Less Than Nothing

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"Home sweet home," I sigh, discarding my heels at the door. I have never been happier to enter my apartment than I am right now.

Halfway through dinner, Ryan made some excuse as to why the both of us needed to leave. Thankfully, Alexander's performance was convincing enough, to the point where nobody questioned anything.

Everyone genuinely believed that Ryan was just a nice friend giving me a ride home.

God bless the naive.

"Tonight wasn't what I expected," I tell Ryan, as I open my fridge to grab an unopened bottle of wine.

Ryan and I's first public outing as a couple couldn't have been worse if we tried. I don't want to think about it. I'm just happy that we've returned to a neutral space where it's safe to be us.

"By the way, that Kendra girl..." I open the bottle, and fill my glass, "needs to keep her hands off you. I find her little crush quite repulsive."

When I take a sip of the cool, crisp wine, the tension in my body starts to dissolve.

Ryan doesn't respond.

Now that I think about it, he hasn't talked much since we left the venue.

The car ride back to my place was silent.

"Someone's awfully quiet." I take another swig of wine, as I observe him on the opposite side of the living room.

His face rests in a neutral expression, as his silence continues.

Okay...odd.

He doesn't even look at me. Instead, he focuses on his hands that trickle down his shirt, undoing the buttons one by one.

Still silent. Still stoic.

Very different from the Ryan I'm used to.

Leaving my glass of wine on the counter, I join him by the coat rack.

He's about half way through the buttons when I take over. Pushing his hands aside, I continue to undo them myself.

Still, he doesn't say anything.

He only watches me with the same, expressionless stare.

"Something on your mind?"

"How did he know?" Is all he asks, leaving me even more confused.

"How did who know what?"

"Alexander." Ryan takes my hands, and removes them from his body.

"He was quick to chime in and protect us when Adrienne showed up. I didn't think about this before, considering I was too focused on trying not to punch his face in. But as the night went on, I realized how weird it was...that he knew to do that."

Oh.

"Oh." I mimic my thoughts.

That's why he's upset.

I'm now coming to the realization that I forgot to mention the whole Alex rebound thing to Ryan.

I didn't withhold this information purposely. I just assumed that it would be irrelevant, because I hadn't planned on seeing Alex ever again.

Turns out Alex may turn out to be a more permanent fixture in both of our lives.

I continue to undo the buttons.

"He knows, because I told him." I say, nonchalantly, though my nerves manifest into trembling hands.

"When you and I were separated...key word, separated, I invited him over."