Текст книги "Love Unscripted"

Автор книги: Tina Reber

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After everyone did a shot of tequila, I sat at the big round table with the ladies to play some cards. Kat was getting tipsy; she was so cute to

watch as she giggled to herself.

“I’m glad the psycho twins finally left,” Kelly announced. Her comment made me chuckle.

“Yeah, what’s up with Suzanne?” Marie asked. “She’s kind of like a bitch.”

“That’s an understatement!” Kat laughed loudly.

“It’s surprising; on screen she and Ryan have such amazing chemistry. I thought she’d be nicer,” Tammy said.

“That’s because Ryan has the patience of a saint!” Kat yelled in Ryan’s direction. “We should call him Saint Ryan from now on.”

Ryan looked over his shoulder and smirked at her.

“We all told him that if he’d just kill her already, we could go home. We even offered to bail him out of jail if he’d do it!” Kat joked. “Right Ryan?

I’d bail you out of jail in a heartbeat, brother!”

“That’s why I check the clip in my gun before every scene.” Ryan laughed. “I’m so paranoid that one of you are going to slip real bullets in there

one day.”

“And what about Francesca?” Tammy asked Kat. “She barely said a word to anyone.”

“That’s because Suzanne does the talking for both of them now. Sometimes we wonder if Fran is made out of wood and Suzanne has her hand

up her ass making her mouth move,” Kat hiccuped.

Ryan turned around, laughing hysterically at Kat’s comment. He made a gesture like he had a puppet on his hand.

“Francesca has issues,” Kelly added. “At first she was really nice, but she developed this idolization of Suzanne, and then she became an evil

clone.”

Kelly lowered her voice. “Fran is infatuated with Ryan, or at least she was. I don’t know anymore. We think since Suzanne was in a position to be

close to Ryan, Fran started to mimic her – thinking it would attract Ryan’s attention. It developed into this sickness.”

“I’m still betting on the alien abduction theory myself,” Kat added. “One more movie, one more and then we are finished with them. I am so not

looking forward to having to hit the promo circuit with them again. It’s going to be a freaking nightmare.”

“Well Suzanne said some harsh things to Taryn tonight,” Marie added. “It’s pretty obvious that she’s got a thing for Ryan too.”

I looked down at the cards in my hand, displeased that she mentioned it.

“Taryn, she was a bitch to you! I wanted to punch her. Now when I see the next movie, I’m going to wish Charles would let her bleed to death in

that cave.”

I thought about Ryan having to go to work tomorrow. Would he say anything to Suzanne or would he just ignore it for the sake of keeping his job?

I presumed he would just keep his cool and do his scenes the best he could. It wasn’t in his personality to invite confrontations.

I was glad he told me what he did when we were in the shower earlier this morning. He was honest with me. I wondered if anyone else sitting at

this table knew about his slip in judgment when he slept with Francesca. If they knew, they certainly weren’t going to bring it up in front of me. Kelly

and Kat were above that.

I looked up at the television and saw that the Steelers had possession of the ball.

“Excuse me, ladies. I have to see this.” I sat back down next to Ryan.

The quarterback had just thrown the ball for twenty yards and the Steelers’ receiver was on his way to the goal. I stood up to cheer; Ryan stood

up right behind me.

“Touchdown!” we both yelled. Ryan held his hands up in the air; I clapped my hands into his for a mutual high-five. The place kicker got the ball

between the uprights for the extra point. Ryan gave me another high-five and a quick kiss. He was so happy, and seeing him happy made me even

happier.

I noticed I was the only female even remotely interested in the game, but it didn’t matter. I had everything my heart desired; great friends, new

soon-to-be great friends, and the best man I could have ever wished for.

I stayed with Ryan until half time. The Steelers were winning, 21 to 7, Ryan was having a blast with the guys, and I was secretly entertaining

thoughts of straddling him where he sat. The several drinks I had consumed further enhanced my naughty thoughts. I was feeling buzzed and

completely aroused.

“Play me a song,” Ryan whispered in my ear.

I looked at him like he was crazy.

“What do mean, play you a song?” I grinned and looked him in the eyes.

“On your piano. Play something.”

“Why don’t you play me a song?” I challenged. “My guitar is just up those steps.” I pointed to the door.

“Oh no! I asked you first! Come on, just one.” He stood up and pulled me off of my chair, practically carrying me like I was a football over to my

piano.

