Anxious Love (Love Sick #1) (9 page)

"Ryan Ware, I most certainly would not send you a photo of my nipple."

"Well, with limited information, I tend to make up the rest on my own. It's what I see."

"You are so strange, but enjoy your fantasy."

"I will." I chuckled, and my phone beeped. This time is she’d sent a photo of her flipping me the finger. I liked this girl.

"I need to go get ready. I'll see you in an hour,” she said.

"Hey, Leah?"

"Yeah."

"My trainer, Kori. He just got in town. You mind if comes and hangs out with us?"

She didn’t speak, and I wasn't sure if she heard me. I opened my mouth to ask, but then she spoke up.

"Just him?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"He'll be on his best behavior."

"No, it’s not that. I, uh, what's he going to think when I steal you away to make out in the back?"

I didn't quite believe her reasoning for not wanting Kori around, but I didn't call her on it. I was looking forward to seeing her. "Good thing about Kori is that he is more than capable of entertaining himself. I'll see you soon."

Kori and I turned the corner and my eyes and ears honed in on Leah in her seat at the end of the bar. She was facing the outside, waiting for me. Her head thrown back in a full laugh.

"Ry, man, check out that chick over there. Women in New Orleans are hot." He sang the last word in a high voice.

We crossed the street. Leah stepped out when she saw us approach. Kori hit me on the shoulder, but I ignored him. I walked up to Leah, leaned down, and pulled her to me as my lips landed on hers. I was all caveman with this girl, but I couldn't stop picturing her naked from the shower and her promise of more make-out sessions in our future.

Kori confirming what I knew, that she was the hottest chic I had been around in a long time, made me want to grunt and gloat.

"Hey." I set her down and smiled, as she was a little unsteady on her feet. I stepped behind her, and she ran her hand up my torso like she did in the park. I loved that move. "Leah, this is Kori."

"Hi, Leah. I heard a lot about you." Kori reached his hand out. Leah looked at it and then leaned back into me. I ran my hand down her left side, and she reached out and shook Kori's hand with her left.

"I heard Ryan was giving you a hard time this morning."

"Yeah, I had to put him in his place, but I'm used to it."

"Oh, great. You can give me some tips."

"Buy me a drink and I tell you anything you need to know." Kori winked and followed Leah into the bar.

The bar had a few people on the other end and a group in the back. Mark, Allie, and another guy I had not met before worked behind the bar.

"Hey, Ryan," Mark yelled. I leaned over the bar and shook his hand. Allie came from behind the bar, and I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey, Ryan." Allie blushed from the kiss.

"Hey, Allie, this is Kori."

"Nice to meet you, Kori."

"Hey, Allie," a guy from the back of the bar yelled, and Allie rolled her eyes and spun on her heels to take care of the rowdy group of guys.

I turned around, and Leah had retreated to her seat near the door.

She and Mark were huddled together talking. Leah nodded, and he reached out, squeezed her hand, and went back to tending the bar. I walked over to her and sat in what had become my typical seat. Kori pulled up the barstool next to me.

"What are you drinking?" She handed it to me, and I took a sip. "Club soda. I thought we were celebrating."

"What are we celebrating?" Kori asked.

"Leah finished her manuscript."

"Congrats," Kori said.

Mark made his way back over to us.

"What can I get you?" Mark asked Kori.

"I'll take a Dewar's on ice."

"NOLA IPA," I said.

"Lee, you good?" Mark asked.

She nodded. He winked, and she smiled.

By the time Mark brought our drinks, Kori had the attention of a cute little blonde with a heavy Southern accent who swore he was a football player or something. I scooted closer to Leah.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she answered, her unfocused gaze settled on me. She blinked and her expression relaxed. "Your friend's nice."

"Yeah, he's a good guy."

She laced her hand in mine and smiled up at me, but it wasn't the typical smile that reached her eyes.

"Where's Sophie?" I asked. Her smile turned into a frown, and she dropped my hand. She was acting weird.

"She's singing tonight," Leah answered and took a sip of her club soda. Her shoulders slumped, and she blew out a breath and looked around the bar as if she would rather be someplace else.

I leaned over to Kori.

"Dude, I'll be right back?"

He nodded.

I stood up, grabbed Leah’s hand, and stepped outside. She had no choice but to follow me.

I took a few steps away from the bar and stopped. When I turned, Leah fell back into the wall. I reached out to steady her. She flinched, but then reached for me.

"What's going on?"

She looked up. Tears formed in her eyes. She blinked them away and looked down the street.

"I know I talk about the crowd thing like it's a joke, but it's not really. I am just not comfortable in a crowd and around people I don't know. It drains me, and I took something --"

"What did you take?" My tone accusatory.

She shook her head.

"No, it's not like that, I'm on anti-anxiety medication. I took a stronger pill before meeting you because I wanted to see you tonight, but it does this to me. It makes my head all foggy, and I can't concentrate."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" I stepped to her, and she tensed. I stepped back. Seeing everything she told me all over her.

"It's not something I can talk about easily. It makes me sound weak and helpless, and I don't want you to see me like that."

I dropped her hand and ran my hands over my face. When I looked back at her, she had wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged herself. She looked up and down the street.

