Mine to Lose (11 page)

My evening with the girls was a great
time filler while I waited for Ryan to come home. Sitting with my two closest
friends, watching
Top Gun
and eating pizza only got better when Joss
decided to turn it into a drinking game. Every time a character in the movie
named a call sign, we had to drink, so we were feeling no pain pretty quick. I
might have to watch the movie again, you know, just to make sure I remember
what happened. I can’t believe my mom never played that one for Langley and me.
Hot guys and volleyball, that’s right up her alley.

I didn’t mention my dream to Joss or Cam;
it felt weird to talk about it when it was just that, a dream. And like Lang says,
the dream means nothing. Even after spending part of the day with Trey scouting
florists, I know that to be true.

Leaving work early today adds to my
excitement that Ryan will be home tonight. I tried calling him this morning,
but I missed him, much to my disappointment. He said that he was driving
straight to his old office, because his boss wanted a report, so he would meet
me at the apartment when he was finished. That works for me, because I didn’t
bother cleaning up the pizza boxes or the empty wine bottles from last night.

I don’t have any of Ryan’s favorite foods
at home, so I decide to stop by the grocery store and grab a few things. Hell,
maybe I’ll cook lasagna; he’s always liked my recipe. Now I’m on a mission. This
is going to be the best weekend ever, no pressure or anything. I start to
mentally time how long it will take to start dinner and straighten up the
apartment before I should expect him, and I think I’m good to go.

As I make my way to my apartment door, I
am doing my best to balance everything in my arms. Stupid me, wanted to make it
in one trip, so my arms are loaded with everything from the store as well as my
bag from work. My key is in my hand, and I’m about to slide it into the keyhole
when the door opens.

“Hey, babe,” Ryan says with a beaming
smile.

The bags slip from my hands as I stand in
shock before jumping at him and throwing my arms around his neck. I close my
eyes and take him in. He’s here with me, holding me, and my heart clenches,
knowing I never want to lose this feeling.

“I guess you’re happy I’m here early?” he
asks, while I keep my grasp firm around him.

“You didn’t answer this morning, I had no
idea when you’d be home.” My voice is muffled because my face is buried in his
neck.

“I had a feeling I’d be done early, but I
didn’t want to get your hopes up, so I figured I’d wait and see how things
ran.”

I finally release him and he sets me down.
I can’t believe the tears welling in my eyes. I knew I was going to be happy to
see him, but now, I’m not sure I can let him leave in two days. “I can’t
believe you’re here,” I say glancing around the messy apartment, and he follows
my gaze.

“Yeah, I guess you girls had fun last
night,” he remarks with a wink.

“Wine,
Top Gun
and pizza,” I count
off on my fingers. “Not a bad night at all.”

We walk back to the entry and grab the
bags I so carelessly dropped and set everything on the counter. He starts
emptying the bags and looks at me. “Were you planning on cooking for me
tonight?”

“I thought about it,” I say coyly,
watching as he puts the eggs away in the refrigerator and faces me when he
closes the door.

“What else did you think about?” His
voice is low, daring me to play along.

I walk over to him and extend my hand,
grazing his side, but I continue the movement right past him to the boxes
sitting on the counter and smile. “That I was just going to take a shower and
change.”

I take the box I grabbed to the small
cabinet across the way and stand on my toes, pushing it onto the top shelf. I
smile to myself, knowing he’s getting a good look at my ass while I do it. When
I face him, he’s still staring at me, with a readable look.

“Why do you need to change?” He raises
his eyebrow in question.

I look down at my work outfit and point
to an invisible spot on the hem. “Well, my dress is dirty,” I say with an innocent
shrug.

Ryan starts moving toward me with slow
steps and pins me in the corner between him and the counter. “And the shower?”

“I don’t really need one, yet.”