I lifted the cover off of the keys and stared at them. I had no idea what to play. I played a few notes, hoping that a song would come to me while

remembering all the songbooks I used to have.

I started to play a few chords and Ryan’s face lit up.

“Journey?” he asked.

I nodded and began to sing.

Soon I had a gathering around my piano, all of us trying to remember the words. It was amusing to hear them all sing off-key. Our rendition of

that wonderful song ended horribly, since I couldn’t remember all of the lyrics.

“How about this one?” I played a few notes.

It was karaoke night in Mitchell’s Pub.

“Play that song you played that night,” Ryan requested coyly. “Please?”

At his urging, I played “You’ve got a Friend” again. This time I wasn’t nervous.

Cal took Kelly in his arms and started to dance with her. It was such a beautiful sight. Pete twirled Tammy under his arm, and Ryan leaned

across the top of my piano, smiling at me.

I sang to him and him alone.

We were all having a good time singing and laughing, that was until the police sirens sounded and the red and blue lights flashed in front of my

pub. I immediately hopped up off my piano bench.

“Pete!” I yelled.

“I’m on it,” Pete answered as he trotted out the front door.

I stood near the door waiting for Pete to return. It seemed to take him forever. I wanted to look out the window to see what was going on, but

Ryan stopped me. Eventually Pete came back in but he wasn’t alone; two police officers were with him.

“Pete, what’s going on?” I asked, nervous that I had police in my pub. It had been a long time since I had cops show up. Usually they came after

someone started a fight outside, but I had no idea why they were here now.

“Good Evening, Miss,” One of the policemen addressed me as he looked around at my guests.

“Good Evening, Officer,” I replied. “I’m Taryn Mitchell. I’m the owner here. What is going on?” Ryan stood dutifully behind me.

“We received a complaint about a crowd blocking the street traffic,” the policeman replied.

“As you can see, we are holding a private affair for our visiting guests.” I looked at Ryan and Cal. Seaport was not a large community; I

presumed that the dozen or so police officers we had on staff all knew that celebrities were in town.

The policeman looked at Ryan and nodded his greeting. “Mr. Christensen.”

“Good Evening, Officer,” Ryan replied. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest. “My apologies for the crowd. Unfortunately there

isn’t much we can do about it.”

“We will make sure that the street is clear. There are too many pedestrians on the sidewalk. We'll request that they disband, but they will surely

regroup once we leave,” the officer informed.

“We appreciate your help,” Ryan replied.

“Yes, thank you,” Cal added.

“Would you like me to call in a request for a police escort when you leave?” the officer asked.

“I’m not sure. We have private security with us this evening,” Ryan answered.

“Yes, we spoke to them outside,” the officer said. “They are trying their best to keep it orderly, but we understand there is only so much they can

do.”

“We should be fine. Thanks for the offer.” Ryan reached out to shake the officer's hand.

My heart rate was accelerated from the nervousness that always accompanied police presence, but Ryan seemed to maintain his cool. Pete

escorted the police out the door; hundreds of camera flashes lit up the darkness the moment the door opened.

I noticed Ryan turned to walk away; I presumed he didn’t want to be seen when the front door opened. He sat down in his seat in front of the

television and started rubbing his forehead. His body language confirmed my suspicions.

I stood behind him and started rubbing his shoulders. I knew he was bothered by the mayhem outside and I wanted to take his mind off of it.

How much pressure could one man take before he would crack?

Ryan leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “That feels good,” he murmured.

I was trying not to get angry with the crowd outside for ruining our evening. I kissed his forehead, trying to soothe him. I didn’t need to be able to

read his mind to know the exact thoughts that tormented him.

Our guests stayed until the football game was over, but soon after that everyone proceeded to gather their things. Gary reluctantly handed over

twenty dollars to Ryan, and Ryan graciously accepted it.

“I’m going to go back to the hotel with the rest of them,” Ryan informed. The sadness was evident in his eyes. “I really want to stay with you, but I

think it’s best if I go.” His eyes flickered to my windows. “I have to be on set anyway early in the morning.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist as he hugged me. “I don’t want you to go. But I understand why you feel you must.”

“Tar, they know I’m in here. Suzanne told the crowd on her way out,” he whispered in my ear. “I want to make sure that all of our friends get out of

here safely, and I’m not ready for the paparazzi to start stalking you too.”

Ryan turned to Pete. “Pete, Tammy, what do I owe you? Do you have a bill for the catering?”

Tammy looked sideways at Pete; she didn’t know what to say.

