Loving Her by CM Hutton Page A

guy.”
    I looked right in his eyes and
surveyed his face.  “Yeah, I think I know that now, Ry.”  I saw him stiffen
just a bit when I said his name.  I cocked my head a bit and said, “What?”
    “Nothing.  It’s just that nickname…..Ry….it…..I
haven’t heard anyone call me that in a long time.  It’s just a little shocking.”
    “Oh, sorry.  I won’t use it again
if you don’t want me to.”  I didn’t want him uncomfortable.
    “No!  Please…I like it.  It’s
just been a while…but I like it when you say it.” 
    “Okay.  Are you sure?”  His face
still looked a little sad.
    “Yes, Jen.  I’m sure.   Now, I
need two things from you….your cell phone number and some breakfast.”  He
smiled wide and a little piece of my heart attached itself to Rylan Daniels.
    I laughed and swiped his phone
from his hand and typed in my number.  “There.  And, breakfast is coming up.” 
    Rylan sat at the bar and watched
as I made eggs, bacon, bagels and coffee.  He offered to help, but I wanted to
keep myself busy and Rylan at a safe distance.  I found myself stealing a few
glances every now and then as I was cooking. 
    “Jen?  I can cook, you know.  I’d
be happy to help.”  Rylan cooking?  That brought up all kinds of nice visions
in my head.  Rylan in an apron…yum!  Wait, what?  Well, crap.  This totally
sexy mess of a guy was really starting to grow on me.
    “No.  It’s fine, Ry…uh, Rylan.  I
got this!”  I smirked at him as he sat on the barstool and sipped his coffee. 
    I was sort of lost in a little
daydream and didn’t hear him move from his stool.  I was grabbing a bagel from
the toaster when I felt his body lean slightly into the back of mine.  I
startled and turned my head to see him smile.  “Sorry.  Didn’t mean to scare
you.  I was talking to you, but I guess you didn’t hear me.  I was saying your
eggs needed to be stirred.”  He was so close to me that I felt a little freaked
out. 
    “Uh, yeah.  I was
just…um….thinking about things.”  I tried to ignore the voice in my head
telling me to walk away, but instead I turned around to where our chests were
nearly touching, reached up to cup his face and pulled his lips down to mine. 
I just wanted one more kiss.
    But he flinched and at went
ridgid my touch, causing me to let out a small gasp and pull back.
    “I’m sorry, Ry…Rylan.  I
shouldn’t have…..” I was choking on my words as the embarrassment of the moment
took over.  
    “No.  It’s okay…..I’d better go. 
I need to go home and check on Butch.”  He backed away and grabbed his keys off
the edge of the bar.
    “What about breakfast?” I didn’t
really want him to leave, but at the same time, I needed him to go.  It
only made me feel worse when he turned to look at me and I could see the panic
dripping off him as he bolted for the door.
     “Yeah, thank you.  But, I need
to go.  I’ll call you later.”  I’d never seen a man move so fast!  Well, maybe
that time in college when that asshole Emily set me up with turned out to be as
gay as they come and ran like a freakin’ wild animal when we started to
‘make-out.’  The thought had a small grin creeping up my face, but the memory
vaporized as soon as I heard my front door slam shut with Rylan running away on
the other side.
    “Well, sent another man running
for the hills, ole girl!  Typical!”  Yep, I said it out loud just to prove it
to be real.  I shook my head and walk over to get another cup of coffee.  I
didn’t have the time or energy to invest in figuring out what was happening
between Rylan and me.  He obviously stayed to make himself feel better about
the shitty night we’d had.  And I apparently was too dense or hungover to
realize it. 
    I ate just a little breakfast; my
stomach still a little queasy with all the drinking from the night before.  It
had nothing to do with my regrettable make-out session or subsequent
abandonment