Falling for Ben & Other Impossible Things (Garcia Brothers Book 1)

by Yesenia Vargas

  Like that had been the last thing he’d been expecting me to say.

  Like maybe he wondered how much help I could actually be.

  “You could help me get a B?” he asked.

  I nodded. “History has always been my best subject. I always ace it.”

  Now it was my turn to look away briefly, hoping he didn’t ask me how or why I was so good at history.

  But he didn’t.

  Instead he took a step closer. “You’d help me, then?” He paused. “Why would you do that?”

  I shrugged and met his eyes, laughed a little. “I figure it’s the least I could do after I almost killed you. And gave you a concussion.”

  Now he laughed a little. Boy, I loved it when he smiled wide like that. I fought to keep myself composed instead of melting into a puddle like I usually did. “You didn’t almost kill me,” he replied. “And my head,” he added, touching the same spot from the other day, “is fine.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “You were about to take a big bite of that cookie, which would have…you know,” I finished lamely, not wanting to describe to him how his face would’ve puffed up and his throat would’ve done the same, and he would’ve suffocated in a matter of minutes.

  He brought his backpack around and unzipped a small pocket. Then he pulled out an EpiPen. “True. But I probably would’ve been fine. All of my teachers and most of my friends know about this. And now you do too, in case you ever accidentally feed me killer cookies again.”

  I lifted my index finger. “Noted. Glad it didn’t just come down to me, you know, barreling into you to make sure you didn’t eat that contaminated cookie.”

  He laughed again and put away the EpiPen. He pulled out his paper. Then he looked at me.

  I immediately lamented the fact that he was no longer giving me that wide smile.

  “So,” he said, handing me his paper. “When can we start?”

  13

  One awesome benefit of tutoring Ben Garcia?

  Free burgers and fries at Bobby’s Cafe.

  Audrey had hinted that Ben led a busy life. School, football, work, homework, keeping an eye out for his brothers.

  She lived next door to them.

  So instead of meeting at the library or at his house, we met at Bobby’s Cafe during his breaks and after he got off work.

  I popped a fry into my mouth while Ben finished wiping down the bar in front of me. It was a slow night, with it being stormy and rainy outside, so we had plenty of time to work on his paper. “If I had known that I’d be getting free food out of this, I would’ve offered to help you on that paper back when Ms. Wilson first assigned it.”

  Ben smiled. “Noted. Unlimited fries are a small price to pay in exchange for a passing grade in Ms. Wilson’s class.”

  I smiled back. “Did you say unlimited?”

  Freshman twenty-five, here I come.

  Her class wasn’t the kind where you could pay attention here and there and pass. She took social studies seriously. With his schedule, I could see how Ben was struggling to keep up.

  After setting the dirty rags in a designated bucket on the floor behind the counter, Ben came around and took a seat beside me.

  I turned toward him, showing him his marked up paper. During the past twenty minutes, I hadn’t just been eating free fries, I had also read through his paper and taken copious notes on what he needed to fix and how, even pulling examples from our online textbook.

  Ben took one look at it all and raised a brow. “So you can do cheer stunts and you’re smart?”

  I giggled, feeling my cheeks turn warm. “I’m good at social studies. Just don’t ask me to do a trig problem.”

  He pulled out his laptop, and I did the same. We got to work via Google Docs, only taking quick breaks so that Ben could tend to customers here and there, ringing them up or refilling drinks.

  By closing, we’d made huge headway.

  “This is great,” Ben said in disbelief. “This may actually earn a B.”

  I laughed a little. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

  He turned to me, and I realized then how close our faces were.

  Maybe he did the same because his eyes flicked down to my mouth for like half a second before coming back up.

  “Thank you,” he said, standing up. “For coming all the way down here and helping me make this essay an actual essay.”

  “Free food helps,” I interjected with a grin.

  He smiled back, and I quickly glanced away.

  Then I closed my laptop and stood up too. “Happy to help. Another session or two like tonight, and that should do it.”

  “Really?” he asked, exhaling. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

  “Are there enough fries in the world?” I quipped, really enjoying the fact that I could now act like a normal human being around Ben.

  Then he smiled again, and I once again threatened to melt.

  The restaurant stood empty. Just us and a single cook in the back, cleaning up the kitchen.

  Ben eyed him. “I should help. But let me walk you to your car, at least.”

  I whipped out my phone. “Actually, I’m taking an Uber.”

  A few minutes later, when the app let me know the Uber was just about there, Ben did walk me out, the umbrella in his hand covering us both.

  I shivered from the cold and couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked even in his Bobby’s Cafe uniform. Something about the apron around his waist. Or maybe the biceps that peeked out from his sleeves.

  The Uber pulled up.

  “Well,” I said. This is me.”

  When he opened the door for me to get in, I about passed out, but I kept it together.

  “Uh, thank you again. Um, let me know when you make it home?” he asked, sounding a little unsure.

  I opened my mouth to reply and then remembered that I didn’t have his number and vice versa.

  Taking what felt like the biggest risk in my life, I unlocked my phone and pulled up a new message. “Okay. Want to put in your number?” I asked, hating how my voice sounded. “You know… so I can let you know.”

