Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

Around three o'clock, I was lounging on the living room, my headphones securely playing a Weezer song. My penguin slippers flapped against the soles of my feet as I tapped them to the beat of the song I was listening to. "In a perfect situation... Na na na naaah, something something, and I'm a hero!" I chuckled to myself. You see, song? I can keep up with your words just fine. I'm just more creative than you.
The front door opening made me flop onto my stomach to see who was here. "Ben!" I scrambled to my feet, my headphones being torn off in the process. "Hi," I said meekly, waving.
"Hey," he said, stomping his snow covered boots on the mat in front of the door. "Miss me?"
"Always," I replied with a wide smile.
From behind him, Jonah emerged, running into Ben's leg. "Let's make a snowman later!" he said, holding onto Ben's thigh with his mitten covered hands.
"It's a deal," Ben replied, rustling his hair before Jonah stepped to the side and started taking off his snow gear.
"What-" I started.
Veronica came through the door and shut it behind her. "Stop gawking, Ky, we all know your man is gorgeous," she teased, patting Ben on the arm.
"When did you and Jonah leave?" I asked, my eyes embarrassingly wide.
"An hour ago, you dork," my sister replied. "Didn't you hear me say, 'Kaya, I'm taking Jonah out for a while! Kaya? Ky? I can see you, don't you ignore me! Do you have headphones in? Okay I'll take your silence as acknowledgement.'" She winked at me and took off her long white coat, hanging it up next to mine.
"I'm so sorry, Veronica," I said honestly.
"Don't worry about it," she said passively. "Have fun," she said in a high pitched voice, before retreating into the kitchen, Jonah following close behind.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Finally looking up at me, he looked me over. "Ready to go?"
"Go?" I repeated in confusion. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise. Though it would have worked out better if my license was valid in this country," he said with a laugh.
"I'm confused."
"Veronica is letting us use her car, but the catch is that you have to drive to your own surprise," he said, his cheeks reddening slightly.
"I'm still confused!"
Rolling his eyes, he took my black trench coat from the hook on which it rested and handed it to me. "Hurry, hurry!"
"Fine!" I replied, pushing aside my confusion. I unzipped my hoodie and tossed it on the couch (it didn't fit under the coat) and put on the coat, fastening the brass buttons. I put on my black boots, tying them over my jeans, and once I was satisfied, I straightened. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?" I asked rhetorically as he passed me the keys.
"Where's the fun in that?" he asked, adjusting the blue knit hat on his head.
We made our way to the car and once we exited the driveway, Ben gave me strict directions, leading us to the local mall.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, relishing in the fact that I found a parking spot right next to the entrance.
"You sure ask a lot of questions," he murmured, coming to my side. We crossed the street and into the mall, the atmosphere warm and welcoming.
"Do you need to get something?" I asked.
"Stop asking so many questions!" he exclaimed, not in anger but in frustration.
I was a bit taken aback. "Sorry," I muttered.
Ben's hand ran down my arm and when he came to my hand, he laced our fingers together.
I couldn't help but smile, and I allowed him to lead me up several escalators to the movie theater. "Ben," I said suspiciously, "what do you have planned?"
"Well," he said, moving to stand in front of me, all the while keeping our hands together, "you and I have never had a proper date. Isn't a movie a typical thing to do?" he asked.
"Th... That's so sweet of you!" I exclaimed happily, stepping forward to hug him. "You're the greatest," I murmured.
"I know," he replied with a laugh, squeezing me back. "You can continue to praise me later, because the movie is going to start soon."
I let him go and stepped back. "What are we seeing?"
"The Prestige," he replied, taking my hand once again, taking the tickets from his coat pocket as we walked toward the doors.
I laughed and leaned my head against his shoulder briefly. "Nikolai would be freaking out if he was here."
"Why is that?" Ben asked, handing the tickets to the grumpy teenager at the entrance, who ripped out tickets in half and pointed to the right.
Taking the torn tickets from the teenager, I pocketed them. "He loves Hugh Jackman. One time he told me that I was his best friend and he wouldn't trade me for anyone, including Hugh Jackman. It's a big deal to Nik."
