Lust or Love?

Chapter 8

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To Ryan:
Of course! Stop by anytime tonight--I'm free whenever. You're scaring me though....

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I lounged on the couch, occupying my mind with tv so I wouldn't worry about Ryan. I'm sure whatever he needs to tell me isn't as big of a deal as he's making it out to be. Sometimes he can be a bit dramatic. There, that seemed to calm my nerves a bit.

The doorbell rang. That has to be him.

I scrambled off the couch and to the front door, taking in a deep breath and pulling it open.

"Hi," he shakily said.

I motioned for him to step in, "What's going on, Ryan? What'd you need to tell me?"

He stared at the floor for a moment, evidently searching for a way to break the mysterious news to me. "Evelyn," he began, finally looking me in the eyes. He inhaled deeply and started again. "Evelyn, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I-I..." He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"What is it?" I rubbed his arm soothingly, trying to comfort him. "You know I'm here for you, whatever you need to say just let it out. I won't judge you. I'm here for you Ryan," I pulled him into a hug and then waited patiently for him to speak again.

He looked deep in my eyes. "Evelyn, I think I'm in love with you."

Excuse me? Did I just hear right? Did Ryan just say he-he loved me?

I stood there like a fool, not knowing how to respond. "I-Ryan-er-" I struggled to form a sentence. What was I trying to say? I had no idea what to do. I loved Ryan, there was no doubt about that. But I didn't love him like that at all. My heart belonged to Beau. Ryan would always be a brother-figure in my life, and I guess I'd just have to explain that to him. "Ryan, I love you too," his face lit up with shock first, and then excitement. I pressed my finger to his lip before he had a chance to respond, and shook my head. "No, not in the same way you love me." His expression dropped to a pout. "You're like my brother; I love you like family. You're closer than any other friend I have," I gave him a warm smile, "but lets just stay that way--friends. I have Beau and I'm sure if things don't work out between you and Andrea then you'll find someone that will." I embraced him in another hug and held there for a minute, trying to comfort him as best I could.

"You're right, Evelyn. I'm sure you have a wonderful relationship with this guy Beau," he smiled back at me, "and if he doesn't treat you right then he'll have to deal with me," he joked.

I laughed, "See? We work better this way," I playfully smacked his stomach. "Brother and sister; best friends for life."

He nodded his head. "Well, I'd say we've had quite an eventful day today," he exhaled loudly and headed for the door. "I should probably be getting home," he said with a hand on the doorknob. "Thanks for being so cool about this all Evelyn," he smiled before walking out the door.

"Anytime," I smiled back and waved as he headed to his car. Whew. I think I handled that pretty well, considering it totally shocked me.

I say back on the couch and grabbed my phone.

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From Beau:
Hey babe, we finished meeting with the manager finally! I'm exhausted :(

To Beau:
I feel ya, I was at the beach all day with a friend Ryan and I'm beat :(

From Beau:
Ryan, eh? I'll have to meet this kid. Make sure he isn't hitting on my girl while I ain't there (;

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Okay, I knew he was joking but it was a bit ironic after everything that had just happened. But I also knew nothing would be going on between Ryan and I, and I assured Beau that.

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To Beau:
Don't fuss you've got nothing to worry about (:

From Beau:
Alright babe (: I'm gonna hit the bed since I'm sooooo tired. Goodnight beautiful ;) xxx

To Beau:
Same here! Nighty night sexy (; xxx

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