I watch his eyes graze the length of my
body, but he doesn’t kiss me, he doesn’t even touch me, there is only the
silent, desire-filled look he’s giving me. My stomach is swirling in
anticipation, while I try to act unaffected. I try to steady my pulse, but I
know he can tell he’s getting to me, and why shouldn’t he? It’s been a month. I
move to touch his face, but before my fingers reach him, he pushes off the
counter and gives me space that I don’t want at all. His grin is sexy and
mischievous, and I want to smack it. Or maybe kiss it.

Two can play at this game.

He stands in the other corner across from
me, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his broad chest,
waiting for my move. I compose myself and take a deep breath, before finally
moving. I walk to the sink and turn on the water to start washing the dishes
from last night, and I can feel his eyes watching every move. I grab a glass
and pull the sprayer from the holster to rinse it out, but just as I start to
spray, I move out of the way and aim for him, drenching him in one swift move.

“What the hell, Em?” He stands there
looking murderous, and I start laughing.

“Thought you could use a cold shower,” I
say with a shrug, trying to return the sprayer to its place. But he’s behind me
in an instant, grasping for my hand that holds it. When he frees the nozzle
from my grip, he turns it in his hand and starts spraying, getting both of us
wet. I’m screaming, and we’re both laughing as I try to get away, but he holds
me in place. I turn in his arms and look up at him, out of breath.

His face turns serious, the water
dripping from his hair and running down his face. The movement of his chest
matches mine, rising and falling rapidly. Before I can register the action, his
lips are on mine, and he’s pulling me so close, I’m not sure I can breathe, but
I don’t care. I return the kiss with equal fervor, throwing my arms around his
neck and grasping at his hair that is damp and feels soft between my fingers.
He removes a hand from my waist and it glides up, just over my breast, to undo
the buttons on the front of my dress.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he pants,
between the kisses he plants on my neck.

“Me, too,” are the only words I can
manage, wishing this dress was easier to get off.

“Fuck it,” he groans, dropping his hand
from the buttons he’s fumbling with and lifting me to sit on the counter next
to the sink. Considering how much taller he is than me, I like this view; I can
see every emotion and look in his eyes, and I know it’s only for me. He pushes
my hair out of my face and begins kissing me again.

Our hands are tugging and pulling at
whatever they can, his pulling the hem of my dress from under me and grazing my
thighs that are separated by his waist, mine tugging frantically at the buttons
on his shirt. He places a firm hand at the small of my back, urging me closer,
but I keep the space, if only for a moment, reaching between us to undo his
belt. He trails kisses from my jaw, nipping at my neck, down to my collarbone,
and I almost lose function of my hands when I try to pull his shirt over his
head. Lucky for me, he helps, but only so he can remove my dress, the last
piece of clothing that separates us.

 I’ve missed him more than I would
ever have thought, and when he lifts me, my legs wrap around his waist, as
though by instinct. In one swift movement, my back is up against the cabinet behind
Ryan, and even though it’s not the most comfortable position, I don’t care. His
lips are on my neck one moment and nipping at my shoulder the next, desperate to
get closer than we already are.

As we make love, we move in unison,
rushed and needy, but it’s what I have missed. I’ve missed him more than I ever
thought possible.

I feel his fingers grip my waist tighter,
and as his body stills, he continues to plant kisses at the base of my throat.
I’m not sure how long we stand there, breathless and sweating, but he finally
breaks the silence and kisses me. I drop my forehead to his as he whispers how
much he’s missed me, but all I’m able to do is nod in agreement.

“Now, you need a shower,” he laughs as he
kisses me one final time before setting me on my feet and pulling me toward our
bedroom.

* * *

After our little private welcome home
party last night, we decided dinner was a bust and perused the takeout menus I
keep stashed in the end table in the living room. Ryan insisted we stay in for
the rest of the night doing absolutely nothing but watching terrible movies and
being together. Somewhere between Chinese food and the second movie, I fell asleep
comfortably on his chest.

