Tasteless (15 page)

“It’s getting kind of late,” Rye said, pushing herself up from his body.  “I should probably head out.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m staying with Basil,” she said.  “I’m supposed to meet with my dad tomorrow morning.”

“You don’t have to go,” Sam replied.  “You can just stay here and we can share a cab out.  You know, to cut down on expenses.”

“Okay,” Rye laughed.

When they had finally decided to turn in, it was almost 2am and Sam was tired enough to just sleep on the couch.

“You can have my bed,” he said, leading Rye up to his room.  “I’ll stay downstairs.”

“I don’t want to do that,” Rye protested, stopping at the stairwell.

“I’m not making you sleep on the couch,” Sam said.  “Do you know how much Gemma and Damian would yell at me if they found you sleeping on the couch.”

Up in his room, Sam apologized for his unmade bed and the open suitcase with the pile of Damian’s clothes that sat atop it.  He removed it all, trying his best to make his bed look presentable before patting the mattress, signaling Rye to get in.

“Is it awkward to share?” Rye asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  “I really feel bad about taking your bed when there are so many other surfaces I could sleep on.

“No, it’s not awkward, I guess,” Sam shrugged.  “Unless you think it’s awkward.”

“Of course not,” Rye said.  She thought about it for a second before blinking.  “
Should
it be awkward?”

“No,” he laughed, crawling into the other side of the bed.  “I’m too tired to analyze something so stupid.  Let’s just sleep.”

For the next couple of hours, they slept peacefully on their respective sides of the bed.  It had taken Sam a little longer to actually fall asleep, despite being as tired as he was.  But eventually, Rye’s peaceful breaths lulled him to slumber.

Around 5am, he woke up with his face buried in Rye’s wild hair.  In his grogginess, he didn’t realize right away that she had somehow ended up in his arms until he felt the familiar round of a woman’s backside up against his crotch.  To make matters worse, Sam could feel that he was definitely
aroused.

Like that, he shot himself awake, pushing backwards off of Rye and falling to the floor beside the bed.  He scrambled to his feet, looking down at the bed to find that Rye hadn’t woken up.  Sighing, he covered his mouth, trying to shake himself from the nervous mess he was becoming around her.  He grabbed his pillow, tiptoeing out the room and rushing down to the couch.

He fluffed the pillow, sticking it against the arm of the sectional and flopping onto it.  He covered his eyes with his forearms, wishing hard to feel like his normal self again.  If having actual hidden feelings for someone was going to make him act this way, he would need to resolve it all, fast.

~

Rye woke up to a text message from her father the next morning.  She didn’t have to open it to know what it would say.

Can’t make breakfast after all, flight delayed.

She pouted, wondering why she even allowed herself to be excited for their scheduled meetings when most of them never actually happened.  But before she could text back a hasty “whatever,” Warner sent another text.

But will get in for dinner.  Let’s meet at The Red Deer.

Pleasantly surprised, she found herself chipper as she rummaged through her bag for the toothbrush she had packed.  She slipped out of Sam’s room and found the guest bathroom, looking at her happy smiling self as she brushed her teeth.  It had been an exciting couple of days between all the press that Somerville Diner was getting and being able to see Sam again.  She had missed him terribly while he was away, realizing just how much of a friend she considered him only when he was gone.  Everyday she spent alone, she wondered if she should just catch a train down to the city and see him, but his schedule was so erratic that she was sure she’d be nothing but a nuisance.

But he seemed very happy to see her and she knew he had probably missed her too.  Every time he mentioned her name on television, it was as if he was in the room with her.  She blushed, splashing cold water on her face as she thought about the night before.  Crush or not, Rye just enjoyed being with Sam.  She felt warm and safe in his muscular arms and for the first time in awhile, taken care of.  She couldn’t help but feel special in his presence, as if they two halves of a whole – even if it was just business or just friendship.  She liked feeling like she belonged to a whole at all.

