Playing Dirty

Twenty Two

She watched him shudder, making Sam wonder what could be going through his mind at the moment, though judging from the tons of phone calls he'd made on the way here, she could take a guess it had to do with bringing her along to pick his mother from the airport.

He tried to hide his displeasure behind smiles and easy banter, but behind that facade, he wasn't thrilled by her presence.

She sighed, wishing she'd insisted on waiting at the restaurant instead. She equally wasn't thrilled at the prospect either.

"What time does her flight land?" She asked, breaking the tense silence.

He consulted his watch and sighed, resignation evident in his demeanor. "Thirty five minutes from now."

"Oh." She fell into thought for a moment. "Look, obviously having me here isn't making you happy. I could just catch a cab and go back to the office, there's bound to be one available here."

He shot her a look of surprise. "What makes you think I'm not happy you're here?"

Your expression, the way you've been acting since leaving the restaurant...I could go on.

Aloud, she said. "It's pretty obvious, and frankly I'm not sure it's best to meet her either, I mean given the circumstances."

There was definitely bound to be lots of awkward moments ahead and after the day she'd had, Sam wasn't sure she was up for more drama.

He stared straight ahead pensively. "I'm just worried it might be uncomfortable for you."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it'll be fine." She said with an assurance she didn't feel.

Ryan turned her way, a knowing glint in his eyes as though he knew damn well it wasn't fine.

"It's okay to say what you really feel, Sam. I won't be pissed."

She huffed and crossed her arms to cover her embarrassment.

"I don't know, it's hard to predict your reaction most times. I don't want you to bite my head off for saying the wrong thing."

He winced and looked chagrined. "Guess I deserved that."

Sam opened her mouth to apologise but thought better, settling instead for staring out the window at the blurred terminal lights in the distance as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Out the corner of her eye, she watched Ryan, noting the tense set of his shoulders and jaw, the tight grip he had on the wheel. He stared straight ahead, a dark and silent presence beside her.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, she spoke first.

"We're going to get soaked the second we step out there."

She glanced out her window at the lights that indicated the terminal, mentally calculating the distance between their parking spot and the building.

"There's an umbrella in the trunk," he responded, his tone even. He sighed and reached out to pop the trunk. "Won't do much good in this wind, but it'll keep out the worst of it."

Still, he made no move to step out the car, rather looked her way, seemingly torn over something.

"Sam," he began hesitantly. "Before we go in, there are two things you need to know. First, my mom...she can be a bit overwhelming to people meeting her for the first time. Just, don't let whatever she says get to you okay?"