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She didn't know how it started or even why it happened. Actually, if she thought about it, long and hard- which usually didn't go over well if she didn't have a coffee- it started just after the dinner. He called it a date, she called it dinner between two people... coworkers, if you will. Two coworkers who happened to kiss on the elevator after one day of a hard loss and failures. Forget telling him he was just what she needed that one night, the night she cried in his car was her low point. Unlike that night where she asked him to stay and he refused, he stayed without the offer: placed his hand over hers and squeezed her thumb in solidarity, in support, as an act of kindness. Hell, this is where is started, and this is how it would apparently stay.
She just knew at precisely eight o'clock in the morning, an hour after Lauren left for the office, the sound of his tires in the driveway would break through the silence. He claimed it was a long drive, and she should always be ready by the time he pulled up. She had lived in this neighborhood for what seemed like forever. She knew it wasn't that far of a drive between Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights. She could probably walk to his house, if she wanted to. She would hear the horn blare, he liked to annoy the neighbors, and she would come out with her coat half way on, her bag practically spilling out its contents as she avoided the water-lined sidewalk. When he was feeling full of himself, he would lock the car door just as she went to open it. She would give him a look and threaten to scratch his car with her shoe, which usually did the trick. He would have a breakfast item waiting in a small white bag, but she could never eat it in the car. The car was his baby, and he didn't want crumbs getting anywhere near it. It's why they also parked and walked to the coffee stand, as opposed to having a cup in the car. Still, she wondered why it became routine for Ben to pick her up in the morning. Moreover, how she became dependent on the routine just so she wouldn't waste the cab fare. As she looks over at Ben on the other side of the car, she wondered when he crawled under her skin, when he became a fixture in her life.
"You know, I paid a lot of money for this haircut. I don't really want you to burn a hole through my head," he said as he briefly looked over at her. He felt the stare and couldn't help himself.
"You pay to have your hair styled like you just woke up?" Kate smarted. She could handle the banter. It was the comfortable silence that unnerved her.
"I'm just saying, you could look out the window instead of at the side of my head. Look at all the people turn their heads and marvel the beauty," Ben shrugged.
She did as he suggested, watching the cars on the road and the fog roll through the bay as they made their way downtown.
When they finally reached the office, the car swung into the spot next to Lauren's and Ben turned the key over to halt the engine. He made a smooth exit, grabbing his briefcase and shrugged imaginary lint pieces from his suit. She made a rather clumsy exit, her bag almost spilling out once again. However, he seemed to teleport, it was the only explanation her tired mind would come up with, and grab the bag from her hands, steadying her with the hand that was holding his briefcase.
She suddenly remembered why it was comfortable, why things became routine with him, as he still held her arm. He smelled of rich mahogany, expensive yet subtle, as he pushed her up against the car to keep her steady. She wondered why he hadn't let go, after all, she was now steady on her feet. but it became apparent as he leaned in. It was much like their first kiss, him initiating the surprise contact of their lips. But she always became a willing participant a mere second later. She enjoyed the surprising contradicting feeling. His lips were soft, unlike most of the words that passed through them. And no matter the hour, his mouth always tasted like rich coffee. Kissing him always gave her a shot of caffine, despite her reservations. And despite the earlier comment of his hair style and price, he didn't mind when she ran her fingers through it as she pressed their lips together again. Their kisses only ever lasted mere seconds, but it felt like a lifetime as they stared at each other after separating. Brown eyes locked onto brown and she would see a glint in his eye that would make him hard to work with. At least until he found something else to be smug about.
He cleared his throat and stepped back, letting her grab her things from his hands and move away from his car. As always, the white paper bag clutched in her hand like a lifeline. He would shut the door and his hand somehow always managed to touch hers. She smiled inwardly, not letting him see the effect he had on her, especially this early in the morning.
"Coffee?" he asked. Knowing the answer but always asking. Sometimes he would show her his gentleman side. But only when they were alone, especially when they were alone.
He always let her order her own drink, never feeling the need to give her order, even when he knew it. He rarely tipped: mostly the courthouse coffee shop. But she figured that was only because he thought Justin had spies everywhere. Otherwise, he commented on the ways of the lone coffee stand as she punched him in the arm, worried their coffee would get spit in or made wrong.
The walk to Reed and Reed was always short, but it seemed longer as he droned on about how she managed to get anything done coming in this late. Although she knew he was making it all for show. After all, he came in at the same time as she, ever since he started working here. Even as they got onto the elevator, crowd or just the two of them, he stood right beside her. Some part of his body making contact with hers. She wondered when she started to enjoy it, but sipped at her coffee instead. He respected the silence of the elevator now that he sometimes got to kiss her and take a hold of her had. She decided there could be some great benefits that come with an undefined yet somewhat relationship with Ben.
Their lives had become intertwined the night he pulled her to him and kissed her just because he had to do it. The night he had let her see a real side of Ben Grogan. The night his fingers grasped hers in a moment of dual loss, the surprisingly soft touch of his warm fingers over her icily cold ones. She had shed a single tear, that night in his Aston Martin Vantage. The first thing to blemish the pristine-feelings free zone he created. The action had been enough to spurn him into action and do the one thing he had wanted to since he met her that night in the bar.
As the elevator doors opened and they pushed their way through the doors of Reed and Reed, she wondered if anyone knew their relationship was slowly changing. As he passed by her when she walked up the stairs, she realised she didn't mind what they thought. If she wanted to stuff a small part of her life into his heart that he thinks he stuffs with money to make it grow big, that was her problem. As she stood in her doorway, Leo observing her out of the corner of his eye, she watched him set his things down and turn to grab his foam basketball. He felt her look and gave her a knowing smirk. As she turned to deposit her own things in her own office, she thought her "problem" would soon come into her space and the fun would begin.