The Boyfriend Games {Complete | Book One}

18- Rye the Rascal

Cutie-Pie Rye ^

"Hey Thera!" Someone called down the hall at me when I reached school. I turned around and suppressed a smile.

"Hello Rye."

"So, it appears you did stay in this little competition thing after all." He continued walking towards me until we stood right in front of each other.

"So it appears I did."

"And now I finally get my date with you," he smiled.

This morning, though I had already known who was going to appear on the list had brought me:

Thera- Rye

To say that I was not interested in seeing how this day went would be a lie. He was, after all, someone with an intriguing personality.

Therefore, I couldn't help but smile back at him. "I guess so, huh?"

"You have no idea what I've got planned for today."

"You're right, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" He shook his head and made the gesture as if he were zipping and locking his mouth shut. Oh boy.

"Well, guess what?" I asked.

"Since I don't know, that's obviously rhetorical and I refuse to answer," he said, making me laugh at his antics. Honestly, this guy was such a child.

"What are you, twelve?"

"Yeah, baby, on a scale from one to ten." He moved his head forward and backward after saying it, chanting in time with 'swag, swag, swag, swag.'

"Really Rye? You couldn't come up with an original comeback to save your life."

"Sweetie, I highly doubt anyone plotting my demise would change their mind for a measly original comeback." He turned to start walking away then stopped, looking back over his shoulder. "Oh and by the way, that one was 100% me." He gave a wink and disappeared in time with the bell.

•~•

Though Rye seemed to make sure I saw him in the hallways periodically throughout the day, we never talked again in a full conversation until the very end. I finished at my locker quickly and walked to where I had seen him earlier. Luckily, I remembered correctly where his locker was located at.

"Boo." I said when he closed his locker.

"Oh no!" He said with a false sense of alarm. "I am ever so frightened!"

"Haha, you're so funny," I said sarcastically. "It's the last date, so let's get this over with."

"Yeah cause hey, they saved the best for last," Rye said with a huge grin.

"Oh? But now I have so many more to compare you to."

Rye took in a gasp of fake hurt as his hand went to his heart. "What? Such hurtful words come from your mouth. No one is comparable to me, the great and powerful!"

"No, I'm pretty sure that was the new version of The Wizard of Oz. You on the other hand..." Rye frowned.

"Well, let's just get going then." He looked down at his phone to check something, though I couldn't see exactly what. He shut his phone off before rolling his eyes at himself, muttering that he still didn't catch what time it was after being on it that whole bit. "You drove to school, yeah?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"Good. Drive home, text me your address, and expect me in about..." he paused to do some mental calculations, "an hour and a half. Be there or be square!"

"I'll be human shaped no matter what!" I called out as I walked away.

"Oh, yeah, whatever," was his only response.

I drove home, singing along with the radio, which was strange for me to do. I was one of those people to just listen. But I was in an overly excited mood, one that was bubbling over the top. I took a few deep breaths and felt better, more controlled.

When I checked my phone upon arriving home, it seemed Rye was eager as well, even more so than me.

~What's your address??

I texted back what he wanted, adding Impatient much? to the beginning.

~Okay, cool. Dress in 'old clothes' that can get... let's just say messy. Also, bring an extra change of clothes unless you want to stay in the messy ones :)

I didn't know whether to feel excited or scared from this information. 'Messy' could mean a multitude of things. Getting out of my car, I went inside my house and checked the time. I still had over an hour before Rye would be here. Thinking carefully, there were two course of actions I could take now. I quickly weighed each option.

Getting ready now would result in me being done early to just sit and wait for him to show.

Getting ready later could result in me being rushed, out of time, or even late to where Rye would have to stand and wait while I finished up.

So, the natural choice was the latter because hey, procrastination. I figured I had enough time to take a thirty minute nap, so I headed upstairs, got bundled in my blankets and drifted off into dreamland...

I was running. Not only was I trying to stay alive from the bear behind me, but I was running late for a very important event. I couldn't remember what it was, but I knew I had to make it to the little black house within the hour or someone was going to be very upset with me. Either way it felt my life was on the line.

The bear gave a mighty bear sound behind me and I was too terrified to even scream. But suddenly, the bear stopped with a confused look on its furry face. It sat back on its legs, much like a giant panda, and looked me in the eyes. I had stopped running, and was staring back confused, panting as I tried to figure out what was going on here.

"Thera!" It yelled at me, the voice surprisingly human. "Thera someone's here!" A violent earthquake began when—

I awoke to my mom shaking me. "Thera, sweetie. Someone is at the door for you. Your next date? He said his name was Rye."

I sat up with a start. Well, here's to me being rushed, out of time, and even late to where Rye would have to stand and wait while I finished up.