Rye was also strangely comfortable with him, something she hadn’t felt with anyone since Jeremy.  She wondered if it was a bad sign that she felt similarly for Sam, considering him first and foremost as a friend – but a friend that she wouldn’t mind kissing once in awhile.  For a second, she felt her stomach knot.  She definitely didn’t need a repeat of the Jeremy situation.  Her ego had taken such a blow after him that she never quite acted the same around guys, or any potential friends for that matter.

Since then, it had always been a concern for Rye that she would appear over-eager.  Over time, she realized that she seemed more aloof than anything else, which didn’t really help her case.  With the little contact she had with others in the last couple of years, it felt good to be able to be so affectionate with Sam whenever she pleased.  She just hoped it didn’t bother him.

When she got to the living room, she found Sam still asleep, curled up on the couch.  She wondered what it was that made him leave in the middle of the night when she was pretty sure they had fallen asleep together. 
Did I snore?
she wondered, frowning. 
Did I talk in my sleep? Say something embarrassing?

Feeling too self-conscious to be polite, she poked him in the shoulder to wake him up.  He turned, looking adorable in his grogginess as he rubbed his eyes.

“Did I snore or something?” she blurted out.

“No?” Sam replied, looking confused.  “Oh, you’re asking because I left the room.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“I had to take a call,” he said.  “And I didn’t want to wake anyone up.  I guess I fell asleep down here.”

“You brought your pillow with you?” she asked.

“Yeah, so?” Sam stretched.  “I wanted to be comfortable while I took the call, so what?”

“Was it a booty call?” Rye teased, smiling as she walked around the couch and took a seat beside him.  He took the pillow out from under his head, hugging it to his body.

“What if it was?” he grinned.

“Oh, ew,” Rye said, jumping from the couch.  Sam took her hand, pulling her back down.

“It wasn’t a booty call, it was just my cousin.”

“In the middle of the night?”

“It wasn’t the middle of the night in Hawaii.”

“Oh yeah,” she nodded, happy with his answer.  As she looked at him stretched out across the couch, looking so effortlessly sexy, she wondered if she could ever be the type of girl that he would be attracted to.  She came to a pretty resounding “no” in her own head, comfortable with being just a friend after years of practice with Jeremy.

The upside of seeing herself that way was that she could relax around Sam, not worrying constantly about whether or not she looked good or saying the right things.  She slid down on the couch next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.  Besides, it was kind of nice to have an attractive male friend that she could cuddle with and talk with, without the emotional burdens that came with being his girlfriend.

“Make some room for me,” she said.  “I’m going to fall off the edge.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” he laughed, pulling her in.

~

Gemma wouldn’t let Rye leave the house dressed in her grandmother’s pantsuit, even after Rye managed to convince her that it was kind of cool to wear something genuinely vintage.

“Lilac maybe a place where people don’t pay attention to anything but themselves, but The Red Deer is full of people who are going to judge you for what you wear,” she said.  “And now that you’re representing your restaurant and its new makeover, I don’t think wearing an old suit that doesn’t even fit you is going to do anyone any favors.”

“I don’t have anything else,” Rye frowned.

“I know you don’t really pay attention to pop culture and entertainment news, but even in the few months that you’ve known me, you should’ve figured out that I’m a designer.”

“I can’t wear any of your designs!”

“Why not?” Gemma asked, rummaging through her closet.

“That’s just… not me?”

“So what’s you?”

“I like my t-shirt and jeans.”

“You can like them, but you should really try wearing some that fit,” Gemma said.  “But we’ll talk about that another time, for now, try this.”  She held out a simple sleeveless wrap dress made of a blush knit.  “You seem to like pink,” she continued.  “So try on some pink.”

“Thanks,” Rye replied.  She left out the explanation for all her pink clothing, specifically the fact that her grandmother had done most of her shopping for her in middle school and that her wardrobe hadn’t changed since then.  She turned away from Gemma to get dressed, slipping off the denim shorts she had borrowed the day before.

