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“I...yeah,” she stuttered, physically unable to pull her eyes away from his, let alone make words. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Boy, this is going well.
He pulled his hand away from Nick’s and extended both arms out, inviting her in for a hug.
Oh, OK. We’re doing this.
She tentatively approached him and reached out; due to their height difference, her arms ended up around his waist as his closed tightly around her upper back.
“Wow,” she said aloud, as they pulled away from each other after a few seconds. “You are hard. I mean, not hard like, you...your abs. I mean...”
“You’ll have to excuse my cousin. Apparently, this is her first time seeing an actual man live and in person,” Nick teased. She watched a huge smile creep over Ryan’s face as he blushed.
“I just…”
She looked at Ryan, then back at Nick, who gave her a look that she’s pretty sure translated to, “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?”
“Shut it, Nicholas.”
“Well listen, as much as I hate to miss the rest of this shit show, Mark and I have to go for food tasting at the venue. Just how I want to spend my Saturday, sitting in traffic on the Belt Parkway. I swear, I’ll be so happy when all of this wedding crap is over. He’s driving me bonkers. Like, can we just go to the courthouse?”
“When’s the wedding again?” Ryan asked.
“November, right at the week-long break. So about two months. Not soon enough.” He made his way over to Amara and leaned in, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. “Have fun getting settled in, and try not to embarrass yourself any further in front of this stud, OK?” He laughed, shaking his head. “You are hard! Loser.”
She punched his arm as she walked him over to the door. “You are an ass.”
“Love you too! And I’ll see you at our first practice Monday, Baylor. Have fun with,” he opened the door with one hand and made a circular motion toward Amara with the other, “all of that.” He left the apartment, closing the door behind him and leaving just the two of them standing in the kitchen, where an awkward silence ensued.
“Oh, um, so these flowers are yours,” he finally said, pointing to the bouquet that he’d half-assedly crammed into a plastic pitcher. “I didn’t know what to put them in, obviously. But I was told to tell you that they’re not from the dusty rook. They’re from the two hotties on the fourth floor.”
Amara shook her head and shrugged. “I can honestly say that I don’t understand a single word you just said.”
They both laughed. “A couple of my teammates live two floors down. They came to visit last night and brought those for you. Nick filled them in on…you know, this whole situation.”
“Of course he did,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Quite the gossip, that one. If you have any secrets, keep them far from my cousin, OK?” She peered into the pitcher and smirked, looking over at him.
Holy shit, could he be more beautiful?
“Nice attempt at a vase though. I’m surprised they’re not sticking out of the toilet tank.”
“Give me some credit. At least I knew to put them in water.”
She rooted around in the cabinets, finally locating a vase and transferring them into it, as another awkward silence came over them.
“OK,” she finally said, slapping her hands against the countertop. “Here it is. So, this is a little weird for me. I haven’t lived with anyone besides my ex-husband, like ever. I am gonna try my best not to get in your way or make this any weirder for you than it probably already is. I’m sorry, but do you have any idea how gorgeous you are? Wow, I just said that out loud, didn’t I? And I’m rambling. I do that when I’m nervous. Oh my God,” she said, burying her face in her hands and leaning onto her elbows on the kitchen countertop. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. Really. I’ve been living with random strange people since I was 15, so I’m basically a pro. It’s just part of the game. I mean, not that you’re strange. Honestly, I’m glad it’s a pretty woman and not some psychopath. That’s, you know, assuming that you’re not also a psychopath.” He shrugged, and as she lifted her head, he smiled at her. “Seriously, it’s not that weird for me. Just another living situation. Anyway, wanna see your room?” He motioned for her to come with him, so she did. “I thought you should have the room with the bathroom in it. I’ll just use the spare one in the hallway. It’s not a big deal.”
“Thanks,” she said, as he pointed towards her door. “You didn’t have to. That’s sweet.”
“I try. But don’t get it twisted. I’m a monumental pain in the ass. I mean it. I look all cute and innocent, but give it a week and you’ll wanna murder me.”
“Mmm, I doubt that,” she said, tucking her long, dark hair behind her ear and taking another inventory of his body. He was seriously perfection. “I mean it though, Ryan, I won’t be in your way, OK? Do your thing, whatever that looks like, and don’t worry about me. You won’t even know I’m here,” she said, as she cracked open the door to her room. “Oh, side note: the apartment’s been paid up through January, so you don’t need to worry about rent until then. We can talk about splitting up the other bills later.”
He looked at her, utterly confused. “Wow. Um, why? I mean, thanks. But why would you do that?”
“It’s just a small way for me to say thank you for letting me live here. I was…I really needed to get away from where I was, and it’s cool of you to agree to this is all. Anyway, I guess I should start unpacking my stuff,” she said, as she turned to walk back down the hall to retrieve her bags from the living room.
