My Ex or My Next

Chapter 4

Benjamin Clarke was a photographer by profession. He owned a studio in the small town where he was from. That was the place that inspired his love of photography. It gave him the opportunity to travel all over the world and opened up many experiences and connections for him. He started this business when he realized that he wouldn't be going to college because his parents couldn't afford it. He worked and saved as much as he could and then applied for college a year later. While he was in college, he convinced people to let him take their pictures with the camera he bought.

People then started requesting him for their photoshoots while he was still in school, because even though he wasn't a professional at the time, the quality of his pictures was excellent. He majored in photography and started working for an entertainment company. As soon as he had enough capital to start a business of his own, he did so in his home town. He did it while he was still working, so that he had something to fall back on in case everything didn't work out the way he planned. But, with hard work and determination, his business was successful.

His only customers were the people in his neighbourhood at first. He was elated when he gained an overseas clientele. He took pictures of tourists who came to the town, posted them on his website, with their permission, of course, and his business only grew from then. He had been away for a couple of months on business and missed his home. He decided it was time to go back to the place that kept him grounded the most. The place he'd rather be when he was feeling troubled about anything or anyone. The passengers disembarked. He was in the crowd of people. Home sweet home.

Lately, all he had been feeling was distress. He was already 30 years old, but was yet to find a woman that was worthy of taking his last name and bearing his children. Nothing was wrong with having children in his older years, but for Benjamin, it was better to have them while young. That way, he didn't have to raise children while he was supposed to be thinking about retirement. He sighed. There was a woman that he occasionally hooked up with. She was from the next town over. They knew each other because they both attended the same high school that was between both towns. She took an immediate liking to him, but he wasn't fond of girls who threw themselves at men so easily.

She knew that he was due to come home any moment, so she was blowing up his phone with calls and texts. She stated that she wanted to spend time with him, but he wanted the opposite. It was his fault though. Even though she was a pest, he never had the heart to tell her off. To tell her that he was looking for something permanent and she wasn't in that category. He knew he might be labelled as a douche or a*shole, but she was so persistent that he couldn't say no.

" I heard you were coming home. Is it true?" Suzie spoke in a coquettish voice as soon as he answered the incoming call. How she knew, was beyond him.

"Yes." He answered her as briefly as possible.

"I'll pick you up at the airport. What time is your flight?" Suzie asked Benjamin.

"That's not necessary." He told her. See was the last person he needed to be occupied with as soon as he landed. She would give him a headache.

"It is necessary, because I want to see you." Suzie said, and Benjamin knew there was no convincing her otherwise. She would show up at his house anyway, so he didn't argue anymore.

"I'm arriving in the next hour. Can you get to the airport by then?" he asked.

"I'm already in the parking lot." What? 'She's definitely cuckoo. Sh*t! I was already at the airport. I was trying to trick her, so that by the time she arrived, I was already home'. He thought.

"I was playing with you. I'm already here. I'll see you in a few minutes." He hung up the phone before she could say anything else.

He took an aspirin in advance of dealing with Suzie. Just seeing or hearing her voice is going to cause him a headache. Walking towards the parking lot, he saw her jeep parked in between two sports cars. It was fit to be there, because it was a luxury as well. Suzie jumped out the second she spotted him amongst the people. She threw herself in his arms as if they were a couple. He should have set everything straight at that moment, but he didn't have the heart to do so.

"Were you trying to trick me when you said you were arriving in an hour?" Suzie asked him.

"No. I wanted time to find something to surprise you. But now that you're here, I'd rather spend time with you." This was the type of crap he was subjecting himself to. He didn't want her around, but was telling her words that would make her believe otherwise. He was encouraging her behaviour.

"Awe Ben. That's so sweet of you. That's the reason I love you." Every time she told Benjamin that she loved him, he never said it back, but she didn't seem to care. She kept saying it anyway. If she expected him to reciprocate her feelings, that was a dream she should wake up from ASAP. It would never happen.

"Let's go. I'm tired." He told her.

Suzie drove out of the parking lot. She talked the whole car ride home and Benjamin was about to have a mental breakdown. How can one person be so infuriating? He was hoping she would reach his home so she would stop talking. He tuned her out for a while, but a few words peaked his interest.

"... put it in my mouth." That was the only thing he heard from everything she said.

"I have something that I could put in your mouth." She stepped on the gas. He forgot that she was a crazy woman.

As soon as they arrived at Benjamin's house, they exited the car. He walked around the car and pinned Suzie to the door, while sucking the breath out of her through a kiss. She loved every moment of it. He saw a movement at the house next door and smelt the most amazing scent. When he looked at the house, he noticed the lights were on and the blinds at the window he presumed to be the kitchen were closed but shaking. That means they had just closed. So somebody moved in? That house was vacant for a while. He decided he would greet his new neighbour tomorrow. For now he had his desire calling out to him and he was definitely going to answer.