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He hadn’t expected the text, a call maybe but not a text. She had been so against them going on a date in the first place, although she had thawed quite a bit by the end of it, but Ben still didn’t think she was going to be the one to reach out first. Not that he minded. With a grin he read over the text, noting the rather formal and kind of stilted request. Ben had to hold back the urge to be a smart a**, or even worse, since there was always the possibility that his response would be shared with more people than just herself. While he suspected her father wouldn’t mind a little fooling around it was one thing to just think it might happen but a completely different thing to have it slapped in his face. The hickey Ben had left was bad enough. He knew better not to provoke a reaction by being a bit too friendly with Abby.

I would love to, Abby. Just let me know the time and place and I’ll be there. Can’t wait, Princess ^_^

It was a short and sweet text. He honestly didn’t think she was going to tell him squat outside of when to pick her up but there were a few times when she didn’t follow his mental script so it was always possible this time would be the same. It was also amusing to tease her, and even more amusing when she blushed.

Ben had just laughed at her text, even sending a laughing emoji, and got ready for their date. He cleaned up fairly well if he did say so himself, it was a casual suit without tie because no one wore ties unless they were willing to strangle themselves. He had even blackmailed his father into letting him borrow his restored classic mustang. It was his dad’s baby and didn't go out unless it was for a car show or some other show off-y type deal. But Ben pulled the whole ‘she didn’t like my truck’ and ‘she couldn’t get in it’ and other general excuses that the mustang would be a better drive for their date. Toss in a reminder of just how much his folks wanted them to get along and the keys were practically shoved at him. There was a subtle reminder that there was no real backseat to fool around in, and a chilly warning about no longer needing grandkids if he so much as got dust on the car before he was out the door and on his way to pick up his Princess.

The car rumbled to a stop in the Evans’ driveway, and like last time he quickly turned the car off and made his way towards the door. Brownie points were always a good thing. “Mr. and Ms. Evans,” He nodded to them before smiling at Abby and offering his arm so he could escort her to the car. “Ready to go Abby?”

Ben gave a slight nod at the appreciation of Abby’s father for the car before smiling even as Abby practically flounced away. “It’s my father’s pride and joy sir, I’m fairly sure he would rather use me as a bargaining chip than his car.” He grinned, if a bit crookedly since technically the whole ‘agreement’ was pretty much using Ben as a bargaining chip. “But once I told him how much Abby would enjoy it for the night he didn’t hesitate.” Now that was a lie, Ben had to practically blackmail his dad into loaning him the car but it all worked out in the end. “No worries at all Mrs. Evans. The car has a curfew as well, and I promised to bring it back without a scratch, I’ll do the same with Abby.” He told Abby’s mother, assuring her that Abby would get home without any issue, of course that didn’t mean she wouldn’t ‘regret’ his restraint. If she didn’t then he wasn’t doing his job right. “Now, if you will excuse me,” With a very minute bow the young man turned from the older woman and made his way towards his date, and her father.

“Sir,” rather than engage in further chatter Ben just slid past the duo to open the car door and offer Abby a hand getting in. The bucket seats of the sports car were rather low and he was absently curious as to what the diminutive girl would think.

After making sure Abby was safely in the car, he gently closed the door. He wasn’t joking when his dad threatened him with grievous bodily harm if anything happened to his car, so Ben was prepared to baby the thing as much as possible… outside of the speed that is. He liked his neck just the way it was, not strangled ala Homer and Bart Simpson. Moments later he was in the driver seat and grinning he started the car up, its roar and rumble very much so proving the power of the engine under the hood. “So what's the address again?” He asked, eyes taking in her reaction to the rumble of the car, quickly inputting the address into his own gps. “Hang tight Princess. Let me show you what this baby can do.”

With that he quickly drove away, picking up speed when ‘legal’. Or at least when they weren’t likely to be pulled over or encounter any real danger. “I’ll have to take you out for some real driving at some point. The highway outside of the city has some pretty nice views,” He commented even as he expertly maneuvered the vehicle around the city. The overlooks were nice, they also weren’t bad spots for some necking either.

Finally they reached the restaurant, Ben took one look at the valet parking and opted to park himself. He didn’t care about the cost, he cared about the car and those kids didn’t look old enough to drink let alone drive. No way on God’s Green Earth was he going to trust his father’s gasoline baby with them. Once they were parked he made his way over to the passenger side and once again opened the door, hand outstretched to assist as needed.

“Oh, come on Princess… I know you would enjoy it.” Ben grinned as he helped her out of the car and easily slid around until she was on his arm. It was much easier to help her walk that way, and ment he was close enough to lean in and whisper in her ear, “Then again if you don’t like riding in the car we can find something else.” He didn’t bother to finish with ‘you can ride’, it was much more enjoyable for him when she got that shocked, red face as the more salacious thoughts hit her. “Never say never Princess, you still have a long way to go before you know what you don’t like,” He placed a light kiss right behind her ear, “Or what you do.”

With that he stood upright completely and escorted his date into the restaurant, a complete gentleman the entire way. Well… maybe not ‘complete’ since he was a bit more touchy feely as he helped her out of her coat, fingers brushing against her arms as the fluffy thing slid off of her before being checked at the coat check. And when they were being escorted to their table he kept a hand on the small of her back, all polite and everything but still just possessive enough that if anyone else was thinking of making a move they would think again. All gentlemanly but not really giving her any space to breathe. At least not until they reached their table where, once he helped her into her chair, he then took his seat next to her. “A sushi place, eh? Trying to see if I am good with my hands are you?” He indicated to the chopsticks, “Well I can assure you, I am quite dexterous.” He smiled at her before adding, “With chopsticks that is.”

