Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 52

REBECCA'S POV

On Sunday morning, I woke up to my phone buzzing loudly from the shelf in Ryan's room where it was plugged in. I lifted Ryan's heavy arm off my torso and snuck out of bed without waking him. It was already light out but we hadn't gotten much of a chance to sleep in yesterday so I was trying to take advantage of it.

I flipped my phone over, squinting in the hopes that the bright screen doesn't burn my retinas, and see a text from an unknown number. My heart instantly speeds up and I'm hoping Kirk hasn't found a way to get in touch with me. I figure it's less painful to just 'pull the band-aid off' so I open the message and realize it's from Bentley.

___
|Becca Hanson > UNKNOWN - 10:13am|
Received: Hey Becca this is Bentley :) I just thought it's only fair that you have my number too!
___

I smile to myself just because I'm proud I can help her out in getting to know people. I never really tried to make friends since Kirk made me move so much but even if that wasn't the case, I don't think I would have been good at talking to new people anyways. Although I think we will get along great (personality-wise) I wouldn't be offended if she fit into another group at school, as long as I can help her fit in I'll be happy.

"What's got you in such a good mood this morning?" Ryan whispered huskily in my ear while hugging me from behind. I reached around and clasped my hands behind his neck so I could run my fingers through his hair. He let out a breathy moan and an: "I love it when you do that. It feels so nice."

"So, I should do it more often then, huh?" I heard a growl-like sound a second before his teeth pulled at my earlobe. He spun me around a kissed me deeply which only caused my hands to wind in his hair more and add some light tugging. After a few minutes of making out, he pulls away with a grimace.

"Sorry. Took it too far," he mumbled and sits on the edge of the bed. "So, what were you smiling about before anyways?"

"Bentley texted me - the girl from the baseball game."

He flashes a dimple-worthy smile. "Did you want to do something with her today? I know we were talking about painting your room but we can do that some other time if you have plans."

"I don't have plans. She was just texting me so I had her number."

"Well you should make some plans then. Go shopping or something; whatever you girls do."

I sat on his lap and played with the hair on the nape of his neck again.

"Are you just trying to get rid of me Bradley?"

"Never." Then his lips covered mine once again.

~~~

I eventually had to quit making out and decided to text Bentley before heading in the shower. I could do some shopping – even if it is the stereotypical girl thing to do. I would like to buy some more things without my boyfriend lurking around.

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|Becca Hanson > Bentley - 10:38am|
Sent: Hey :) I was wondering if you had any plans today. I wanted to get some shopping done and thought maybe you'd like to come.
Received: I'd LOVE to go shopping!
Sent: I can pick you up around one or you can meet me there. What works for you?
Received: I don't have a car right now so if you could pick me up that'd be awesome :)
Sent: Sure! I'll be there at 1
Received: I'll forward my address.
___

After showering quickly, I sped into Ryan's room still dressed in just my towel.

"Are you trying to kill me Becs?" he groaned when he lifted his head and saw what I was wearing. I blushed but stayed by the doorway.

"Can you bring me and Bentley to the mall around one?" I asked sweetly and batted my long eyelashes.

"Yeah," he answered without hesitation. "You can ask me anything you want when you're wearing that and I promise you it will always be a yes." Rolling my eyes, I stalk back to my room and try to throw together a decent outfit.

Just as I got my underwear and bra on, Ryan bounded through the door.

"Woah," he stopped to stare, although he's seen me naked before that one time I was unconscious so I don't know what the big deal is. He slightly shook his head and made focused eye contact with me. "I was just going to tell you that I'm planning on hanging out with Landon today so if it's okay I'll drop you and Bentley off at the mall. He's meeting me there so we'll just hang around and you can text me when you guys are done shopping."

"Sounds good, but you don't have to babysit: you can come back to pick us up."

"I uh," he scratches at the back of his neck, "I'm too afraid to leave you be there alone. The mall is close to Kirk's house and I don't want anything to happen."

I smile at him smoothly, nod, and then drop my eyebrows in a sign for him to let me finish getting dressed. He gets the hint and disappears into the hallway so I throw on the rest of my outfit.

I take a break from toweling off my wet hair to text Bentley.

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|Becca Hanson > Bentley - 11:06am|
Sent: Plans are still the same but my boyfriend is going to drop us at the mall. He's going to hang out with his buddy. Is that alright?
Received: Yeah no problem. I'll get to meet the infamous boyfriend that left you alone at a baseball game lol
___

I knew I was going to get along with this girl! Rushing to get ready, I braid my hair so it doesn't dry completely insane and coat my lashes with some mascara, which by the way is literally a girl's best friend. You don't even have to hardly try and just a little mascara makes a huge difference.

