by Reber, Tina
“Not yet, but she’s flying in on Saturday with our daughter, Cami. I just found a house for us to rent nearby.”
“I remember watching your wife when she was on Just Neighbors. I loved that show! How old is your daughter?” Tammy asked.
“She’s almost four - and quite a handful,” Cal said. “I miss them.”
“It must be hard when you’re away from your family. But it’s nice that she’s coming out here to see you,” Tammy said.
“Yeah, it’s hard, but we make sure that the time and space that we’re apart doesn’t divide us,” Cal said as he looked at Ryan and me.
With no one the wiser, Ryan stretched his leg and rested his foot so it was touching mine. As much as I wanted to move my foot, I couldn’t. Why did he have to smell so damn good? I took a deep breath to clear out the haze he caused in my brain, straightened up in my chair, and moved my foot away.
We played poker for almost two hours. Everyone was having a good time laughing, drinking, and picking on each other. Ryan and Cal were just two friends having a good time with the rest of us.
“Last round and then I think we need to take a break,” Pete announced as he dealt the cards.
I kicked Ryan back in the foot. He had kicked me too many times under the table when I wasn’t paying attention and I owed him one.
Gary looked at his cards and folded immediately. “Couldn’t you just deal me two good cards instead of that shit?” he ribbed Pete as he scratched his moustache.
I looked at my cards. Pete dealt me a ten and an ace – both hearts. “I raise four dollars,” I said as I tossed in chips. I had two high cards in the same suit… not bad to start with.
Ryan peeked at his cards. “Call,” he muttered. I felt his foot tap mine.
“Call,” Cal said, tossing in his chips.
Pete was taking his good old time looking at his cards. While we waited, I stretched back in my chair and tapped Ryan in the back of his calf with the top of my foot, causing his leg to fly forward and his foot to slap on the floor. He peered at me through the corner of his eye and gave me a dirty look. His evil eye didn’t last too long before the sultry grin appeared on his face.
Finally Pete counted off four dollars in chips and threw them into the pile in the center of the table.
“Fold,” Tammy said, tossing her cards to the center of the table.
“Me too,” Marie huffed. “I’m keeping my chips.”
Pete laid out the Flop cards - another ten and two aces.
I had a beautiful Full House - Aces over Tens. I noticed Pete frowned slightly and he sat back a bit in his chair. Pete always sat forward when he had a good hand. I could tell he had two lousy cards.
“I raise four,” I said nonchalantly, casually tossing my chips to the center of the table. I didn’t want to give away that I had an awesome hand.
Ryan was mangling a drink swizzle straw in his teeth. He glanced at me as he slid the straw around in his mouth. He played with his chips for a moment, and then scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. He was stalling.
“I see your four and raise you four,” he replied.
“Fold,” Cal announced sadly. He tossed his cards and pressed back in his chair.
“Ah, I fold too,” Pete grumbled. I snickered to myself… I knew that was coming.
It was my turn again. I counted my chips; I had sixty dollars left and a strong Full House. I was thinking about how Ryan scratched his eyebrow – was he nervous or bluffing?
“I’m all in.” I pushed all my chips towards the middle of the table.
Ryan’s eyes narrowed on me and he had a serious expression on his face. His lips pursed and twitched a bit around the straw that wiggled in his mouth.
“How much was that?” he asked, nodding at my chips.
“Sixty,” I replied.
He picked fifty-six dollars off his pile of chips and tossed them into the center. He still had chips left.
“Let’s see what you got, sweetheart.” He grinned, raising his eyebrows at me.
I flipped my Ten and Ace over. Ryan had two Tens. We both had Full Houses, but my hand was higher. We looked at each other and smiled. It wasn’t over yet.
Pete laid out the turn card. It was a useless Nine of spades. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was still winning.
The last card, the river card, was a Four of diamonds.
“Yes!” I said quietly.
