SIXTEEN
Lisa
“So, what you’re saying is, you’ve been a big slut-puppy?”
Honestly, Ryan’s bed partner number didn’t surprise her. She would have been more shocked had it been single digits. With that body, that face, and the charm he carried like a favorite spring coat, there was no way women wouldn’t have flocked to his bed.
She’d be lying if she didn’t feel the tiniest pinch of envy, but that was to be expected. Lisa had always been possessive of her things.
And she supposed that included Ryan, since he’d been hers long ago.
“There weren’t any long-term relationships among them?”
“There was one.” He answered, and another pinch twisted low in her abdomen, so she moved the wide straw into her mouth and sucked the semi-sweet boba tea. Then he smirked and added, “Or it could have been long-term, but you kicked my ass to the curb.”
The choke nearly became fatal, and a dramatic Lisa coughed and blinked across the sofa at him.
“That wasn’t funny,” she said, scowling at his laughing face.
“It was a little funny. Do you feel guilty that you’ve been my only prospect for a relationship?”
Yes. No.
“You just told me you’ve had an army’s worth of women; if you can’t find a girlfriend in there, that’s on you. You’re too fussy.”
He rumbled a noise, rubbing a hand over his face scruff, so short-clipped around his mouth, it really made him look ruggedly sexy.
“What can I say? I had the best. A guy’s gonna be fussy with choosing after that, yeah?”
Oh, wow. The charisma on him. Lisa busied her mouth with the straw. “Mmm. I love this. Boba tea is my one weakness.”
Ryan snorted as she reached for the TV remote and switched it on. She gave him a speculative glance over her shoulder before settling back onto the couch.
“You’ve said that about ten different things this week alone.”
“Psh,” she answered with a dismissive smile.
“So. What’s your body count, sweetheart?”
Lisa chewed on the sweet tapioca pearl in her mouth before answering. “I can’t tell you how many people I’ve killed because that will make you an accessory. Your face is far too pretty for prison; they’d pass you around like English toffees.”
“You think I’m pretty, huh? That’s a start.” Before she could question what he meant, Ryan went on, “What are we watching?”
It was late, but she hadn’t considered telling him to go home. The truth was, she really enjoyed Ryan’s company. He was easy-going and fun to talk to.
“I don’t think you’d like my shows.”
“Why not? I don’t care what we watch. You’re letting me hang out. Put it on.”
“It doesn’t have action; nothing gets blown up. Unless it’s a Chinese fantasy show. There isn’t any sex. Oh, and it’s subtitles.”
“Put on your show, sweetheart; let’s see what you like.” He said, relaxing his whole body into the softness of her couch. There was an empty seat, but Lisa could still feel him radiating heat with his legs spread wide.
“Okay, but don’t complain! Asian dramas are my one weakness, and I’ll kick you out if you say one negative word.” She warned.
“Your one weakness...” he flashed a smile.
She pressed play on one of her favorite dramas, with minimal romance but all the swoony heart-flutter feels and a great plotline about found family and connection.
She kept sneaking glances at Ryan to see how he was reacting to the show. His side profile was so sharp, with a jawline that could cut glass, and she knew right away she needed to stop staring if she wanted to stay calm.
About twenty minutes in, he sat forward, resting his arms on his thighs and letting his clasped hands dangle between them. “Fuck me, I didn’t know I’d have reading subtitles homework,” he chuckled. “And this is what you watch all the time?”
“Predominantly. But, Ryan...” she waited until he cast a side glance her way. “I don’t need the subtitles on.” She poked her tongue into her cheek. He pulled a face and switched back to the TV. “You’re an overachiever.”
Forty-four minutes later, once the show ended on a mini cliffhanger, she hit pause.
“What’s gonna happen to that guy? Does he fall off the roof?”
“I guess you’ll have to find out by watching the next episode. Another time, though, I’m tired.”
“That means you’re inviting me again. Accepted.” He shamelessly smirked.
Before Ryan put his boots on, Lisa’s phone rang. Seeing it was Nina, she answered.
“Hey, Nina. Anything wrong?”
“No, babe. Just checking you got home.”
“Of course. Where else would I be?” Turning to Ryan, she put a finger to her lips for him to remain quiet, but he proved he was a disobedient slut-puppy when he smirked and announced, “I’ll load the dishwasher, sweetheart.”
Oh, that little brat.
She pulled a face at him as she listened to Nina’s audible inhale.
“Is Splice there in the house? He’s loading your dishwasher?”
Going on the offensive, as any decent best friend would do when cornered, Lisa exclaimed, “You were the one who pushed me to get into his truck!”
“Yeah, to bring you home, not to invite him in! What’s going on? Why is he loading your dishwasher?”
“Ryan made some food earlier.”
“Splice cooked?!”
“Are you going to repeat everything I’m saying?” laughed Lisa, and then, before she knew it, a muscular bare arm came around her front, and Ryan plucked the phone out of her grasp, pressing speakerphone.
