The Lucky One

Chapter Eleven

"Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby

As long as you're with me, you'll be just fine

Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby

Nothing's gonna take you from my side"

-Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby by Cigarettes After Sex

POV Noah

I follow Ryland into his apartment. His hand is warm in mine, and I wish things could be like this forever. I've never brought somebody to Ana's diner, but having Ryland there just felt right. I follow Ryland into his room and sit down on his bed. Appa pads over and settles down in my lap. I look over to where Ryland is leaning against his dresser and see he is scrolling through his phone with an amused look on his face.

"People figured out we know each other. Apparently someone saw us on the plane and posted about it," he hands me the phone and I start scrolling through the comments on his recent post.

"'The bromance we didn't know we needed'" I start reading, "'I'm overloading from hotness' wow that's pretty extreme." I keep scrolling. Most people are either asking for conformation that we know each other or they're thirsting. 

Ryland starts changing, and I blush slightly. He notices and starts smirking. He's shirtless, and I'm basically face to face with his abs. His sweatpants are low on his hips and his smirk is downright sinful. I set Appa on the floor, and Ryland comes over and straddles my lap. 

He starts kissing my neck, and I groan as he starts lightly nipping at my skin. I run my hands up his back, eventually burying my fingers in his curls. He pushes me back against the bed, and I start moving one of my hands towards his waistband, and he groans as I move my knee against his crouch.

"As much as I would love to do this, and I mean, I would love to," Ryland says panting into my neck. "You just played a basketball game, and I'm kinda tired. Would you be okay if we just slept?" 

Would I be ok? I would give anything to be able to just go to sleep with Ryland. I would do anything just to be able to breathe the same air as Ryland. And, now that he's mentioned it, I am pretty tired. I lean up and give Ryland one more kiss before I roll out from under him.

"Sounds good. Do you have any clothes I could borrow?" Ryland points generally in the direction of his dresser and lays down on the bed. I pick out a pair of sweatpants, and then a random shirt. I change, and pretend I don't see Ryland watching me. 

"You look good in my clothes," Ryland says as I make my way towards the bed. I laugh, blushing slightly, before I lay down next to him. I turn so I'm laying on my side, facing him. He smiles at me, and I reach out to cup his face with my hand. 

"Can I ask you a question?" he says, and I nod. "Who all knows? About you, I mean."

I brush the pad of my thumb against his cheek as I talk. "I told my parents when I was younger, but they just ignored it. Whenever we get together, they still try to set me up with a 'nice lady'." Ryland frowns slightly at this, brow furrowing. I move my fingers so that I can smooth it out. 

"I told Paul earlier tonight. Apparently, I've been acting differently since Texas. He was cool about it, though. He thought I had a secret kid or something like that." Ryland snorts at this, and I'm just happy he stopped frowning. 

"Other than that, no one. Well, I guess except you." Ryland turns his head and kisses my palm. 

"What about you?" I ask. 

"Well, Layla knows. She was the first person I told. She said she knew before I even told her, but I  don't believe her." Now it's my turn to snort, and Ryland puts on an affronted look. "Hey! I can be a very convincing straight if I try! Anyways, Layla knows. Miguel knows," I see him take a deep breath and then he says, "My parents know. I told them when I was 17, and my dad kicked me out. I stayed with Layla until I could go to college." 

I suck in a breath. I can imagine a 17 year-old version of Ryland, finally telling his parents about the deepest part of himself, and ending up outside of Layla's doorstep. I hate it. I hate that that happened to him. 

"I hate them," I say and Ryland laughs. He grabs my hand where it's resting against his face and intertwines our fingers, placing our hands on the bed between us. 

"Thank you. For taking me out tonight. It was nice." 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should do it again," I say. Ryland smiles and nods, and I lean in, kissing him softly. He sighs into the kiss, and when I pull away, I rest our foreheads together. It's quiet for a couple minutes, just our breathing. Then, Ryland says,

"I don't know if you noticed, but I like you."

I can feel myself blushing, but I manage to say, "Does THE Ryland Parks have a crush on little 'ole me?"

Ryland laughs, and his whole body vibrates with the sound. I think Ryland's laugh is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. 

"For the record, though," I say, "I like you too." 

"I kind of assumed that was the case. Otherwise, I don't think you would be in my bed," he says, and I snort. 

I give him a soft kiss before pulling back and settling into the bed.

"Goodnight Ryland."

"Goodnight Noah."

A/N: This was not at all a planned, but I just wanted a fluffy little chapter before I start to put these guys through it. 

My last EOC is tmr, so wish me luck! Fingers crossed its easy but its math so idk. 

I appreciate you reading, and have a great day!