Affaire De Coeur

As we exit the airport and hit the slick, wet pavement of the city sidewalks, I hardly shiver. Just being here with Ryan, holding hands, I feel strangely warm. Like, I may not have a winter coat, but just the fact that I'm here makes me so happy, I don't think about the cold or anything else for that matter. All I think about is Ryan.

He thinks I'm cold, and I'm sure I am, I just don't feel anything but my heart beating so fast its sure to jump out of my chest. My love for him is so strong.

He pulls me close, pressing my face to his chest to shield me from the cold. His arms wrap around mine attempting to combine our body heat to keep warm. It's working. But as he's made clear we'll save the bothered half of hot and bothered for later.

We stand there a seemingly perfect pair waiting for a taxi to the city dwellers, but in reality are romance is far from seamless.

.o.

I had always seen Ryan around school, always faithfully beside Sharpay, yet we had never spoken. It was commonly known that Troy and I were a couple and that Sharpay was our somewhat enemy. Someone we steered clear from. And that in turn meant I steered very clear from Ryan.

Yet, senior year everything changed. Ryan was different. I remember standing there with Troy at our lockers on the first day of twelfth grade and Sharpay entered…alone. There was no festively dressed, fair-haired boy by her side.

She stomped down the hall, silver heels clicking angrily against the tile as if she knew everyone was staring at her and wondering where her other half was. And we were.

I looked to Troy eyes wide open in surprise and he had the same reaction. Where was Ryan? Was he sick? Had he come in early? There was no way he wasn't somewhere near by.

And then he entered the school. At first we didn't recognize him without his usual sparkly clothes and joyous smile. He looked unusually somber, maybe even a little angry at the world. What had happened to Ryan Evans over the summer?

Well the one thing that seemed to register in every girl's mind, even my own taken one was Ryan had gotten sexy. He no longer looked like the little flamboyant boy who did jazz squares. He looked like a man.

His blonde hair was free from the constraints of a brightly colored cap, it was messy and short like he hadn't bothered to brush it; his blue eyes were the same, though they seemed darker to match his mood. His skin was pale as ever, yet that just seemed to make him all the more delicious against the hundreds of perfectly tanned boys that littered the hallways, Troy included.

His jaw was set, his lips pressed tightly together, not frowning, yet not smiling. He seemed oblivious to all the looks he was getting as he glided with ease down the hall.

I eyed him eagerly, hoping Troy didn't notice. He wore gray jeans, blue and white sneakers, and a white button up shirt, wrinkly and disheveled that seemed to overemphasize his ivory skin. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, exposing firm forearms. Was it my imagination or did Ryan look muscular? He didn't seem as scrawny. His chest seemed defined under the loose fitting shirt. Instead of a matching briefcase, a leather messenger bag was slung carelessly over his shoulder.

I held in my breath as I watched him and everyone else staring at him. He walked through the same set of double doors his sister had just slipped through and I watched everyone sigh with relief. He may look different, but he still had the same interests. I listened to all the voices whispering about the Evans twins.

"Oh my gosh, did you see Ryan? He had like normal clothes on!"

"I wonder what Sharpay thinks. She's gotta be mega pissed."

"He isn't smiling and his clothes are sparkle free! Damn, what happened to him?"

"He looks kinda hot."

"Eww, shut up, Cas. It's Ryan!"

"He must still do theater, he still has it first period with Sharpay."

"I wonder if they'll still do a pairs audition. They've got to be fighting. I mean this is the first time they've entered the school separately."

"Gabriella," a soft voice said.

I turned around to find Troy looking at me.

"We're gonna be late for class."

"Coming," I whispered quietly, unable to get the picture of the new Ryan Evans out of my brain.

.o.

A bright yellow cab pulls up and Ryan opens the door, guiding me in first and then sliding in beside me, pulling the door closed.

"5th and Lexington please," Ryan says to the cabbie in a low, smooth voice.

"Ryan where are we going?" I ask, grabbing his hand, to get his attention.

"Am I not allowed to surprise you?" he asks teasingly and I feel weak at my knees. His voice is so velvety, so pure and I have missed it so much.

"No," I merely mumble and he chuckles, wrapping his arms around me, nose pressed into my hair.

"Must you smell so goddamn appealing," he whispers in my ear. I giggle as he starts to nibble on my ear.

"Ryan," I whisper, as I notice the cabbie raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry," he mutters, laughing. "This is a little harder to save for later than I thought it would be."

"You're not the only one who smells appealing," I purr back.

"Gabby," Ryan says weakly. "Don't say that. We need to have a nice dinner, ok?"

"Ok," I say sweetly, suggestively playing with his collar. "If that's what you want."

"It is," he says adamantly, reluctantly removing my hands from his chest.

"Ok," I repeat quietly, snuggling up next to him on the seat like a little girl, curling my feet underneath me and resting my head on his shoulder.

He relaxes and lets his head fall down and rest atop mine. And it's so sweet, I really don't mind that I have to wait and I don't think he does either for he reaches to lock his hand with mine.

And I know for sure the cabbie doesn't mind for he breathes a sigh of relief when are actions turn much more innocent.

I'm sure it gets rather annoying to have some random couple in the backseat of your car getting hot and heavy at odd hours of the day. Can you spell a-w-k-w-a-r-d?