Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 92: Chapter 92 : Strawberry Milkshake and Cigarette Smoke

The diner near the library was loud, bright, and smelled strongly of fried potatoes.

Ben and Daisy sat in a red vinyl booth near the back.

It did not look like a date. Ben had completely taken over the table. He pushed his plate of half-eaten a burger to the side to make room for three massive layout sheets. He was holding his red marker, aggressively circling paragraphs.

Daisy sat across from him. She was drinking a strawberry milkshake. She wore her nice green sweater. She had even put on a little bit of lip gloss in the diner bathroom.

She was trying very hard to be romantic. Ben was making it entirely impossible.

"Look at this," Ben complained, tapping the paper. "The tennis coach gave us a quote that is forty words long. Who talks for forty words? I have to cut this down."

Daisy smiled. She reached across the table and pushed her basket of french fries toward him.

"You should eat, Ben," Daisy said softly. She purposely let her fingers brush against his hand.

Ben did not look up. He blindly grabbed a french fry, stuffed it into his mouth, and kept reading.

"If I cut the adjectives, it fits," Ben mumbled around the food.

Daisy pulled her hand back. She felt a little silly, but she tried again. Audrey said she needed a distraction. She needed to focus on someone new.

"Your hair actually looks really nice today," Daisy complimented gently. "When you aren’t pulling it out in chunks, it has a nice wave to it."

Ben finally looked up. He squinted at her like she was speaking a foreign language.

"It is unwashed," Ben stated bluntly. "It is stiff because of the stress sweat. Are you feeling okay, Preston? You are acting weird."

Daisy felt her cheeks turn warm. "I am just trying to give you a compliment."

"Compliments do not print the newspaper," Ben sighed. He grabbed another fry. "Now, did you crop the tennis photos like I asked?"

"Yes, I did," Daisy said. She rested her chin on her hands, studying his tired face.

He was so completely oblivious. He didn’t notice the lip gloss. He didn’t notice the gentle touches. He was entirely locked inside his own busy world.

"Ben?" Daisy asked quietly.

"What?" Ben replied, uncapping his red marker again.

"Have you ever dated anyone?"

Ben completely froze. He stared at the red marker in his hand, then looked up at her. He looked genuinely confused by the question.

"Dated?" Ben repeated.

"Yes," Daisy nodded. "Like, a girlfriend. Have you ever gone out with someone?"

Ben snorted. He leaned back against the red vinyl booth.

"I have been completely single since the day I was born," Ben told her honestly. "I took a girl to the movies in high school once. I ended up pointing out all the terrible camera angles for two hours. She never texted me back."

Daisy let out a soft, sweet laugh. "That sounds exactly like you."

"I am committed to my craft," Ben defended smoothly.

"So, do you ever plan on it?" Daisy asked. She traced the edge of her milkshake glass with her finger. "Do you ever plan on dating someone?"

Ben shook his head immediately.

"No," Ben said flatly. "I am a senior editor, Daisy. Next year, I am moving to the city to try and get a job at a real daily newspaper. I barely have time to sleep or eat a hot meal. Romance is a massive waste of productivity. It just slows people down."

Daisy felt a tiny sting in her chest.

She looked down at her milkshake. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He was just being completely honest. He didn’t want a relationship. He just wanted his career.

"Right," Daisy mumbled. "Productivity."

"Exactly," Ben nodded, completely missing her sad tone. He closed his layout folder and grabbed his jacket. "Come on. The lighting in here is giving me a headache. Let’s go outside."

Daisy grabbed her camera bag and followed him to the front counter. Ben paid for his burger. Daisy paid for her milkshake.

They pushed the heavy glass doors open and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

The night air was freezing. Daisy shivered and pulled her green sweater tightly around her shoulders.

Ben stood next to her. He set his layout folder down on top of a newspaper distribution box. He reached deep into his jacket pocket.

Daisy expected him to pull out a pen, or maybe his phone.

Instead, he pulled out a small, crumpled white box. He pulled out a cigarette. He placed it between his lips, pulled a cheap plastic lighter from his pocket, and lit it.