“Ah, Ryan, Taryn paid us already,” Pete replied.

“How much was the bill?” Ryan asked me.

“It wasn’t that much. Don’t worry about it.” I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that he wasn’t staying.

“That’s not what I asked.” He sort of laughed, but I could tell he was annoyed. “How much was it?”

I just ignored him and started cleaning up.

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“You know, Ryan, I thought you were smarter than that,” Marie commented while piling up dirty glasses on the bar. “Taryn doesn’t want you for

your money.”

I turned to her and grimaced.

“Besides…” she continued with a laugh, “she’s not hurting for cash, that’s for sure.”

I knew she was trying to make a point to Ryan, but I still gave her a displeased look. My wealth was something I didn’t like to flaunt.

Ryan pressed his body into my back. “Sooner or later you’re going to have to get used to letting me pay for things, you know that?” he

whispered. “There’s no way I’m going to allow anyone to think I’m taking advantage of you – you included.”

“There’s only one thing I need.” I placed my hand on his heart. “The rest is just details.”

“I’m not going to argue with you tonight, but this conversation is far from over.” He lightly smiled and kissed me.

Several of their security team came inside the bar. Ryan had collected his things from upstairs and he walked me over to the steps to my

apartment so we could have a private moment in my stairwell.

“Thank you for doing all of this. You were a lovely hostess! Everyone had a great time.” He leaned and gave me a very passionate goodbye

kiss. “I’ll call you tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it for poker, it all depends on when we finish.”

I nodded and kissed him again. I didn’t want him to leave.

We all said our goodbyes at the front door; I hugged everyone before they left and they warmly hugged me back. I made some very good new

friends today.

Pete and Tammy were staying behind to pack up the leftover food while Marie and Gary helped me clean up.

Two security men walked out the door first; Cal and Kelly led the pack, Kat and Ben were behind them, and Ryan and Shane were sandwiched

between three other bodyguards.

The screams from the awaiting crowd were ear-piercing and quite frightening. I took a few steps back, ducking behind Pete while we all

watched the camera flashes light up the night sky.

Chapter 13 – Windows

It was close to one thirty in the morning when I crawled into bed. The memories of the last few days swirled in my mind in segmented but vivid

pictures. I thought about the most important memory – Ryan’s admission that he was falling in love with me, and how I admitted that I was falling in

love with him. It was a huge relief to know that our feelings were mutual and I could now let my feelings for him run free.

I could see that it might be difficult to maintain a healthy relationship with him, but would it really be so different than having a relationship with

any other man? No matter who I would get involved with, it would take patience and understanding for love to survive; two qualities that I knew Ryan

possessed.

Being in his world, the world of public fame, would take some getting use to. But I was more than willing, after today, to get going on that next

part of my life. I could easily see myself by his side, supporting him in his adventures. But on the same token, I did not want to repeat past mistakes;

those mistakes, in particular, when I gave up who I was to be with a man.

I thought of what I might have to give up in order to be with Ryan. Would I have to sell the bar? Maybe I could keep it and have someone else run

it for me. I would still want to maintain control to ensure that the Mitchell’s name remained untarnished.

Maybe Ryan would want to live in California like Cal and Kelly? He said that my rooftop was his new favorite place in the world, but would it be

his favorite place forever? Would I want to stay in this same apartment forever too?

When I was engaged to Thomas, it was expected that we would stay in my apartment above the bar. That was the plan, considering Thomas

wasn’t coming into the relationship with much else to offer. But I had always hoped for more; perhaps a nice farmhouse on a secluded piece of

property with mature trees large enough to hold a tree house. A place where my children could run free and play with the family dog. Somewhere I

could grow a garden and plant flowers.

What about my friends? Would I have to say goodbye or see you later to the friends I had for most of my life? My parents were gone; I had no

siblings, no real ties to Seaport other than the fact that this was where I called “home.” It was my safe haven in a world of uncertainty.

Ryan’s presence in my life had generated a whole new list of questions for me to ponder. I wanted a life with a partner in it and Ryan was

appearing to be as close to perfect for me as one man could ever be. He was a guy’s guy, rugged and manly, but he was also loving and tender. He

wasn’t selfish like Tim, and he wasn’t opposed to love, like Dean. And most importantly, one lady seemed to be more than enough.

I loved the way he took charge of situations too. The way he spoke to the police this evening – in some bizarre way it actually turned me on to

see him take the lead. He wasn’t the type to take a back seat to anyone. He was strong and could handle himself, and he had demonstrated on

more than one occasion that he wanted to take care of me. His actions were natural – as instinctual as breathing.

