by Amanda Cowen
“Yeah, Ryan,” Alodie scolds him. “Maybe you should take some pointers from Liam. He obviously knows how to treat a lady.” She glances over at me and says, “You better keep a close watch on this one, Ella. He’s a keeper.”
Ryan looks unimpressed as he scratches his chin, saying, “Vodka water it is then.” He scowls before he heads back toward the line to fetch Alodie a drink.
Liam leads the way to our seats – which are amazing, by the way – only a few feet away from the stage. He sits on my right and Alodie sits on my left, leaving an empty seat for Ryan on Alodie’s other side. I can’t help but be a tad disappointed Ryan won't be sitting next to me. This is our favorite band and nothing is better than singing and dancing along to every song with someone who loves the same music as much as you do.
Liam glances over at me. “Besides being a folk music fangirl and enjoying a cold brew, what else should I know about Ella Jones that Ryan forgot to mention?”
I take a deep steady breath. “I think the question really is, what did Ryan mention about me?”
Liam laughs. “The basics. You are his best friend, a kick-ass poker player and you’re always down for a good time.”
“Anything else?”
“You hail from Oregon, your guilty pleasure is watching corny horror movies, and you dream of being a Visual Development Artist, whatever that is…”
I take a sip of my drink before answering. “It’s someone who develops backgrounds, colors, lighting, environments, and props for films and other animated things… which I think is pretty cool. One day I want to watch a movie and be able to say, ‘hey, I designed that.’”
He grins. “That is pretty cool. You’re an artist then?”
I nod, sipping my drink again. “Yeah. I like to paint and do illustrations. I was selected to attend the university art show next month. My paintings will be displayed along with five other selected students.”
He studies me for a long time. “Wow. You really are the whole package.”
I look at him more closely now, too. I hadn’t given much thought to who he is or what he does, other than how incredibly good–looking he is. But I also can’t help but reciprocate this blue-eyed Aussie’s interest. “What about you? What’s your deal?”
“Ryan never told you about me?” He sips his drink, eyebrows raised.
“Nope,” I hum, smiling at his mouth. “He talked about a few friends he made in Australia, but your name never came up. I was shocked when he introduced you at the airport. He never mentioned he was bringing a friend back to live with him.”
“In Ryan’s defense, it was kind of a last-minute decision,” he says. “I’m impulsive and adventurous like that. Once my work visa was approved, I just booked my plane ticket and told him I was coming to America.” He pauses, thoughtful. “I’m a little unconventional. At least, that’s what my parents tell me. Apparently, I’m not someone who relishes in conformity.”
“And that is?”
“Go to college, which I only did to appease my parents. Who are both highly educated professors at Auckland University, by the way.”
I raise a brow. “Fancy.”
He laughs. “Then you know, all those other things, like secure a stable job, find a long-term girlfriend and then get married and have kids. Buy a big home, take family vacations to Disney World, pay taxes, and eventually wake up one day and ask yourself, ‘what have I done with my life?’ That kind of conformity.”
I glance over at Alodie, curious if she’s eavesdropping on our conversation,. But she appears to be completely enthralled in whomever she’s texting, which eases me up a little.
“Have I scared you yet?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Not at all. I love the way you think. I also like the idea of non-conformity, just going with the flow, and living in the moment. But sometimes, whether we like it or not, life does get in the way… and by life, I mean family, mostly.”
He clinks his cup with mine, grinning. “Family can be such a downer sometimes.”
“You have no idea.”
Ryan reappears for the second time, this time with Alodie’s vodka water.
“What do you think of these seats, Jonesy?” he asks, nodding toward the stage.
“They are amazing,” I shout over Alodie. “I can’t believe how close we are to the stage.”
Ryan glances down at Alodie, waiting for her to acknowledge him. When she doesn’t, he clears his throat, determined to get her attention. “Switch me seats. I want to sit beside Ella,” he says.
Alodie shakes her head. “No. I want to sit beside Ella. She’s my friend, too.”
