Shit. Now, I’ve made him uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”
“No. It’s fine.” He smiles, but it’s tinged with sadness. “It was a car accident. Our dad left when I was a baby, and we didn’t have any other family that we were aware of so Trey stepped up.” Heshrugs, but it feels more like an attempt to end the conversation than to dismiss what happened.
“He sounds pretty awesome.”
“He is.” Ryan smiles and takes a bite of pasta. I decide not to press further and we continue to eat, but the silence is starting to weigh on me. I hate silence.
Searching my mind for something to talk about I finally ask, “So you work for your brother, right?”
“It’s J.T.’s shop, not Trey’s, but we’re going to open our own shop eventually, once I finish business school. That’s the plan, at least.”
“Cool,” I say. “I have absolutely no idea what I want to do once I graduate. I chose Communications because I figured it left me with a lot of options.”
“Seems as good a reason as any.”
We’re both smiling at each other, and I’m thinking we’re going to kiss again, when the front door bursts open, making us both jump. A beefy guy with sandy-blond hair walks in with a hand held over his eyes. “Everybody decent,” he shouts as if the door crashing open wasn’t warning enough of his arrival.
“Open your eyes, asshole.” Ryan throws a pillow, smacking his friend in the temple.
“Hey,” the guy shouts, rubbing his head. “Just trying to be respectful. Damn.”
Ryan waves a hand from me to his friend and back again. “Charlie, Dave; Dave, Charlie,” he says by way of introduction.
I wave hello, but Dave doesn’t notice me. He’s too busy ogling our food.
“Bro,” Dave says, his tone reverent. “Is that Chicken Parm?”
This must be a fairly normal occurrence here because Ryan doesn’t even blink at his friend’s over-the-top behavior. “It’s in the fridge.”
Dave pumps his fist. “Yes.” He points a finger at Ryan and says, “I love you, man,” and hurries into the kitchen like a kid in a candy store.
Ryan shrugs. “We could go watch TV in my room?”
“Sounds great,” I say.
Now I’ll just cross my fingers and hope TV’s a euphemism for sex because I am totally ready for round two.
Chapter 7
Who Pissed in Your Cereal?
Ryan
Me:Hey. Can I see you tonight?
Charlie:And miss togetherness time with my family?
Charlie:Yes, please! What time?
Me:I get off at 5 so 6:30?
Charlie:Awesome! I’ll meet you at your place.
Me:I can come pick you up.
Charlie:That’s okay. I don’t mind.
I set my phone down and rub my eyes. She obviously doesn’t want me to meet her family, which irks. Though if I’m being honest, I probably wouldn’t want a guy like me meeting my family either, if I were Charlie.
