Foolproof (14 page)

Ryan sucked in his cheeks and looked down at his plate. “My dad owns the store. I’d hardly say it’s a dead end.” This was the first time I’d ever heard him defend his dad. Impressive, even my mom could make Ryan’s least favorite person redeemable. Go Mom.

I shot her a look, pleading.
Please, Mom, don’t embarrass me anymore.

“Right. Of course.” Mom blinked rapidly and cleared her throat. “What made you want to be a police officer?”

I ran my hand nervously down my leg. She was going to scare him off, I just knew it. “Mom. I don’t think Ryan needs to be treated like he’s in a police interrogation.”

“I’m just trying to get to know your
boyfriend
a little better, since my own daughter won’t tell me.” She leveled me with a glare, her cold, blue eyes sending a chill down my spine.

Ryan took a bite of chip with salsa and chewed, seeming to mull over the question. “Dating was a recent change for us, Dr. Carmichael. I was just telling Jules I’d love to meet both you and the other Dr. Carmichael. And to answer your question, I want to help people in need.”

But it
’s not what you want to do,
I wanted to scream. He was faking it, I was faking it. I was done living a lie, though. Dammit, I was going to work with athletes, even if it meant burning bridges with my disapproving parents.

“Like Juliette.”

“You don’t know a thing about me, Mom,” I muttered.

Apparently a little too loud, because my mom said, “Excuse me?”

Everyone looked at me like I’d said I snorted a line of cocaine off my plate. “Being a doctor is what
you
want me to be. You’ve done nothing but force me into something I don’t want to do.”

Mom wrung a napkin in her hands, the paper flaking apart. “We’ve discussed this before. Your little athletic training hobby isn’t a career. I didn’t pay a year’s salary just to have you graduate and be jobless.”

“There are a lot of jobs out there, Mom. Sure, it doesn’t pay as much as being a doctor, but—” I tried to keep my voice neutral, professional, the way she’d talk to her patients. Even so, I couldn’t look her directly in the eye.

She crushed a chip with her thumb, the pieces crumbling over the blue floral pattern of her plate. “End of discussion.”

I stared at my fingers as I traced over the lines of my plate, pushing back tears. No use arguing with her—she’d never support me if I pursued athletic training. Plus, I didn’t want to fight in front of my friends. “Okay.”

The waiter arrived with our food, just in time to break up this awkward family moment. Why did I even try? I knew things would never change, no matter how many times I told my mom I didn’t want to be a doctor.

After spending the rest of the meal eating in uncomfortable silence punctuated by terse questions about school, we made our way back to the apartment.

Mom grabbed Caesar and checked into her hotel. Ryan followed me into my bedroom, closing the door behind him.

I turned away, fighting the tears that had been building up the whole night, ready to be released. “Will you spend the night?” My voice shook, and I could feel myself falling apart around the edges.

He smoothed his thumb down my arm. “I’d love that. Hey—” He swiveled me around so that I faced him. “Your mom wasn’t that bad. You can tell she cares.”

I scoffed. “Were we in the same room? Did you not see how she adores Payton?”

“I saw a woman who didn’t know how to act around her own daughter. You weren’t exactly giving her much slack, either.”

“Says the person who can’t stand his dad.”

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re right. I have my own issues. But I call it like I see it.”

That’s it. Ryan needed an eye appointment. His vision was way off. “Can we not talk about this now?” Or ever.

He squeezed both my shoulders and looked at me, searching my face. “I’m here for you. Anytime. You know that, right?”

“Yes.” I swallowed past the hard lump in my throat. He held my hand all through dinner, he was polite to my mom, who was a complete bitch to him, and he still wanted to be in the same room as me. Miracles were real. If there was ever a time to buy a lottery ticket, I should do it while my luck was running high. “Thank you for tonight.”

“What are boyfriends for?”

I slid my hand over his chest, my fingers tracing along the contours and grooves of his muscles. It only took a month, but I was completely head over heels for Ryan. Something that made my insides tremble, like the moment after a loud noise—the skin-prickling adrenaline rush that lets you know you’re alive. It was more than being alive; I was
living.
And I loved him for making me feel this again.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ryan

My phone rang, waking me up from an awesome dream about Jules spread out naked on a boat. I patted the comforter, searching for it, to stop that damn ringing, but instead my hand skimmed across warm skin.