He wisely kept his own council as the younger woman fussed at him. He knew she would much rather he called her by her given nickname, and he did sometimes, but it was rather amusing to watch her get her hackles up. And it really didn’t hurt when she left herself wide open to just slip in there about some other things she could call him, like ‘daddy’, but she was already turning a vivid shade of red and avoiding his eyes even while her mind slid right into the gutter where he had ment it to be. So he metaphorically bit his tongue and kept his thoughts to himself.

“Ah, you think I’m in unfamiliar territory do you?” He raised a brow, returning her challenging smile with a smirk of his own. While raw fish wasn’t exactly his favorite food, he wasn’t necessarily against it. He actually quite enjoyed caviar, there was just something about that dish he really did love. Ben didn’t bait her any further, nor did he take her bait, she really was quite innocent and he was already thinking of all the things he could ask with double entendres. Instead he ordered an imported beer and some water, much like he had at the burger joint. “So, since this is your favorite place to eat, would you like to order for us? Conversely we can just leave it to the chef,” He asked her. Ben already knew what he wanted, and was more than willing to take charge in this situation, but he also wanted to prove to Abby that he wasn’t just some male who would steamroll what she wanted, at least not all the time. Then again, he had left his question open ended enough so if she did toss the decision his way he wouldn’t be opposed.

He leaned over to her to see what she was pointing at, even though he could see just fine, and after a moment he turned his head so he was rather close to her and smiled. “Sounds yummy,” his gaze dropped to her lips for a heartbeat, “ummmm… yeah. I think I’ll have that.” After a moment more his eyes flicked back up to hers before he leaned back just slightly and pointed at a roll on her menu. “I’ll go with this one. Maybe ask our chef if he has any recommendations for a couple on a date.” Ben grinned at her, tossing her a wink. “It never hurts to ask. Sometimes they will slip in some extras just for the lovely couple, or at least the lovely lady.” His focus went back to his own menu, making a mental note to request some roe sushi as well, “You? What additional entree are you interested in?”

Ben definitely smirked at that little lip bite, she was playing along. Good girls got praise. After licking his own lip briefly he quietly murmured, “Don’t abuse your lip too much Abby. Let me do that later.” It was a promise that he was definitely going to be the one teasing her lips once dinner was over, or earlier if the timing was right. But this wasn’t the current time or place so he behaved even as they placed their orders.

“A bit of this and that,” He replied with a shrug. “Probably a lot along the lines of your dad’s second in command, but a bit more middle management then VP right now. I’m sure your folks told you what my family is into, demolition, so I spend a lot of my time on work sites either supervising or pitching in as needed. Lots of long, sweaty days that sometimes can end in very big bangs.” Even if his last sentence was full of euphemisms it was still true. Some of Ben’s favorite days were days where they imploded buildings, or used explosives for other demo work. There really was something special about things that went ‘BOOM’.

While they chatted Ben watched as the sushi chef worked his magic behind the bar they were sitting at. That was the whole shtick of the place. Watch the guy’s serious knife skills and enjoy the fresh fish. His gaze drifted back to Abby though when she questioned how a hard day’s work could be fun, noting that she absolutely did not get the hidden joke in his statement. “I’ll have to bring you by the next time we have an implosion scheduled then,” He grinned but didn’t explain any further as their food came out.

With his own order in front of him, along with their shared set between, Ben quickly mixed some of the ‘good’ wasabi into his soy sauce. He knew from experience that the normal stuff you got in other sushi places were typically colored horseradish, unless asked for otherwise, because of cost. Premium wasabi was not cheap, especially for the quantity that sushi restaurants go through. He wasn’t overly picky but this restaurant’s was a nice change from the other kind, and it really should be considering the cost. After savoring the first few bites himself he deftly snagged a piece with his chopsticks and with a grin held it out towards Abby. “Would you like it?”

Bennett chuckled as she practically said ‘aah’ and promptly followed her unspoken request by depositing the sashimi piece into her waiting mouth. His eyes practically flashed as she let out a little moan, “Princess,” he let out a low rumble, “don’t forget our conversation from last time.” He warned her last time they went out to watch the sounds she made. He would happily teach her all about them but at a later date and in a much private setting. They were still in public, regardless of how many rich SOB’s were around them, or lack thereof. His grin was much more wolfish than suave even as he offered yet another piece of fish to her for consumption, “Yes, it has a nice bite to it.” He really was looking forward to taking a ‘bite’ of his own later on that night.

Little Red really was teasing the wolf at this point and if she didn’t watch herself she was going to get eaten, in the most pleasurable way possible.

Ben just grinned, he fed her another piece of sushi and smiled. It wasn’t until she was enjoying one of the pieces he fed her that he leaned over and murmured quietly in her ear, “Just remember that bad girls will be punished while good girls are rewarded.” He nipped lightly at the shell of her ear before sitting up and working on his own food, after stealing a piece of her’s of course. That piece he happily ate while keeping eye contact with her. His. He was also curious if she would remember the last time he ‘rewarded’ her for her good behavior, and if she would dare see what he would do for ‘bad’ girls.