Finding Forever

Chapter 4

"In a bit." I blink back to find Ryan watching me.

Kale holds out a plate of cold pizza, offering us to take a slice. When we both decline, he shrugs again and walks back into the living room.

"Don't you want to cheer on Thor?"

"Is that what you're calling Liam now?"

Ryan laughs in response – eyes twinkling but otherwise amused at how annoyed this makes me – and he drapes his arm around my shoulders.

"It's a compliment. He's blonde, big, and burly. I'm just a little shocked you're flirting with the idea of pursuing him. You know he doesn't wear wrinkly band t-shirts or play the guitar."

I roll my eyes. "You should be happy I may be interested in pursuing him. He's your friend. And you are dating one of my friends, after all."

"She's not your friend," he interrupts in a mumble. "- you two work together."

"We were friends before you started banging her," I remind him. "I assume you are still going strong?"

He shrugs. "I suppose you could say that."

"Were you a good boy over the summer?"

"Long distance wasn't working for me in Australia."

"Girls in bikinis are hard to resist."

He laughs, "Yeah...by week three, I told her I didn't want to be exclusive anymore because I didn't want to cheat."

"How noble of you."

"My honesty impressed her...she was okay with it as long as I didn't tell her what I was doing or who I was doing it with... so..." his eyes are down, and he crosses his arms over his chest, exhaling slowly. "I guess now that I'm back in San Fran, we are still going strong or whatever."

"Sounds like you two have a very stable and committed relationship."

He makes a show of cracking open a beer and taking a sip. "You know I don't do girlfriends."

"Maybe you should let Alodie know that."

"Don't stand there and judge me, Jonesy. You were enamoured with a guy who travelled around playing in a loser indie band this summer. And now you're enamoured with a guy who lives on a different continent."

"Not for the next few months, he doesn't."

"Exactly," he says. "You're more relationship-phobic than I am. You don't think long-term about anyone. At least the person I'm slugging it with isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and maybe there's potential it could work. Liam is just another blip on your radar of endless men."

He's growing irritated with my interest in Liam, which – let's be honest – only makes me more interested in pursuing him. "Unless Liam has a wife back home in Australia or some pressing drug problem I should know about, I don't care if I have your blessing."

"Go ahead, pursue Liam and his fruity cocktails," Ryan glances over at me. "But mmm, Corona is just so ...what's the word? Oh, right. Refreshing."

He makes another show of resting his elbow on the countertop and taking a long, slow sip of his beer – more dramatically this time – inches away from my face, watching me with a smirk on his lips as I stand there holding the second signature cocktail Liam made me which I'll never admit I dislike. It's way too sweet. I desperately want to rip that beer from his hand and take a sip, but I won't ever give him the satisfaction.

I raise an eyebrow, saying in a playful tone, "I can't believe I ever counted down the days of your return from Australia. What was I thinking? You're so irritating."