Teo shrugged. “Sometimes she doesn’t. She’s been working on this book for at least six months, and I have no idea if it’s even close to being done. But she told me she sets aside a little time every week and sets achievable goals so she’s always moving forward.”
“Yeah, I guess I could try that.”
Iz snorted. “The day Ryan DeMarco sets an achievable goal is the day I will let him take me for a ride on his stupid motorcycle.”
“She’s not stupid.”
Iz had a point, though. He was a “go big or go home” kind of goal setter, but it rarely worked out great for him. It left him frustrated and discouraged, and he usually dropped whatever it was. Or scrambled at the last minute to complete something and was disappointed in the final product.
“No, she’s not,” Teo jumped in before Iz’s teasing could get under Ryan’s skin. “And neither are you, but your ADHD brain means you gotta chunk it down, man. Small, quick goals will likely work best for you.”
“You should listen to my brilliant clinical social worker boyfriend who works with neurodivergent kids all day.” Iz waved their chopsticks around wildly.
“Yeah, I should. Doesn’t mean I will.”
“Ass.” But Iz said it with a wink.
Teo had a point, but breaking down his big ideas was as difficult as meeting his unreasonable goals. Maybe someday he’d have the time and patience for it. Or he’d find a therapist who could help him with that shit. But not today.
They finished dinner, then the movie, and Ryan turned in embarrassingly early. It wasn’t even nine. But as tired as he was, Ryan found himself staring at the stain on the ceiling that looked strangely like a hippopotamus. Whenever he closed his eyes, Elissa’s face, scent, and voice filled the void.
His cock hardened. Dammit, he did not need to have sexy thoughts about someone who didn’t want him, especially when he was going to work with her over the next few months. If he tried to take care of this the usual way, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to look her in the eyes on Monday afternoon.
Fuck. He threw off the covers, stumbled to the bathroom, and took the coldest shower of his life.
It didn’t help. Instead, all he could think of was her voice on the phone, husky with some secret emotion. God, he hoped it was desire.
He squeezed his cock, trying to relieve the pressure. As the cold water pelted his back, he imagined his hand was hers, and she was in the shower with him, water streaming down her pale skin and trickling between her breasts.
His dick hardened in his hand, not the direction he wanted this to go. But it was a harmless fantasy. He stroked, faster, harder, all the while imagining her lips, her hands, her skin, her scent, the little sounds she might make. It took an embarrassingly short time for him to shoot his load against the tile.
Ryan thunked his head against the wall and turned up the temperature. Monday was going to be hell.
nineteen
it’s just pizza
Elissa pulled into her parents’ driveway on Sunday evening. They were leaving for the conference first thing in the morning, so she would be taking Leo to school. Hopefully, Jules and whatever boy toy she found available would appreciate the alone time.
She knocked on the door, but when no one answered, she walked in. Loud voices echoed down the hall, coming from the kitchen. Elissa left her suitcase in the entry and headed toward the yelling.
“When were you going to tell us you dropped out of community college, Ami?” her mom shouted.
Oh, snap.
“I’m done, Mom,” Ami shouted right back. “I hate school. Hate it. I can’t get it right. Can’t you just let me do my own thing?”
“Your own thing?”
Elissa resisted the urge to cover her ears as her mother’s voice rose in pitch.
“Dana.” Her dad’s softer voice stopped her mother as Elissa walked into the kitchen.
“Don’t you always do your own thing?” Elissa meant it to be a joke, but the way Ami’s eyes sparked with anger told her it hadn’t been received that way.
“I don’t need your shit, too, Lissa. Why do you think I got here early? Mom and Dad are bad enough.” Her sister’s cheeks were red with anger.
“Ami!” Mom snapped. “Swear jar, now!”
