Pool Hunny // Benny Rodriguez

22.

Benny. 

It was just Mr Baker, Katherine, Caroline and I for dinner tonight, we were eating at the new restaurant so that Mr Baker could talk to me about Buzzie and my tryouts. I could only pray that Caroline would be normal tonight.

Her blonde hair was styled back in a ponytail and she had another variation of her millions of pink dresses on. This one was a baby pink, linen dress that floated lightly above her knees. "Oh good you showed." she muttered. 

Thank god, was all  could think because that sounded like the Caroline I knew. I grinned, "miss me princess?"

She rolled her eyes, "yeah ever so. Look, normally I would ignore you the whole evening, but since Katherine is here you've been demoted to second most awful person on the table which means I'm going to need you to help me not loose my mind tonight when she starts to provoke me." 

"Demoted to second most awful person at the table? That hurts." I joked. 

A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she rolled her eyes to brush me off, "drama queen." 

For the first time in her entrie life Caroline might actually have been glad I was crashing a family dinner. "Honey, what have I told you about wearing baby pink?" Katherine asked stopping in front of us as we waited for Mr Baker to leave the house. "it makes your face look round." 

She dug her nails into my arm biting back a remark I'm sure would have been scathing, I interrupted Katherine before she could say anything else, I knew I couldn't be rude to her because I wanted to stay on Mr Baker's good side but that didn't mean I couldn't help Caroline out a bit. "Actually I think she looks great." 

"You're a guy honey, you're saying that because you don't pcik up on those things." she replied laughing it off. Now I knew why Caroline always desctibed her as awful, stupid or bitch. "No Katherine, he's saying that because unlike you Benny isn't an insecure pathalogical liar." 

I turned away from them to hide my laughter, although I would have liked to see her face, "come on Benny, we'll go wait in the car." 

"Now do you see why you were demoted?" Caroline asked pointedly. 

"I'm surprised you didn't demote me to third." I muttered shaking my head. 

"Why?"

"Because her big fat ego takes up the place of two whole people." I replied as we got in the limousine. It was crazy to me that they got driven around everywhere and in a limo no less. 

Caroline nodded impressed, "well done. If you're going to be like this all evening, it might actually be bearable." 

"I'll try my best." i replied as Mr Baker and Katherine got in.

Caroline scowled at her father's girlfriend, "you'd better." 

When we finaly sat down at the table the mood between the two of them hadn't lifted. The only one that seemed blissfully ignorant was Mr Baker. "Are you going to Lil and Alec's party?" I asked Caroline breaking the silence. 

She frowned, "how do you know about that? How are you even invited?" 

"Will and Parker invited me to their house the other week and Alec was there and we hit it off and invited me." I explianed shrugging. 

"Of course they did those stupid bastards, they're always telling me how I should include you more, as if either of us would want that." She muttered shaking her head, "Alec is fun though, I'm not surprised you two hit it off. You're both sports nerds, the only difference is that Alec is likeable and you aren't." 

"Gee thanks." I muttered. 

"You're welcome." Caroline replied handing me a menu. 

"You should really consider being nicer to me if you want me to play your Katherine buffer." I told her opening it up. 

"Just be glad she's here." She told me flipping her hair over my shoulder. She joined in quickly on her father's conversation, "speaking of the bank, can I have my pocket money for this month?" 

Katherine for some unfathomable reason felt the need to inject herself right into the middle of the conversation, "you shouldn't be so greedy Caroline, money can't buy happiness you know." she told her patronizingly. 

I could already see Caroline's reply forming, it would probably be beyond out of pocket but Katherine deserved to be shocked. "Sure it can." Caroline replied confidently, "that's just a lie rich people tell poor people so they don't't riot."

Katherine's know it all smile faltered. I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep myself from spitting out my water because I had to laugh. Mr Baker was not half as amused, "Caroline!" he hissed at her across the table, "reis dich zusammen!" (pull yourself together!) 

I had no idea what it meant but I could tell he wasn't saying it because he'd found her little remark at all funny. "Good one." I muttered to her as Katherine and Mr Baker started talking again. 

Caroline smirked, "please, I was going to say 'like you can talk you gold digging cow' but I think my father might have dragged me out of the restaurant if I'd said that so it was best to play it safe."

"That was your safe option?" I asked amused. 

She frowned, "you do know I don't actually believe that right? I just said it to shock her into shutting the hell up." 

I grinned, "could have fooled me." 

She whacked me on the arm, "you're such an idiot."

"Well, I try my best." I replied, "plus don't even deny it, you're glad I'm here." 

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm only being so nice to you because it's you or them and I hate her and my father and I are at a very fragile peace right now which means you are really my only option." Caroline answered flippantly. 

"I wouldn't dream of it." I replied amused. 

She turned to the waitress quickly so she could order her food, but I could have sowrn I'd seen her smile as she did so. I couldn't even describe how glad I was I hadn't had to spend dinner with the Caroline that needed an exorcism. That would have just been painful. 

Caroline. 

He was making it awfully hard to not like him, which frustraed me more. Benn had even hugged me goodbye at the door which I just knew I would be thinking about for the next weeks. It was as if that morn was doing it on purpose now. Especially being so nice to me the whole evening. 

"Actually I think she looks great." I could hear the words playing on repeat in my head. Thanks a lot asshole, that was the last thing I needed was hearing his voice in my head too, he was already enough of an appearance in my mind I didn't need the fucking audiobook version as well. Of course that idiot had to go and give me a compliment. Not that he was wrong fo course, I knew that dress had been incredibly flattering on me, but did he really have to pint it out? Because it would be all I was able to think about/ 

I was obsessing already, this was not good.