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.