Winning Her Back

Chapter Twenty Two

Ryan POV

"Kyle!!!!!" I heard a very familiar voice squeal, making my heartbeat pick up. I looked over at the front door, completely ignoring my Aunt Karen as she went on about nothing. "Look how big you are!"

My eyes nearly popped out as I took a look at Tatum. I swear, the past 6 years have treated her better than anyone I know. Her hair was longer and wavier, her eyes impossibly green and her lips, fuller. God, how I wished I could just walk up to her and kiss her. Let her know how much I love her.

But as Willow said, she has to get used to the fact that I'm back in her life. Even if it is just for my brothers wedding, she needs to feel comfortable around me before I can make any moves. I mean, I nearly killed any chances after sleeping with her, pleading her to stay. And god only knows how hard Bea's party was, being the only single ones left and having to watch everyone love it up. At one point, I had to excuse myself so I could scream into one of the pillows in the guest room. Not kidding.

My train of thought was taken when Aunt Karen turned around and looked at Tatum. "Is that Tatum?" She gasped. I simply nodded, watching as she hugged the life out of her brother, someone who she hasn't seen in the past couple of years. "God, she looks amazing!"

"She does, doesn't she." I agreed with my aunt, smiling to myself. My whole family knew about our breakup, especially because I was one depressed kid during reunions and what not. I went on and on about how much I missed her, and how much I loved her. At times, I felt bad for the people who had to listen. I turned to my mom's sister, seeing an intense glare coming my way. "What?" I asked, almost scared of the words that were going to come out of her mouth.

"You're an idiot" She said, making my jaw drop to the floor. "You shouldn't have let her go."

"I- I didn't have a-" I started to defend, but was quickly cut off.

"Don't give me any of that. You've had 6 years to try and win her back. You're still single and still in love with her. Stop being a whimp and go talk her up."

I was surprised at my aunts sudden rant, as she took in a deep breath. "It's not that easy." I sighed.

"I know that, trust me." She replied, as if she had gone through something similar. "But you guys will end up getting back together, so why not make it sooner than later?"

"How do you know we will get back together?" I asked, hopefully. I felt like a 3 year old, really.

"She's still single." She said, before walking away. How she knows that blows my mind, however, she left me to ponder what she has just said. Why would Tatum stay single all this time? I mean, shes beautiful, can have any guy she wanted. 

I sighed, before putting on a small smile and walking towards the commotion. After Tatum was done with her rounds of hugs, I tapped her on the shoulder.

She spun around, her hair leaving a breeze of coconut shampoo behind. "Ryan! Hey!" She said, a little too excitedly. For the past week she's been stand offish, using minimum amount of words. Basically avoiding me.

"Hey, you look great" I said, taking the chance to take in her whole appearance. 

"Thank you, you too." She smiled. I watched her eyes look me up and down, before meeting my gaze. A small blush tinted her cheeks after being caught checking me out.

"Hey Ryan!" Kyle, Tatum's younger brother, said, coming up behind her. "It's good to see you again, man!" He said. He had grown a lot since the last time I saw him, practically my height now. Kyle was in sports management as he just graduated college. He had already scored a job with SUNY Albany's footbal team, where he went to college.