Neighbors

Chapter Twenty: The Future

“Ryder,” Ian began, standing up from his bed. His shirt was partially unbuttoned and his tie was on the ground. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his chestnut brown hair.

“Don’t,” I replied stopping him. “What is Chris doing here? You had him over here and I haven’t even seen you in a week. So is that how it is now? Are you cheating on me with him?”

Ian folded his arms across his chest, as he traced his tongue across his lip. “No. He’s just staying here for one night on the couch. I felt bad. Might I add – the same couch you fucked him on. I don’t have to explain myself to you. This is my house. I can do whatever the hell I want, Ryder. I have that privilege.”

I could feel a lump form in my throat as his words sank in. He was pissed. His face was a cherry red as he continued unbuttoning his shirt. I stood there in silence, not pushing further. But of course, he wasn’t finished.

“Is that all?” he asked his nostrils flaring at this point. “Or do you want to interrogate me further, Ryder?”

“No,” I muttered. “You’re right. I have no reason to be upset. I was the one that fucked up.  You’re tired. I’ll just leave.”

I flipped my hood back over my head as I walked towards his bedroom door. I could hear Ian take a few deep breaths in, as I gripped the door knob. I paused for a moment; half hoping he would stop me. But he didn’t. I slammed the door shut behind me, as I marched down the steps without saying as much as one word to Chris.

I shoved my hands into my pocket as I swiftly moved across the street to my own house.  I was pissed I could barely even think straight. Why was Chris even running to Ian with his problems anyways? Chris wasn’t so innocent. It takes two to tango. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried anything on Ian. Ian would probably let him too. It wasn’t like he and I had sex lately.

That week I avoided Ian. It didn’t take much considering his hectic schedule. I didn’t text him and I didn’t bother going by his house either. I’m sure he hadn’t even noticed.

I didn’t see or hear about Ian until the weekend. I had just come back from swimming when I overheard my mother talking on the phone about him.

“Apparently Chris was staying over Ian’s place,” My mother gossiped. “His mother stormed over there and caused a huge scene. I know. I know. He was just trying to be nice I guess. He shouldn’t have gotten involved. No way. Ian isn’t like that. That’s disgusting for her to even suggest that. Mrs. Bloom must be so embarrassed by her.”

My mother stopped talking as soon as she saw me, motioning for me to come into the kitchen. “Hey Ian stopped by. He wants you to walk Hercules for him.”

“Sorry I’m busy,” I shrugged unsympathetically. My mother narrowed her eyes at me as she covered the phone with one hand.

“Ryder Jacobs! You go over that right now and walk that dog,” she huffed as she returned to her conversation. I rolled my eyes as I walked back outside towards Ian’s place. His front door was wide open. I let myself in, walking towards the basement to grab Hercules. He, however, wasn’t in the basement.

“Hercules,” I whistled a few times. “Hercules.”

“He’s at the vet,” Ian’s voice echoed as the front door slammed shut. “We need to talk.”

I should have known that walking Hercules had just been a cover story. It looks like he had noticed that I hadn’t been around. Ian slowly walked down the hallways towards me, leaning against the wall just a few feet away from me. He was silent for a moment. I guess he was waiting for me to say something. But I wasn’t going to be the first person to speak. I did that last time.

“This is the most quiet you’ve ever been,” he smirked. “Look Ry. I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk lately. I’ve just been stressed about this book, and seeing Chris just makes me think of you and him together – and I guess I’ve taken it out on you. That’s not fair to you. I shouldn’t be sending you mixed signals. I thought I was over it, but I guess I wasn’t.”

“I figured that,” I replied my eyes fixated on his. “So is he still here?”

Ian shook his head. “No. His mother came and got him. Aside from having slept with you, he’s a good guy. His mother, however, is a little insane. Hopefully he can get away from her. But, are we – are we okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied a little quicker than I intended. “We’re okay.”

“Good,” Ian said as his lips turned into a smile. He wrapped his arms around my shoulder, before kissing me lightly on the lips. His hands fell on my waist as he snuck his hands up my sweatshirt.

“Ian,” I groaned as his lips brushed against the side of my neck.

“Yeah,” he replied in between kisses. “We’ll go upstairs in a minute.”

“I want to talk about state,” I blurted out. “You know I’m leaving in less than three weeks. Where does that leave us?”

Ian shrugged as he brought his hands to my waist, unbuckling my belt. I grabbed his hands stopping him for a moment. He was a horrible multi-tasker. He sighed, pushing his hair out of his face.

“Are we still going to be together?” I asked.

“Do you want to be together?” Ian asked me honestly. “I’ll probably be on book signings and talk shows. You’ll be at State doing your swimming thing. We’ll probably barely ever see each other. I hate to be a pessimist but in my experience, long distance relationships don’t really work out. I’m all for trying, but I just don’t want it to hurt what we have right now.”

He was right. Long distance relationships sucked. Even though I was an hour away from here, Ian wouldn’t be. He’d be in New York, most of the time, promoting his book. I’d be traveling for swimming. It would be hectic.

“But you’ll still come visit right?” I asked.

“Of course,” Ian smiled as he took his hand in mine. “Whenever I’m free. But let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s enjoy these next three weeks. I’ll try to keep my schedule as clear as possible.”

I nodded, bringing my lips back to Ian’s. I guess we would have to make the most out of the next three weeks.