Hey so this is my new RM story. Hope you enjoy. And review PLEASE!
Synopsis: Ryan's best friend Brett is dating the girl of Ryan's dreams: Marissa Cooper. After meeting in college, Ryan pines after his best friend's girl. Now, Brett and Marissa are moving back to California, and Ryan is reintroduced to those old feelings.
They were returning today. He knew they were and as much as he wanted to see his best friend he knew it meant seeing her again as well. He hadn't thought of her much, due to the fact that she wasn't there so he wasn't constantly reminded.
Brett was his best friend, whom he had met in college while they both played football. And then there was her. Brett had met her because Brett was part of the frat bros (Ryan was not) and she was in a sorority. A stupid rule in which the frat bros had to serenade a sorority girl to ask her to homecoming led them to dating. The story was so disgustingly cliché. He however knew her before that. Only a couple weeks or so, but still, he knew her before and he stands by that.
2 years go
She was in his economics 101 class. She sat in the row in front of him in the lecture hall. He remembers first seeing her when she walked in and took that seat. She was so beyond gorgeous. She was the kind of good looking where his head snapped up to watch her walk down the steps. He was never one to be mesmerized. He was a goddamn football player at UCLA, he could get any girl he wanted, but this girl intimidated him.
On their first test in the first week, a test the professor claimed he made the hardest to garner what they know, she aced it. It was the first time he talked to her, and he remembers because it was the first time he saw her face up close. He leaned over the desk, which was behind and above her, and asked, "How did you do?"
She heard a voice and she turned, showing him her beautiful smile, her dark blue eyes, and her sharp cheekbones. She really was outrageously pretty.
"Um, I got an A. I am pretty shocked. You?"
His eyes widened. This girl got an A on this exam? The professor even stated that only 3 people got A's in the 300+ lecture hall. And this girl got it? And she was trying to play it off as nothing big.
He now felt stupid and didn't want to answer. He was going to brag on getting a C+, which he thought was pretty killer considering the average score for the test was a C-.
"Uhh now I don't wanna say," he admitted
She laughed that pretty laugh and then spoke with that sexy deep voice of hers, a voice that he at first was surprised to hear, but liked a lot.
"Oh come on. This test was really difficult, I was just lucky," she shrugged.
She was humbly smart. Perhaps that was what he was intimidated by. He had never really held academics to such a standard, but he appreciated a girl who was as smart as she was attractive.
She was also fun. One day in lecture they got into the class and there was a giant penis on the chalkboard to which the nerdy professor was exasperated as he tried to erase it. The whole class was laughing as he frantically tried to erase the board.
"Wonder who did that," he said, leaning forward, finding another opportunity to talk to her
She turned to look at him with that smile,
"I got here a bit early"
He looked at her, reading her face, which was smirking, and his eyes widened and his mouth dropped.
"You!" he whisper yelled
She laughed softly and shushed him, "Don't tell. I have to pretend I'm mature"
He smiled; super impressed, and laughed, "Wow. That's….awesome"
She smiled proudly and turned back around to face the front.
He sat back in his seat, impressed by the antics of this beautiful woman. So not only was she hot but she was intelligent and funny. What the fuck was the catch with this girl? Was she secretly a sociopath? How could someone seem so perfect?
At the end of the 3rd week he was thinking of just asking her out. They had a couple of exchanges at that point and homecoming was coming up. He hated feeling like such a pussy that he couldn't ask a girl out. This had literally never happened to him before. He usually had a crazy effect on girls and didn't have to say much for them to be all over him. He was usually confident, bordering on cocky. He was known as a god among his football team for the girls he could accumulate. But it was the 3rd week with this girl and he hadn't said anything that would allude to him wanting to ask her out.
"Grow a pair, Atwood," he muttered before entering the lecture hall and taking his usual seat. He then saw her enter and he watched her, like he always did, descend the steps and take her seat in front of him.