I can feel Ryan’s shock. I hope he doesn’t get pissy with her and ruin the vibe.
“Yeah, but you don’t even care about this concert, so switch.”
Finally, she turns her attention to Ryan. “Sorry, boyfriend. You shouldn’t have brought me then.”
He presses his lips together like he wants to say something further, but he doesn’t. He looks over at me apologetically, and slowly sips his drink before flopping down on the chair beside Alodie with a scowl. Of course, I wish she would switch seats with him, but I refuse to put myself in the middle of their little disagreement.
The concert exceeds every expectation. I sing. I dance. I wave my lit phone in the air during the more emotional performances. Never before have I been more amazed at a concert. Liam is just as enthralled as I am with each song. Alodie, on the other hand, spends most of her time taking selfies and posting them to social media.
At one point, I glance over at Ryan. My eyes move down to his chin, over his cheeks. His nose is sharp, brown eyes focused on the stage and the fantastic performances. He’s barely glanced my way the entire concert. Up close, I can see he looks a little unsettled, even though he continues to move to the music and drink from a beer bottle like he’s trying to convince himself he’s having a great time.
“I’m going to the ladies’ room,” Alodie shouts over the music and shimmies her way down the aisle. Seconds later, I feel Ryan at my side. He drapes an arm around my shoulder and tugs me close.
“Are you having a good time?” he whispers in my ear.
I attempt to look unaffected by the way his breath tickles my ear, but he’s watching me. And it’s really hard not to be affected when he’s smiling at me like that.
“Yeah. Of course,” I assure him. “Are you?”
“I am now,” he winks.
One song ends and another one begins. It’s my favorite song of all time: Home. I beam at Ryan, then turn toward the stage and cheer loudly.
He smiles over at me. “Jonesy, it’s your song,” he says, and ruffles my hair with the palm of his hand.
We dance, we sing, and he twirls me under his arm a few times. I almost completely forget Liam is still with us, until he grabs my hand and spins me back in his direction. Ryan takes a long pull from his beer and watches us through narrowed eyes. I feel a gentle tug on my elbow, and I spin around to see Ryan’s elusive smile as he twirls me against his chest. I can hear Liam singing along beside us as Ryan and I dance together and sing the song loudly into each other’s faces. Ryan even plays air guitar for a few beats, making me laugh.
Eventually Liam dances his way closer to us, trying to join the fun. When Liam reaches forward to grab onto my hand, Ryan stumbles forward and his beer spills all over the front of Liam’s shirt.
“Oops, sorry man,” he says. “My drink slipped.”
Liam frowns down at his soaked shirt. “It’s okay, mate.”
“Jesus, Ryan,” I say. “His shirt is sopping wet.”
He shrugs. “I said I was sorry.”
“No worries,” Liam assures me. “I’ll just go buy a clean band t-shirt from merchandise. I wanted one anyway. I’ll be right back.”
As Liam walks away, Ryan grins as if he’s won something, which only annoys me further.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I hiss.
“I was pushed.” I narrow my own eyes at h
im, not believing him for a second. His brows lift, his eyes first moving over my face, then trailing down my body. “What? I was.”
I glance away from him and up at the stage, and without thinking, down at the rest of my drink. The words I want to say clam up in my throat. I want to tell him to stop being such a cock block and back the fuck off already, but I don’t.
When the song finishes, Alodie returns and Liam reappears shortly thereafter wearing a band t-shirt. His beer-soaked t-shirt is tucked into the back pocket of his jeans. The concert ends after a few more songs.
“Let’s go out for a drink,” Ryan suggests as we shuffle through the crowd.
Alodie groans, eyes wide in disbelief. She turns to me. “Probably not a good idea. I have a busy day tomorrow.”
“You can go home,” Ryan quips.
She looks aghast. “What is wrong with you tonight? You promised you’d stay over at my place, so if I go home, you are coming with me.”
“Do you want to go home?” Liam asks me.