  He took my phone kind of awkwardly, my gaze anywhere but on him while he tapped away.

  Count on awkward situations to make you aware how long a few seconds can take.

  He handed me back my phone. “Here,” he said, taking a step back and giving me a wave. “Good night, Scarlett.”

  At some point, I realized he’d shut the door and the Uber driver was on his way to my address.

  Good night, Scarlett.

  Ben’s words, the way he looked at me, played in my head on a loop.

  When I got home, I rushed to my room, screaming a quick, “I’m home!” to Mom before closing my bedroom door.

  I pulled up my messages.

  Ben had sent one to himself, a waving hand emoji.

  I began tapping out a message to him, repeatedly erasing and then typing something else.

  Finally I settled on…

  Scarlett: Made it home. Thanks for the fries. Good night.

  Then I lay back in my bed and thought about Ben some more. How I’d get to spend more time with him this week, wondering if he’d ever make an exception to his no dating rule.

  A girl could hope, right?

  A minute later, my phone buzzed. I scrambled to read it.

  Ben: See you tomorrow :)

  I may or may not have shrieked.

  I had gotten Ben Garcia’s number.

  14

  The next day at school, Ben totally waved to me and said hello in the hallway before first period.

  I would’ve fainted had several girls not immediately locked their laser beam eyes on the one girl who had managed a hello from Ben Garcia.

  I mean, he’d only said hi in passing, but we may as well have declared that we were in an exclusive relationship from the looks on a couple of the girls’ faces.

  Rachel gave me this look, raising one of her brows like she usually did when
she said something sassy or made a comeback. “So I take it that the tutoring went well yesterday?”

  I nodded, my eyes on Ben’s figure in the distance. “We’re working on his paper again tonight, actually.”

  The entire school day, it was a little hard to focus on what the teachers were saying. In cheer, Coach Collins called me out for being half a second behind everyone else.

  Oops.

  I’d been too busy counting down the hours and then the minutes until Ben and I worked on his paper at Bobby’s Cafe after we were each done with practice.

  Rachel bopped me on the head with one of her pom-poms. “Come on, girl. Get your head in the game.”

  Finally, she dropped me off on her way home.

  Her stomach growled loud enough for both us to hear.

  “Hungry much?” I teased, opening the door to get out.

  “Super,” she replied, checking her phone. “And my mom just texted that she and my siblings already ate dinner out. So there’s no food at home.” She pouted.

  I glanced at Bobby’s behind me. “Come in with me, then. It’ll be fun. It’s probably busy right now anyway, which means Ben will be busy.”

  By the time we walked in, Ben was already in his uniform, carrying out plates full of burgers, fries, milkshakes, and a host of other foods.

  While he took care of the influx of customers, Rachel and I ordered our own food, going for the usual.

  An hour later, the dinner rush had finally died down, but Rachel and I had finished all of our homework.

  Her phone buzzed, and she took a look. “I have to get going,” she told me, getting up. “This was fun, though.”

  “Agreed,” I replied. “Homework and fries is a pretty snazzy combo.”

  “#Facts,” she said with a wink. Then she leaned in. “Text me later? Let me know how your hot tutoring session went with… you know who?”

  I rolled my eyes but chuckled. “Sure thing. Not that there will be anything to tell,” I said, glancing around and making sure Ben was nowhere near earshot.

  But he must have been in the back because he was nowhere in sight.

  With that, Rachel headed home, and I put away my homework and pushed my empty plate and cup away.

  Just as I pulled up Ben’s paper on Google docs, he appeared through the double doors. He walked right over. “Sorry. I know it’s getting late. Do you have to go yet?” he asked.

  I checked the time. It was getting kind of late, but Mom had already told me she wouldn’t be home until later. “Um, I’m good. And I finished all my homework so… I’m all yours,” I finished.

  Wow, that sounded forward. Once again, I felt my face flush.

  Ben looked away for a second before looking at me again. “Cool. I’ve just got a few dishes to wash, and I’ll be right out.”

  With that, he carried my dirty dishes away. I called out a thank you.

  “Sure thing,” he replied, going in through the double doors backwards so he could push them open that way.

  Several minutes later, Ben came around with his laptop to my side of the counter and sat down next to me. “All yours,” he said.

  Not expecting that comment at all, I failed to respond right away, making the moment kind of awkward.

  What was it about me not being able to function when he was around? I had to get it together.

  “Okay, so, uh, I was thinking we could work on your conclusion today plus the in-text citations and works cited page,” I finally said.

  He scooted closer, and I fought back thoughts on whether he needed a better view of what I was showing him on Google Docs or whether he wanted to be a little closer to me.

  Google Docs. The answer was Google Docs, especially if I was going to form comprehensible sentences around him.

  Over an hour later, we’d made pretty good headway on the rest of his paper. And it was closing time.

  Mom let me know she was on her way to pick me up.

  I read over Ben’s paper one more time, comparing the new version to my notes on the old version and nodding in satisfaction. “I think we’re done. You’ve done as much as you can do. You can turn this into Ms. Wilson tomorrow.”

