My Spy 3: Murder Mayhem

The Fourth Hole

When I slide into Ryan's truck, my adrenaline has me buzzing. I quickly lean over to kiss him and my off expression has him puzzled. He looks to me and asks, "Everything alright?" I nod to him and decide to swallow down what I want to tell him. He glances to me again before pulling out of the driveway.

As I was gliding out of the Samuel's house, I realized my agreement might totally freak Ryan out. Our relationship is still very much blooming and I would hate to scare him off by saying Hollis has given him their blessing to marry me. How do I explain all this and have it make sense? I shouldn't have agreed to her on the spot. I should have thought it over, but the plan is already in motion. I have officially created bad blood between me and Poppy.

I decide to keep quiet for now as I figure out how to explain the complexities of my momma's social circles and as we drive down the one-lane road, I look to Ryan and ask, "How was your day?" He glances back to me and asks, "You sure you're alright? You look jittery and you didn't immediately go off about how boring that landscaping meeting was. What's up with you?" I try and think of something quickly and go with a half-lie.

"Poppy decided to show everyone that stupid picture of me. It's just getting old. I'm tired of defending myself." He reaches over and gently pats my knee, "I think you're an easy target. Everyone knows you and your family so it's easy to talk about." I nod to him and realize I want to steer off this conversation before I accidentally spill the beans and have him sprinting back to South Carolina.

"I know, it's just frustrating. Anyway, do you have to be home so soon? Maybe before we go pick up my mom's car, we can get some ice cream or something?"

He nods, "Of course. Looks like you had a rough day. Let's get you some ice cream." I give him directions to the best ice cream parlor close to us and as we pull into the parking lot, I am glad to see hardly anyone here. Ryan holds the door open for me and the door chime causes the one employee to snap his head towards us. I run my eyes over the ice cream choices and choose cookie dough ice cream in a waffle cup. Ryan picks a scoop of pistachio and I stick my tongue out at his choice.

After enjoying our treats, we make our way to the country club and as soon as we pull up, I see Jackson talking to Garrett Anders by the valet. I have no idea if Poppy informed him of our confrontation and I don't want him saying anything to me in front of Ryan. I quickly panic and dart my gaze over to my innocent boyfriend.

"I am so dumb, I forgot to get the car keys from Mama to get the car. You know what? Why don't you just drop me off at home and I'll get the car tomorrow. I'll have Gus take me here in the morning." Ryan eyes me but is unaware that my momma said she left the keys in the glove box. He rolls his eyes and I'm sure he's annoyed to be driving me all over Hollis after a long day of work. I rest my hand on his forearm and give him my best puppy dog eyes.

"I am sorry you have a terrible girlfriend that treats you like her personal taxi." He glances at me before letting out a light laugh. He grabs onto my hand as he says, "It's not the end of the world." I smile to him as he adds, "Oh I forgot to tell you, I have tomorrow off. Maybe we can go on our second date?"

"You know, we got ice cream tonight so technically, our third date could be tomorrow and you know what that means." I bounce my eyebrows up and down and he shakes his head while laughing, "You make it hard to honor my word in taking things slow."

"Ryan, I promise to never say our relationship is purely sexual ever again. I've learned my lesson. It's been almost a month since our last...roll in the hay." He laughs again and I give him my best pleading look. He winks to me and coyly replies, "We'll see."

When we arrive back at my house, I pull on his hand that was resting on the steering wheel and say, "Momma is conked out from her migraine and the night is still young. You don't have to get up early tomorrow, so maybe you could come inside and hang out for a bit?" I dramatically flutter my long eyelashes and give him my best pout. He rolls his eyes in response and I clap my hands with giddiness when he cuts the ignition.