Work Text:
The sun was shining bright and clear, the sky was blue, just small puffs of cloud here and there. Perfect summer weather.
Finn hummed along to the latest pop hit playing on the radio while chopping and squeezing the lemons. Rey sighed while mopping sweat from her brow, looking around at the empty street. Normally this park road was packed with drivers, but it seemed that today was the one day it wasn't.
“You'd think with the sun out, everyone would be outside today, right?” Rey muttered to Finn whilst giving the filled container in her hand a vicious swirl with her mixing spoon. “So far we’ve only made $42.63 and we still need like $500 before we can close the stand.”
Finn laughed while replying, “Sure, we’ll get there! It's only 11:30ish, almost noon. That's when the big money makers feel the thirst for lemonade!”
Rey giggled and pointed at the empty stretch of park road. “Who’s going to be walking down this road with enough money to meet our donation quota?”
“Well, somebody has to feel the love for the local animal shelter! Besides, Poe said he’ll stop by later and buy whatever we didn't sell.” Finn handed Rey the freshly squeezed juice so she could continue mixing the batches.
Rey snorted and went to add more ice to the main dispenser. “Finn, how exactly is Poe going to come up with the money when he's the one who suggested we do this fundraiser?”
“Just have faith and we’ll be able to meet our goal before dinner. Besides, it's not like a complete loss. We sold enough cups for a good start on a slow day…” Finn trailed off while reaching for more lemons, suddenly noticing there was only one lemon left. They still had four more jugs to fill. “Umm, Rey? Can you hold down the fort? I need to run over to Tesco and grab more supplies.”
Rey turned around so fast she almost dropped the container she was holding. “What do you mean we need more supplies? I had counted out exactly how many lemons we needed for this recipe!”
Finn winced and mumbled about only getting half of what she asked for because of costs. Really, who needed 40 lemons when 24 was well enough?
Rey put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. “You better hurry back! You know it's dangerous for a young lady, such as myself, to be left unattended!”
“Rey, who would want to kidnap a 20 year old Judo champion?” Finn gave her A Look.
Rey huffed and turned back around to furiously mix the sugar into the citrusy liquid. “FINE! But you better hurry before whoever is going to be our biggest benefactor shows up.”
Finn grinned and gave her ponytail a quick tug. “Thanks, young lady! I’ll hurry back!” He laughed, avoiding her slap as he jogged out of reach.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
As soon as Finn turned the corner, he collided with someone. Scrambling back to his feet and noticing with whom he had just ran into, the apology died instantly on his tongue.
Glaring back at him was none other than Ben Solo.
Mr. I’m-So-Rich-My-Parents-Paid-For-My-Full-Ivy-League-Tuition-In-Cash; he brushed off his spotless t-shirt and wiped his hands on his jogging trousers. From the looks of him, Finn gathered Ben had been jogging just before the collision. A quick calculation and Finn knew Ben would have eventually run past Rey. Hmmm, wealthy benefactor indeed….
“Hey, aren't you going to move out of the way?” Ben angrily snapped his fingers at Finn.
“Actually….” Finn ignored the snapping and looked at Ben square in the eyes. “If you don't mind, there’s a young lady running a lemonade stand just around the corner.” He gestured with his thumb back in the direction from where he came. “You look like you could use a drink. Why not go get one?” Then he dashed around Ben and continued on his way to Tesco.
Ben stood glaring at Finn’s back for several moments before he started back down the road towards the lemonade stand. As he approached he saw it wasn't just any girl running the stand, but Rey.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ben suddenly felt parched and blamed the sun for the sudden rise in temperature. Rey had earbuds in and was singing along to a tune, her focus completely on the mixture she was stirring. He watched as she danced around, her hair in its unique three buns. Why she wore her hair like that since middle school he had no idea, but he really wanted to know what would happen if he pulled one out of place. Ever since he came back to town after graduation, he had been waiting for a moment to catch her alone. He noted Rey had grown taller since he last saw her, which was about three years ago to take her to her prom. As he approached the stand, his long shadow reached towards Rey’s turned back.
Ben cleared his throat. Rey, earbuds still in place, hardly heard him. She did, however, notice the large shadow and turned to see who it was. Rey shrieked and the container in her hands fell forward, splashing Ben from head to toe in lemonade. She shrieked again and started a stream of apologies. “OH shit! Shit, I'm sorry Ben! I didn't know it was you OH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY PLEASE DON'T SUE ME! SHIT! Here--” Rey handed him a towel while she scrambled around the ground for the spent container. Her face was burning beet red and she watched whatever future plans she had for life after college slowly turning to dust as she noted his $200 sports sneakers dripping with lemonade. Fuck, this was just not her day.
Growing up, Ben had been notorious for imposing his lawyer skills (he had learned from his mother, Judge Organa) on everyone who he deemed was beneath his privileged status. Rey feared that now, after his having passed the BAR, she was in for a serious lawyer problem.
As Rey stood back up, she saw Ben had finished wiping his face and was trying to pat down his shirt. “Umm, I really am sorry about this mess. I swear I didn't mean it! Please don't sue me!”
Ben gave her a curious look, yet remained silent as he toweled his hair.
“Umm, would you like fresh towel?” Rey questioned while holding out another towel. Ben paused, looked at the proffered towel, then reached down and pulled his wet shirt off.
Rey felt like time had stopped. Standing before her was the object of her girlhood fantasies - Ben, towering over her with his abs glistening in the glorious noon sunshine. His hair seemed to sparkle like diamonds. Rey gulped and shakily extended the towel closer. Ben took the towel and started to wipe at his face and hair. Rey watched as more lemonade dripped down his… wait, was that an 8-pack?
Oh God, he was more shredded than the last time she saw him at a swim meet...
The heat from the sun must have finally gotten to her, because now she had a sudden desire to taste the lemonade that beckoned to her from his smooth chest. Rey stepped a bit closer and licked at one drop that was hovering around his heart. Ben stilled in his movements and Rey realised that she hadn't just thought the act, but actually did it . Ben exhaled through his teeth, but didn't remove the towel from his face. He simply turned pink.
Rey saw that he had grown completely still. She stepped closer and brought up another towel from her back pocket to wipe at his other peck. She watched as his ab muscles clenched and twitched at her soft caress. She replaced the towel with her mouth and started to give small kisses and lazy licks at the lemon juice and sugar lumps on his chest. Ben started to tremble beneath her touch. She grinned, continuing up to the spot on his neck she had discovered that night at prom. Ben swore when she nipped at his collarbone.
Rey moved her hands up to hold onto his shoulders, leaning in to place feather light kisses and licks up his neck. If his muffled groans and moans weren't an indication of how her help was affecting him, she felt it straining against her abdomen.
Just as she was about to reach that magical button on his neck, Ben swore and threw the towel away from his face. He grabbed her around her hips and lifted her up against his chest, placing her onto the lemonade stand, juice pitchers flying everywhere. Rey couldn't really protest, Ben was kissing her as if he was a dying man and she was the life giving water.
His hands seemed to be everywhere, her name tumbling from his lips in between kisses with apologies for leaving her behind. Rey gripped his hair tightly when he palmed her over her jeans, moaning as he nuzzled at her neck.
Rey just hoped Finn took the longest route to Tesco….
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Later in the day, when Finn returned to the empty stand to find the goal jar filled to bursting, he noticed the ground was still soaked with lemonade and melted remnants of ice. Rey was nowhere in sight and the table looked suspiciously clean. Finn called an equally confused Poe and together the two decided to wait and hear what Rey would say at the next club meeting. Surely the wealthy benefactor wasn't that thirsty that he drank all the lemonade from the stand…?