Ryan chuckled, knowing that he just lost. He stretched back in his seat, and then ever so casually patted and rubbed my back as I pulled the chip pile to my chest. The sensation of his touch sent a tinge of electricity through my body.
Ryan squeezed my shoulders when we stood up to walk away from the table. His grip felt amazing on my achy muscles. It had been a long time since I let any man get close enough to touch me that way. I was starting to turn to putty under his fingers.
“Good play!” he whispered his private compliment in my ear. I felt the warmth that emanated from his lips caress my skin. His chest pressed lightly into my back. A million tiny impulses fired through my body.
“I’m impressed. Remind me to take you to the casinos sometime,” Ryan joked with me.
Cal and Gary walked over to the pool table and everyone else followed them. We all needed a short break and a stretch from sitting.
I quickly stepped behind the bar and grabbed a metal mixing cup, which I spun across my palm. I hadn’t been in this good of a mood in a long time.
I just started pouring the vodka when Ryan joined me at the bar.
“What are you making?” he asked.
“Mind Erasers.” I smiled. “It’s first break shot time.”
“Sounds good! I’ll take two,” Ryan said, winking at me.
Ryan walked aside of me as I carried a tray of shot glasses over to the poolroom.
“Don’t you dare try and trip me!” I joked with him after he gave me a nudge. I kicked the bottom of his foot as he was taking a step. He started laughing.
“This is a beautiful pool table, Taryn,” Cal said. “Do you think we might be able to bring some people from the set here one night? I think everyone could use a relaxing, fun night like this.” His eyes flashed over to Ryan. Ryan was nodding in agreement.
“I guess so.” I looked over at Marie. “I suppose I can shut down one night for a private party.”
“We’ll cover your losses for a night if you’d be willing to do that for us,” Cal said.
“You’ll just have to let me know what night and we can arrange something,” I replied.
Cal and Gary played a game of pool and then Pete and Ryan played Cal and Gary as teams. Pete and Ryan dusted them. The guys got along great together.
“Are we going to play another round of poker or what?” Ryan asked out loud as he was putting his pool stick back on the wall rack. “I’d like an opportunity to win some of my money back,” he kidded me, giving me a finger poke in my stomach.
His eyes were absolutely mesmerizing as he looked at me.
“Good luck with that!” I teased him and tugged on the straw in his mouth. Ryan clamped his teeth down hard on his straw and playfully snarled at me.
We all gathered back at the table to play the next round of poker. Everyone was concentrating on their cards; it was eerily quiet. Ryan and I had already pushed and kicked each other under the table a few times and we were both smiling from our secret.
Pete broke the silence first. “You know what I could eat right now?” he asked out loud as he was stacking his chips.
“Pussy?” Gary answered immediately.
“Gary!” Marie yelped and smacked him in the arm.
Ryan was taking a sip from his glass; he just about spit his beer all over himself, breaking out in a laugh.
“What?” Gary flinched away from Marie. “He asked, I just answered. Sounds like a perfectly good thing to eat right now, right guys?”
“You’re driving him home!” I pointed at Marie while laughing.
“Although I have to
agree with Gary, I was actually thinking about those juicy steaks Taryn grilled for us a couple of weeks ago. They were delicious!” Pete ran his tongue over his lips.
“See? Pete has juicy meat on the brain,” Gary teased.
“No, I think you have juicy meat on the brain,” Marie groaned. She shot her elbow into his ribs.
I smiled and laughed with embarrassment. My friends were nuts.
“Ryan, do you like pus…steak?” Pete asked.
“Yeah.” Ryan nodded and smiled shyly.
“You almost asked him if he…!” Gary was laughing hysterically as he pointed at Pete. He couldn’t even finish his own sentence. He turned a few shades of red while coughing and trying to catch his breath.
Ryan looked down in embarrassment, but he was still grinning when he rolled his gaze over at me.
Pete ignored Gary’s outburst. “Well this girl here grills one hell of a steak,” he stated proudly, pointing a finger at me.
