My Ex or My Next

Chapter 7

Ben was sitting in Diana's living room and he could feel her eyes boring a hole through him. He could see that she was conflicted and didn't know how to start a conversation with him. Ben decided to give her a few more minutes, and if she didn't address him, he would address her. She played with her fingers, pacing back and forth. Ben thought she looked like a child who got caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing. She was adorable. Ben realized that all he had in his mind were compliments to her. He had to try to get to know her. She had some of the right attributes to be his Mrs. Right.

"Hey, Diana. Do you have any beer?" He asked her just to break the awkward tension between them.

"Umhh, yes I do." She got a beer from the fridge and a can of coke for herself. She opened the beer and gave it to him, then sat on the sofa opposite of him. They sat quietly, until Ben decided to speak up. This was his chance to get to know her better and he wasn't using the opportunity as he should.

"So, this house has been abandoned for years." He said.

"Why though? I couldn't believe the price when I saw it. I had to buy it. Do you know why it was so cheap?" Diana asked Ben.

"Yes, but I'm not sure if you want to know the answer." He said and that got her attention.

"Now you're going to have to tell me." She said.

"OK. But you asked for it."

"Tell me already." He could see that she was eager to know the history of the house she was living in.

"Somebody died in here and people think it's haunted." Diana burst out laughing. Really? She wasn't afraid of ghosts and she had been in this house for almost a week and nothing happened.

Ben was mesmerized by her laughter. Just like he thought before, she was beautiful when she laughed. He loved the way her dimples were prominent. And how she closed her eyes when the laughter got too much. She clutched her belly like she was feeling pain from laughing so hard. Diana then turned to Ben.

"Are you serious?" He nodded. "I'm not afraid of ghosts. There are things out there that I'm more afraid of."

That startled Ben, because he thought all women were afraid of ghosts. He thought she would cower and ask him to spend more time with her. But, boy, he was wrong. She laughed at him instead. She was really different, and he liked that. And what is she afraid of? He didn't want to meddle in her affairs, but he was curious.

"Like what? If I'm not getting in your business too much." Diana sighed. She was not sure if she should tell him what happened to her marriage. But talking about it would make her feel better.

"It's a long story." She said.

"Then it's a good thing that I have all day." Ben told her.

"Don't you have to go to work or something?" Diana asked.

"I go to work whenever I feel like it. I'm my own boss." He replied.

"What kind of work do you do?" She asked.

"Photography." Ben replied.

"That's cool." Diana said.

"Now, are you going to tell me how a beautiful woman like you ended up in a small town like this or not?" He asked.

She was trying to deter him from remembering that she was about to tell him about her life, but he was insistent. She sighed and began to tell him about her and Jack. She felt much better afterwards. Had she known she would feel this way, she would have spoken to someone about it sooner.

"Wow. He's stupid." That was all Ben could say. Her ex-husband was an i***t.

"He is, and I was too blind to see it, because I loved him with all my heart. I know I wasn't perfect, but I was good to him." Diana said.

"Hey. Don't do that. Don't let anyone make you feel less about yourself because it wasn't your fault that you got divorced." He thought that Diana shouldn't subject herself to feeling guilty, because she did all that her ex-husband asked of her and it still wasn't enough.

"I can't help but feel responsible in some ways. I mean, I was inexperienced and not too eager to learn about anything. Some of the things that he wanted, I couldn't find the heart to give to him." Diana explained why she felt partly responsible for her failed marriage.

"But I still think that he should have spoken with you if he had thoughts about cheating." Ben told her.

"Let me ask you something. If you're such an expert, why don't you tell that girl that you aren't interested, instead of getting her hopes up." Diana asked. He knew she was talking about Suzie.

"You're right. But we're not talking about me. We are talking about how your husband is a fool for letting a gorgeous woman like you go. If you were mine, I would never let you slip away from me." It was too late when Ben realized what he said. Diana's cheeks were red. She was speechless.

"I-I didn't..." Ben stuttered, which was something new to him. He was confident with the ladies, but for some reason, Diana made him nervous.

"What? You didn't mean to say I was gorgeous and worth keeping." Diana didn't know where this newfound confidence came from when she answered him. Maybe it was because she noticed his nervousness and wanted to tease him for making her blush.

"I-I, you know you are." He didn't know what else to say, so he shut up because he was just babbling.

"You're the first person to tell me that. But, then again, you're the first person I told about the divorce." Diana said.

"What? So you haven't told your parents?" He asked.

"No I haven't. My dad wouldn't be happy because it would mess up his business with the Carters. And my mother would just pity me. I can't deal with that. I need to process everything and make different plans for my future, because the ones I had before solely surrounded my marriage."

"What are you thinking of doing?" Ben asked.

"I don't know. Get a job, maybe." Ben thought for a moment.

"If you are interested, I'm looking for an assistant." He said.

"But I don't know anything about taking pictures." Diana told him.

"You don't have to know anything to be my assistant." Ben said.

"Are you saying that any random person can be your assistant?" Diana asked.

"No. I..." He trailed off when he realized she was teasing him.

"Got you." Diana laughed to her heart's content. It was the first time in a long time that she laughed like that.

"I should kiss you for that." Ben said. He realized that he liked her and this time he wasn't going to take it back, or try to justify what he said. Diana was so shocked, her mouth was wide open. What the hell?