Ronan looks up from under his makeshift ice pack at Chloe with a wrinkled brow. Then he turns to me.
“I walked her in and tried putting her right to bed but she insisted on me saving her “thugtank” from any probable vomit. So, I gave her my shirt and put her in the bathroom to change.”
“My hero,” Chloe says and Ronan rolls his eyes playfully, bringing the fruit back to his face.
“I didn’t have a car.” He looks back to Chloe. “Or a shirt. So, I fed us each a glass of water and slept on the couch. And apparently forgot to charge her phone.”
“You guys realize it’s the middle of the afternoon, right?” I say.
“She wouldn’t let me leave.”
“I woke up late andThe Goonieswas on. Nothing happens whenTheGooniesis on,” Chloe says matter-of-factly.
“She was all,'Don’t ask questions, Sonny. Take a seat’.”
“Gambino,” we both say, looking at each other knowingly.
“Okay, well, you freaked me out,” I say.
“I got that,” Ronan says.
“Yeah, that’s my bad.”
“It’s fine. You pack a killer punch. Jay will be proud.”
I smile in the cheesiest way, thinking about him and missing him all the same.
“I’ll makesure to tell him when I see him,” he continues. “I was just heading out.” Ronan hands the fruit to me and turns to Chloe who looks at him confused.
“I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure it’d be frowned upon to enter the establishment in which I work and own, not covering my nipples.”
“Well, that does not sound like any sort of establishment that I’m interested in,” Chloe quips.
Her familiar smile tells me there's a probable chance she's more than interested in both Ronan and his business. She goes into her room to change shirts, leaving Ronan and I alone for the first time.
It may be because I'm seeing him shirtless or just that the bar fight look is working for him, but suddenly I understand Chloe's interest. Ronan is objectively a very handsome guy.
“I’m really sorry, again,” I say.
“Don’t be,” he laughs. “Chloe’s lucky to have a friend who’s so…passionate.”
“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have heard from Jay, would you?”
“No, my phone’s dead too. Why? Is something wrong?”
I hesitate to tell him about anything with his brother. It just doesn’t seem like my place to say, and as far as not hearing from him during the day, it’s not something I’m necessarily worried about. I’d love to get a reply, sure, but we all know despite his schedule, he’s a man of very few words.
“No, no, I just haven’t heard from him yet today.”
“You know how he is. I’m sure he’ll call you after work.”
Chloe comes back out in a neon yellow t-shirt with a chicken on it wearing sunglasses and tosses Ronan his shirt back. He throws it over his head, careful to avoid his nose which is no longer bleeding but is already starting to bruise.
“I’ll see you ladies later,” he says as he walks toward the door. I shoot Chloe afollow himlook and she hurries to meet him.
“For real, thank you for last night,” she says. “And this morning.”
Ronan leans in just inches from her mouth and says, “It’s okay, Goonies always make mistakes.” Chloe’s lips part, but right before he brushes them with his, he tilts his head, landing a gentle kiss on her cheek.