The more I thought about it, the more I decided that whatever path life would take me on it would be worth it, as long as Ryan was by my side.

I nestled under my covers; a smile crossed my lips when Ryan’s voice uttering the words “I’m falling in love with you” echoed in my mind. I let

sleep take me under with that being my last thought.

I just about leapt out of my skin when my alarm system went off. A surge of adrenaline coursed into my veins from the shrill of the alarms. I ran to

my bedroom door and locked it. I looked at the clock; it was almost five. Not more than thirty seconds passed before the alarm company called my

cell phone.

“Hello, this is Taryn Mitchell,” I breathed into the phone.

“Ms. Mitchell, this is Jeff from Shield Security, we have indications of a breach in your building. Are you in the building?”

“Yes,” I stammered.

“Are you secured?” he asked.

“Yes, I’ve locked myself in my bedroom.” My heart was pounding; the alarms were blaring.

“Sensors are indicating a window on your first floor. We have alerted local authorities. The police have been dispatched; their ETA is four

minutes. I will stay on the line with you until authorities arrive. Are you in need of medical assistance?”

“No. I’m fine. Scared, but fine.” I was trembling as I put some clothing on.

“Ms. Mitchell, the police have arrived. They are unable to get inside.”

I unlocked my door and crept out into the hallway. I could hear the police banging on the front door.

“I’m going downstairs to let them in,” I informed him.

As soon as I opened the front door the police quickly escorted me out of my building so they could do a sweep for an intruder. I was shaking like

a leaf when they sat me inside a patrol car.

Another patrol car came speeding down Fourth Street, red and blue lights blazing. I believe every cop on duty in Seaport was there. After what

seemed like an eternity, an officer came to the car. I recognized that he was the same officer who came into my pub when Ryan and our guests

were here.

“Miss, my name is Officer Carlton,” he introduced himself.

“Yes, officer. You were here earlier.”

“Yes ma’am. We’ve searched your facility for intruders. No one is inside. It appears that a large rock has been thrown through your front window.

There are no other signs of forced entry.”

I just nodded. I was freezing and scared shitless.

“Is there someone you can contact to help you? You will need to board up your window. We are going to take pictures of the scene first and I’ll

need to take a statement from you.”

I still had my cell phone in my hand.

“Pete?” my voice cracked.

Pete and Tammy arrived about thirty minutes after I called.

“Tammy!” Relief washed over me as I hugged her.

“Taryn, are you okay? What happened?” she asked.

I repeated my story again. Shattered glass was all over the table and booth and the impact took down one of my neon bar signs.

“In all the years we’ve had this pub, this is the first time we’ve ever had any vandalism. I don’t understand.” I shook my head. I tried to imagine

why someone would hurl a rock through my window. For a brief moment, I wondered if it was some obsessed fan that did it.

Tammy and I held the sheets of plywood in place while Pete boarded up the window. The sun was starting to rise; in another hour or so I’d be

able to call a contractor to come fix the glass. I also needed to get the insurance company involved. All this hassle for what? I hoped that whoever

threw the rock got whatever was bugging them out of their system.

Tammy stayed with me while Pete went to work. I felt horrible for getting him out of bed so early. He only had four hours of sleep, if that.

“What would be the motivation for someone to do this?” I asked, pouring shattered glass into the plastic garbage can.

“I don’t know. It’s so senseless and juvenile,” Tammy muttered.

“Do you think I was targeted?” I wondered.

“I hope not. Are you thinking it was a fan or something like that?” Tammy asked.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one to have that thought. I nodded my head in agreement.

Ryan’s fans were obsessed; I wouldn’t put it past one of them to do something like this. After all, the first day I met him, one of his fans had gone

beyond admiration and moved towards assault.

“Well, at least I know that the security system is working. The security company called me within seconds of the alarm going off.”

After we finished cleaning up, I gave Tammy a ride home. We made it four feet outside my building before the paparazzi descended on us and

the cameras started to click. There were eight or nine of them and they already knew my name.

I concentrated on the keys in my hand and the cracks in the sidewalk as we hurried to my car. Just like Ryan had warned, they started prompting

me with questions.

“How’s Ryan? Are you his girlfriend? Taryn, to your left – look to your left. What was the occasion for the party? What happened to your window?