“Not yet…” I say to him. I kind of don’t want my night with Liam to end. “I would go for a quick drink – “
“Okay, then,” Liam beams. “I’ll go for a quick drink with Ella. No worries, mate. You go home with your lady.”
Alodie smiles. “Come on, Ryan. Party is over.” She blows us a kiss. “Bye, you two. Have fun.” She tugs him by the arm, but he shrugs her away.
“Wait.” He steps away from Alodie and over to me. “How are you getting home?”
Liam laughs. “No worries, mate. I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Ryan shifts his gaze between us. He doesn’t look away, so I feel like I can’t, either. He could walk away anytime, but he remains frozen in place and runs a hand through his hair, stalling.
“Ryan, come on!” Alodie shouts from behind him.
He doesn’t answer her, and he bends to catch my eye. “Promise me you’ll text me when you get home.”
I nod. “Sure. I promise.”
Ryan hesitates, then glances over at Liam before nodding at him. Alodie approaches him, and pulls him by the arm down the sidewalk and over to an idling cab, leaving me to finally enjoy my night alone with Liam.
Chapter 6
I’m almost done with my breakfast – Captain Crunch cereal with milk – when Maisie walks into the kitchen, passing by the table with a cheeky grin. I know exactly why she’s smiling at me like a fool. She wants every dirty detail from my night with Liam. There are a few good details to share; unfortunately, none of them are dirty.
She sits down on the chair next to me, props her elbows on the table, and cradles her chin in the palms of her hands.
“How was last night?” she asks. “You got home pretty late. What was it, two in the morning when I heard you stumble in?”
I take another spoonful of my cereal before I find my words. And even then, I don’t really answer her question. “We’ll see if he sends me a text today.”
She studies me for a while before reaching across the table for the box of cereal and pouring herself a bowl. “Did he say he would?”
I shrug. “Zero expectations equals zero disappointments.”
Maisie rolls her eyes, pours milk into her bowl, and takes a bite. “Can you just be a normal girl for once and gush to your best friend about how awesome your night was with a hot and eligible Aussie?”
“There’s nothing really to gush about.” I hold my full spoon to my mouth before smiling. “He’s a nice enough guy, and we had a good day surfing. We had a great time at the concert, too.” I pause, deep in thought. “Things went well once we were finally able to have some alone time. We will see where it goes, if anywhere.”
Every time there is potential for a new guy in my life, Maisie drills me with a hundred and one questions, desperate for me to just say I am smitten and he’s “the one.” She’s a relationship person, and doesn’t understand my need to just be with myself until I find someone worth spending my time with. Maisie is a sucker for romance, and while I love that about her, it’s just not for me.
“Things went well? We will see where it goes?” She laughs. “God, Ella. It sounds like you had a nice dinner with your brother after you told him some bad news. Will you ever just give a guy a chance?”
“I said he’s a nice guy.” I take a long sip of my coffee.
“He’s also really hot.” She leans back in her chair, smiling. “And that accent, well… it’s hard to ignore.”
“I do love the accent.”
“Did he kiss you?” she asks.
“He did.”
She frowns. “I need you to give me more than that.”
“He gave me a good-night kiss,” I say. “It was short, sweet, and nice.”
She appears unsatisfied, eyebrows furrowed as she studies me. “What else did you guys talk about?”
“Life. Dogs. Music. Good places to eat. Normal shit...” I pause and look up from my bowl of cereal. “And, oh yeah… how Ryan and Alodie are a mess.”
“I could have told you a double date with Ryan and Alodie was a stupid idea.” Maisie gets up from her chair and walks over to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. She looks over at me, grinning as she takes her first sip like she’s purposely prodding me. I keep a straight face and look past her through the kitchen window, her comment hanging awkwardly in the air.
“I’ve gone on double dates with you and Jayce before.”
“That’s different,” she says.
“How so?”
“It just is.”
“No, it’s not.” My voice comes out terser than I expected. “Explain yourself.”