I didn't understand what she was trying to tell me. Something was going on with her. Something I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I mean we were only hanging out, right.

I stared down at her and my chest tightened.

Who the fuck am I kidding?

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

I leaned over and laid a quick kiss on her lips. I pulled back, but she leaned into me and kissed me back.

"Come on. Let me walk you home."

She looked back toward the bar.

"What about Kori?" she asked but then smirked. "He can entertain himself."

Ryan’s kiss cleared my head enough for me to feel bad about ruining our night. He slid his arm around my shoulder and guided me toward my place. I continued to hug myself. Goose bumps popped up on my skin. I reached in my back pocket and found my little pillbox. I took the other half of the pill I had been saving. Ryan watched but didn't ask.

It messed up my hormones as well as my ability to think clearly.

Or maybe Ryan's presence had my hormones going crazy.

The weight of his arm on my shoulder pressed me into the earth. I laced my fingers with his and pulled it off and around my waist. I took a deep breath. I tilted my head up to see if his stiff form matched the look on his face.

His thin-lipped smirk conveyed nothing.

When we turned the corner on my block, he spoke. "Why would you do that? Why put yourself in a situation that makes you uncomfortable?"

"It's not that big of a deal."

"No." He shook his head. My abrupt stop caught him off balance.

"I didn't do it on purpose." I stepped out of his hold and squeezed my arms around my waist tighter.

"Why would you do something so irresponsible?"

"Because I want to be normal," I whispered.

"Fuck normal, Leah. Geez, you aren't normal."

I stepped in front of him and placed my hand on his abs. He tensed, which distracted me for a second. He stood over me, and I pushed him back. "Will you step back? My neck's getting sore looking up at you."

He stepped back and gave me the sternest look. I couldn't help it; I laughed. To his credit, he tried to maintain the seriousness the situation called for, but he laughed, too. I marched up three steps on my neighbor's stoop.

"There." I placed my hands on my hip. "Now, I can talk to you face-to-face. Freakin’ giant." That last part, I whispered under my breath.

Ryan smirked and shook his head. "Come here."

He stood in front of me. His amused expression pushed past his anger. He reached out and touched my face.

"Why don't we spend time together doing something you're comfortable with, like...”

"Dinner at my place tomorrow night." I clapped my hands together. "I'll cook, and we can watch a movie."

"I like home-cooked meals. I like movies. I haven't seen your place yet, but I'm sure I'll like it, too."

"Great."

"But I can't tomorrow. Kori and I are going to Gulf Port to do some work on the beach for a couple of days."

I pouted involuntarily.

He sighed and pulled me into his arms.

"You're killing me with that look."

I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Little one."

I pulled back and raised my eyebrows at the nickname. He kissed me softly. "I'll be back on Friday."

His kiss firmed as he lifted me in his arms.

I squealed and held on tight. Once again, the world faded away, and the connection between our lips was the only sensation that mattered. The abrupt horn of a car passing pulled us back into reality.

We both moaned, but Ryan held me tight. He leaned back and stared in my eyes.

"Friday?" he asked as he leaned in and our foreheads touched.

"Okay." I couldn't tell if it was his heart beating so fast or mine.

"You okay?" he asked and scanned my face.

"I'm good." I nodded and I was. Being in his arms made everything good.

He pulled me close and nuzzled my neck. I inhaled his scent and squeezed back.

"You can put me down now," I whispered, but I didn't want him to let me go. "Go hang out with your friend."

"Okay." He squeezed me once more, before losing his grip.

I slid down his massive frame. The heat from our bodies caused my stomach to flip.

He kissed the top of my head and pushed me toward my door.

"Oh, and tell my friends you have thoroughly reprimanded me, so they can lay off," I said.

He shook his head. "I'm trying to get them to like me."

"What about me? You don't care how I feel about you."

Ryan stood over me. I placed my hands on my hips and craned my neck up. I realized my mistake instantly. The position left me vulnerable, and before I knew it, his lips were on mine. I parted my lips to protest, and his tongue darted in, but he cut off the kiss and turned away laughing.

"I know exactly how you feel about me."

Halfway down the block, he turned. "Get inside. I'll call you later."

I waved, punched in my code, and floated up the stairs to my apartment.

The three days crawled by, but I woke up early the day of our dinner date and drove out to the grocery store in Metairie. I could achieve so much before the rest of the world even thought about waking up. I hauled the bags up my three flights and dropped them on the kitchen counter when my phone rang.

I peeked at the caller ID and grinned like a little girl. "Hello."

"Hey, beautiful. Why are you out of breath?"

"I just hauled your dinner up three flights." My stomach dropped. "You're still coming back today, right?"

"Yes." I could hear his grin through the phone, and I didn't care if I sounded desperate. I wanted to see him. "We have another hour this morning, and then we're hitting the road. I have to drop Kori off at the airport around four, so I can be at your place around five."

"Perfect."

"You went shopping this morning. You must have been up before the sun."

"Yeah, I like being up and out at that time of day, when it's still quiet."

"You should have been here. I went for a run this morning and watched the sun come up. It was so peaceful."

"Nice."
I wish I were
, I said to myself.