Accept This Dandelion (8 page)

Half a week had passed since the last show aired, and Ben was beside himself. He couldn’t stop second-guessing his choices. Going into the elimination ceremony, he wanted to keep Renee around longer. She intrigued him and kept him guessing. He never knew what she would do, and he liked that. More than anything else, she was real, and she didn’t try too hard to impress him.

But it didn’t matter what Ben thought about Renee. Love was a two way street and after hearing her comments regarding him, he wasn’t positive she liked him.

Ben refused to listen to her on the radio the next morning. He didn’t need to be lambasted in public again. The only reason he wanted to see her again at all was to make sure she understood who was in charge. If he fell in love on the silly show, he needed it to be with someone who loved him back. And if Renee didn’t think it even slightly possible, she needed to step up and say so. She accepted his dandelions, and as ridiculous as it sounded, that should mean something.

As Ben prepared for the next round of dates, he steeled himself against the women. He sensed many of them weren’t there for the right reasons. Some appeared in hopes of local fame while others wanted a little fun. This week Ben promised to weed those women out. If all they wanted was his money and what he could do for them, they should go back to wherever they came from. He wasn’t up to games any longer.

* * *

Renee knew this particular date was the most important thus far in the process. What Ben thought of her
mattered.
Of course, it made a difference all along in terms of whether or not she would stay on the show, but now, Renee really wanted him to recognize who she was.

So far, he’d seen a prankster who lit herself on fire, pushed him into pools, ripped open her dress, danced like a maniac, and talked bad about him behind his back. Renee hoped more than anything that Ben listened to her on the radio the morning after the last show aired. It was a long shot, but her comments there would help her case.

Ben had been on a date the day before, and Renee heard nothing about it. She hoped she would get some details from someone so she wouldn’t be surprised when the show aired. But for now, she needed to concentrate on her own date.

The four contestants going on the date were told to wear casual clothing, and as Renee glanced around the sparsely lit studio where the women gathered, she realized casual meant unique things to different people. Clara had on the shortest shorts humanly possible to accentuate her mile-long legs while Tracy had on a mini-dress and high heels. Renee wore jeans and a decent top. She was glad when Eva walked into the room with jeans on as well, though she had on heels.

“I’m so happy to see a friend on this date.” Renee watched Clara and Tracy check themselves out in the nearby mirror.

“They’re definitely in a different league.” Eva glanced over at the other women.

“The outer space one.” Renee laughed as Eva grabbed her arm and nodded in agreement.

Mike, the producer, entered the studio and garnered the women’s attention with a sound snap of his clipboard. “Ladies. Today you will be driving so I hope you’re comfortable.” He gave Tracy and Clara the once over as he continued. “Before you take the shuttle to the sight of the shoot, I’d like a word with you, Renee.”

“Oo, you’re in trouble,” Eva cooed as Renee followed Mike off the small set.

Mike turned to her in a dark corner of the set. “Renee, I need to know what to expect from you.”

“Excuse me?” Renee frowned.

Mike sighed. “We will be around high-powered vehicles today. If there are going to be any fires, I need to have the right crews on hand.”

Renee raised her eyebrows. “Are you serious? I don’t light fires for fun. I didn’t set anything at all on fire last week.” She realized how silly her statement sounded.

Mike nodded. “True, true, but a lot worse can go wrong in a car.”

“Worse than catching fire?”

“Maybe not.”

“Look, I think you and I got off on the wrong foot, Mike,” Renee said with sincerity. She knew Mike had Ben’s ear, and if she wanted to fix the impression she made on Ben, she needed to start over with Mike as well. “I apologize for any havoc I created. I haven’t meant to cause trouble.”

“You didn’t mean to push our bachelor into the pool?”

Renee sighed. “That I meant. But I didn’t intend to start any fires, and I certainly don’t want to do any harm.”

Mike glanced down at his clipboard. “Just be careful, okay?”

“With the cars?” Renee sensed the change in Mike’s mood.

“With Ben,” he replied before he rushed off to corral the women for the shuttle.

* * *

Renee didn’t have much time to think about what Mike meant because the ride to the track was short, and Eva talked next to her the whole drive. Once they arrived, Renee realized they really would be driving. A few small cars lined the track, and the smell of fresh dirt hung in the air. They were going to race.

The only race Renee had ever been in involved go-carts. This was more serious, but she could handle it. After all, she regularly went above the speed limit on the interstate…to keep up with traffic, of course.

Clara teetered on her high heels, and Tracy pulled at her short skirt. They might not be comfortable in their chosen casual attire. Renee was glad she wore her sneakers and jeans.

When Ben arrived in a racing jumpsuit, all of Renee’s thoughts regarding everyone’s attire vanished. The suit hugged Ben in all the right places, and the helmet beneath his arm made him appear slightly dangerous. Something about danger drew a woman to a man.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Ben gave a little bow. “Thank you for coming today. It’s only right to inform you of what happened yesterday.”

Renee squinted into the sun. Ben’s date with the other four contestants. She was curious about what they did, but since he didn’t usually share details, she was surprised he would spill any now.

“Yesterday I went on a date with the other four participants left on the show,” Ben continued. “But I had an awakening of sorts, and before the date began, I asked each of them to leave.”

Renee blinked as Tracy gasped beside her.

“It came to my attention that some of the women who auditioned for the show didn’t come to find love.” Ben looked at each of the ladies in turn. Renee squirmed when his gaze fell to her face. Was he talking to her? Did he know about the radio gig she wanted to secure? “I realize fame and fortune are tempting, but I want each of you to understand those things are icing on the cake.”

Renee checked the row of women. There was really only four of them left?

“And I, as corny as it sounds, am the cake.”

