I'm ready to ease into my senior year of college. After spending the entire summer in Yachtas, Oregon, with my mom, I'm ready to return to my friends and studies. Junior year wasn't exactly everything I expected it to be. After the events of my twenty-first birthday, I was nervous things would change between me and Ryan. But what I didn't take into consideration was the strength of our friendship. I mean, it was just meaningless sex. I underestimated our ability to bounce back to normal and move on.
The day after we stupidly slept together, I was relieved when Ryan called and asked me if I wanted to join him for a beer and a game of pool, like we hadn't just had sex the night before. Of course, I went. I was thankful as ever we could put our drunken sex behind us, never talk about it again and keep our best friend status.
Even though things hadn't changed much between Ryan and me, many other things did change pretty quickly. For starters, Ryan called Alodie, and she asked him on a date. I laughed when he told me she planned for them to go to a wine tasting. I also told him the thought of him wearing loafers and acting appropriately while sipping wine was ridiculous. Ryan agreed. He admitted he knew it was entirely out of character, and then he asked me if he should call her back and decline. I told him he should go with her if he wanted to, even though he was not a pretentious wine drinker.
One date led to another, and by the end of the second semester of junior year, Ryan and Alodie were a couple.
It took me a while to adjust to Alodie sitting next to me on the sofa during Monday Night Football and showing up to my apartment unannounced to hang out when Ryan was at Lacrosse practice. Of course, none of our friends knew what happened between us. Our epic mistake was locked tight in a memory vault, and the key was thrown away. What happened happened, and there was nothing we could do to erase what we had done.
It was weird seeing Ryan in a relationship, though, and not because we slept together, but because girls barely made it to a second date for as long as I'd known him. Yet somehow, even though Alodie and Ryan were complete opposites, she kept his attention long enough to be every which way I turned. According to Ryan, their relationship was casual and nothing too serious. But Alodie had a very different outlook. She would tell me he was "the one" and thanked me for introducing them more times than necessary. I just wanted to stay out of it and hoped Ryan didn't break her heart anytime soon. The last thing I needed was to lose another female friend over Ryan's inability to commit fully, especially someone I had no choice but to see every Saturday morning at the Ballet Academy.
A text from Alodie lights up on my phone screen:
Did his plane land yet?
I put my car in park and text her back:
I just found a parking spot. Relax. His flight lands soon.
She types back a reply right away:
Make sure you tell him to call me as soon as he lands!!!! So excited!!!! xoxoxoxox Thanks for picking him up!!!
Over the summer, Ryan accepted a job in Australia's student exchange program. He worked on a farm during the day and partied at the beach all night. His father wasn't impressed he wouldn't be returning home to Sacramento to work at his law firm. Still, Ryan insisted he needed to do something different over the summer before the pressure of getting into Yale Law School became his focus. I secretly hoped his time overseas meant an easy end for him and Alodie. Not because I had developed feelings for Ryan, but because if things ended organically between them, my life would be a hell of a lot easier.
So when Alodie told me they would make it work long-distance, I was shocked. Not only because their relationship was only a few months young but because it was almost comical to believe Ryan would stay faithful to one girl for three months while bikinis on the Gold Coast surrounded him. Hell, it was impressive he made it this long in a committed relationship. Then again, who was I to judge?
I finally burst through the airport doors, excited to greet Ryan when his plane landed, trying to forget my pathetic failed summer romance. Jonathon Holland: Deviously charming and hot, with the bonus of being a brooding musician in an indie rock band, he had all the makings for a hot and steamy summer lover. Our time together had been unforgettable, full of toe-curling sex and music festivals where I got to watch my summer fling sing on stage in front of women screaming his name. Except by the end of the summer, the heat began to fizzle off, and he turned out to be just in love with his adoring fans as they were with him. The only thing more awkward than his deep throat tongue kisses was seeing him give one of those grotesque tongue-probed assaults to a festival groupie right in front of me. He just assumed I'd be into it and hoped for a threesome. Not a chance. And just like that, my summer fling ended as fast as it started.
I wasn't sure why I was surprised he ended up being a complete douchebag. He had all the warning signs. I think I just ignored them because I knew it would end anyway. By the end of the summer, Jonathon and his band were about to embark on some indie rock band tour across the country, and I was returning to San Francisco to finish my senior year.
Ryan didn't know things were over between me and Jonathon yet. Or shall I say, 'Ginger Jon' as Ryan preferred to call him. Ryan wouldn't let it go that Jonathon had copper-coloured hair or was in a band. Every time we connected, Ryan would ask me how much pocket change Ginger Jon made in tips that week singing on the street corner. Sometimes, Ryan could be such a jerk about the guys I dated.
The airport isn't busy with people coming and going. Instead, it's uncharacteristically quiet for a Friday night as I watch the fading sunset through the windows. With each minute that passes, the airport grows quieter, and I eventually sense his presence as he slides into the empty seat beside me and bumps his shoulder with mine.
"Holy Hipster." He beams at me, eyes lit with bliss. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear ripped jeans or seen your long-ass hair covered by a beanie hat on your head."
"Hey, buddy. Nice to see you, too." I say, biting back a laugh. Of course, he noticed I made a few personal adjustments over the summer. One of them was that I grew my hair past my shoulders to about mid back, and yes, I bought a beanie hat. I also bought two pairs of ripped jeans, which I realize is totally out of character, but Jonathon told me my butt looked fantastic in jeans, so I bought them. "Is this your annoying way of telling me how good I look?"
He laughs. "Aw, I missed you, Jonsey." He doesn't shy away from his proclamation when I look at him. After a pause with strange, mutual inspection, he asks, "Did you pierce your nose too?"