He figured he'd ask her out after class, not wanting to ask her before just in case he was painfully rejected and left to sit there the whole class. The professor entered and held up papers
"I have a surprise for you today class! Pop quiz to see how you are doing before next weeks test!"
The whole class let out a lot of yelling and groaning and the whole room was in chatter.
"Okay enough enough!" the professor yelled, "It won't count a lot against your grade do not worry! It isn't very long and you are free to go after and enjoy homecoming tonight"
He started to hand out the tests at the end of each row and Ryan held his head. This blew. He had done 0 work for this class so knew this was a guaranteed F. He grabbed the quiz and looked down, immediately daunted because the test wasn't multiple choice
"Do not leave any question blank! That would be an automatic 0"
Ryan sighed and started to hesitantly fill out the paper with bullshit answers. After a half hour of bullshitting he saw her stand up. How was she done? It had only been a half hour! Did she leave things blank? She descended the steps to the professor and handed in the quiz before starting back up to get her bag.
He looked down at the quiz, racing to finish so he could chase her to ask her out, but he saw he had about 15 questions left. He started scribbling stuff down and then heard her whisper
"Good luck"
He looked up and saw her soft smile and his heart skipped. She then grabbed her bag and left.
"Fuck" he inwardly thought. He had no way of asking her to homecoming now, unless he somehow bumped into her.
"Fuck it" he said to himself, knowing he was getting a 0 anyway on this test. He got up with his paper and descended the steps and handed in his paper
"There are blank answers here," the professor noted
"Yeah I know but it's better than the bullshit I was gonna write. Later" he said and jogged up the steps, hoping to catch her.
He exited the lecture hall and looked up and down the hall. He threw his hands up over his head when he didn't see her.
"God dammit" he muttered and started out of the hall. He wouldn't be asking her to homecoming. Now he had to find some other chick to ask, which wasn't nearly as exciting.
That night before the game they were in the locker room. They would go out and kick ass, then get in their suits and go to the homecoming party they were to attend since they were freshman. They were seniors now, and it was bittersweet to have their last homecoming game.
"So which chick you bringing to this thing?" Ryan asked his best friend who was a running back like Ryan was.
"Marissa Cooper. She's in Alpha Delta Phi," Brett answered
Ryan didn't know her name so he just nodded. With all the lecture classes he never once asked her name.
"Nice bro, those girls put out"
Brett high fived him before turning to the couch for their ramp up speech.
And that was it. They went out and won 32-20, and then went back to the locker rooms and showered and got ready for the party.
After they were ready they went to go pick up their dates. Ryan stopped by the house his date Heather lived in, and then they walked over to Alpha Delta Phi. Ryan stood outside as Brett went to the door to retrieve his date.
That's when he saw her. His mouth dropped when he saw her. His brain had trouble computing what was happening. It wasn't until they approached him and Heather that it sunk in.
"This is Marissa," Brett introduced
Marissa let out a soft laugh, "Hey! I'm in economics with you," she pointed at Ryan
Ryan found his voice, shaking his head as if to shake the confusion out of his head. "Uh yeah we are. That's uh, crazy. I uh, didn't know you were Marissa"
Marissa laughed, "That's me. I never did get your name either"
"Ryan" he said, defeated.
She smiled and then introduced herself to Heather.
"K let's go to this thing and get drunk" Brett declared before turning to walk. Ryan had his hands in his pockets, following the two of them as Heather babbled on insistently to him. He didn't hear a word of it; all he did was watch her walking with Brett and laughing, touching his arm. Her dress dipped in the back and he saw her gorgeous back and then glanced at her long legs. She looked so good. He thought she couldn't look better but he was wrong. And she was walking next to Brett, all because he didn't find her after the test.
The rest of the night was torturous. He watched her dance with him; touch him, and then the real kick. He watched them kiss. And that's where Brett and Marissa's love was cemented. It was also one of the worst nights of Ryan's life, and cemented his jealousy.