“They were the best steaks I’ve ever had,” Tammy agreed.
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “It’s good that I get to use my college education.”
“Where did you go to college?” Ryan asked conversationally.
“Brown, in Providence. Economics/Business – sirloin steak major,” I declared.
“So are you going to grill me another steak soon, or what?” Pete wanted to get back to the point.
“Pete, you know I’ll grill for you any day of the week!” I love cooking for my friends.
“So where do you grill these wonderful steaks?” Ryan asked.
“On the roof.” I laughed.
“No really.” Ryan looked confused.
“On the roof!” I repeated with a giggle. “The top of my building is flat. I have a garden patio up there. We have excellent summer parties, right guys?” My friends all confirmed. “You can see the ocean from up there too,” I continued.
“A steak does sound good right now,” Cal agreed.
“Okay, let me ask this. How many people were you thinking about having here for this private party?” I asked Cal.
“Maybe ten or twelve people?” he summed.
“And would you mind if my four friends here attend this gathering?” I asked.
“Sure, they’re welcome. Absolutely,” Cal confirmed.
“You tell me what night, and I’ll grill steaks. How does that sound? Then everyone will be relaxed, happy, and well-fed.”
Ryan slid his foot under my leg. Our legs were touching now under the table and I was hyper-aware of his presence.
“We’ll check everyone’s schedule and get back to you. Is that all right?” Cal asked.
“Sure. Just so you know I have entertainment booked for Friday and Saturday, but we can do a weeknight or Sunday if that suites you. Just give me enough notice so I can get the steaks.”
We played for another hour; Marie started to yawn. “Are you ready? It’s getting late.” She grabbed Gary’s arm and started to pull him up out of his chair.
“Oh man, been sitting too long… my hip hurts,” Gary moaned. “Marie, you’re going to have to get on top tonight!” He grinned.
Ryan and I could not stop laughing.
Everyone started shaking hands and having those brief “it was nice to meet you – see you later” conversations. Cal used his cell phone to call for their driver. I was sad to see the night come to an end; it seemed to fly by so fast with Ryan here.
I walked my friends to the door and locked up behind them. Ryan and Cal would leave by the back door. Cal departed for the bathroom, leaving me all alone with Ryan. I started to clean up.
“I had a really great time tonight.” Ryan smiled and set a few empty glasses on the bar. “Your friends are great.”
“Thanks!” I smiled back. “I’m sorry about the questions though.”
Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m glad everyone had fun,” I said, even though I truly meant I was glad that he had fun.
“I’ll call you when we figure out what night we can do this party gathering, okay? Um, so what number should I call?” Ryan asked.
I stopped in my tracks and smiled to myself.
“What number would you like to call?” I asked, knowing what he was truly getting at. I just wanted him to say it.
“I’d like the number that I asked for, but I’m not sure I’m going to get it,” he said. He grinned at me as he took a new Mitchell’s Pub napkin out of the holder and turned it over.
I took a deep breath and picked up the pen next to the register. I questioned my own actions as I wrote my cell phone number down. My friends were the only ones who had my cell number. I justified that he and I were becoming friends too.
Ryan’s smile was huge. “Thank you!” He quickly snatched up the napkin and shoved it in his pocket.
I walked both of them to the back door and Cal thanked me for an excellent evening. He gave me an awkward hug before putting his coat on. Their car pulled up in the alley and Cal patted Ryan’s arm before heading out the door.
Ryan looked down at me and smiled as he took a step closer. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in to give me a nice hug.
Sensations, long suppressed, rocketed through me when our bodies touched. His body pressed into mine when he hugged me tighter. I allowed myself a moment to appreciate his warmth, his scent, the feel of his back muscles on my hands, the enjoyment this hug gave me.
Ryan’s hand gently cradled the back of my head, his fingers slipped into my hair. He kissed me softly on my forehead; his lips lingered for an extra second or two before he released our embrace.
