We made our plans to leave out Saturday afternoon. Then Candace surprised us both when she told Ryan she’d head back to the house if he wanted to help me get some rest.
“I know you probably won’t sleep tonight,” she said turning to me, “but I bet he could help you get at least six or seven hours in before he comes home tonight.”
Ryan’s mouth was open, but nothing was coming out.
“Would you mind?” I asked, turning to him.
“N-no, but…”
Candace went up on her tip toes and kissed him lightly and said she’d see him at home by nine. She was walking away when he turned and looked at me like he didn’t know what to do. I mouthed for him to walk her outside and motioned him to follow.
“Let-let me walk you out to the car,” he stated and then sprinted to catch up to her.
I could see the smile spread across her face.
When he came back inside, he wanted to know one thing, “What did you do to my girlfriend?”
“Other than a little makeup, I didn’t do anything. She is just growing up-and somehow I think you’re going to like the grown-up version.”
“Damn right. I can’t wait to get home now-at least I know it won’t be a fight waiting to happen. But you told her about us sleeping together?” he seemed genuinely surprised.
“No, actually she has apparently known all along and was tired of making us think we were sneaking around. She’s very special when you peel off the hard outer layer.”
He got a certain kind of dreamy quality to his eyes, “Yeah, she is.”
“Are you sure you even want to stay?” I needed my relaxer, but I wasn’t going to hold him back if he wanted to go.
“No, I think the anticipation will do me good. Come on, baby girl, let’s get cozy.”
Candace was one lucky woman.
I don’t think he slept too much; he had his mind on other things, but I got a relaxed several hours tucked safely in his warm arms.
Saturday afternoon he arrived and he was quiet, but all smiles as we drove to the airport.
“So you seem really happy today. I take it you and Candace did not have a fight when you got home.”
“You know this is so weird that I want to tell you about my night, but talking to you about sex with her seems a little-well, inappropriate.”
I figured that was why he was smiling, but I had no intentions of being nosey, “You don’t have to tell me anymore; I get the picture.”
“No, I don’t think you do. Would you be like offended or jealous if we did talk about it?”
I reached over and touched his cheek. He looked so handsome in his basic black tux. “I can handle it, if you can. That’s what having a best friend is for, right? When you’re dying to tell about something that rocked your world.”
“She definitely did that because last night was the first time I’ve made love,” he breathed out the words with a sound of pure amazement in his voice.
Whoa-that hit me square in the chest. “But-but-it couldn’t have been.” I must have really missed something in what he’d just said because I knew last night wasn’t his first time.
His smile grew broader, “We’ve been having sex, Leese, but last night she was on a whole different playing field. She wasn’t like ‘do me now, I want it.’ She was vulnerable and timid. She let me hold her instead of crawling all over me. I don’t even know if I can describe it.” He sounded like he was struggling. “I finally got to really make love to her and it was beautiful and peaceful and sexy and… You’re going to have to forgive me for saying it this way, but it was how I’ve assumed all along it would be like to have you.”
I couldn’t stop the tears, although I was grabbing a tissue and trying to catch them before they ruined my makeup.
He looked over at me with an alarmed expression, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”
“No, no, it’s not that. You don’t have any idea how happy I am for you-both of you. This is all I’ve wanted for so long was for you to be really, really happy. This is what you’ve deserved all along.”
“So you’re not like freaked out about me telling you this?”
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for us to have this conversation,” I said as I kept catching the downpour.
We pulled up to the hanger and he leaned over and wrapped me in his strong arms and kissed me gently on the temple, “I love you, Leese-someday you’re going to be happy again because God knows you deserve to feel this way, too.”
The rest of the trip to L.A. was pure fun. The best part was that I told him, since we were both familiar with L.A. now, I had rented a car. His eyes lit up as he asked what I had rented. I wasn’t going to tell him that I’d called the exotic car rental and had a Lamborghini sitting on the tarmac, so I said there wasn’t much available and we would have to be happy with a Ford Taurus. He deflated. I knew what he was thinking. ‘We’re going to pull up to the red carpet in a Taurus?’
We spent the rest of the time laughing and discussing the tabloid tales, and then he got serious and asked if there was anything I needed to tell him about Sadarius.
I got a little Candace in me when I slugged him, although not too hard because I wanted the airplane to remain on a level course, “No, you idiot. He and I have gone out twice, once for lunch and once for dinner, but I’ve already told him the only thing I’m in the market for is a friend.”
“I’m a friend and I get to crawl in bed with you,” he said giving me a sharp look.
“Ryan Faultz, I do believe I hear a little jealousy in your voice,” I smirked.
“But-I-”
“You are a very special friend and there isn’t anyone else like you in my world. Superman can crawl under my covers,” I teased, “but other than that, everyone else can forget it.”
“I’m just making sure. Just want to know if I’ve got to be prepared for a fight when we get there.”
I laughed, “No, no fights unless Micah should decide to track me down.”
We were walking off the plane when I saw the beautiful, blue-as-his-eyes, Lamborghini. What was hilarious was that two cars away sat a plain white Taurus. Ryan sighed as he headed for the economy car. I pressed the key into his hand as we approached. They had over-nighted it to me, so that I could leave as soon as I was ready.
He didn’t look down until he got to the door, “Hey, this isn’t a key for a…” His eyes grew brighter when he saw the symbol.
“Yeah, I know it sucks, but they were out of Taurus’ so I had to get a Lamborghini.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The party was in full swing when we pulled up to the red carpet. Ryan was reluctant to relinquish the keys to the valet, but he finally turned them loose and took my arm as the cameras flashed and reporters shouted out questions to us wanting to know if he and I were ‘back together,’ and how was Sadarius handling it. He was good at this whole fame business, comfortable even. But I hated it. He flashed his dazzling smile as he walked with me, looking more like the star than the starlet’s date, and showing no discomfort with the attention.
He couldn’t get the grin off his face as we walked into the roomful of people dancing, laughing, and enjoying the party. Remake had become the smash hit of the year and sponsors were lining up to spend millions of dollars promoting it. Whoever had been the brains behind this show would reap in substantial financial benefits.
Sadarius was one of the first to greet us and ready to steal me away from Ryan, but Ryan politely refused, “Hey man, we just got here. Let me wear her out a little bit, before I have to turn her loose.”