I gulped. “Maybe, I’m not sure.”
“I know we’ve only been friends, uh,roommates,for a little while so I don’t think it’s my place to give advice, but…”
“We’re friends,” I barked out, recoiling at the aggression there. “We are friends, Ryann.”
“Right.” She grinned up at me, her gaze dropping to my mouth for a second.
I sighed and was about to respond when Paxton came into view. I let go of her arm so fast she had to take a step to settle herself, and I felt like such an asshole. It was a dick move, and I regretted it.
“Shit, no, I’m sorry.”
Her eyes hardened, but it was brief. She pressed her lips together just as Paxton walked up to us and smiled.
“Hey, Baby Reiner.” He grinned big at her before eyeing me. “Bro, heard you’re living with Reiner’s sister. Can’t wait to see the place.” The guy winked at Ryann and held out a fist to her. She fist-bumped him and grinned back.
“Weird coincidence we’re roommates,” she said, laughing and elbowing me in the side. “There was a bit of a name mix-up, if you can imagine.”
Paxton nodded, eyeing her for a second. “Ryann is typically a boy’s name.”
“There we have it.”
Paxton jutted his chin toward me. “You guys heading to a party or something? I’m bored.”
Ryann looked up at me, her blue eyes wide and clear and filled withsympathy,and my throat closed. She shook her head and let out a small chuckle. “No. I forced this ray of sunshine to get ice cream with me. I’m having a shitty day and wanted sweets.”
Paxton liked that answer and laughed. “God, ray of sunshine. Fitting.”
“Fuck off, Paxton,” I said, unsure if I was annoyed at him or how well he knew Ryann. It seemed pretty well.
He clapped my shoulder and started moving past us. He put his hands in his pockets, whistling as he walked down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. My neck prickled with irritation, my emotions getting the best of me.
“How do you know Paxton?” I foolishly asked, adding another reason for Ryann to punch me in the gut. She’d covered for me instead of spilling my secrets, and I had no idea how to thank her, yet my dumb ass was making it worse by speaking. At this point, I was lucky she’d even look at me.
“My brother is best friends with the twins, and they hung out with me a bit last year.” She put her hands in her sweatshirt pocket and hummed again. “It’s just up here. Come on.”
I remained silent as she skipped toward a door toColleen’s Cookiesand opened it for me. She wiggled her brows once we were inside, and she went to the cashier. “The mega-dreambar, please.”
“I got it,” I said, handing my card to the woman before Ryann could. “I insist.”
Ryann frowned for one second before shrugging. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
The employee handed me the card back, and Ryann went to the other end of the counter with a dreamy expression that I only wore when I was on the ice. She was cute. Her messy hair, her long legs, the way she kept licking her lips as she stared at the various ice creams in the cooler. Ryann had a joy about her that was trouble because the more I was around it, the more I wanted to stay there.
They called Ryann’s name, and she cheered before grabbing a huge cookie and ice cream dessert. She found the closest table and sat down before taking a bite out of it and closing her eyes. “Ohmygod,” she moaned, and I cleared my throat.
“Ryann, your sounds are…obscene.”
She flashed her eyes at me, shrugging. “Don’t care. Take a bite and try to keep it in your pants.”
She lifted it straight to my mouth, and I leaned in to take a bite. It was juvenile to think about us sharing food, but it felt intimate, like people who knew each other well. The flavors burst into my mouth, vanilla, chocolate, caramel. My eyes closed, and I groaned, not quite as loud as she did butholy shit.
“Told you. God, is this what winning a game feels like? I feel smug.”
My lips curved up at her, and we shared a heated look. Was she thinking about earlier? She took another bite of the dessert and crossed her eyes. I laughed.
She was ridiculous.