What the?

It’d been a long time since I’d fallen asleep with a girl. A damn nice way to wake up. Jules’s hair splayed across the pillow, and the only thing I wanted was to bury my head into her, spending the entire day nestled next to her soft body. The phone buzzed again, reminding me why I’d woken up in the first place. I pulled it off her nightstand and peered at the screen.

It was an unknown number. Usually, I let those go to voicemail, but since it was a local number, I decided to pick up. “Hello?” I cleared my throat, my voice still groggy from sleep.

“Is this a Mr. Ryan DeShane?”

My heartbeat quickened. “Yes, this is he.”

“My name is Tamara Smith from Humboldt Reservoir. We’ve received your application and would like you to come for an in person interview. Would you be interested?”

“Y-yes! When would you like me to come in?”

“Next Tuesday at noon. Does this work for you?”

I had work that day, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. I’d let Dad know I was coming in late. “I’m available.”

“Great. Mr. Brooks will meet with you in the main office next Tuesday.”

“Thank you so much.”

I hung up the phone and lay back down in bed next to Peach.

She stirred and turned over to face me, her eyes still sleepy. “Who called?”

I’d kill to tell her right now, but didn’t want to get her hopes up. Or my hopes. “No one. Wrong number.”

Her brows furrowed. “Oh, okay.”

Dick move for not telling her, but if I got the internship next week, she’d be the first one to know. “What do you want to do today?”

“I could think of a few things to pass the time before work.” Her hand raked down my back. She did the same thing when we had sex, like she physically needed to dig into my flesh in order to stay grounded. Fucking hot.

“Did you know you’re an all-star?”

“You’re starting this early, DeShane? Unfair advantage. I need at least two cups of coffee before I can think of songs.”

“I never play fair when it comes to you.” I rolled on top of her, kissing down her neck. She let out a moan as I pressed against her. This was where I belonged. This girl proved life was getting better.

I clocked into work a little after two. Jules’s shift started in a couple hours, and I knew right away that time would pass by at a Business 101 lecture’s pace.

As soon as I took my break, I pulled out my phone, looking for any texts from Jules. There were a couple from Uncle Gary and Blake. A few texts from Lex rolled in every once in a while, but they’d decreased significantly since the beginning of summer.

I still felt a little guilty about how we’d left things. I needed to get past this. I needed to make amends with her. After being with Jules, I felt nothing for Lex. The anger had drained from me. I didn’t resent her anymore. I needed to nut up, stop ignoring her calls, get whatever needed to be said out on the table, and let it go.

I took a deep breath and stared at my phone. I could take the easy way out and apologize through text, but that seemed like a cop-out. She deserved a phone call, a proper apology for how I’d acted when we broke up. I flipped through my contacts and clicked on her number.

Sifting my hand through my hair, I took a deep breath and readied myself to get bitched out. I dialed and put the phone to my ear. She picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?” she said, cautiously.

“Hi…” Already off to a great start. I really wanted to hang up and pretend that I wasn’t about to have this conversation, but this was the right thing to do.

“Didn’t think I’d ever hear from you again.”

“Neither did I.” I chewed on the inside of my lip. Talking to Lex felt like putting on an old pair of soccer cleats—I was familiar with them, but they didn’t quite fit anymore, feeling awkward and foreign. The right words weren’t coming, and I sat there for a few moments silently cursing myself for not thinking this out better.

She sighed into the phone and her voice softened when she said, “I’ve missed you.”

I shoved my hand through my hair. Shit, I didn’t want to lead her on. I needed to get to the point, and quick, before she got the wrong idea. “Lex. I’m sorry, but I don’t miss you. I’ve met someone.”

There was a long pause before she said, “Oh.”

I tapped my finger on the table, pushing myself to cut the crap. “I was calling to say that I’m sorry for how I treated you after we broke up. I was an asshole.” There. If she wanted to yell at me, at least I’d apologized for my wrongs.