Present Day
And now, Brett and Marissa, after 2 years together, were moving back from New York where they had been for the last year. Brett had an internship in nyc and Marissa, being in love, followed him there.
Ryan would be lying if he said it wasn't a relief. The year they were here, falling in love right in front of him, was horrible. He also became self-loathing, hating himself for these feelings. He wouldn't say he was in love with her (only because he had never had been in love before and didn't know what that was like) but he had a hopeless crush. He was almost positive crushes weren't long-lasting but he was wrong. He took his mind off her with other girls, but as soon as he would see her the feelings would always come rushing back.
The year they were away Ryan found a passion for fighting. Not the kind of fighting he used to do as a teenager and in college, but organized MMA fighting. Ryan tended to have anger issues, and without college football, he had no outlet. So he took up Brazilian Ju jitsu and to his surprise he was really good at it; so good that his trainer suggested MMA. So now, he was in these amateur MMA matches, gaining some money on the side of his bartending. Fighting helped with his mind and body, and with it he never thought about her.
But now, they were back. He got the call from Brett that they were headed back from LAX airport and were staying with Brett's parents until they found a place. Brett asked Ryan to come by later that day.
Ryan hadn't gone to New York the whole time Brett was there. Brett came back a couple times to California, and whenever he'd ask Ryan to come to New York Ryan always came up with an excuse of either work or money. But now he couldn't avoid it.
He thought maybe he'd be okay. Maybe the year of clearing his thoughts of her helped. Maybe he was over her. So, he put on his white Henley and jeans, and headed over to Brett's parents house.
He stood at the door and took a deep breath.
"You're fine dude. Stop being such a pussy" he said to himself.
He knocked on the door, and it flung open with his friend smiling before him.
"Bro!"
"BRO!"
They hugged each other before pulling back. Brett grabbed his friend's head in his hands,
"What a handsome gent" he teased and Ryan slapped his hands away
"I know"
"Dude you are ripped. MMA going well then, huh?"
"Yeah man, the extra cash is pretty damn nice I got to say. I mean it's no lawyer money you little vixen you" Ryan teased and poked his friends sides
Now Brett slapped his hands away and laughed, "Yeah well the internship paid shit and I still have 6 months of classes before I am a true lawyer. Shit sucks"
"Still. You a fancy hoe"
Brett laughed and grabbed the back of Ryan's head, pushing him to the kitchen area.
As they entered he saw Mrs. Stevens and her. There she was, laughing softly at the counter talking to Mrs. Stevens. That intoxicating laugh, her golden hair, her bright eyes and teeth. Fuck, those feelings he thought were gone came shooting right back. He felt like an alcoholic and she was alcohol. One sip and he was fucking hooked even though he knew it was horrible for you.
She then turned and he felt her eyes. God damnit grow a pair, he told himself inwardly. But it didn't matter. He could be the toughest guy going, but when he was around her he felt like a pile of goop with no spine.
"Ryan!" she exclaimed and ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him
And that was that. Ryan was back into her crazy charms. He had only been directly in contact with her a handful of times before. Once when she was intoxicated and he had to help Brett walk her back to her place. Once when she jokingly hugged him after a girl he slept with slapped him in front of her. And once before they left to New York.
As she hugged him, however brief it was, he felt his body was on fire. She smelled like vanilla, and she felt so small in his arms. Her hair was soft against his scruffy face, and jesus Christ her hips were against his. The amount of times he pictured doing stuff to her was uncountable, so this whole her being against him thing was really nice.
She pulled back and smiled,
"How's it been? I cannot believe I haven't seen you in a whole year!"
It's true. A whole year had gone by without seeing her. Before that they saw each other quite often, due to the fact that her and Brett were fuckin inseperable, much to Ryan's chagrin.
So he went back to his routine with her. Pretending he didn't care for her anything more than a friend. Pretending he didn't think about dirty things with her. Pretending he could care less.
