INTERIM LOVER, ryan howard.

008 ⋮ what's updog?

ㅤㅤㅤ"I think I wanna start dating again," Rachel confessed, her back still pressed against his chest. "I think we should stop this."

Ryan was a little confused. First, he had been asked out by Kelly Kapoor, the only coworker he'd never spoken to before, and now Rachel was breaking up with him. Well, she wasn't technically breaking up with him at all; they hadn't been together in the first place. 

Honestly, it was too complicated for him. Maybe it was better to end it.

"I kinda think you're right," he spoke into her hair. After all, every new beginning came from some other beginning's end.

"OK. Wanna get lunch?"

"Sure. But you're paying."

And the Rachel Munroe, who spoke a bit like she was raised by computer software, was back. Almost clinically, she stood herself up and began flitting around the room, finding things to meticulously tidy and regaining her slightly-smug features. Putting up her barricades once again, shutting away her vulnerabilities from him. 

Though they weren't seeing each other like that anymore, he couldn't help but admire her for every little thing she did. He liked the graceful way she buttoned up her shirt. He liked the smell of her hair and how soft it felt pressed against his cheek. He liked her eyes in the morning that were too tired to register the smile on his face, and the eyes that slowly blinked as she drifted off to sleep.

Most of all, he was grateful for their friendship that would remain unaltered despite their past.

"Ugh, it smells like updog in here," Rachel groaned.

"What's updog?"

"Nothing much, how about you?"

He looked up to see her grinning broadly, and couldn't help but grin too. "You're going to be a great father one day," he joked.

—

"So what is your type anyway?"

"I don't really have a type. It's about what's inside—"

Rachel jabbed him in the rib, causing him to cry out. Through a mouthful of chips, she repeated, "What's your type?"

Ryan's eyes trailed out onto the busy Sunday street. His face turned white as he caught sight of a stunning woman. She was browsing in the bookstore across the street. In a dainty movement, she retrieved a book from the shelf and began to read its cover. Rachel followed his line of sight, smiling widely.

"I'm going to go talk to her," he decided.

"What?"

"We said we wanted to date again," Ryan explained, "so I'm gonna talk to her."

She had never expected Ryan to be that dauntless. He had grown from the first time they'd met almost a year ago, and she was proud of him.

Ryan rose from the table, as Rachel called over the bill. For a few minutes, she watched as they shared a friendly conversation. At one point, he gestured to the bistro where Rachel sat, and in a hurry, she pretended to look busy.

It wasn't long before Ryan headed back, leaving the woman in the shop to continue browsing for books. "Well?" she asked expectantly, rising with his arrival.

"We talked. We laughed. I told her about your uncle's bistro because that's where she's having lunch with her... husband."

She burst out laughing. "You didn't see a wedding ring? Should've gone to Specsavers."