“So I guess all it takes is a nice ass to make granny panties work,” Gemma said.  Rye quickly covered her butt with her hands, embarrassed.  Gemma laughed, shaking her head.  “I’m sorry.  I used to be kind of shy too, but Zoe has completely ruined that part of me.  But seriously, you look great.  It’s kind of a shame that you cover it all up.”

“Oh,” Rye replied, her cheeks blushing to match the pink of the dress she pulled on.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Gemma smiled sympathetically.  “I feel really bad now.”

“Oh no, it’s okay,” Rye laughed.  “I’m just not used to compliments.”

The dress ended up fitting perfectly, definitely something she felt more comfortable going out in compared to the tank top and shorts she had worn the day before.  She liked that Gemma had taken some of her preferences into account, despite being one of the many who had an opinion on how Rye dressed.  The outfit she chose was comfortable and not too revealing, but still looked tidy and presentable.

When she arrived at The Red Deer, she was glad that Gemma had forced her into another outfit.  She hadn’t been to her brother’s restaurant since it first opened, and the landscape had definitely changed quite a bit.  The customers were all dressed to the nines, though they seemed to take care in looking like they didn’t try.  They watched her as she teetered through the dining hall in her borrowed heels, lead by the hostess to the table where her father already was.  Before she could get too self-conscious, she was distracted by a strangely familiar sight.

In the corner table at The Red Deer sat her father, as she had expected.  What she didn’t expect to see was her mother sitting beside him, her sisters sitting beside her, and her brothers rounding out the table altogether.  For a moment, she thought she was dreaming.  It had been over half a decade since she’d seen her whole family sitting together peacefully.

“Rye, honey!” Olive was the first to spot her, rising to her feet with her arms outstretched.  She made Warner stand so that she could get up to embrace her.  “Oh my goodness, you look beautiful,” she marveled, twirling Rye around and admiring her dress.  “And your hair!” Gemma had brushed all of Rye’s hair to one side, rolling it into a deliberate knot that rested under her left ear.

“Oh my God, you really look incredible, Rye,” Sage nodded.  “Like, whoa.  Almost didn’t recognize you.”  Still stunned, Rye made the rounds of greeting all her siblings before taking a seat beside her father.  There was already plenty of food on the table and Porter promptly presented her with her settings as he explained to her what every dish was.

When she got over her initial shock, it was as if her family hadn’t gone years without seeing one another.  Olive explained that she wanted to put whatever differences she had aside with Warner and get the family together to celebrate Somerville Diner’s impending transformation.

“We’re just so proud of you, Rye,” Olive said, holding her glass up for a toast.  “And we know how hard it was on you and Warner to make that decision to tear the place down.”

“It was a tough one, indeed,” Warner said, lowering his head as he held up his glass as well.  “But it was what was best for all of us.”

“I’m so happy you could all be here,” Olive continued, holding a hand to her heart.  “How meaningful it is to have us all together to recall how much the restaurant meant to us.”

“Aww,” Poppy squealed, fanning at her eyes.  “You’re going to make me cry.”

Her family went on to share their favorite memories, talking about their favorite dishes and telling stories about the old restaurant before everyone left.

Rye looked on in surprise.  She didn’t think that her family cared at all about the diner.  Why else would they have left her to tend to it herself for all those years? But as they went around the table exchanging stories about their favorite memories, she began to see that perhaps those feelings were there all along – they were just never together to express it.

Like she usually did around her family, she sat there in silence, watching quietly as everyone did their thing.  She didn’t mind it, especially now at this dinner when everyone was doing what she had wished they could do that night she locked herself in the restaurant.  Of course, that would have been the ideal situation, instead of spending it crying on and off while Sam fed her cookies.  But the dinner was proving to be a perfect substitution for that event that never happened and it filled Rye with a giddy hope for their future.  She couldn’t have expected a better outcome from her little trip to the city.