I nod. "Yes. I did." When he makes a face, I playfully shove him. "Don't pretend you don't like it."
"I leave you for one summer, and suddenly you're wearing beanie hats, probably bicycling all over San Francisco, and I bet you're even putting avocado on everything."
"Hey, I may be borderline hipster, but you look like a homeless person," I say abruptly, teasing him right back. "Your skin is brown and leathery from the sun... and seriously, why is your hair so long and stringy?"
"It's beach hair."
Laughing, I continue, "You also have the worst beard."
He looks at my eyes, cheeks, and lips for a long moment before meeting my eyes again. "Aw, just admit you love my new Zen appearance just as much as I love you as a hipster."
"Never."
He grins over at me. "Come on, Jonsey. It's time to hug your best bud."
He wraps his arms around me and holds me close. He smells like the ocean and peppermint toothpaste. I hugged him back and realized how much I missed him, too. I missed his constant need to tease me, our friendly banter and his warm embrace. It feels like forever since we've seen each other, and I never want to let go. That is until he playfully rubs his beard all over my face. It itches against my skin, and I wrestle against him to break free, both of us laughing.
And it's when he pulls away from our hug that I meet the eyes of a guy approaching Ryan with a tray of coffee in hand. He appears to be a few years older than we are and tall, with light blonde hair and bright blue mischievous eyes. He has a well-maintained beard framing his full lips. He's watching us and smiling. He doesn't look away when our eyes meet. If anything, his smile gets bigger.
He nudges Ryan in the back. "Here, mate. Your coffee."
Wait...was that an Australian accent, too? My goodness, this guy is drool-worthy.
Ryan stands to greet him. "Thanks, bud."
The blonde stranger smiles down at me. "I got one for you too...Jonesy, right?" What he says makes me look back at Ryan to assess his reaction. "You like two milk, no sugar?"
"I'm sorry. Do I know you?"
Ryan laughs and drapes his arm around my shoulder. "Jonsey, this is Liam George. We worked together on the farm. He will be crashing with me, Jayce, and Kale for a while."
Oh. Liam continues to watch me with an amused grin.
"Nice to meet you. My actual name is Ella." I say and take the coffee from him. "Jonsey is what Ryan likes to call me."
With a smirk, he shakes my hand. "Well, Ella, it's nice to meet you finally. Ryan has told me a lot about you."
"Has he now?" I detect a hint of blush on Ryan's cheeks.
"One thing he neglected to tell me, though, was how beautiful you are," Liam gives me a wink from one of his clear baby blues. "I love your nose ring."
Ryan shifts his gaze curiously between us.
I place my palm on Liam's chest. "Aw, that's so kind of you to say." He puffs out his chest, clearly enjoying my advances. "And I must say, I do love your beard. So well maintained."
"We should probably head over to baggage claim – "Ryan cuts in, muscling between me and Liam as he rolls his carry-on behind him. Liam shrugs, and we follow Ryan as he leads the way.
"What brings you to San Francisco?" I ask. "College?"
Liam laughs. "No. I graduated a few years back. I have a teaching degree, but I can't exactly just come to America and start working as a teacher." He takes a long, slow pull of his coffee. "I was able to secure a work visa and a job bartending at a place called Hennessey."
"Oh, I love that place."
"Yeah, Ryan mentioned you two go there for beer and wings."
I take a sip of my coffee. "Yup, mostly Fridays. It's a great place, and the wings are to die for. They also have great live music on the weekends."
"You'll have to come visit me sometime," Liam smiles. "I'll make you one of my signature cocktails."
Before I can even respond, Ryan pipes up. "Jonesy doesn't drink cocktails."
"I can speak for myself," I scold him and quickly turn my attention to Liam. "I would love to try one."
Liam's smile grows a mile wide.
"You forgot to mention how your boy toy Ginger Jon is doing." Ryan tugs one of his suitcases off the carousel and turns to face me. "Did he drop out of his loser band and follow you to San Francisco so he could play songs on the street corners to be with you?"
I glare over at Ryan and his shit-eating grin.
"Not exactly. I ended things." I can feel Liam's eyes on me. "You know how it goes."
"Another one bites the dust," Ryan says.
I force away the unreasonably bitchy attitude that flares up from his comment. Liam pretends he isn't eavesdropping on our conversation as he waits patiently for his luggage to pass by on the carousel.
"By the way, I should probably tell you that Alodie wants you to call her immediately."
"Meh, she can wait," Ryan says nonchalantly. "She waited this long. She can wait a little longer."
"Wow. You truly are such a romantic."
He laughs at my sarcasm.
"I've got all my luggage," Liam beams at us. "Shall we go?"
Thirty minutes later, I pulled up to Ryan's apartment building. Despite the cool temperature and rain starting to fall, I feel the heat of my blush from watching Liam and his muscles pull his luggage out of the trunk of my car.
"Thanks for the ride, Ella," Liam says, smiling. "You'll come by Hennessey for a cocktail sometime, yeah?"
"Sure will."
Liam gives me a polite nod and pulls his luggage toward the building. Ryan remains in place, leaning against my car. His brows draw together, and he stares at the sidewalk instead of looking at me. "Thanks for the ride...I'd invite you in, but you know...I should probably help the new roommate settle in."
"Yeah, no problem," I say, taking a slow deep breath. "We can catch up tomorrow. It's poker night."
"Right," he says, wearing a playful smile that swells my heart. "I'll text you later, okay?" He leans in and gives me another quick hug. "I really did miss you, Jonesy."
"I know," I smile. "I really did miss you too."