The line went silent and I thought maybe she’d hung up. Right before I checked to see if I’d lost the call, she said, “Thanks. That means a lot. It was wrong to cheat on you, and if I could take it back, I would.”

My head whipped back. I wasn’t expecting this, not from her. “Thank you.” This was the first time she had truly apologized for sleeping with Dwayne. Maybe she’d treat her next boyfriend better. I was going to with Jules. I knew for damn sure I wouldn’t pull the
I don’t know
shit with her. “I’m really sorry for not being there when you needed me.”

“I know.”

There was another awkward pause. Not much else to say. I didn’t want to be friends with her, but at least I’d fixed any confusion between us. “Well, I guess that’s all I needed to say. Take care, Lex.”

“Yeah, it was nice. Have a good…um, life.”

I laughed and said, “You, too.”

I didn’t think it’d really make any difference, except for clearing my conscience, but a weight lifted off my chest as soon as I hung up. I’d been holding on to a lot of excess anger lately, and I was finally making it right.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jules

Walking on Sunshine buzzed through the speakers as I walked into work. Normally these songs chafed more than my sports bra after a long run with Payton, but this song totally fit my mood these past few days. I didn’t know how it happened, but over the past month, I’d fallen for Ryan. Even if he was leaving in a month for Texas, I had to believe we could work things out. Ryan was a rarity—sexy quips, fun even when we were doing nothing, and could put up with my mother.

Yep, it was all clear now, I loved this guy.

I hummed the song as I walked to the back of the store. Maybe Ryan would want to go bowling tonight with me, Payton, and Blake. Finally, I could go out with them without feeling like I was a third wheel. As I stood next to the door to the break room, ready to punch in, I heard Ryan’s voice.

“I was calling to say that I’m sorry for how I treated you after we broke up. I was an asshole.”

What? Was he talking to Lex? A thread of guilt knotted in my stomach. I moved away from the door and fiddled with the contents of my purse. I really shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on his conversation. Then again, if he wanted a private conversation, the staff room of Office Jax probably wasn’t the place. I moved back to the time clock, hands poised on the numbers, when I heard him speak again.

“I’m really sorry for not being there when you needed me.”

My hand froze, mid-number-punch.
Como?
Why was he apologizing? A million bad scenarios ran through my head—Ryan going back to Texas and hanging out with Lex, Ryan making up with her and deciding our relationship wasn’t worth it, Lex’s fingers touching that damn unicorn tattoo. The list kept going.

Stop. This might not even be her. Don’t overreact.

“
Yeah, it was nice. Take care, Lex.” He laughed and then said, “You, too.”

So it
was
her. I thought he said he was done with crazy exes. A stab of jealousy speared right through my heart.
There could be a very rational explanation for this.
That’s what Dr. Ahrendt would say. Maybe there was.

I tapped in my employee ID code and walked into the break room as Ryan hung up the phone. A smile was plastered on his face. Okay, so he was happy to talk to her. No need to freak out. “What’s got you all happy, DeShane?”

“You.” Smooth. And five minutes ago, I would have totally eaten that up.

I pointed to his cell, which he still had clutched in his hand. “Phone call?”

“Yeah. Lex. Finally on good terms with her.”

Good terms? What the hell did that even mean?

Chill, girl.

There had to be a logical explanation. I couldn’t hop on the crazy train because of one phone call I might have heard. I shook my head. Definitely ridiculous. Everything was fine between us.

Ryan pushed back from the table and stood. He strode over to me and planted a kiss on my forehead. “My break’s done. I’ll see you out there?”

I nodded. “Yep, just need to put my purse away.”

As soon as I got back out to the service floor, Ryan passed me a note. I tucked it into my pocket without reading it. Something felt off. My stomach flip-flopped, not like the butterflies I’d gotten this morning when snuggling with him. These were lead balls playing Tetris in my intestines. I still couldn’t shake hearing him talking to Lex, how he was sorry for how he’d treated her.

I made it two hours, still leaving the note in my pocket untouched. The store had been busy, not giving me much time to read it, anyway. That’s what I kept telling myself, even though I’d usually sneak a peek in between customers.

