Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 8

REBECCA'S POV

I drag Ryan around the market, handing him things to carry as we go, grabbing everything necessary to make some stir fry before heading to the checkouts. He generously pays for all of it and brings the bags out to his truck, setting them on my side. Guess I'm sitting in the middle again, not that I really mind. The music in the truck pauses slightly to signal an incoming text.

"Hey, can you check my phone?" he asks while driving.

___
|Ryan Bradley > Lan - 5:46pm|
Received: 180 dropped out. Bumped me up with a 220...
___

I read it out loud with apparent confusion in my voice.

"Christ," Ryan says under his breath. "Tell him I can come if he wants."

I text Landon and quickly get a response back, reading it aloud.

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|Ryan Bradley > Lan - 5:48pm|
Sent: I can come if you want.
Received: Nah aren't you with Becca?
___

"You can go with Landon you know. I had you all day," I say.

He sighs, parking his truck in my driveway before grabbing all the groceries and following me in.

"Tell him I'm having dinner here and will head over after that."

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|Ryan Bradley > Lan - 5:49pm|
Sent: I'm having dinner at Becca's and will head over after that.
Received: Alright, thanks man.
___

I don't ask Ryan about the conversation. He's very open with me and doesn't hide anything so I know he would tell me if it was that important.

~~~

"Ryan, I said to chop the chicken not murder it!"

"Hey!" he jokes, "I've never done this before!"

I steal the knife from him and finish preparing the chicken for the wok that's been heating on the stove for the last five minutes. Seriously, I have all the vegetables ready to go and the rice is almost done but he hasn't completed cutting the chicken yet.

Ryan sits down at the island, his large body making my kitchen seem even smaller, and watches me cook. I hand him a steaming plate when it's ready and am touched by the fact that he doesn't start eating until I sit down with my own.

"Oh my God, Becca!" he exclaims with a full mouth. "This is fucking amazing."

I feel myself blushing profusely. "Uh... thanks."

He eats everything and asks, "Do you want anymore?" before helping himself to seconds.

After Ryan sweetly helps me clean up the kitchen a bit, I walk him towards the door but before leaving he turns toward me with a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry I have to go Becs, but I had a really great time with you today."

"I did too..."

He bends his huge six-foot three body down to my little five foot two and plants a soft kiss on my cheek.

"I'll text you when I get there," he whispers before standing up straight and jogging his old, red pickup truck.

I spend the next hour or so picking up the house and dancing to Pandora. My phone finally vibrates with a message notification.

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|Becca Hanson > Ryan - 8:40pm|
Received: Hey Becs, sorry it took me so long.
Sent: No problem :)
Received: Was your step-dad working late today?
Sent: Oh he's out of town right now...
Received: Since when? Are you okay being home alone?
Received: I realize how that sounded. I'm not trying to invite myself over.
___

I laugh out loud at his double text. He is such a goof, but little does he know that I would much rather be home alone than with Kirk. I decide to tease him a bit.

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|Becca Hanson > Ryan - 8:55pm|
Sent: Lol sure you weren't...
Received: I swear I wasn't Becca.
Sent: I know goofball. But seriously, I'm fine alone. It's relaxing.
Received: Okay :) I have to go hun but if you need anything please call.
Sent: I will. Have a good night Ryan :)
Received: You too beautiful.
___

My heart speeds up when I read the last text. Hun? Beautiful? Contemplating everything that happened the past week, I realize that Ryan is somebody I can trust. I may not have known him long, but my life is starting to feel somewhat normal and I have him to thank for that. I crawl into bed, drawing the covers closer to myself, and get an extremely peaceful night's sleep. In fact, it's the best I've slept in a long time.

~~~

The rest of the weekend flies by quickly and is filled with hours of homework and Netflix. (I've been binge watching How I Met Your Mother.)  I haven't heard much from Ryan after our small conversation on Saturday but he did text me when he got home late last night. The messages I woke up to were so sweet.

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|Becca Hanson > Ryan - 8:09am|
Received: Hey Becs, just wanted to say goodnight. You're probably already sleeping...
Received: I really had a nice time on our date, I hope we can do it again soon :)
Received: Remember to call me if you need anything - otherwise I will see you on Monday!
___

I'm not sure what I've done to ever deserve the attention of a man this amazing. He is so cheesy and funny that I'm constantly smiling when around him. Ryan is also super smart, observant, and unbelievably caring. Add all of that together plus his Greek God looks with the large muscular frame, mesmerizing gray eyes, perfectly mussed brown hair, and dimpled smile and it really doesn't make sense why he's paying attention to me!

I crawl in bed on Sunday night feeling glad yet cautious. There are things Ryan doesn't know about me but I know he's suspicious by now from my actions, especially the rib thing. Still, I've never felt this optimistic before. I need to remind myself of the truth though. Kirk will be coming home and if he ever finds out about my happiness, I will be forced to move and start over yet again. I can't lose the best thing that's ever happened to me since my mom died... Ryan Bradley.