“Nina, you’ve got me.”
“Why are you in my friend’s house, Splice? Don’t play any of your charms on her!” Nina cautioned.
Looking directly at Lisa while he spoke to Nina, he said, “Who do you think taught me the charms I have, hm?”
“Oh my fucking God,” Nina yelled.
“Oh my God,” Lisa groaned, her hand creeping up to her throat, scandalized that he’d even dare say it. But the twinkly-eyed monster was smiling at her.
She didn’t blink, still locked in his gaze. Lisa felt totally exposed, glued to the spot in her living room, her skin burning up.
“You don’t have to protect Lisa from me, Nina.”
“What are your intentions with her?” her friend shamelessly asked, and Lisa unglued her feet to grab the phone, but Ryan held it aloft. And because he was as tall as a high-rise building, there was little to no chance of her retrieving it.
“Don’t you answer that,” she told him. “Nina is joking. Say goodnight, Nina.”
They both carried on as if Lisa wasn’t in the room, and she swallowed a groan, that hand tightening around her throat as if she could choke herself out of whatever this situation was.
“I intend to pursue her.” He announced as if he were dropping an atom bomb in the room. Lisa looked up and met his gaze, and he was totally focused on her, like he was talking just to her, not Nina.
He was going to pursue her.
He’d said that, right? She wasn’t hearing things.
“You want to pursue my friend… romantically? My friend?” Nina’s voice rose higher in tone.
“I’ve known Lisa longer than you have. That makes her more mine than yours.” He said brazenly, winking at her.
Oh, Lord, now they were having a possessive verbal tussle over her?
Why were Lisa’s toes burning?
Why were her knees quaking?
That damn atom bomb’s fault.
“Any more questions? I wanna spend a few minutes with Lisa before I head home.”
“Come to the house in the morning for breakfast. I’m not finished with you, Splice.”
“Nope. I wanna have breakfast with Lisa.” he sent another wink her way, like he thought he hadn’t quaked the entire ground out from underneath her with his announcement.
What did it even mean to pursue someone, anyway?
Did he want to date? Or something else?
That’s when Nina shrieked again. “You’re staying the night in her bed?”
Lisa took her opportunity when Ryan’s hand lowered, and she sprang forward to grasp the phone. Breathlessly, she told Nina. “He is not staying the night, nor in my bed. I’m showing him the door now.”
At her side, Ryan chuckled and then prowled into the hallway to put on his boots and jacket.
“Girl, take me off speaker,” Nina said, and as soon as Lisa told her she had, Nina cackled. “I am so giddy right now. You’ve brought the infamous whore of Utah to his knees, Lise.”
“Oh my God, I have not. I’m going to kill you for this.”
“You’ll thank me,” she amended. “I got things moving along, didn’t I? Look how possessive he got so fast.”
“You’d better do your stretches for the next time I see you. We’re going to roll around in the street.”
“Tell her to get off the phone and torture Tomb; he likes it.” Ryan had come up behind her without Lisa realizing it, and she trembled at his nearness, still discombobulated by his words moments ago.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yep. You tell Splice if he dares mess you around, I’ll sic my big bad hubby on him.”
“I’m not telling him that. Goodnight.” She hung up and exhaled.
“What did Nina want me to know?”
She swung around on him and tried to glare, but the light in his eyes made Ryan look extra dashing and belly-churningly good.
Oh, God. She hoped he wouldn’t become her one weakness.
That couldn’t happen.
She had to stop it from happening.
“Never you mind.”
He chuckled. “Have I flustered you, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know why you said all that to Nina.”
“Yes, you do. We’ve been inching toward this moment for weeks, haven’t we?”
She cocked her head back to better look at him. “Have we? I thought we were just being friendly.”
“Do you think I’m this friendly with every woman? Or that I have nightly calls with them? Or that I text them throughout the day?”
A stutter made Lisa’s tongue tremble, confusion making her red in the face. “I. I don’t know.”
“I don’t, sweetheart. Only with you. Do you have any objections to being pursued?”
Once more, her tongue was tied, and the silence was long enough for Ryan to smirk, dipping down until his face was as close to hers as her eyelashes were.
“That’s good. I’ll move to step two then. Walk me to the door. What time do you have to work tomorrow?”
His mouth moved faster than Lisa’s brain could keep up, and she followed him like a magnet, answering on autopilot.
“Good, I’ll pick you up for breakfast.” He stepped outside, the chill of the night making her shiver.
“Head in, sweetheart, don’t wait for me to drive off.
Oh, and Lisa...” he said, his voice low and ominous.
Ryan’s eyes were almost black under the night sky.
Lisa braced for what unabashed words he’d say next.
And God help her, they didn’t disappoint because after he’d said them, he smiled so charming, then strode off down the path to his truck. Leaving Lisa stupefied.
He’d said. “I’m gonna kiss you the next time I see you, Lisa. That means tomorrow. You won’t know when, but it’s gonna happen.”