"You two get along really well, huh?" Ben asked, stopping us in front of the concessions counter.
I nodded. "Veronica is my best friend, she's also my sister. You're my best friend, you're also my boyfriend. Nikolai only gets to be a best friend. If he wasn't on set I don't know what I would do with myself."
"I have a favor to ask," Ben said, peering up at the menu.
"Hmm?"
He leaned his head down and whispered, "Don't talk about another guy on our date."
I felt so embarrassed! "I'm sorry! I don't-"
"Do you want popcorn?" Ben asked, cutting me off.
"Only if you let me pay for it," I said, taking my wallet from my coat pocket.
"Okay, no popcorn then," he said dismissively.
"But..." I stuck out my bottom lip. "I want popcorn," I murmured childishly. "Why can't I pay?" I asked, tugging on his coat sleeve.
"Because I'm taking you out today. Next time you can pay for everything, okay?" he said, flicking my nose with his index finger.
"Deal!" I exclaimed, and promptly dragged him to the counter, where yet another bored looking teenager greeted us.
"Hi, what can I get for you?" she said, not bothering to look up from her phone from which she was texting.
"Well," Ben squinted briefly, "Becky, we'll have a large popcorn and..." He looked over at me. "What else do you want?"
"A Coke?" I asked sheepishly.
"And two large cokes," he said.
When she finally looked up, Ben flashed her a grin. Her knees buckled and she leaned against the counter. Straightening, she stuck out her chest and batted her eyelashes as she entered our order into the register. "Anything else I can get you?" she asked Ben flirtatiously.
I scrunched up my nose in a mixture of disgust and jealousy.
"No I think we're good," he replied.
"Are you sure?" she asked, leaning against the counter and providing a view of her cleavage. "Isn't there anything I can get for you?"
I sighed loudly, rolling my eyes.
"Oh, Ky," Ben said softly, "you've got something..." Reaching forward, he brushed my hair behind my ear, leaving his warm hand against my cheek before running his fingers down my neck. "Got it," he said with a smile.
My heart was beating three times as hard as normal.
He turned back to the counter, where our popcorn and drinks were waiting. Ben paid her the abnormally high price for the food and drinks, and we made our way to the theater.
"Where do you want to sit?" Ben whispered.
Scanning the filling theater, I pointed to my left, where the back few rows were empty. "How about over here? For some reason, whenever I go to the movies I sit in front of some jerk that kicks my seat."
"Sounds good," Ben said, following me down the aisle.
We sat in the middle and made smalltalk over popcorn until the movie started.
Midway through, I leaned my head against his shoulder, and Ben put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. We stayed like that for the entire movie, which was difficult because all the other couples in the back were making out.
"So what does my magnificent boyfriend have planned now?" I asked as we walked out of the theater.
"Dinner?" he suggested.
"Could we maybe walk around a bit first?" I asked sheepishly. "That popcorn was pretty filling," I said with an awkward laugh.
"No problem," he replied, putting an arm around my hips and pulling me securely to his side.
I grinned and put my own arm around his hips.
We walked like that around the mall for about twenty minutes, window shopping.
"I love this place," I said with a sigh as we browsed the book store.
"You're an adorable bookworm," Ben teased, brushing my hair from my shoulders.
I rolled my eyes and continued walking down the rows of books
"Ky?"
Turning around, I gasped. "Skandar!" I exclaimed as he came forward to put his arms around me in a tight hug.
"Hey kiddo," he said, pulling back and ruffling my hair.
"You work here now?" I asked, picking up his name tag that hung from around his neck.
"Yeah, for the past few months. Forty percent discounts on everything," he said with a wink.
Remembering who I was with, I turned around and grabbed Ben's hand. "You remember Ben, right?" I asked.
Skandar nodded and extended his hand to shake Ben's, forcing my boyfriend to release my hand.
"Good to see you again," Skandar said with a smile.
"You too, mate," Ben replied, releasing Skandar's hand.
"What brought you two insane kids here on Christmas Eve?" Skandar asked, putting his hands in his pockets.
"He's taking me on a date," I said, leaning my head against Ben's shoulder.