  Ben exhaled. “You think so? You think this will get me at least a B?” he asked, sounding kind of nervous.

  I turned to him. “For sure. In fact, I’ll be surprised if you don’t get a B.”

  He finally cracked a smile. “Thank you,” he said. “Seriously.”

  So I’d given up hours of my limited time here eating free food and spending time with a boy I had a crazy crush on.

  When the other option had been to sit at home alone, eating alone, watching serial killer documentaries on Netflix.

  I smiled back. “Happy to help. Seriously.”

  There was that quick glance towards my mouth again.

  Ben shut his laptop, and I did the same.

  I got ready to grab my stuff and tell him good night.

  But then he said something else. “So how do you know so much about all this stuff?” he asked. “Like history and stuff. When to use citations. The way you explained it made way more sense than in class.”

  What felt like a heavy stone materialized in my stomach, and I turned so that I was facing the counter again. “Oh, um,” I tried, struggling to make up some kind of explanation that didn’t require me being utterly vulnerable in front of someone I already found myself caring about.

  He was the last person I wanted to break down in front of.

  But a big part of me also didn’t want to make something up or give a non-answer.

  Not to Ben.

  I did my best to look at him. “My dad loved history,” I said quietly, managing the smallest and quickest of smiles with zero eye contact. “He used to read books about it all the time, read them to me at bedtime even growing up. We watched documentaries together, and he’d explain it all to me in a way that was just…exciting and cool, you know?”

  I stopped talking then because my voice threatened to quiver and break, and I was not about to cry. Not here, not tonight.

  I couldn’t do that.

  Exhaling, I chanced another glance at Ben, who’d turned away too.

  Finally, he said, “That sounds really cool.” He paused. “To have a dad like that.”

  I bit the inside of my lip, determined to be able to talk about Dad. “He was really cool.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice hardly audible.

  That was it. No questions about what happened or when. Just an “I’m sorry.”

  I almost sighed in relief.

  Before I could say anything, he said something else. “I kinda get what that’s like.”

  I studied his face, the way his eyes focused on his feet, how his mouth turned down a little, and all of a sudden, the entire cafe seemed utterly silent. “I’m sorry,” I told him, wishing I could take his hand.

  He stood up abruptly, almost like he’d snapped out of a trance. “Um, I should get back to work.”

  Grabbing his stuff, he said, “Thank you again, really. Let me know when you make it home?” he asked, finally looking at me for half a second.

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  As I got in Mom’s car a few minutes later, I couldn’t help but think that I’d never thought I’d have this in common with Ben Garcia.

  Rachel, Audrey, and Nora had never mentioned that Ben’s dad had died. But in a way, it made sense. No wonder he had to work. No wonder he was the way he was.

  And he’d shared that part of himself with me.

  And I had done the same.

  15

  Ben’s next game was less than twenty-four hours away, and I itched to find out what he’d gotten on that paper.

  I assumed he would tell me if he’d gotten a B and gotten the go ahead to play in Friday’s football game, but he hadn’t told me or texted me.

  So on Thursday night, just before bed, I worked up the courage and sent him a text.

  Scarlett: Hey. So did you find out what you g
ot on that paper?

  As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, my phone buzzed. My hand shot out and grabbed it. I had to slow down and put in my passcode two times before I finally got it right.

  Ben: Not yet :/ hopefully tomorrow.

  I sighed.

  Okay. Tomorrow, we would know. I could wait that long.

  Just as I settled into a comfortable position, my phone buzzed again. This time, I took my time putting in the right passcode.

  Ben: Good night.

  I immediately smiled, holding back a shriek.

  Not what Mom needed to hear at eleven o’clock at night. She’d probably come in with a rolling pin, ready to hit something.

  With the cheesiest smile on my face, I texted Ben back.

  Scarlett: Good night :)

  It took me twice as long to fall asleep just from the giddiness of getting a good night text from Ben.

  The next morning, I borrowed a little bit of Mom’s undereye concealer. Then I really studied myself in the mirror.

  It was me alright, but I also looked different. Because it was game day, I had my uniform top on. My hair was up in a high ponytail, my bow sitting perfectly on top of it. And I’d put on a little extra make up.

  If I had seen myself like this a year ago, I never would’ve believed it.

  Dressing up and glamming up for dance was normal, but morphing into a cheerleader? I hadn’t seen that one coming. Or my love for it.

  Mostly the thrill of it. Much like with dance.

  More than ever, I was glad we’d moved to this town and gotten our fresh start. I had no idea if we’d ever go back home. We had family there, on both sides, and I missed them.

  But so far, Jefferson had been good for us. Mom was busy all the time with work but even she seemed better off here.

  Tired and kind of overworked but it was also easy to see that she loved what she was doing. That this new house, this new place, had done her a lot of good.

  I smiled to myself in the mirror, grabbed my stuff, and left.

  As soon as I got to school, I went back to wondering about Ben.

  I’d seen him in passing in the morning, but he hadn’t seen me. Like the rest of the football team, he had on his football jersey, but I had no idea if that meant he was actually allowed to play that night or not.