On some level, Ella knew she should probably resent Ben’s possessiveness toward her, but all she felt was excitement that he wanted her attention as much as she wanted his.She almost laughed at his assumption that anyone else could even stand a chance at getting her attention when he was anywhere near.
As the pair walked into the foyer of the house, then through the great room to the kitchen, Ben spoke to his buddies as they passed.Ella recognized all five of the guys she had seen earlier in the day.She saw that two of them were snuggled up on the couch with gorgeous girls.Two others appeared to be totally absorbed in an intense video game battle.The other guy from this morning along with several people Ella had never seen before were dancing in the living room.The music was too loud for Ella.
Ben kept a tight grip on Ella’s hand as he guided her through to the kitchen.There, he dropped her hand long enough to grab a bottle of wine, two glasses, and some cheese.Handing it to her, he motioned for her to head out the kitchen door to the patio.He grabbed a blanket from a recliner as they went out.
Once outside, Ella saw the backyard was beautifully landscaped, complete with a pool and hot tub.Both were currently empty, but she had no doubt they would be full before the night was over.Ella was impressed with the size of the backyard, which was huge for Napa.Land came at a premium here.
Ben guided Ella across the yard to a small gazebo at the back of the property.Once inside, Ben spread out the blanket and gestured for Ella to sit.
“The house was nice, but this backyard is unbelievable,” said Ella.“I have never seen one so large in Napa before.”
Nodding Ben replied, “Yeah, inside there is a brochure about the property.I guess another house was back here, but the current owners bought it and tore it down to have this massive outdoor space.Brooksie’s parents know the owners and use this house a lot.I hope you don’t mind that I brought you out here.I wanted the chance to talk to you privately without all that noise.Is that okay?”
“Yes,” replied Ella quietly.“I am not going to lie.That was a lot back there.I am not a party girl.In fact, this is the first party I have ever been to.The loud music and all the people were a bit much for me.How does anyone talk above all the blaring music?”
Ben laughed.“I get it.My buddies eat it up.I can hang with them for a little while, but it gets old.That is why I am always the designated driver.I am not a big drinker.Too much of a good thing is too much for me whether that is food, alcohol, or partying.”
“From the looks of it, that is not the case for your friends.”
“Yep, you are right.They can go hard all night.But enough about them.Let’s open this bottle of wine and get to know each other better.”
Ben had a moment in the house when he hesitated offering her alcohol.She was technically underage.But everyone he knew had been drinking since sixteen.Plus, she lived in Napa and worked at a winery.Surely a glass or two would be no big deal for her.He hoped not anyway.In the end, he had gone with his gut and grabbed the best bottle of wine they had, which happened to be one of the bottles he had bought that day at Henley Winery.She worked there, so surely she liked their wines.Ben held up the bottle for Ella to see, then set about opening it.
“A Henley red wine from 2013.I’m impressed.You paid a pretty penny for that one.Are you sure you want to waste it on me?”Ella asked, eyeing the bottle.
“I realize I have only known you for like ten hours, but I don’t think anything of value would ever be wasted on you.I tried it today and liked it.Since you were the one who suggested we go there, I thought you might like their wine.You do drink wine, right?I am not corrupting you, am I?”
Ella laughed.“Of course you aren’t corrupting me.This is Napa.They all but put wine in our baby bottles.Not really, but wearetaught to appreciate wine here at an early age and not to drink to excess.Wine here is an art.I remember sampling wines with my uncle Pedro about the same time I learned to ride a bike.He only gave me small sips, but he wanted me to develop a distinguished palate.”
“Learning to drink wine while learning to ride a bike,” said Ben as he opened the bottle of wine.“So much for me thinking I was cool drinking my first beer at sixteen.Of course it was with my dad, and I only managed about two sips, but I thought I was grown up.If I had known kids in wine country had our time beat by a country mile, I wouldn’t have been so proud.”
“Y’all?Country mile?You say the strangest things.”Ella said, smiling.
“I guess that is my Southern upbringing coming out in me.”Ben laughed as he handed Ella a glass of wine.He clicked his glass against hers and said, “Cheers to the most beautiful girl I have ever had the pleasure of catching!”
Ella blushed as a giggle escaped before she could stop it.After swirling the wine around the glass for a moment, Ella took a deep sniff and inhaled its essence.Notes of blackberry, pepper, and cherry flooded her nostrils.“This smells divine.”Then she took a long sip.Swallowing, she said, “Wow.That tastes as good as it smells.Good choice.”
“Thank you,” replied Ben.“I’m pleased.Would you like some cheese?”
Shaking her head, Ella said, “No, thank you.I am full from dinner.”
Settling back on his elbows, Ben looked at Ella.“Well, I have to tell you.I have been looking forward to this moment all day.”
“You have?”Ella asked, shocked and deeply thrilled.It made all the times she had anxiously checked the door of the diner worth it.
“From the moment you fell into my arms and then disappeared earlier today, I have thought of nothing else.Why do you think I dragged my buddies to your winery?”
“I don’t know?You wanted to taste some really good wine?”Ella said this questioningly.
“Yea, but Napa is full of great wineries.Only one had you.All day, I have done nothing but finagle a way to spend more time with you.”After taking a sip of his wine, Ben sighed.“Now, tell me something about yourself that no one else knows.”
“Hmm?”Ella hesitated.“I messed up so many dinner orders watching for you to come through the door tonight, my dad almost sent me home.”Embarrassed by her own honesty, she used her wine glass to cover her eyes.
“Sweet,” replied Ben as he sat his and Ella’s wine glasses off to the side.Then he leaned over and grazed his lips with hers.“Now that we have established our mutual attraction, let’s spend some time getting to know each other.I will go first.I am from Arkansas.I graduate in May with my master’s in political science.I plan to go home after graduation and start law school.I had an interesting childhood to say the least, but I am lucky.I have great parents and two little sisters, Lizzy and Lola.They are seven and eight.My dad is a lawyer, and my mom is an artist.”
“Seven and eight?Wow, they are a lot younger than you.”
“Yes, and before you ask, there is a long story behind that, but I would rather not get into it.Now it’s your turn.”
