Finding Forever

Chapter 8

Ryan appears beside me bright and early the following day as I walk through the quad to class. He's wearing a ball cap, and a packsack is slung over his shoulder. He balances two Styrofoam cups on one flattened palm, and a brown paper bag is clutched in his other fist.

"Hey you," he smiles, nudging me on the shoulder. "I bought you a coffee."

"What are you doing on campus so early? Your first class doesn't even start till eleven," I say, reaching up to toss my messy hair into a ponytail. "Why do I feel like you're stalking me?"

"Because I am." He winks and hands me one of the Styrofoam cups. "I figured I could catch you on the way to that Design Process class you always complain about. Plus, I must spend quality time at the library this morning to work on a paper." If this were anyone else appearing out of nowhere with a coffee in hand following me around campus, I'd be weirded out. But not when that someone is Ryan. My class calendar accidentally synced to his phone when I plugged it in for a charge on his laptop. This isn't the first time he's tracked me down, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

He walks beside me as I step off the cobblestone path and onto the grass. The sun is warmer than usual for this time of day. The early morning breeze feels nice against my skin and dances against my ponytail as I lead the way.

"How was your sleep last night?" he asks. "You look well rested." His dark brown eyes regard me in a way I've never seen them study me before, although I can't decide if he's probing or being his usual teasing self.

"You can't be serious," I laugh. I look anything but well-rested. I was up all night with Liam, kissing, cuddling, talking. I am not a night owl. I need a solid eight hours of sleep minimum to function. Last night, I don't think I slept more than three whole hours. I'm not complaining, though. We had an enjoyable dinner date and a great time back at my apartment. Ryan must be messing with me. "I had zero sleep. I look like a haggard mess."

Ryan remains silent and takes a long, slow pull from his coffee. He glances over at me, face unreadable. He smells good, though, like expensive cologne.

"Does that mean your date went well?" he adds, making quotation marks in the air on the word date.

I roll my eyes. "Oh, so you don't think I look well-rested. You were prodding me for information. Classic."

"Only because I question Liam's intentions."

"As much as I love that you care, couldn't we just not get involved in one another's relationships."

"You're always involved in my relationships," he protests.

I raise a brow. "Hardly. You always do what you want, no matter what I think."

He pauses thoughtfully. "True," he laughs, so sure of himself it irritates me.

I nod toward the path where he would typically break off. "Shouldn't you be heading that way to the library?"

Ryan shrugs, "I can take the long way."

We step off from the grass and onto a sidewalk. I glance up at Ryan and get lost for a moment in how his magnetic eyes glimmer in the sunlight – flecks of green radiant within a dark brown – and how his firm, smooth jawline pulls my attention to his pouty lips. He opens his brown paper bag and pulls out a chocolate-covered croissant, smiling at me before biting.

"How was the rest of your night?" I ask, "I know we didn't get to stroll through mid-town like you wanted, but I hope you could enjoy yourself after you dropped me off despite hearing about Rosie."

Ryan passes the croissant and motions for me to bite, so I do. "Watched the Giants, drank some beer, shot the shit with Jayce and Kale...waited for Liam to get home..." his voice trails off.