“You know what I think about your friendship with Ryan?” she murmurs. “You two are just avoiding the inevitable, and deep down, you two have feelings for each other.” She blinks quickly, as if her comment is just an innocent slip of the tongue. Her eyes move to my face, almost blatantly raising her eyebrows in my silence to push me for a response. She’s clearly impressed with herself.
Maisie thinks she knows everything when it comes to relationships. I know exactly what she thinks, but I respectfully disagree. “This is your hopeless-romantic mentality kicking in,” I tell her. “You know what I think? You are crazy. This is Ryan we are talking about.”
“Guys and girls can’t be just friends.”
I set my spoon down and lean back in my chair. “Why not?”
“If I had a ‘guy’ best friend I spent all my time with, like you do with Ryan, Jayce would not approve,” she says matter-of-factly. “It isn’t realistic.”
“Which is exactly why I don’t need a boyfriend,” I remind her. “I can approve of my own friendships, male or female, thank you very much.”
My phone vibrates on the table with a new text message.
“Liam?” she asks.
“No. Ryan.” I say, shrugging. “I forgot to text him last night when I got home. I woke up to like ten missed text messages from him. I should probably text him back.”
She hums, looking down at me.
“What?” I ask.
“I didn’t realize you two checked in with each other.”
“We don’t. He cares about me like an older brother would care about his little sister.”
Maisie shrugs, sipping on the rest of her coffee. “If you say so.”
The sound of the front door clicking open causes Maisie’s eyes to widen and dart over in my direction. Someone just entered our apartment. Her face is so pale, I’m worried she may pass out.
I stand up, trying to keep it together despite my racing heart.
“Jonesy?” I nearly collapse when I hear Ryan’s familiar voice shout my name from the foyer.
“Ryan?” I blow out a relieved breath.
Maisie mutters a curse word, clutching her palm to her heart just as he appears in the kitchen.
He looks like he hasn’t had much sleep. He has dark circles under his eyes, and his hair is wavy and unkempt. He�
��s wearing a wrinkly white t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants with flip-flops on his bare feet. He looks like he literally just rolled out of bed.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he winces, dragging a hand through his hair. “I thought you were dead.”
“How did you get a key to our apartment?” Maisie flippantly asks.
I apologetically look at her. “I gave him a key for emergency purposes only,” I say, and turn my attention over to Ryan. If looks could kill, he’d be dead. I’m so busted because of him.
He offers a tiny shrug. “Thinking you were dead seemed like an emergency to me.”
“We agreed not to give anyone a copy of our key,” Maisie says, glaring in my direction. “Jayce doesn’t even have a key because we made a promise.”
I feel awful for not telling Maisie, but she doesn’t understand that I needed to give Ryan a key. I lock myself out of our apartment all the time, and he is the only person I can trust. Besides her, of course.
“I know, okay,” I sigh. “But I forget my keys a lot. I needed a backup, and Ryan is supposed to be holding it in a safe place for me, not using it.”
Ryan leans against the counter as he reaches into the cabinet for a mug. He turns, coffee pot in one hand and a mug in the other, pouring himself a full serving. Maisie glares at me and then up at him.
“Maybe if you answered my texts, I wouldn’t have had to use it.” He takes a sip of his coffee.
“Obviously, I made it home safe,” I laugh. “Did you not see Liam this morning?”
He shakes his head. “No, I didn’t actually. He wasn’t in his bedroom when I woke up, and you weren’t answering my texts, so…”
With each second that ticks by with him watching me over the rim of the mug, I’m blushing and feeling guilty, even though I have no reason to feel that way.
“He said he likes to run in the morning,” I said. “That’s probably why he isn’t there.”
“So…” Maisie drawls. “You decided to come here and make sure Ella was okay?”
“Yeah.” He scratches his jaw and tilts his chin to me. “Sorry I care.”
“I was going to text you back,” I say in a tight whisper.
Maisie places her mug down in the sink, shifting her gaze between us. “I think I’m going to have a shower.” She slips out of the kitchen.