Unexpected (3 page)

“
Wait,” Drew
yells. I spin around and watch as he stumbles out of the bedroom.
“Aren't you going to at least let us explain?”

I
glare at him as he stands there in his boxers, clearly still hard
underneath the cotton fabric.
I
flinch, completely disgusted at the sight of it. “There's
nothing
to
explain! You've
both been lying to me for months, and then you pull this 'taking a
break' stunt in an attempt to make your hookup socially acceptable.
But it's not—it's sickening. And I have to go.” Ryan and I walk out
to his truck.

We get in and
buckle our seat belts. Ryan doesn't start the truck right away. I
can feel his eyes on me. “Are you okay, Alina?”

“
I'm
fantastic,” I lie. “Can we please go?”

He pauses. “Where
would you like me to take you?”

“
I want to go
h—” Home. I don't want to go home if it means Victoria will be
there tonight. I heave a heavy sigh. “Take me somewhere far away
from here.”

“
We can go to
my place.”

“
Do you have
alcohol?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay,
then.”

Ryan starts the
truck and heads down the road. We drive back to his place in
silence. My mind works through the last six months of my life,
trying to see what I missed, where everything changed. If I'm being
honest with myself, Victoria and I have been drifting apart
gradually since we moved in together almost a year ago. With
Drew...well, I kept making excuses for him because I thought I
loved him. And then there's the matter of the two of them. Drew and
Victoria got along whenever we were hanging out together. But how
did they go from being mutual friends to friends with secret
benefits? If they were “together” for that long, why was Victoria
even dating Ryan?

How does anyone
ever rationalize cheating?

I shake my
head. I need to stop running through scenarios before it depresses
me further. I just need to put this day
far
behind me—so far that I can never return to it. Every time I
steal a glance at Ryan, it becomes more and more impossible to do
so.

It doesn't take us
long to get to his place. Once we're inside, I sit on one of the
wooden barstools in front of the island in his kitchen. His place
is what you'd expect of a typical bachelor pad. The furniture in
the living room surprisingly matches, though—all dark blue.

Ryan walks in and
stands across from me on the other side of the counter. He tilts
his head. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“
After a few
shots.”

He presses his lips
together and gets a bottle from his cupboard along with a couple
shot glasses. After setting everything down, he places both hands
on the counter and looks over at me. “It's a little early to be
drinking, don't you think?”

“
I think I
have a pretty damn good reason to be drinking right now...and so do
you.” Like I need to worry about waiting until after five o'clock
to start drinking today of all days. I need a distraction. Hell, I
need someone to talk to. And that's not going to happen unless I
drink.

“
All right
then.” He fills up the two shot glasses and slides one over to me.
I down it with a wince, then hold it back out to him. He fills it
again and I throw that one back right away, too. “Damn, Alina. Slow
down.” He comes around to sit in the stool next to me. “You don't
want to black out.”

“
Maybe I do.”
I slam my hand down on the counter. “God, this has been the worst
day of my life. I just want it to end.”

“
I know the
feeling.” Ryan pours another shot for me and lifts his. “Here's to
better days.”

“
Better
days,” I say, holding it up, then downing it. “I can't believe I
wasted more than six months on that asshole.”

“
I wasted a
month with a girl who was using me.”

I turn to
him. “You know what doesn't make any sense? Why she would be
screwing my boyfriend when she had someone like you.” I gesture to
his body. The definition in Ryan's muscles is apparent, and much
more noticeable than Drew's
muscles are.
Ryan must be more consistent with working
out.

Ryan laughs. “Are you saying I'm better
looking than Drew?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

I feel the heat in my cheeks. Maybe getting
drunk was a bad idea after all. The edge of one of his tattoos
peeks out from under the sleeve of his tee, reminding me of the
tattoos across his chest. “Well, yeah, I guess,” I answer with a
shrug, hoping my cheeks aren't turning red. “I just...I don't
understand why. Am I not hot enough?”

“That is definitely not why.”

I stop fidgeting when I hear those words.
Ryan thinks I'm hot? I shake my head. He couldn't possibly think
that, he's probably just being nice. “I wish they would have been
caught sooner. Then I could have searched for someone special. What
if I missed him?”

“What if the timing leads you to the right
person?” He rests an elbow on the counter. “Sometimes we miss
certain opportunities because of other things we choose to spend
our time on, or people we spend time with. But other times your
choices can lead you to something you never imagined or expected,
and it can be the best thing to happen to you.”

I stare at him, surprised by his optimism.
“How can you be so positive after what happened today?”

He chuckles. “You have to be. What's the
alternative? Yes, I'm angry, but being angry is going to get me
nowhere. Questioning everything won't make a difference. I'm just
going to move on. Go to bed, get up, go to work, live my life.”

That's when I remember I don't have a job
anymore. I smack my hand to my forehead. “Oh God...”

He touches my shoulder. “What is it?”

“I quit my job today.”

“You did?”

I explain the last twenty-four hours to him,
glossing over our shower. “So, yeah.” I point at myself with both
thumbs. “Worst day ever.” And we're only on the first day of
summer. I try to pour another shot, but my arm is too shaky.

Ryan takes the bottle and pours it for me.
“Maybe so, but tomorrow will be a fresh start.”

“I'm jobless, boyfriend-less, and
homeless.”

“Well, I can help with one of those. The last
thing you probably want to do right now is go back to your
apartment, so you can stay here for a night or two while you figure
out what's next.”

I shake my head, looking at him like he's
crazy. “I couldn't possibly...”

“I insist. You can even sleep on my bed. I'll
take the couch.”

“I can sleep on the couch.” When he opens his
mouth to protest, I hold up a hand. “Seriously. If it's just going
to be for the night, I can sleep on a damn couch.” I must be as
crazy as he is to be okay with staying here overnight.

