Contract Marriage With My Bestfriend (ON HIATUS)

5 - I Offer My Body To You

"Let's go, Maise!" Ryder flashed his brightest smile at her and reached out his hand to her.

She let out an uneasy sigh and terrified sparkling brown eyes looked up at him, like a deer in headlights. He chuckled and sat beside her in front of the makeup mirror. He playfully bumped his shoulder against hers and asked, "Nervous?" His charming smile was unrelenting as he hoped it would cheer her up a little.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm absolutely terrified." She sighed again.

He sighed as well while keeping a warm smile on his face. "I get it." She looked at him in doubt and he chuckled as he nodded his head. "I do. I've been there. I was a young, inexperienced, unknown, wannabee actor once. I also faced the daunting challenge of the first press conference too so I know how you feel."

"How did you get through it?" She asked. Her doe eyes focused on him. 

"Well…" Ryder cleared his throat to release the sudden tightness in his chest when confronted by attentiveness of Maisey's beautiful brown eyes. "First, I tried to understand what I was so nervous about so I would know how to handle it. In my case, I was afraid of failure."

Maisey nodded her head eagerly and said, "Me too. So what did you do?"

"I remembered what my Mom told me when she was first encouraging me to try going on auditions: Failure on the first try is not really failure, it's a learning experience for future success. You only really fail if you don't try." He told her and she noticed the smile in his eyes slowly fade. He quickly looked away to hide his sadness but he was not fast enough. She still saw it. 

Maisey had since known in the beginning of their friendship, that his late Mom will always be the ineradicable soft spot in Ryder's heart. She felt a sharp pain in her chest for his sadness as well as a tinge of guilt for reminding him of his loss. "Your Mom was right." Despite her lack of confidence, she mustered all her courage to reach out and place a cold and clammy hand on top of his hand in an attempt to comfort him. "She must have been very wise and kind."

Ryder nodded and looked up at Maisey with a soft smile on his lips. "She was."

"You turned out to be just like her. I'm sure she's very proud of you." Maisey gently moved her hand to pat the back of his hand. "Ryder, I will take your Mom's advice and try my best. With you. You won't leave me alone, will you?" Albeit tentatively, she gave him a little smile, hoping to ease the sudden melancholy in his aura. 

And her smile, no matter how shy and nervous it was at the moment, immediately made him feel better. She didn't know and somehow he couldn't tell how her smile, or the lack thereof, seemed to have the magical power to inevitably and deeply affect his mood. It was her smile that changed both of their lives and it was a smile that he hoped to keep seeing for the rest of his life.

He placed his hand on top of her hand, wrapping her cold hand in his warm palm. "Never. I will never leave you, Maise. We're in this together." He sincerely told her while his piercing gaze rested on her face.

His unrelenting eyes caused a blush to slowly creep on her cheeks. She withdrew her hand from between his palms and used it to tuck her hair behind her ear. "T-thank you." She whispered. She nervously bit her lips and clenched her fists tightly.

Seeing her flustered appearance, he couldn't help feeling distressed. He didn't know when it began but somehow, he felt the need to always make her happy. He wanted to always make her feel the bright, joyful, sunshiney warmth that he constantly felt ever since she came into his life. 

"Why do you do that?" He frowned as he looked at her lips. She was biting her lower lip so hard and clenching her fists too tight that she looked like she was about to bleed. He thought, "Do you know how soft and fragile you look that I wonder how I could shield you from the things that could hurt you all the time?"

"I… I don't know. I guess it became a habit whenever I'm stressed out." She said. 

"Don't do that. Don't bite your lip." He said. "Look. Your lips are swollen and here…" He took her hand and turned it over to show her palm. "There are nail marks here. Stop it. Don't hurt yourself."

Listening to his gentle reprimand, she immediately stopped biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt myself. It just helps me relieve some of the stress when I bite or squeeze something."

"Really?" He frowned and she nodded her head in response.

"Okay, I'll do it!" Ryder declared then stared at her dead in the eyes with a firm look of determination. "Miss Maisey March, I offer my body to you. You may do with it as you please."

She gaped at him in utter shock and stuttered, "W-what the hell are you talking about?!"

"Bite me. Beat me. Pinch me. Squeeze me. Do whatever you want to my body. I won't mind. As long as it makes you feel good." He smiled his brilliant dimpled boy-next-door smile while she remained speechless and slack-jawed. 

"Don't worry. My body is strong, healthy and has high endurance. I'm sure you'll be completely satisfied." He grinned widely and beat his chest to prove his point. "I can handle all your needs, Miss Maise." It was a sincere offer. He was willing to give her his body, heart and soul, if that would make her happy.

Maisey's eyes grew even wider as she felt the part from the root of her neck to the top of her head almost burn away from her body in embarrassment. She was sure he gave her an innocent offer, but why was she hearing his words in the wrong way? She felt extremely ashamed of herself. 

"Th-that won't be necessary." She said as she turned away from him and stood up. "I… I have to check my makeup." She told him and ran away while he was left staring at her back and wondering what he did wrong.

Despite her refusal to accept his offer, she still ended up occasionally hitting his arm, pinching his sides and squeezing his arm throughout the press conference whenever she felt flustered. It has become a new habit for both of them in all other interviews, guestings and appearances they did together after that.

That was 5 years ago. 

Ryder was part of all the firsts in her career. He was always there. She got so used to having him around to comfort her, it became a habit and like any habit, it left her staggering and confused when they had to go on different paths in their careers.

She missed him. She missed him constantly. She wished Ryder could stay by her side all the time but she knew it was wrong to keep holding him back. He was ready to soar higher. He waited for that chance for so long and all she could do for him is to let go. She couldn't just wait for him to return to her side too, she had to try to move higher so when the time came for their paths to meet again, he wouldn't have to go back too far. 

***

"We're done, Maise." The makeup artist told her but didn't receive a response from the pretty girl who stared blankly at the mirror immersed in her own thoughts. The makeup artist and three others behind her who attended to Maisey's grooming for her new movie's press conference looked at each other then just shrugged and quietly left the room.

Just then, her phone beeped. She took it and read the message. It was from Ryder. 

Good luck at your press conference today. I hope my body served you well enough this morning to relieve all the stress you might have. If not, you can bite and squeeze me more tonight, my sweet wife.

After reading the message, Maisey hurriedly turned the screen off and looked around. She blushed profusely and she clutched her phone tightly while she silently scolded her husband's outrageousness and her own thoughts on his message.