"Sounds like fun," Skandar replied with a nod.
"We should get going," Ben murmured.
"Okay," I replied. "We'll see you later, Skandar," I said, leaning forward for a hug.
Skandar returned the hug and lifted me off the ground slightly before releasing me. "Oh, could you give Veronica something for me?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Sure."
"Wait here," he said, and turned to run away.
I giggled and took Ben's hand again. "That's adorable."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Skandar's been in love with Veronica for years. Maybe this year will be the year," I said with a laugh.
"Really?" Ben asked, astonished.
"What's so surprising?" I asked.
"He seemed to like you more than her," he said simply.
I laughed loudly. "No way. He's just a family friend, that's all. Ah, here he comes."
Skandar reappeared with a small envelope in his hand. "Here you go," he said, handing it to me. "Make sure she gets that in the morning, okay?"
"No problem," I said as I pocketed the envelope. "See you," I said with a wave.
Ben and I made our way to an Italian restaurant on the top floor. Ben had a private table for us ready in the back, and despite our waitress eying Ben, it was a great meal.
"Okay, are you ready to go?" I asked him as I dabbed my lips with the napkin in front of me.
He raised his eyebrows at me and his mouth opened in surprise. "You want to leave before dessert?" he asked in surprise.
Scrunching up my nose in embarrassment, I looked down at my empty plate. "No?" I asked.
"After dessert we'll leave, oh impatient one," he teased.
A different waiter appeared to my left, a slice of some sort of red cake on a fancy plate. "Here you are," he said, smiling kindly at me. He set it on the table and walked away.
"What is it?" I asked, examining it.
"Just try it, you'll like it," Ben assured me, handing me a clean fork.
"Fine," I relented, taking the fork and cutting off a piece of cake.
The two of us ate piece after piece of cake, until I hit something hard.
"Uh," I said, poking whatever I hit with my fork, "is the cake supposed to be lumpy?"
"I don't know," Ben replied nonchalantly, putting down his fork and leaning forward.
Looking skeptically at him, I cleared the cake away from whatever it was... It was a small, velvet box. I gasped loudly and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. "Ben?" I whispered as I stared at it.
He reached forward and brushed off the box, then put it right in front of me. "Open it," he said softly.
"Ben, I..." Is he proposing? I don't... I don't know how to react.
He laughed and pushed it further towards me. "Don't freak out. I'm just giving you your Christmas gift early."
With a huge intake of breath, my shaky hands opened the box.
It was a beautiful necklace. The chain was sterling silver, and the pendant was a small (maybe a centimeter and a half across) silver heart, with an emerald heart in the center.
"Wow," I breathed, touching the front of the pendant tenderly.
"Flip it over," he said softly, covering one of my hands with his.
With a brief nod, I turned the pendant over. Engraved in the back in beautiful cursive, were the simple yet powerful words, 'I love you'. "I love it," I breathed, my eyes tearing up.
Ben grinned even wider, and got up to stand behind me. He picked up the necklace and fastened it behind my neck. "Happy Christmas," he whispered.
With the widest smile I ever had on my face, I sprang up from my chair, spun around and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed him multiple times, much to his surprise. "I love you too," I whispered.
He put his hands around my hips and squeezed me back.
Dinner went smoothly, and we finished within an hour.
"So," Ben said as we walked out of the mall and to the car, "what do you think?"
"About?"
"The date," he said with an eye roll.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, feeling a bit stupid. "It was perfect," I said, stopping to kiss his chin. "I'm a little worried you won't like the present I got you though," I admitted, touching the necklace that still hung around my neck.
"I'll love it, I know it," he said simply, and kissed the side of my head as we walked to the car.
"You don't know that!" I interrupted. I was truly nervous about my gift.
"Oh, yes I do. Because it's from you, so it'll be perfect," he said as we reached the car.
"You're so cheesy," I said, pushing his side lightly.
"Oh Kaya," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I love you," he murmured, and squeezed me tightly.
With a short burst of evil laughter, I put my hands on his shoulders. "My plan is working perfectly. I've got you trapped."
Ben pressed his forehead against mine. "And I surrender happily."