Are you and Ryan Christensen dating? Taryn, look over here. You’re beautiful – I can see why he likes you.”

I unlocked the car doors and Tammy and I jumped in as fast as we could. The photographers were still taking pictures as I backed out of my

parking space.

“Oh my God, Taryn! I’m freaking shaking!” Tammy stuttered as I drove down Mulberry Street. Her hands were trembling.

I was slightly shaken as well, but not as bad as I thought I would be. Maybe because I had mentally prepared myself for this that it didn’t affect me

as severely as I had imagined? The thought of Ryan being proud of how I just handled myself with the paparazzi flashed through my thoughts.

I dropped Tammy off at home and returned to my parking spot a block away from my pub. The paparazzi had mostly disbanded, but there were

still three of them lingering by my door. I didn’t smile at them or acknowledge their presence; they were blood-sucking leeches in my book.

I locked myself inside and waited for the insurance adjuster to arrive. I thought about calling Ryan but resisted. It didn’t matter; he still called me

anyway. I refrained from telling him about the window while he was still on set filming. He needed to focus and I certainly didn’t want to add another

piece of stress to his life. I decided to wait to tell him about the window until he was back at his hotel.

After a few phone calls, poker night was cancelled. Everyone seemed fine with staying home, although Tammy and Marie both offered to come

stay with me. I thanked them but declined. I was fine playing my guitar by myself.

“Are you still playing poker?” Ryan asked when he called at eight o’clock. I was surprised that he was in a good mood, considering he was on

set for almost thirteen hours.

“No, we’re not. Everyone decided to stay home.”

“Everyone still tired?” Ryan asked, slightly chuckling.

“Well, sort of. I didn’t want to tell you earlier while you were filming, but someone hurled a rock through my front window at five o’clock this

morning.”

“What?” he bellowed. “Which window – upstairs or downstairs?”

“Downstairs. It was the middle window with the Mitchell’s logo. The whole window shattered into pieces.”

“Are you okay?” I could hear his concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was scared to death when my alarms went off, but the security company called the police right away. So I had the cops here…

again,” I sighed. “The officer who came earlier was the same one who took my statement.”

“I should have stayed,” he said.

“It’s okay. I called Pete. He and Tammy came right over. Pete boarded up the window with a couple of sheets of plywood and Tammy helped

me sweep up the glass.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “I called my insurance company and a glass contractor. The glass will get replaced on

Wednesday.”

“Tar, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Nothing for you to be sorry about,” I quickly replied.

“If I would have been there, I could have boarded the window myself,” he said with authority.

As much as I wanted to believe he sincerely meant what he said, I still couldn’t picture him out there at six in the morning boarding up my

smashed window. The paparazzi would have had a field day with that scenario. I knew he meant well.

“I still would have had to call Pete. I don’t have any plywood lying around. Pete is working on his house – I knew he had a few sheets on hand.”

“I’ve got to call Pete and thank him. He’s a good man and a good friend.”

I was pleased that Ryan said that. It made me happy that he considered Pete his friend too.

“Did you pay him for the plywood?” Ryan asked.

“No. Shoot. I didn’t even think to offer. Now I feel bad. It was so early when it happened and I wasn’t thinking. But I will, now that you mentioned

it.”

“No. I’ll take care of it. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“Why would you do that? It was my window that was smashed.”

“Taryn, just let me do this. I’m a little mad that you didn’t tell me earlier.”

I sighed. “I didn’t tell you because you need to stay focused while you’re working. Besides, I figured you had enough on your plate dealing with

Suzanne. I could just tell in your voice when you called earlier that she was giving you a hard time.”

“She was,” he chuckled. “Fortunately she can be quite professional when the cameras are rolling.”

“Did you say anything to her about yesterday?” I asked, wondering if he confronted her.

“No,” he admitted. “Tar, I didn’t want to start anything. I hope you’re okay with that.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m perfectly fine with it actually. It’s not worth the tension.”

“That’s what I thought. Besides, you know how I feel about you,” he whispered.

I smiled. “Yeah, I suppose I do!”

“Speaking of which… what are you up to?”

“I’m just sitting here playing my guitar and listening to music,” I said as I played a few chords.

“Want some company?” Ryan asked.

“Race you to the back door?” I joked. He never even said goodbye. I heard a faint click when he hung up on me.

I waited by the back door for him. The Lexington Hotel was only three blocks away. I smiled when I saw him finally turn the corner.