Ryan nods. “Okay, if that's what you want, I
won't argue with you.” He pours another shot for both of us.

“How did I not know?” I hold on to the glass
and run my finger over the rim.

He rests an elbow on the counter. “About what
they were doing?”

“Yeah. I'm smart. I'm good at catching the
signs.” My first boyfriend cheated on me so I know all of them. All
I can think of right now are the signs. The way Drew carried
himself, how he canceled plans, how he stopped being affectionate.
And he didn't say "I love you" back to me a week ago. I thought he
was just distracted. I was half right.

“
You can't
beat yourself up over these things. Any guy who's willing to cheat
on someone as gorgeous as you is a douche.”

I give him an
appreciative smile. “For two people who are so devoted and loyal,
why can't we find...” I trail off as my mind makes the connection.
Two devoted and loyal people, in the same room. When I look over at
him, he's staring straight at me. I realize for the first time that
his eyes are hazel with
flecks
of green setting them off. His brown hair is still
disheveled, and it makes me almost chuckle thinking about
why.

Maybe Ryan is on to
something—that this happened for a reason.

I clear my throat.
“At least we don't have to feel guilty about earlier now that we
know.”

“
That's
true.”

I wait for him to
lift his glass to his lips and I say, “It's too bad we didn't know
before. Then we wouldn't have had to stop.”

He nearly spits out
his drink. I definitely have his attention now. “Fuck, Alina.” He
turns to me, a bewildered look on his face. “Hold on a second. You
wish we hadn't stopped?”

“
Of course.”
Based on the look in his eyes, he wishes the same. “Weren't you
feeling it?”

Ryan breathes
through his teeth. “I felt it.”

For some reason, I
can't stop talking. “I was so caught up in how hot it was.”

“
You were?”
he says, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Damn it, if he
isn't unbelievably sexy right now.

I want to hop in
his shower and finish what we started earlier. What on earth is
possessing me to feel this way? I mean, yes, Ryan is
handsome...and, my God, I've never felt anything like that before
when a man touched me. But why Ryan? Why now? Is it because I'm
starting to feel the effects of the alcohol? Is it because I'm
having a hell of a day?

Or is it because
there's something else happening between us?

“
Alina?” Ryan
asks, breaking me out of my reverie. I realize I've been sitting
there staring at him. Or, to be specific, staring at his
lips.

It hits me that we
never kissed. We spent at least five minutes feeling each other up
and we never kissed. How does he taste?

“
Alina?” He
snaps his fingers in front of me, snapping me back to reality
again.

“
Yes?” I
blink, bringing my focus back up to his eyes.

“
I think you
need to lie down for a little bit.” He reaches over and combs his
fingers through my hair, brushing it back over my shoulder. “You've
had a long day and I don't think you handle your liquor
well.”

I let out a huff.
“I handle my liquor just fine, thank you.” I step down off the
stool and instantly the room spins. Ryan holds me up with both
hands and I close my eyes, letting out a long breath. “Maybe you're
right.”

He smiles. “Of
course I'm right.”

I stare into
those hazel eyes, so warm and kind. Then my gaze travels back down
to his lips. I have to find out;
I have to know.
My hands touch his stomach, traveling up past
his chest to his cheeks. His breath hitches when I graze my fingers
across the stubble. I lift myself up on my toes and press my lips
to his. He doesn't kiss me back immediately. It takes a few more
seconds for his lips to move gently across mine. I sigh into his
mouth, loving the way I'm tingling from head to toe from something
as simple as a kiss. I want to remain in this moment
forever.

Ryan pulls back,
but only enough to leave a miniscule amount of air between us.
“Alina,” he whispers in a low voice, his eyes molten.

“
Ryan,” I
whisper, brushing my lips over his.

It's almost
as though breathing his name causes the last shred of his control
to snap, because the next thing I know, his lips are on mine hard.
I gasp at the suddenness, and I can't resist—I want it too much. My
body instantly reacts. My fingers weave into his hair, while his
muscular arms draw me closer until I'm flush against him. Oh God,
it feels amazing. I
t’s been years since I’ve been kissed
like this.
Angling my head, I slide
my tongue across his, then suck on his upper lip. He moans into my
mouth, the sound reverberating through me, sparking the desire from
earlier. My hands travel back down, clumsily grabbing at his
shirt,
drifting lower to pop open the button on his
jeans.

This seems to
trigger something in him, because he pulls away from my lips and
gently holds me back. “Alina,” he says, breathing heavily. “We need
to stop.”

“
Why? I don't
want to stop.” I step forward, only to have his hands hold my arms
tighter.

He closes his eyes,
taking in a deep breath. “Look. We've both been drinking; we just
had a god-awful shitty day. Let's not jump into something because
it'll make us feel better temporarily. I don't want you to wake up
tomorrow morning regretting this.”

Reaching for him again, I say, “
I won't—”

“
Maybe you
won't, but you don't know that yet.”

My hand comes up to
rest on the one he has on my arm. “But...I want to...”

“
How about
this? If you really want to, wouldn't you rather be a little more
sober when it happens?”

I sigh. He's right.
I'm drunk and can barely stand without assistance. He could also be
right about this only being something to take our minds off our
problems. I wouldn't want to do that to him—or myself for that
matter. “Fine,” I finally say.

“
Okay,” Ryan
says, leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead. “Let's get
you over to the couch.”

Chapter Four

–
Ryan –

I should have restrained myself, held Alina
at a distance the second her lips touched mine. But I didn't. I
caved under pressure, gave in to the sheer pleasure of it. I liked
the way her lips felt pressed against mine. I liked it much more
than I should have. I mean, I just found out my girlfriend cheated
on me, and here I am, making out with her roommate...who is drunk
and spending the night at my apartment.