"Yeah it's crazy. Sorry I could never make it out"
"Well you are too busy being an MMA star, I hear. How's that going? It sounds horrifying"
He laughed softly, taking in how good she looked. "It's okay. I mean, it pays some bills but I'm not pro yet"
"Well you look great! I can tell the MMA thing has taken affect"
He smirked to himself, taking the compliment. She noticed his body that meant something right?
"Yeah, I am a total babe now," he joked and shrugged
"I can see that" she giggled
And his heart did this weird thing that he swore was a heart attack the first time it happened to him around her. But it seemed to just happen with her and wasn't a heart arrhythmia.
He smirked, and then cleared his throat, realizing he was lingering on the moment too long.
"Hey Mrs Stevens," he realized he hadn't said hi to her yet and she smiled and said hello back
"Anyway, you guys wanna do drinks at the Bait Shop? I'm buying" Ryan offered. It was back to pretending, and he was a good pretender.
"Yeah dude that sounds perfect. The plane ride was awful so some drinks are heavily needed," brett said
"Ugh, yes. Definitely warranted," Marissa said, "I am just going to go through my luggage for something to wear, I'll be down in a bit"
Ryan nodded and watched her leave, trying not to stare at her perfectly shaped ass, an ass that he had thought about often, among other body parts of hers.
Him and Brett caught up a bit, waiting for Marissa to be ready. After a bit she came down in a cropped black top and high waisted black jeans. He felt his mouth water. He knew he was being a creep when he looked at her, but he couldn't help it. She was just so…..good. The fact that Brett got to see this girl naked and….do shit to her was so unbearably unfair for Ryan to even think about.
"Ready to go?" Brett asked
"What's it look like?"
"Okay let's go" Brett said before heading out. They used their phone app to get a cab and went to the Bait Shop.
Ryan's plan for tonight was get seriously intoxicated, find a girl to take his mind off Brett's girl, and fuck her. That was basically his go-to move last year whenever they went out together.
As soon as they got to the bar he ordered 4 whiskey shots for him alone and then had Marissa and Brett order their drinks.
"4 whiskeys? What the fuck you have planned?" Brett asked
"Pussy" he smiled before taking his first shot.
He was vulgar around her. Why? Because it didn't matter. There was no prospect of anything so he didn't have to pretend to be a gentleman. That was the only thing he didn't have to pretend around her. And Marissa was a sorority girl, she was used to douchebag talk.
She playfully rolled her eyes, "You still doing that? I was hoping to come back and see you in a loving relationship" she said, half kidding
That stung. It was just a reminder that she thought of him in so the opposite way that he saw her.
"Who? Me?"
"Yeah Marissa, look who you're talking too! This is the poon king of UCLA. This is the master of ass. This is the professor of pussy. This dude don't do long-term" Brett said as he grabbed his buddy's shoulder
"Okay, if I hear you say poon king ever again there will be no sex for like, a long time"
And then another sting. Mentioning sex with Brett in front of him. God how he never wanted to think of that again. He hated it.
"Professor of pussy has a ring to it though," He joked, pushing through before pounding the remaining shots in a row and then ordering a jack and coke.
"Come on though, there is no one you can see yourself with? No one?" she asked Ryan before sipping her vodka tonic.
He looked at her. He wished so badly he could just say it. He wished so much that she just knew. He hated this heavy burden and he hated the way he felt. Maybe if he said it, it wouldn't weigh on his so much. And maybe if she just rejected him downright, he wouldn't have to always wonder 'what if'.
He then scoffed and sipped his jack and coke that was just delivered, "Nah. Not right now anyways"
"Well I'll find you someone. It'll be my little mission," she said
Again, the sting. "Please don't. It's waste of time"
She sighed, "You are a difficult little prick" she joked
He laughed heartily before sipping his drink, "You are too kind"
They stood at a standup table and caught up with one another. Ryan was already drunk, and although the alcohol made him picture her naked, it also numbed him. He saw a hot girl smiling at him and found this as his distraction.