Clara giggled, and Renee attempted to stifle her own laughter.

“What I’m saying is I want you to be here because you want
me
and not something I can offer you. If any of you have dreams of riches, you may as well leave now.”

The silence permeated the air as Ben inspected the row of contestants again.

“Yesterday, I gave the women the same out I offer you. One of them took it. She was the only honest one in the bunch. I may not know you ladies well, but I knew enough about those on the date yesterday to realize what they wanted. One of the things they didn’t want was to fall in love with me for who I am.”

Renee squirmed. She certainly didn’t plan to leave on her own, but Ben might force her to go if she didn’t admit her reasons for auditioning.

“I sense more honesty from the group we have here today.” Ben paused, his gaze on Eva. “Each of you has shown me a true side to yourself, and that gives me hope for a relationship and a future.”

Renee pictured Clara and Tracy standing beside her. She couldn’t believe she was in the same category as those two. What had they shown him other than their bikini-clad bodies? Now certainly wasn’t the time for jealousy.

“I asked each of you to accept a dandelion at the last elimination ceremony, and I meant it.” Ben shifted his helmet to his other arm. “If your opinion of me doesn’t measure up, I would ask that you simply own up to it.” He stared at Renee.

Renee took a step forward. She didn’t know what she would say, but she had to make a move.

“There…there’s something I need to tell you,” she stuttered. Renee knew she needed to clear the air between them faster than the race cars sitting nearby. If she didn’t, she might be gone in sixty seconds…or less.

Ben jerked his head to the left, and Renee followed his lead. They walked silently to a small alcove beneath the stands where spectators would go to get refreshments during an event. Once out of view, Renee exhaled. The camera that followed them eyed her closely. There was no turning back.

“I need to apologize.” Renee lifted her eyes to meet Ben’s. “I’m sure you watched last week’s show, and you heard a few things come from my mouth that weren’t exactly complimentary.”

Ben scoffed. Renee knew she deserved any cynicism he had to offer.

“I am no different than the women you sent home yesterday.” Renee meant it in more than one way. “I judged you before the tapings started. I had my ideas about you, and I didn’t give you a chance to prove yourself before I made up my mind.”

Renee searched his face. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought he almost looked amused. She decided to forge ahead.

“Ben, I really appreciated what you said at the last dandelion ceremony. I realized how wrong I was to jump to conclusions. Even though everything you did up to that point backed up what I thought…I think I was seeing what I wanted to see. And now, well, I
want
to see something different, and I believe what I’m starting to see is much more in line with who you really are.”

Ben’s look turned to one of confusion. Renee couldn’t blame him. She was talking in circles and moving her hands around just as fast.

“What I’m trying to say,”
she
went on, doing her best to get her point across and glancing over at the intruding camera, “is I do really want to be here. I honestly don’t know what might be between us, but I hope to find out. You must be angry with me, and I completely understand. But no matter what I said or did before, I truly want to get to know you for you.” Renee found herself poking Ben in the chest until her pointer finger hurt.

“I hope we can move beyond my insults. Maybe I should shower you with compliments now to make up for it.” Renee rambled faster than she ever did on the radio. She took Ben’s silence as permission to keep going. “I think you have a kind heart under here.” She poked his shoulder and felt the muscles below his racing suit. “You showed real respect for the women on the second date last week and proved you can treat a woman right if you try.” Renee paused. Perhaps she wasn’t complimenting the correct attributes. Men were physical creatures who appreciated beauty, right?

“And your eyes are more incredible than anything I’ve ever seen.” Renee took a step closer to Ben and laid her hand flat on his chest. She didn’t mean to invade the space between them entirely. She just needed to be closer to him. “It’s not their color really.” His breath warmed her face as she took another step forward. “It’s more the way they see me…or through me, I should say. It’s like they…”

All the air rushed out of Renee as Ben placed his hand over hers and curled his fingers around her wrist. Before she finished her comment, thoughts in her mind completely disappeared as her voice was silenced with Ben’s lips upon hers.

Renee was so surprised she forgot to close her eyes. She even glanced at the camera to see if the person operating it could explain what was happening. She didn’t know what to do. One second she was apologizing profusely, and the next, she was wrapped in Ben’s arms, kissing him.

As Renee began to enjoy the softness of his lips and the security of his embrace, she quickly decided to stop analyzing everything and go with the flow. She pulled her hand from beneath his and wrapped it around his neck, placing her fingers in his dark hair and toying with its soft texture.

Just when Renee began to enjoy every aspect of the kiss, Ben pulled back.

“Finally,” he said with a small smile as he placed his forehead on hers.

“Finally what?”

“You stopped talking.”

Renee’s face flushed. She poured her heart out to him, and he kissed her to get her to pipe down? The rush of the moment fell to the bottom of her feet as she jerked her head away from his.

“I’ll have you know people all over this city enjoy listening to me talk.”

Ben chuckled, grabbing her hand. “You’re doing it again.” He pulled her back toward him and put his hands on her waist.

“What?” She fought him off.

“Jumping to conclusions,” he said into her ear. “You think I kissed you to get you to stop talking, right?”

Renee didn’t say anything. For once, she was going to give him the silence he wanted.

“I kissed you to tell you I accept your apology. And because I wanted to.” Ben whispered the last part so the camera wouldn’t pick it up.

Renee found herself speechless.

“I’m used to it. People judge me all the time. And I’ve certainly given them plenty of reason to do so.” Ben shrugged. “But I appreciate you saying you plan to let my true colors shine through before you reach any final conclusions. And, Renee,” he said, pulling her closer, “I meant what I said the first time we met. I’m no firefighter. There’s something between us, and I’m not going to do anything at all to put it out.”