~~~

Alex was in the kitchen when I went down to cook lunch.

"Wow you're up early," I joke since he normally sleeps until like three unless his alarm goes off. When I say this, he starts blushing profusely.

"I have a... a date," he explains sheepily.

"WHAT!?! You have a DATE!?!"

"Yeah," he rolls his eyes but is still blushing like a madman. "It's not until four but I couldn't sleep."

Smiling, I pinch his pink cheeks. "You're too cute. I was going to make lunch. Want to help?"

"Thanks for the subtle topic change but yeah I will help you. What are we making?" His blush dies down a little when he realized I'm not going to quiz him on his love life. I hate being in the spotlight and don't ever want to force that upon someone.

"How about tacos? We have all the stuff."

Alex nods in agreement and we quickly have everything finished; he's actually a pretty decent cook. Landon didn't know how to fry hamburger when he helped me cook so this was definitely an improvement.

"What smells so good?" Ryan asks as he saunters into the kitchen.

We chow down and leave around quarter to one to pick up Bentley.

~~~

Her house is small, well about the size of my old place with Kirk. It's within the same neighborhood and I'm completely nervous being so close.

"Hey, relax Becs," Ryan says and rests a hand on my knee. "I'll go around to get to the mall okay?"

I nod at the sweet man sitting next to me and lean on his shoulder. He knows that we would normally have to directly pass Kirk's house to get to the main road but he's offering to drive out of his way just so I don't have to pass a stupid building.

"I really, really like you Ryan." There isn't even one second of hesitation before he replies.

"Well I really, really, really like you Becs," then he kisses me on the top of my head.

I see Bentley rush out the front door and climb into the old red truck on the passenger side. She's almost as short as me so she has to hop to get in just like I do. When she doesn't introduce herself, I do it for her.

"Bentley this is Ryan." He holds his hand out to shake and she does.

"It's nice to meet you Bentley," he takes the initiative to start a conversation, noticing that she's pretty shy. "So, you just moved here?"

"Yeah, from Olympia," she answers with a strong voice but her actions show her nervousness.

"Oh neat! Are you going to keep working at the stadium now that you live here?"

"No, yesterday was my last day. I hope I can find something around here quickly though."

"Well the mall is probably the closest place to your house and there are plenty of options to choose from," he states. I already gush about Ryan too much but he truly is amazing. Here he is having a normal conversation with this stranger just so she doesn't feel so awkward. He got me to open up to him and I'm sure the same will go for Bentley given time.

"That's what I was thinking too. Where do you guys work? Are they hiring?"

I finally butt into the conversation after being left out for the past few minutes. "Neither of us works but I was thinking about being a waitress. I called a few places and they prefer if you're eighteen though so you can serve alcohol so I'll try that out in weeks."

"That's a good idea. Making tips would be much better than minimum wage," Bentley agrees. "I'd have to wait for a few months though, I don't turn eighteen until April."

We all chat for a few more minutes until finally reaching the mall parking lot. I notice Landon's bike a few stalls away but he must already be inside. After climbing out of the truck, Bentley rushed around to our side so we could all walk in together.

"I know we just met Bentley but I'm going to kiss my girlfriend now. If that's weird for you I apologize," Ryan stated with almost no warning before smashing his lips against mine as we entered the mall. Thankfully, she looked away after the initial shock wore off and I could tell I was blushing but his lips were worth it.

"Be careful and text me if anything's strange okay?" he whispered while staring into my blue eyes.

"Promise."

I lift on my tippy toes and wait for him to lean the rest of the way down so I can peck his lips. He smiles and leaves me with Bentley to go in search of Landon.