“Phew,” he sighed. “I’m out of shape!” His breathing was slightly labored from jogging. “I had to take the long way because the paparazzi are

camped out by the hotel.”

“Which way did you go?” I asked.

“I snuck out the door by the swimming pool and went down the boardwalk a block. I told one of the hotel workers that I wanted to go for a jog, so

he gave me a key to get back through the door to the indoor pool.” He grinned, showing me the key. “Only cost me one autographed poster!”

I laughed at him. “I wondered what took you so long.”

“Hug me, I’m all sweaty,” Ryan joked, wrapping his arms around me.

Ryan tossed his jacket onto the living room chair and immediately picked up my guitar. “So, what were you playing?” he asked.

“Nothing really,” I admitted.

He started to play a little bluesy tune. “I miss my guitar. I wish I had it with me, but I had it sent to my mom and dad’s after the last press tour. I’m

always afraid it’s going to get damaged or stolen.”

“Why don’t you have you parents send it out here?” I shrugged.

“I thought about it but it can stay with the rest of my stuff. All my worldly possessions are in boxes in my parent’s basement.”

“I remember you telling me that you used to have an apartment out in L.A. So you don’t have a place there anymore?” I asked.

“No. I packed up all my stuff before I started filming the first Seaside. I figured I’d be on location for seven-eight months… between filming

Seaside and then Reparation right after that, what was the point to keep it all there. Besides, I have no desire to live in California anymore. I was

planning on moving back to the East Coast anyway,” he stated. “I told you that, didn’t I?”

I was glad to hear him say that he wanted to live on this side of the country again.

“Yeah, you did.” I nodded.

“Hey, isn’t there supposed to be a music store around here somewhere? One of the PAs said they saw a sign on one of the buildings nearby.”

“There used to be, but it has been closed for a while now. There’s a big music store about thirty minutes away though. Why? You want to go

there sometime?”

“I was thinking I’d just buy a new guitar,” he said casually. “One of these days if I can ever get there.” He grinned. “Or I can just steal this one from

you.” He strummed my guitar with more force. “It has a great sound.”

“I have a better idea – why don’t we just keep it here where it is safe and you can visit it whenever you’d like. How does that sound?” I joked.

He wrinkled his nose at me.

“So, what’s a PA?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s short for production assistant,” he said, like I was supposed to know what their job was.

“And they do what?”

“All sorts of things.” He shrugged.

“That clears it up perfectly,” I said sarcastically.

“They work for the ADs.” He grinned, knowing he was messing with me.

“Oh. So they must NBC the BFFs on HBO with LOLs, right?”

He started laughing hard. “Exactly!”

“Got it. It’s all clear as mud now.”

“Okay,” he retreated. “Are you ready for your next lesson, Ms. Mitchell?”

He stopped playing my guitar for a moment. “AD stands for Assistant Director. They’re responsible for stuff like the shooting schedule, you

know, what we’re doing for the day. They also track our daily progress, making sure that we’re keeping up with the overall production schedule.

Some of the ADs make sure the cast and crew is where they’re supposed to be – stuff like that. The PAs, or Production Assistants, really do all

sorts of stuff. Some work with the film crew, others are running stuff around the set, delivering paperwork or telling me to get out of my trailer. I

couldn’t even begin to tell you how many ADs and PAs we have on this film – loads.”

“So when is the quiz?” I asked jokingly. “I’d like some advanced warning so I have time to study first.”

“Soon! Very soon!” he stated, strumming over the strings to croon his words. “I haven’t decided whether it will be oral or written though.” I

definitely picked up on his hints.

The more he continued to play my guitar, the more I was willing to go along with just about anything he suggested. I liked the little facial

expressions he made when he played; how his eyes would scrunch closed or his lips would twitch to the beat.

My eyes traveled down the tendon in his neck; how tasty it looked connecting to his collarbone. His gray T-shirt obscured the rest of the view. I

just about lost my mind when he licked his own lips.

“Here you go,” he said, handing me the guitar. “Your turn.”

I was so dazed by my own thoughts that I just sat their like a lump for a few seconds.

“What?” he asked, looking at me funny. I knew I was supposed to reach for the guitar but my arms didn’t respond.

“Here… play,” he kindly urged.

When I regained the use of my limbs, I played a favorite song of mine, but my fingers messed up. I tried to start over, getting the chords right the

second time.

Ryan wrapped his fingers around the neck of my guitar and removed it from my lap. He carried it over to its stand. Talk about a subtle hint! I