"If you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go fuck that girl over there"
"Good luck soldier" Marissa saluted and he smirked at her.
He walked over to the drunk girl who was smiling at him and immediately charmed her. It was crazy how easy it was to get girls into bed with him. He thought back to senior year of college and how intimidated he was by Marissa. To this day that never happened to him again with anyone else.
He brought the girl over to where Marissa and Brett were. The rest of the night was a blur. Ryan was wasted so he didn't have time to dwell on Marissa. He did however manage to get the girl, Jamie or Jen or whatever her name was, back to his place. He fucked her and then asked her to leave. He had to admit he was not nice to his hookups. But it was better to be blunt with them then to act like he liked them. He was sick of acting.
The next day he had a wicked hangover and groaned, hearing his alarm go off. He had training to go to. Training with a hangover sucked from past experiences. Being hit in the head literally while it feels you are being hit in the head figuratively was never a good mixture.
So, he dragged his feet to the gym, practiced with his trainer, and then took a long shower. When he got out of the locker room shower he saw his phone ringing
"Hey man" Brett said when Ryan picked up
"Hey"
"I'm going to the beach and was wondering if you wanted to go. Maybe get a pickup game of football going"
Ryan's hangover subsiding, he agreed. He did miss Brett, even though it meant Marissa. So he did want to hang with him.
He packed his stuff up, drove home, and put on his board shorts and wifebeater, waiting for Brett to pick him up.
Brett drove to his apartment and much to Ryan's dread, there she was, in the passenger seat.
"Oh Mariss', I didn't know you were coming" he said, trying not to sigh as he piled into the back
"Yupp. Why? You disappointed?" she teased
"Super" he replied, resting his head against the back seat. Why did Brett always have to bring her? It was like he knew and wanted to torture him.
They got to the beach, Ryan now dreading the day.
"Hey guys!" He heard his name and turned to see Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen, also friends from college.
"Hey" Ryan smiled
He didn't hang with Summer or Seth on his own, but whenever he ran into them it was nice. Summer was hot and Seth was a goofy fuck but loveable.
"When did you guys move back?" Summer asked Brett and Marissa
"Just yesterday"
"Awesome! So good to see you guys"
Ryan started off to the water, not really wanting to deal with hearing about their lovely time in new york again. He peeled off his wifebeater and threw it aside.
He then heard the others catch up to him
"Someone's eager to get in the water" Seth said, noticing Ryan had run off without them
"Yeah well, it's hot"
He could tell Summer was checking him out and he smirked to himself. He then looked to Marissa and he caught something. Her eyes. He could have sworn he saw them snap up. Was she noticing him? Was she checking him out?
"I'll say" Summer said, staring at his body
"I'm right here Summer. Do me the honor of keeping me ignorant to your thoughts"
"I am just being honest"
"Yeah well, I will allow you ladies to glance at my body as well when I take off my shirt. Don't be alarmed at the paleness," Seth said as he slipped his shirt off
Ryan bit his bottom lip from smirking still, almost positive Marissa checked him out. It was nice to catch her for once, instead of him always doing the checking out. Did she ever think about him sexually? Just the idea of her ever thinking of him got him excited. He then squashed those thoughts, since nothing good would come of them.
He then saw her slip off her cover-up and he knew she had to have caught him because it was like a gnat to a fucking light. He couldn't stop looking at her. Her body was fuckin perfect. She had these nice hips, her stomach was toned and flat, her ass was small but round, and her tits….again small but round. He pictured feeling them, and always pictured what they'd look like. He pictured his mouth around them, and….he stopped his thoughts. For fucks sake he had to get a grip.
"I'm gonna go in the ocean" he said, needing to cool down immediately.
He dove into the ocean and it was a relief to feel the cool water. He felt like he needed this feeling constantly while being around her. Because whenever he was around her his body felt like an inferno.
