wine. She didn’t want to be too nosy as he went through his pictures.

“Here we go,” he showed her his phone.

She stared at a baby boy with just a diaper on and a gun in his lap.

“Jesus,” she whispered.

“I know. It wasn’t loaded, but still.” He scooted a little closer and swiped through a couple of more pictures. “Here I am a couple of months old.”

She was sipping wine and couldn’t stop her eyebrows from going up. A baby boy with a dusting of black hair was wearing baby cowboy shoes. “That’s adorable. You were a cute baby,” she cooed.

He chuckled. “I guess,” he blushed, turning his screen off.

She had never seen Benji look embarrassed enough to blush. Damn. Benji looked cute. How much did she drink tonight? Apparently enough to make her shy geeky neighbor look like Texas Walker.

She decided to steady herself by drinking more wine.

“I know we never became Facebook friends, but do you think we could keep in touch?” Benji asked before gulping wine.

She had to turn her body to look at him because she was that drunk. She leaned against the wall and stretched out her legs towards him. She was only vaguely aware that her left foot was in his lap, his hand resting on her ankle. “You sent me a friend request?” she asked.

“Years ago I did.”

“Huh, I don’t remember,” she shrugged. She was too drunk to feel bad for him. All she could do was feel bad for herself.

“Maybe because it says Benjamin Butler,” he made the excuse for her.

“Maybe. I don’t remember.” She did remember. She remembered thinking she barely knew the geeky neighbor and didn’t want him snooping around her shit. But that was right after he first moved in and he never mentioned anything about it. “Resend the request. I’ll add you.”

Not to let the opportunity pass, he moved her foot and pushed off the floor. “I’ll get your phone,” he offered. He picked it up off the counter and brought it to her. The gentle clunk of his boots echoed in her apartment. Cowboy boots had never really been on her radar as sexy. She liked fresh white kicks on a man. But Benji.

She accepted her phone and he took his place on the floor, pulling her foot back into his lap. Unlocking her phone, she tried not to think about the audacity. Wine, she sipped more wine. Wine was good. 

“Request sent,” Benji said through her haze of wine. 

Okay, it wasn’t just the wine. There was tequila and a couple of long islands. Damn, she was fucked. But she was sober enough to unlock her phone and accept his friend request. “You look different,” she stared at his profile picture. His hair was slicked back away from his face and he didn’t have a beard. He was even wearing a blue suit and yellow tie. What the hell? It was like a completely different person.

He shifted, looking embarrassed. “My Facebook is a bit on the professional side,” he shrugged.

“Professional?” Who has a professional Facebook? “All you do is read all day,” she murmured with drunken honesty.

Benji answered with a shrug as he sipped wine.

LaTonya stared at his profile photo. No, she drooled at his profile photo. She couldn’t reconcile that the geeky chic with thick glasses next to her, was the clean-shaven corporate geek in the photo.

Clearing his throat, Benji asked, “Do I look that bad?”

She had to really focus to look at him when she turned off her screen and dropped her phone to the floor. “Nah. Just didn’t look like you.” She realized she didn’t know what Benji did besides read and play chess all day. She assumed he worked in a bookstore or coffee shop. How awful of a neighbor had she been? She was so focused on school, he really was just there like a lamp. She didn’t pay attention to him until she needed to use him.

“I’m gonna miss you,” he said, staring at her foot.

This was news to her. Were they close enough to miss each other? They had to be if they were sharing a bottle of wine. “That’s sweet of you,” she answered. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to know each other better.” LaTonya swallowed. What did she just say? There was still a buzz between her ears. She was definitely to the point of slurring.

Benji smiled and reached for her glass. “I think you’ve had enough,” he smiled.

She was thankful. She had way too much tonight. But the goal of not thinking was achieved. The last thing she wanted to do was chicken out and not make it to the airport. “Thanks for the send off,” she whispered, leaning against the wall.

Benji sighed, his hand creeped up her leg from her ankle, making her body feel hot. “I always wanted to get to know you better,” he whispered, his hand at her knee. “I know I’m not your type.”

No, he wasn’t her type. He was close though. He had the geek, just not the right type of geek. The man in his profile picture, however, would have gotten a second and fourth look.

His body scooted and he was closer to her, her legs scissored around him, his hip touching the warm apex of her jeans.

“Benji,” she whispered. “I don’t think we should—” 

His lips didn’t let her finish. He was kissing her, his tongue sliding across her lips.