Love Unscripted (12 page)

I walked my friends to the door and locked up behind them. Ryan and Cal would leave by the back door. Cal departed for the bathroom, leaving me all alone with Ryan. I started to clean up.

“
I had a
really
great time tonight.” Ryan smiled and set a few empty glasses on the bar. “Your friends are great.”

“
Thanks!” I smiled back. “I’m sorry about the questions though.”

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.”

“
I’m glad everyone had fun,” I said, even though I truly meant I was glad that
he
had fun.

“
I’ll call you when we figure out what night we can do this party gathering, okay? Um, so what number should I call?” Ryan asked.

I stopped in my tracks and smiled to myself.

“
What number would you like to call?” I asked, knowing what he was truly getting at. I just wanted him to say it.

“
I’d like the number that I asked for, but I’m not sure I’m going to get it,” he said. He grinned at me as he took a new Mitchell’s Pub napkin out of the holder and turned it over.

I took a deep breath and picked up the pen next to the register. I questioned my own actions as I wrote my cell phone number down. My friends were the only ones who had my cell number. I justified that he and I were becoming friends too.

Ryan’s smile was huge. “Thank you!” He quickly snatched up the napkin and shoved it in his pocket.

I walked both of them to the back door and Cal thanked me for an excellent evening. He gave me an awkward hug before putting his coat on. Their car pulled up in the alley and Cal patted Ryan’s arm before heading out the door.

Ryan looked down at me and smiled as he took a step closer. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in to give me a nice hug.

Sensations, long suppressed, rocketed through me when our bodies touched. His body pressed into mine when he hugged me tighter. I allowed myself a moment to appreciate his warmth, his scent, the feel of his back muscles on my hands, the enjoyment this hug gave me.

Ryan’s hand gently cradled the back of my head, his fingers slipped into my hair. He kissed me softly on my forehead; his lips lingered for an extra second or two before he released our embrace.

“
I’ll see you soon,” he whispered softly, took a few steps back, and slipped out the back door.

“
So, did he try to kiss you last night?” Marie breathed in my ear.

“
No.” I shook my
head, annoyed that she even asked. “You promised!” I reminded her.

“
Yeah, I know. I’m not pushing! I just wanted to know if that’s the reason you’re finally smiling. So he didn’t try to kiss you?”

I opened a new case of bottled beer. “No. He didn’t kiss me… on my lips.” I trailed the last part of my sentence hoping she wouldn’t catch it.

She started to jump up and down. “Come on! I’m dying here!”

“
He gave me a hug, okay?” I quietly muttered. “And he sort of kissed my forehead.” I shrugged it off and continued to put more bottles into the cooler.

“
Remember, you can’t say anything to anyone about them being here. I’m not going to have my pub and my friends involved in any media circus. Got that? Not one word!” I said to her privately.

She twisted her fingers over her lips and then cracked a cocky smile at me.

“
I’m warning you! I’m pretty sure I can shove your entire body in this cooler. No one will find you in there!”

Marie ignored me and turned the TV channel in time to catch the seven o’clock entertainment news. Her excuse was to see if our pub made it to the television version of celebrity gossip, but I knew better. My attention was diverted to the screen when I heard his name mentioned.

“
We got Ryan Christensen arriving at LAX this afternoon...” some guy on TV said.

Ryan was filmed as he hurried through the airport. I was thankful that he had several security guards around him; the photographers and people bugging him for his autograph were relentless. I wondered if those leeches did nothing all day but lurk around the airport waiting for celebrities.

“
What’s he doing in L.A.?” Marie asked out loud. She seemed just as surprised as I was.

“
Shh, I want to hear this,” I whispered.

Ryan’s face toggled between a blank stare and moments of annoyance as the cameramen who chased him asked him stupid questions. To me, he looked tired. They managed to film him signing an autograph or two before he jumped into an awaiting car at the curb.

I was surprised that he was on the West Coast. He didn’t mention anything last night about getting on a plane today - but then again why would he.

It was soon after that when my phone buzzed in my pocket. My thumb hit the buttons to retrieve a new text message. To my amazement,
someone
sent me a beautiful picture of red and white flowers. I immediately smiled. I had never received virtual flowers before.

The text message read
:
“Greetings from LA”

Butterflies instantly fluttered into my stomach.

I texted him back
.
“Who is this?”

I didn’t want to let on that I knew where he was, even though I had only found out a few minutes ago.

I read his reply.
“Knight who says Ni?”

I laughed out loud from Ryan’s movie reference.
“
You are funny. Why ru in LA?”

“
Interview n meeting with my agent n producer b back thurs”

“
R u having fun?”
I sent back.

A few moments later, he sent another message
:
“not really”

“
Sorry to hear that”
I replied, adding a sad face emoticon.

“
Can I call u later tonight?”

“
Sure”
I quickly typed.

It was almost three in the morning when I crawled into bed. Since Ryan and his friends had been in the pub on Saturday my customer count seemed to rise. I laughed to myself considering most of the new crowd was female. As I lay there, I became quite absorbed in my thoughts of how pathetic some of his fans were. One girl was even wearing a T-shirt with Ryan’s face on it tonight.

I wondered how Ryan felt about that. Most men would probably love the attention and get huge egos from it, but I couldn’t see Ryan being into that at all. He was much too modest. I guessed things like that probably made him very uncomfortable.

