The Bookstore Boy

Chapter 6: Meeting the...Friends?

“No way!”

“Yeah way! And the best part was, was that his girlfriend was sitting next to him!”

Ryan burst out laughing. I had just told him about the time Koltyn decided to flirt with a waitress we had once when we went out to eat. We were currently hanging out and playing GTA5.

“Do you want more?” I asked pointing to his empty glass of lemonade.

“Yeah, thanks,” he answered with a smile, “So when do I get to meet these friends of yours?” he shouted from in the living room.

“How about tomorrow night? They always come over Sunday nights,” I said replied walking back into the living room and handing him his lemonade.

“Are you sure they won’t mind me being there?” he asked, a little unsure.

“Of course not. Lily has been dying to meet you and Koltyn won’t care as long as I have food. Sooo, yeah, you’re good,” I said with a smile.

“Cool.”

~~~~

“Where is he?” Lily asked for the sixth time.

“I don’t know! He’s probably running late now stop obsessing and be good. If you do anything embarrassing I’m putting you on time-out,” I scolded.

“Ha ha very funny,” Lily pouted.

“Koltyn stop!” I yelled in frustration as he poked my side again.

“Why? I like getting you wound up,” he said with a smirk that I wanted to slap off his face. Just as I was about to reply, a knock came at the door.

“I got it!” Lily yelled, jumping up and running to the door. Before I could even protest she had the door thrown the door open and squealed in delight.

A surprised looking Ryan stood in the hallway with a bouquet of daisies and a bottle of what looked like Coconut rum. He was wearing dark wash jeans and a blue button up shirt.  

"Hi! I'm Lily and you must be Ryan."

"Uh...yeah I'm Ryan. It's nice to meet you Lily. I've heard a lot about you," Ryan smiled offering Lily his hand. But of course Lily being Lily, she went right in for a hug. That was my cue to step in.

     "Lily that's enough. Stop torturing the poor guy," I chuckled and pulled her off of Ryan, "Sorry we're still training her." Ryan laughed and pulled me into a hug while Lily stuck out her tongue a me.

 "So you're Ryan, uh?" Koltyn asked as Ryan and I pulled apart. He was acting in his fatherly manner he got whenever I met a guy. Though this was the first time since the incident had happened that I had met and trusted someone besides Lily and Koltyn.

"Yeah, you must be Koltyn. I've heard a lot about you to. Usually good things," Ryan said and offered Koltyn his hand. Hesitantly, Koltyn took it and while sizing Ryan up,

"Oh, I almost forgot, I grabbed this for you." Ryan handed Koltyn the bottle of liquor that actually turned out to be whiskey.

"Yup, you're a keeper!" Koltyn laughed and slapped Ryan on the back after he had inspected the bottle of whiskey.

"Guys supper is ready!" Lily yelled from the kitchen.

~~~~

"Oh my god, Cassie that was amazing," Ryan complimented me as we all finished up our food. Lily and Koltyn mumbled agreements. I had made lasagna roll ups with a salad and breadsticks.  

I got up and started clearing the dishes. We ate dinner in the dining room like we do every Sunday. I grabbed mine and Lily's plates and headed into the kitchen where a threw them in the sink. Even though I have a dishwasher I hate using it. It's loud and uses a lot of water.

"I totally forgot about them but these are for you," Ryan said walking to the kitchen. In his hand were the flowers from before, but this time I got a better look at them. They were orange and yellow tulips, my favourite kind of flower. Also, really hard to find in the fall.

“Lily told me they were your favourite,” he explained with as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“They are,” I said with a shy smile. I could feel a blush slowly creeping up my neck. I turned away from him, mostly so he wouldn’t see me blushing, and grabbed a vase from under the sink. As I filled it, Ryan unwrapped the flowers from the plastic wrap it was in and put them in the vase.

“Okay, what do you need done,” he asked after I had placed the flowers on the table.

“You don’t have to do anything, I’ve got it,” I said. I started filling the sink with water, when I felt two hands on my hips.

“I’ll wash you dry,” Ryan said and moved me over so I was on the other side of the sink. “I would offer to dry, but I don’t know where anything goes.” I just smiled in return.

Overall, it took us exactly forty-two minutes to finish the dishes. It would have taken less time if Ryan hadn’t induced a full-on bubble war, which by the end of, I was covered from head to toe in bubbles and he only had a little patch of them on his shirt.

“Go dry yourself up,” Ryan laughed, “I’ll finish in here.”

“Thanks,” I laughed too.

~~~~

After I had changed we all sat down and played monopoly, due to Koltyn’s request. But, about halfway through Koltyn, as always, got bored with it and said he had to go home. Soon after Koltyn left Lily said she was going to head home too.

“Do you have any coffee?” Ryan asked after Lily had gone.

“What’s with you and coffee?”

“It’s a complicated relationship,” Ryan shrugged his shoulders. I stared at him trying to decipher if he was serious. He cocked his head to the side and gave me a crooked smile. I just shook my head at him and went to make his coffee.

“How do you like it?” I ask over my shoulder.

“Black.”

“That’s gross...” I made a disgusted face.

“Why?”

“It’s bitter and just gross. It also gives me a headache. But apple cider on the other hand thats the shit. I mean it’s like drinking a caramel apple. Well that is if you make it right cause if you don’t make it right it doesn’t taste like a caramel apple. But still I think...” I trailed off when I heard him laughing quietly behind me, “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he chuckled.

“You can’t laugh at me and then expect me to settle on the fact that its nothing when in fact it is something,” I said raising my voice a little but still smiling.

“I was laughing at you, I was laughing at your rambling,” he smiled, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.

“I wasn’t rambling...” I turned my attention back to my keurig, pressing ‘brew’.

“‘If you don’t make it right it doesn’t taste like a caramel apple blah blah blah. It wa too rambling, you just don’t realize it,” he said, leaning back against the counter.

“Ugh! Fine whatever! When are you going home?” I asked only half joking. Ryan raised an eyebrow at me.

“I’m not. I’m going to stay here and bother you all. Night. Long.”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

        Hi everyone! Gahhhhh I know! I know! I haven't updated in, like, a month. But I've been really busy! So bear with me! I will update more now that school has started and I will have some down time at school. (hopefully) Thanks for reading xoxo :)