“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered softly, took a few steps back, and slipped out the back door.
Chapter 5 – Connections
“So, did he try to kiss you last night?” Marie breathed in my ear.
“No.” I shook my head, annoyed that she even asked. “You promised!” I reminded her.
“Yeah, I know. I’m not pushing! I just wanted to know if that’s the reason you’re finally smiling. So he didn’t try to kiss you?”
I opened a new case of bottled beer. “No. He didn’t kiss me… on my lips.” I trailed the last part of my sentence hoping she wouldn’t catch it.
She started to jump up and down. “Come on! I’m dying here!”
“He gave me a hug, okay?” I quietly muttered. “And he sort of kissed my forehead.” I shrugged it off and continued to put more bottles into the cooler.
“Remember, you can’t say anything to anyone about them being here. I’m not going to have my pub and my friends involved in any media circus. Got that? Not one word!” I said to her privately.
She twisted her fingers over her lips and then cracked a cocky smile at me.
“I’m warning you! I’m pretty sure I can shove your entire body in this cooler. No one will find you in there!”
Marie ignored me and turned the TV channel in time to catch the seven o’clock entertainment news. Her excuse was to see if our pub made it to the television version of celebrity gossip, but I knew better. My attention was diverted to the screen when I heard his name mentioned.
“We got Ryan Christensen arriving at LAX this afternoon...” some guy on TV said.
Ryan was filmed as he hurried through the airport. I was thankful that he had several security guards around him; the photographers and people bugging him for his autograph were relentless. I wondered if those leeches did nothing all day but lurk around the airport waiting for celebrities.
“What’s he doing in L.A.?” Marie asked out loud. She seemed just as surprised as I was.
“Shh, I want to hear this,” I whispered.
Ryan’s face toggled between a blank stare and moments of annoyance as the cameramen who chased him asked him stupid questions. To me, he looked tired. They managed to film him signing an autograph or two before he jumped into an awaiting car at the curb.
I was surprised that he was on the West Coast.
He didn’t mention anything last night about getting on a plane today - but then again why would he.
It was soon after that when my phone buzzed in my pocket. My thumb hit the buttons to retrieve a new text message. To my amazement, someone sent me a beautiful picture of red and white flowers. I immediately smiled. I had never received virtual flowers before.
The text message read: “Greetings from LA”
Butterflies instantly fluttered into my stomach.
I texted him back. “Who is this?”
I didn’t want to let on that I knew where he was, even though I had only found out a few minutes ago.
I read his reply. “Knight who says Ni?”
I laughed out loud from Ryan’s movie reference. “You are funny. Why ru in LA?”
“Interview n meeting with my agent n producer b back thurs”
“R u having fun?” I sent back.
A few moments later, he sent another message: “not really”
“Sorry to hear that” I replied, adding a sad face emoticon.
“Can I call u later tonight?”
“Sure” I quickly typed.
It was almost three in the morning when I crawled into bed. Since Ryan and his friends had been in the pub on Saturday my customer count seemed to rise. I laughed to myself considering most of the new crowd was female. As I lay there, I became quite absorbed in my thoughts of how pathetic some of his fans were. One girl was even wearing a T-shirt with Ryan’s face on it tonight.
I wondered how Ryan felt about that. Most men would probably love the attention and get huge egos from it, but I couldn’t see Ryan being into that at all. He was much too modest. I guessed things like that probably made him very uncomfortable.
Marie and I hustled again tonight, and it was only a Tuesday. I was thinking about asking Tammy if she wanted to work weekends to help out while the celebrities were still in town. Once they were gone, things would go back to normal. But there were too many customers for just Marie and me to handle on our own. Maybe I should hire some additional help? I could use a third bartender.
I started to yawn; my eyelids were very heavy. I pulled my comforter higher over my shoulder, snuggling even deeper. I felt myself drifting when I was startled by my cell phone rattling on my nightstand. I looked at the number, but the screen showed “NO NUMBER.”