The small flame illuminated his face in the dark. He took a slow drag and blew the smoke out into the cold air.

Daisy stared at him in pure, absolute shock.

"You smoke?" Daisy gasped.

She had never seen him smoke. He was always running around the office, yelling about healthy margins and clean spaces.

Ben looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He looked entirely tired. He didn’t look like the loud, chaotic editor right now. He looked like an exhausted senior who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Only when the sports section is late," Ben said quietly. "Or when my brain won’t shut up."

Daisy watched the smoke curl into the air.

The gap between them suddenly felt incredibly massive. He was older. He was stressed about real-world jobs. He smoked cigarettes in the dark to cope with his anxiety. She was just a freshman who liked taking pictures and drinking strawberry milkshakes.

But her heart was beating so fast. She wanted to bridge the gap. She wanted to move on from Leo so badly. She just wanted someone to look at her.

"I like you," Daisy blurted out.

The words left her mouth before her brain could stop them. It was completely the wrong moment. It was the worst possible timing. But she could not take it back.

Ben stopped moving. He held the cigarette loosely between his fingers. He slowly turned his head to look at her.

The streetlamp cast a dim, yellow glow over them.

"What did you just say?" Ben asked. His voice was very quiet.

Daisy’s hands started to shake. She gripped the strap of her camera bag so hard her fingers hurt.

"I said I like you, Ben," Daisy repeated. Her voice cracked slightly. "I know I am just a junior photographer. I know I mess up the layout sheets sometimes. But I really like you."

Ben stared at her. He didn’t smile. He didn’t laugh. He looked entirely serious.

"Daisy," Ben sighed heavily. He dropped the cigarette onto the pavement and stepped on it with his worn-out shoe.

He didn’t sound chaotic anymore. He sounded like a tired adult talking to a kid.

"I thought you liked Leo," Ben stated clearly.

Daisy completely froze. "How did you know about that?"

"I am a journalist," Ben pointed out dryly. "I observe things. I saw the way you looked at him by the water coolers. I saw the way you cried when he got back together with Chloe."

Daisy felt her face turn burning hot with pure embarrassment. She looked down at her shoes. She wanted the concrete sidewalk to open up and swallow her whole.

"I am trying to move on," Daisy whispered defensively.

"By using me as a distraction?" Ben guessed accurately.

"No!" Daisy argued quickly. She looked back up at him. "I genuinely think you are great, Ben. I like spending time with you."

Ben shook his head. He reached out and picked up his layout folder from the metal box.

"Listen to me, Preston," Ben said firmly, but not cruelly. "You are nineteen years old. You are a freshman. I am graduating in five months. I am stressed, I am exhausted, and I smoke terrible cigarettes when I am having a panic attack."

Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but Ben held up a hand to stop her.

"You are too young for me, Daisy," Ben told her honestly. "And even if you weren’t, I am completely entirely not interested in romance. I do not have the time or the emotional capacity to be someone’s rebound."

The rejection hit her right in the chest. It wasn’t the sharp, agonizing heartbreak she felt with Leo. It was just a heavy, embarrassing ache.

"I’m sorry," Daisy whispered. A hot tear pricked the corner of her eye.

"Do not apologize," Ben sighed. He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Just... don’t make it weird in the office tomorrow, okay? I still need you to take photos for the track team."

"I won’t make it weird," Daisy promised. She wiped her eye quickly.

"Good," Ben nodded. He gave her a small, awkward pat on the shoulder. It was the least romantic touch in the history of the world. "Walk home safe, Preston. Do not drop your camera."

Ben turned around and walked down the cold street, clutching his layout folder tightly against his chest.

Daisy stood alone on the sidewalk. She pulled her green sweater tighter.

She had tried to force it. She had tried to rush her healing. And Ben had completely seen right through her.

She let out a long, shaky breath. She turned around and started walking back toward her dorm. She was still completely single, and she was still a little heartbroken, but at least she finally knew the truth.

You cannot fix a broken heart just by throwing it at someone else.