Marie and I hustled again tonight, and it was only a Tuesday. I was thinking about asking Tammy if she wanted to work weekends to help out while the celebrities were still in town. Once they were gone, things would go back to normal. But there were too many customers for just Marie and me to handle on our own.
Maybe I should hire some additional help? I could use a third bartender.

I started to yawn; my eyelids were very heavy. I pulled my comforter higher over my shoulder, snuggling even deeper. I felt myself drifting when I was startled by my cell phone rattling on my nightstand. I looked at the number, but the screen showed
“NO NUMBER.”

“
Hello?” I whispered. My voice definitely sounded groggy when I spoke.

“
Hi. Sorry to call so late. Were you sleeping?” Ryan whispered.

“
No… almost. How are you?” Another big yawn slipped out from my chest.

“
I’m tired too. It’s been a long day,” he said glumly.

“
What time is it there?” I glanced over at my alarm clock but I was too out of it to do time zone math.

“
It’s almost midnight,” he breathed out with a sigh.

“
Thank you for the flowers!” I whispered. “That was cute. You definitely took me by surprise.”

He quietly laughed. “Good,” he uttered. Considering he called me, his response was oddly brief.

“
So what are you doing?” I could only imagine the glamorous movie star stuff he must be up to.

“
I’m in my hotel room. I just got back.” By the way his cell phone crackled, it sounded like he was busy getting settled in.

“
Hmm. Did you have a good day?” I murmured, trying to make conversation. I snuggled deeper into my blanket.

“
It was all right, I guess. I’m glad it’s over.” Despite his response, the tone of his voice was off -
way
off. I could tell he was troubled.

“
Ryan, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” My eyes popped open and I sat up in bed, overwhelmed with concern about his well-being. “Something is wrong.”

He sighed. “How can you tell?” He sounded surprised that I could read him like that.

“
I just can. I can hear it in your voice.”

“
I’ll be all right. Sometimes my life gets freaking insane. Today was one of those days.” His voice trembled and he sniffed a few times. I could tell he was lying. He wasn’t all right.

I took a deep breath, picturing him huddled up with his head between his arms again like that first day in my stairwell.

“
Do you want to talk about it?” I offered.

I listened as he blew air into his phone. “Ah, I don’t know if talking about it will make a difference,” he muttered.

He and I were so much alike. Now it was his turn to sit there feeling sorry for himself.

“
Hmm. I have an idea. Why don’t you crawl under your blanket and tell me all about it.” For a moment I wished I could climb through the phone to comfort him.

He chuckled lightly. “Can you hold on a minute? I need to set the phone down.”

“
Sure,” I whispered. I could hear that he was shifting around. I imagined him getting undressed… the light hairs on his stomach peeking above an elastic band.
I wonder what he looks like naked?

He let out a big sigh, disrupting my thought.

“
Are you better?” I asked.

“
Much,” he replied, but I didn’t believe him.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled roughly. “You don’t sound very convincing.”

He laughed softly. I could just tell by his lack of answers that he was upset.

“
Are you under your blanket yet?” I whispered seductively, hoping that might cheer him up.

“
Yes,” he snickered.

“
Close your eyes… and relax. Just listen to my voice. Take a deep breath... Let it out... Just breathe.” I wanted so desperately to take his worries away. The feelings were overpowering.

“
You’re lying on a soft blanket on a white sand beach. The sky above is a deep and cloudless blue...” I paused to let him soak the imagery in.

“
The sun feels warm on your face... you can hear the sound of the ocean as the waves slowly roll in. You can feel the gentle breeze glide over your skin as it rustles through the trees… feel the stress leave your body… through your fingers… through your toes.”

A soft “Mmm” slipped from his throat. “This is nice.”

“
Mmm, what’s nice?” I breathed out.

“
This... Feeling at peace… You.”

“
Hmm,” I softly sighed into the phone, happy to know my words helped him relax.

“
I wish I was there with you,” he whispered.

“
I wish you were here too,” I whispered softly.

After the words came out of my mouth, there was no taking them back but it didn’t matter, I didn’t want to take them back. My words came from my heart and not my head. Part of me hoped he really meant what he said.

Ryan called me three times on Wednesday just to say hello and ask me how my day was going. I was completely floored that he called me so many times.

He had talked to Cal and the plan was that the private gathering would be held next Sunday at the pub. The entire cast had been invited, but not everyone was expected to attend. The last head count was eight.

The third time Ryan called, it was midnight in L.A. and his obligations there were completed. He would be departing at noon out of LAX to Detroit and then Detroit to Providence. He’d be back in town Thursday evening. I laughed to myself that he felt the need to keep me up-to-date on his itinerary. I didn’t even have to ask; he volunteered the information first. It was kind of cute.

We were both snuggled in our beds as he filled me in on his day. He had an interview on a talk show and then a late meeting with some producer and his agent and manager about an upcoming movie project they want him to star in. Although Ryan wouldn’t directly admit it, I got the impression that some of his career decisions were being made for him and that he was just supposed to agree with what they said.

Ryan’s fame and popularity were so new and fresh that he was being swept away with it all. These movie moguls were all going to strike while the iron was hot. I didn’t need to be part of his world to recognize that. Ryan was a new toy for them; his movie made millions of dollars and it was easy to visualize the greed in Hollywood taking over like an evil succubus.