Page 35 of So Long, Honey
“Oh…” she said, looking over my shoulder at the group of players now getting rowdy in the sand close to the water’s edge. “Oh!”Mary gasped with a tiny laugh. “Are you two like…”
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said gently.
“From the beginning, duh!” Mary set her book aside and gave me her full attention as I went through what had happened for the last week and a half. Saying it all out loud to another person made me feel crazy, but the more I talked about Ryan, the more I realized that he wasn’t the only one with ridiculous feelings.
“You guys are like a movie!” She hummed and fell back into the sand with a long sigh. “He really tells you that he loves you everysingletime?” She asked.
“Every time. At first, I thought he was crazy, but now I kinda…” I trailed off and looked over my shoulder at him. The wind pushed around the fabric of his shirt as he lifted his arm to throw the ball, exposing the soft lines of his tanned stomach and the swooping lines of his pelvis leading into the top of his jeans.
The sun was setting behind him, painting the sky with pinks and purples that framed him in a soft haze, making him look more like a fantasy and less like a teenage boy. He cheered as the ball landed cleanly in the hands of another player. He whipped his baseball hat around his head until the brim was backward. He wrapped Landry into a celebratory bear hug, both laughing and fighting in the early summer air.
“Wait for it?” Mary laughed, “I would too. Ryan Cody is a dreamboat.”
The ball soared across the beach and landed at our feet with a splash of sand that made Mary giggle, but I was too lost in my overwhelming need to tell Ryan just how much Ilovedhim.When the hell did that happen?
Mary stood up and chucked the ball back with surprising speed and accuracy. It landed between Landry’s palms, and hegave her a wink. “Thanks, little Coop,” he smirked at her and Mary turned about nine different shades of pink before sinking back into the sand with me.
“What the heck was that?” I asked her, and she shrugged.
“He always flirts with me, but I think they’re all scared of my brother, so none of them ask me out… It kinda sucks.” Mary said quietly, “Landry is the cutest.”
“You have a crush on Landry?” I gasped and stared at her.
“Shut up, you can’t tell anyone!” Mary poked me as laughter bubbled from her.
“Who am I going to tell? You’re my only friend.” I said.
“Mm, not true.” She nodded to the horizon and caused me to turn.
Ryan and Landry stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at us, a massive smile on his handsome face. The one that curled a little to the left and showed off his perfect, sharp smile.
“That boy is in deep, Lorraine.” Another small laugh left Mary’s lips. I didn’t have a proper response, so I just sat wondering if it was possible to love someone you’ve only known for a week as if you had been loving them your entire life. And I believed it, looking at him, the way his eyes twinkled under the setting sun.
“Hey, you want a snack? Tyson bought way too much food on Dad’s credit card and there’s no way we can finish it before they get home next week.” Mary rambled and pushed up from the sand with her hand out to me.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, taking her hand and getting up from the sand. Ryan stepped forward, his eyes always watching, but I shook my head at him.I’m fine. He nodded back, two of his fingers coming up, and patted the space over his heart twice.I'd never seen him do it before but I could feel his reassurance like he was standing directly beside me, it spread through me like a warm safety. A quiet promise between the two of us.
The house was packed; people occupied every piece of furniture, even the ones not meant for sitting or lounging. Tyson Cooper, a male copy of Mary with dark hair and big brown eyes full of wonder and light, was leading what sounded like the most animated game of spin the bottle in the living room with a group of kids who had graduated the year before.
“This way.” She led me through the hallway toward a separate room with a closed door, opening it to reveal a pantry stocked with just about every single junk food I’d ever seen and hadn’t been allowed to eat in the last two years. “Take your pick,” Mary said.
After collecting an armful of candy and chips, we decided that retreating to her room would be more fun for both of us. However, she wanted to grab a couple of cans of soda before we did, so we moved back through the house to the kitchen.
“Shit,” Mary swore as we rounded the corner to Cadence and her groupies. “Cadence… looking pretty as always,” Mary sneered quietly and moved around them, but my route was blocked; all I could do was stand and stare at the three of them.
“Who the hell invited you here?” Cadence asked and the other two giggled in chorus of what could only be described as snakes hissing.
“Ryan,” I said with all the confidence I could muster, which wasn’t much when his name came out a stuttered mess.It’s two syllables, Lorraine…
“R..R…Ryan,” Paisley teased, and Georgia lost it laughing, which only made me feel worse about the stumble.
It was hard to find the girls buried beneath the monsters when they cornered and teased me like this. I tried to remember what Mary had said about them, but nothing seemed to stick long enough for me to find my confidence and fight back. They all smelled sickly of cranberry juice and vodka, drunk off their faces and looking for a target.
“Ryan’s community service is almost up, loser, and you’ll go back to being the loner you were before,” Georgia added when she had composed herself.
That made Cadence snort before a wicked smile plastered on her face. “You might be rich, Lorraine, but parties like these…aren’t for people likeyou.”
I opened my mouth to excuse myself, stepping back into a wall of warmth.