Courtney arrived just in time for me to go on my first break. As I signed out of my register and walked to the back, I passed Ryan, who was coming out of the freight area.

He was just outside the door when he said, “You left your jacket in Blake’s truck. It’s in my locker. Go ahead and grab it.”

I nodded and booked it past him. Gah. Why did I feel so squicky now?
Get a fricken grip.
This was all in my head. Thank God I had an appointment with Dr. Ahrendt tomorrow.

I strode to the back and beelined it for Ryan’s locker. Pulling out my sweatshirt, something pink slipped out of the space and fell to the floor. A magazine. From the looks of it, a very girly mag. I bent down and picked up a
Cosmo
. Weird. Ryan didn’t strike me as the fashion tip type. But this was his locker, I mean he had my sweatshirt in it, so this obviously had to be his. Just as I was about to shove it back in, something on the cover caught my eye. In big white letters read
Six Foolproof Steps to The Ultimate Summer Fling.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. Ryan wasn’t using
Cosmo
’s summer fling tips. I bet that was Courtney’s mag—maybe she’d shoved it into the wrong locker on her last shift.

Or maybe Ryan’s been using them on you.

No. This had to be just a coincidence.

Just to prove this was all just a stupid locker mishap, I flipped to the page with the article and stared, dumbfounded. Familiar jagged squiggles ran across the top of the page and five of the six steps were already checked off.

Lots of people doodled, right? No need to freak. I started scanning the article.

Find common ground.
I read the cute little caption, the way to really snag someone by finding shared interests. The first one left me a little unsure, I mean, anyone with half a brain cell would try to find some commonality with someone they were interested in. But as I kept scanning, the similarities were too much to deny. By the time I got to
turn up the heat,
I felt like I was being sucker-punched in the gut and head at the same time. This was exactly what Ryan had done, step by step, right down to getting messy on a date. But the kicker was number six. The one that hadn’t been checked off yet:
Have an exit strategy.

I stared at those damn doodles. No one else in the store did those except Ryan.

It all made sense now. The call to his ex-girlfriend, the perfect execution of fricken wooing me. I even bet that was Lex who called this morning. Was I just someone to pass the time while he waited to go back to his ex in Texas? I balled my hand into a fist and chewed the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood. My hands shook as I tried to find some other way to explain all of this.

Shutting my eyes, I wished this was all just a sick joke. When I opened them, I was still in the break room, holding this ridiculously stupid magazine. I stared at the article, trying to find a different explanation, but this was just too much.

What. The. Hell. This was all just a game to him. Mother fucking DeShane. I had it all wrong. He was no better than Andrew—he was worse. Way worse. At least Andrew was upfront with his douche-baggery. This was sneaky. When was he planning to bail? And to think I had trusted him.

I threw my hands up in the air. I let him in my life. I slept with him. He was in my bed, sharing my personal space. He was supposed to be my white knight.

I squeezed the magazine in my hands, pretending it was his head, and marched out onto the service floor. He was still in the furniture section, straightening the chairs. I made sure to bump each and every single one as I made my way to him.

His brows furrowed as he stared at the disarray of chairs. “Whoa, what are you doing?”

“I can’t believe I ever gave you a chance. Hope you have fun with your ex when you go back to Texas.” I chucked the magazine at his head and it gave a satisfactory
thwap
as it smacked him in the face.

He looked at the magazine on the floor and his face paled. “Shit.”

Well, there went my last sliver of hope that this was somehow all just a misunderstanding. “I’ll make the last step easy for you. We’re done.”

I barged off before he could say anything else and entered Jack’s office. My breath came out in shallow pants, tears close to escaping. Jack looked up from his computer and immediately stood.

“Are you okay?”

Was I okay? OKAY? Hell to the no. But every time I opened my mouth, I was caught between wanting to scream and cry. I swallowed past the tightness in my throat and said, “I’m feeling really sick.” The words stuck in my mouth like peanut butter and I blinked back tears that stung my eyes.

His brows creased and frowned. “So sorry to hear that. Go get some rest.”

I nodded and sped out of the store.

So stupid to trust him. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.