I don't own Baby Daddy and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Riley stepped back in shock after Ben pulled away from the kiss. He waited expectantly for her reaction and was surprised when she finally recovered. "Ben, outside now." She didn't want to do this in front of everyone, especially since he had caught her off guard.
He knew immediately he had made a mistake and followed her out to the balcony. "I know I surprised you, but I wanted you to have an amazing birthday. I'm sorry."
She sighed. "It was nice of you to want to surprise me, but you really shouldn't have."
Ben felt guilty, but pushed it away. "And the kiss?"
Ah, the kiss. She was shocked by her own reaction to it. She had been waiting for something like this to happen for years, but she felt nothing. It wasn't what Riley had been expecting at all and now she wasn't sure what to do. But she had to let Ben down easily. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. "I'm so sorry. I've had feelings for you for years, but I don't feel that way about you anymore." Fuck, she had been ignoring her feelings for Danny for weeks, especially since he was dating Amy, but they were back in full force now. And Danny and Amy's relationship had just ended a few hours earlier, but he wouldn't tell her why.
It sucked, but Ben knew when to let go. He could move on – After all, he wasn't in love with her. He had seen their relationship heading in that direction. Riley didn't feel the same way about him and that was fine. "Don't worry about it, Riley. I'll be fine."
"I feel really guilty about this." Should she tell Danny the truth about her feelings for him? She didn't want to get rejected. What if this exact same scenario happened with him?
"Don't be." Ben squeezed her shoulder and then ducked back into the house. The guests were milling around, but be quiet. Danny, Tucker, and Bonnie were obviously eavesdropping since they were right next to the window. He just shook his head and laughed. "Danny, you're her best friend. Riley needs you right now."
Danny just smiled and headed outside. He sat down next to Riley. "You okay?"
She shook her head. "Not really sure. I'm guessing you guys heard everything?"
He nodded. "We did. I'm sorry, Riles. I know how you felt about him."
"I'm going to be fine. I just have to deal with the fact that I felt nothing when I kissed a friend I've liked since I was a teenager. It's a little shocking." She tried to work up the courage to tell him she heard his voicemail a few months earlier, but lost her nerve each time.
"It definitely sucks. But your happiness is what matters, not his."
And that's what made up Riley's mind. "So even if you're hurting, all you'd want is for me to be happy?"
Danny nodded again, unsure where this conversation was going. "Of course. If you love someone, you let them go, even though it causes you pain."
Riley grabbed his hand. "I heard the voicemail."
He immediately panicked. "What?" Danny wanted to have a better reply than that, but he froze and couldn't think of anything else.
So she explained to him what had happened. Once she was done, she worriedly waited for his reaction. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but there were so many things in my way. And I was still trying to figure out how I felt. But the kiss with Ben tonight gave me clarity. I know what – or should I say who – I want now. How about you?"
He beamed at her. "Riles, I love you. That's never going to change. It's why I stepped back - even though I didn't want to - when Ben started liking you."
She grinned. "That's good to hear."
Danny pulled her in for a hug. "I'm going to kiss you now."
"Go for it." She closed her eyes as he pulled back and kissed her. This time, it was like electricity. It was nothing compared to the kiss Ben had just surprised her with. "Wow," she murmured once he pulled away.
"Good wow?"
"Yes, it was a good way. I definitely felt something that time." She was excited about that and couldn't wait to kiss him some more.
"I'm happy you did."
"And I'm not a rebound or anything like that?" Riley didn't think so, but she had to make sure.
"Definitely not. Amy was my attempt at getting over you, but it didn't exactly work." And that's when he remembered the tattoo. "I have to show you something."
"What do you have to show me?"
He sighed. "You remember when we got really drunk a few weeks ago and I decided to get Amy's name tattooed on me?" He was a little worried about what she'd say.
"Yeah, I do. What's that have to do with anything?" She was confused.
He pulled his sleeve up and showed her. "You were right there and I guess I was thinking about you instead of her. I'm surprised I didn't get caught by Amy, now that I think about it. I was really lucky." He didn't mention how paranoid Amy had been in the last few weeks of their relationship since that might hurt her.
Riley surprised herself by laughing. "Oh my God, Danny. I can't believe that my name is tattooed on you. It's sweet, though. You planning on keeping it?" She wasn't sure how she felt about it.
He laughed right along with her. "I haven't decided yet. I was going to get rid of it when I was still with Amy, but now we're together. We are together, right?"
"Yes. And don't get rid of the tattoo. I actually like it." With one hand on the tattoo, she kissed him again. "We need to do that some more. Preferably when we don't have an audience."
"Right there with you." He grabbed her hand and the two walked back into the apartment as everyone scrambled to pretend like they hadn't been listening.
Riley was glad Ben kissed her because it made her realize what was best in the long run. She had ended up with the right Wheeler brother in the end. And Ben eventually moved on himself, with a single mother he met while taking Emma to the park. Things were exactly the way they should be.