My alarm goes off at seven this morning,
because we have some wedding plans to get out of the way before we go hang out
with our friends tonight. Dean knew that Ryan would be in town and insists on going
out, so Ryan has me call the girls to see if they want to go out, too. I am a
little disappointed, since I had planned on keeping him all to myself this
weekend, but I know we’ll have a good time. Our first stop is to see Jaysen; my
appointment with him the other day impressed me so much that I tell Ryan we have
to use him for our own wedding.

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you back so
soon,” he remarks when we walk through the door. “Another client for me?” he
asks, looking at Ryan, who smiles at me.

“Yes,” I say with a sassy tone. “Me - I
mean, us,” I stumble, pointing to Ryan and me.

“Damn girl.” He eyes Ryan up and down. “Nice
job.” I laugh and nod in agreement before discussing what I am looking for in
wedding flowers. He is amazing, and by the time we leave an hour later, I am finally
able to check the first thing off our wedding list. Ryan appears to be quite
impressed with what Jaysen can do, and even more so since he is going to cut us
a deal, because I will be bringing more business to him.

Now, six hours later, I’m exhausted from
all of the errands we ran, not to mention the lack of sleep from last night,
and all I want to do is crawl back in bed. But everyone is expecting us at
Wired Spirits, and the place doesn’t look too crowded, yet. You wouldn’t know
from the exterior that this place is one of the more popular bars in the area.
It was an old pharmacy that someone renovated into a bar years ago, and it grew
to be a local favorite. The lighting is awful, stench of stale beer is in the
air and the place reeks of desperation. Men are standing at the bar hoping to
pick up women while the ladies try hard to appear unavailable. Regardless, I
love this place, if for no other reason than to people watch.

I walk to the booth in the far corner
when I spot Cam and Joss, who are waving their arms as if we can’t see them. Holding
Ryan’s hand, I pull him toward the booth and finally get to introduce him to my
co-worker.

“Cam,” I step aside and pull Ryan
forward, “
this
is my fiancé.”

“It’s about damn time I meet you.” She
smiles. “This girl can’t stop talking about you.”

“That’s good to know,” he says, shaking
her hand.

His body lurches forward and I turn to
see Dean standing next to him, slapping him on the shoulder. “What’s up, asshole?”

They start catching up, and rather than
listen to guy talk, I take a seat next to Joss and catch the girls up on the
day. I notice Cam keeps looking at Dean and when she realizes she’s been
caught, she scrunches her features in embarrassment. “He’s single,” I tell her,
answering the question I think she might have.

“And obnoxious,” Joss interjects, before
I bump her shoulder.

“Only to you, because you’re a bitch, but
I love you,” I remind her before turning to Dean. “Hey Dean, come meet my
friend. You already know Joss, and this is Cam. We work together.”

Dean nods at Joss who returns the gesture
with equal disdain and then looks at Cam. His eyes grow slightly, before he becomes
indifferent again. “Nice to meet you, Cam. So, where ya from?” he asks, taking
a seat next to her. The two begin a conversation that Ryan, Joss and I are left
out of, so she nudges me to move out of the booth.

“Let’s go dance,” Joss inclines her head
toward the dance floor.

“C’mon, Ryan.” I grab his hand and drag
him along. He’s so great, because as much as he hates dancing, he’ll do it for
me. The three of us are on the dance floor, and Joss finds some random to
entertain her for a while. I’m not sure how long we stay there moving to the
music, but it’s long enough that Ryan and I are hot, sweaty and if we don’t
leave the floor now, people might see part two of our reunion.
Or would it
be four?

“Let’s get a drink,” Ryan shouts in my
ear over the music. I nod in agreement and tap Joss to let her know where we’re
going. We make our way to the bar, where Dean and Cam have moved to, still
talking and seemingly getting along.

I lean against the bar, checking out the
crowd in front of me. The room is packed, loud and oozing with drunks, and I’m
having a great time. Ryan orders five shots and hands each of us one. We raise
our shots to each other and down them in unison. As I lower my glass and open
my scrunched eyes, my throat burning from the tequila I have taken in, I start
coughing and Ryan is patting me on the back.