He stayed in the water for a little, diving in the waves, trying to wash his thoughts away. He finally exited the water and jogged up to the group, and saw her lying on the blanket. He immediately looked away when Brett came up to him
"Hey! I got a bunch of guys together for some touch football"
"Nice" Ryan said, glad to get his mind off of things with football.
He jogged over to the group of guys Brett assembled and they started a friendly game of touch football, with Ryan demolishing all of them, taking the game seriously.
After a bit he heard the girlfriends of the guys they were playing against ask if they can join. As much as Ryan loved the idea of touching half naked girls, these chicks were all taken so it felt like shaky grounds to touch them.
"How about we let the girls play for 1 game, first to 3 touchdowns" one of the guys said
Ryan tried not to roll his eyes but had to agree or else he'd look like a dick.
"Yeah, let me get my girlfriend to join" Brett said before going to get Marissa
"Oh jesus Christ" Ryan said out loud
"You cool man?" One kid asked Ryan
"Uh, yeah. Fine" he lied
Marissa and Summer came over and Ryan gripped the ball in his hands. This would be interesting for sure.
"Ready to have your ass kicked Atwood?" Marissa sneered as she passed him
"You on the opposite team? Big mistake" he replied
"We will see about that" she smirked as she sided with Brett, who was on the opposite team of Ryan since he and Brett were the best in the group.
As they huddled to start Marissa followed the line to where Ryan was.
"I'm covering you" she smirked and bent over, her hands on her knees
He looked at her, trying so hard not to look at her tits, which were hanging in their barely covered top. Was she trying to torture him?
"Yeah? Shame for you" He replied coolly. He was a real pro on keeping it cool outwardly around her.
"Hike!" They heard the snap and Ryan began to run, Marissa on his tail. He turned and caught the ball, avoiding her touch and scoring.
He turned to her and smashed the ball down
"OHHHHHHHHH! How does that taste Cooper? How does it taste?" he yelled at her
"Big deal! One touchdown? That won't happen again" she said and went back to their positions
Ryan was now covering her. The snap was given and Marissa was handed the ball and started to sprint. She was fast, he had to give it to her, but he caught up and reached and put both his hands on her hips, which was a double tap.
"Ha!" he yelled and she turned getting in his face
"Oh it is on"
And he smiled, smelling her coconut oil and being intoxicated. He got to touch her and be close to her and it was all a freebie because it was part of the game. Maybe this game wouldn't be so bad. Touching her wouldn't be weird in this case.
And then the snap again, Ryan covering Marissa but standing in front of her so she couldn't get passed the ball. She kept trying to get around him, grabbing his arm and his waist. Her hands were all over him. This was the most contact they'd ever had and it was all in the name of football.
Ryan was now being covered by her and ran to have the ball passed to him. He caught it and wasn't fast enough because all of a sudden he felt her leap on his back, fully piggybacking on him and covering his eyes.
Her legs were around him, her arms were around him, she was against him. He stopped in his tracks but almost wanted to keep running so she'd stay on him. Fuck he wished she was on the opposite side, straddling him from the front.
"Ohhhh! How's that Atwood? Being taken down by a girl!" she yelled as she hopped off
Brett high-fived his girlfriend, "Nice job!"
Ryan turned and threw the ball to him to start the next play. He was eager to hold her again. He knew it sounded so creepy, to just want to touch someone. He knew that. But he couldn't help it. Having pined after someone for 2 years, wouldn't you want any excuse to touch them too?
"HIKE!"
Marissa got passed the ball lightly and Ryan stood in front of her. She tried to fake out going to the right and then went left but Ryan reached out his arm and wrapped it around her, picking her up in one easy swoop. She squealed and laughed as he picked her up. He didn't want to let her down, finding her so light he could carry her all day. But he let her down, knowing it'd be weird if he held on longer.
She laughed and threw the ball into his chest, "You win asshole," she said as she walked back to Brett before kissing him.
He watched her. Watched Brett wrap his arm around her waist, watching her lips part to meet his. Watched her body pushed into his.
'you win?' he thought 'that is a fuckin joke'