It's been eight months since Dimitri and I broke up and I couldn't be happier. When I peddled home after the diner incident with him, I crashed. It wasn't a subtle thing either. It was the huge bike wreck into a parked truck because you were crying and you didn't see it. But it was the bike wreck that changed my life too.
I was crying so hard from seeing Dimitri all happy and free and I crashed into the tailgate of a parked Ford truck and landed on my ass. I was so disheveled that I wasn't even embarrassed that I had wrecked into a truck while wearing a dress. Luckily, when my dhampir hero came to help me, he didn't care that I was showing the whole world my underwear.
"Hey!" he shouted as he came running around the side of his house. "Are you okay?" He pushed the bike off my legs and hoisted me up to my feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I muttered as I wiped my eyes and face to get ride of the tears.
He saw this and his face filled with even more concern for me if that was at all possible. "What happened? Why are you crying?"
I shook my head and I felt my walls start to crumble. More tears fell and I felt arms wrap around me tightly. I didn't give it a second thought that some stranger was holding me while I sobbed into his plaid button up.
When I finally calmed down, I was laughing hysterically. "I am so sorry that you had to see that. I don't know what's wrong with me. Thank you for helping me with my bike. I didn't damage your truck did I?"
"Forget the truck. It's been running for years and is as tough as they come. Are you sure that you are okay?" he asked me. I could tell that he was worried about me.
"Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I tried to brush it off with as much ease as possible.
The guy held out his hand. "Come on. Sit with me on the porch and tell me why you were crying so hard that you didn't notice the big truck that is parked in the road."
I took a deep breath and placed my hand in his. He led me to the porch steps and sat us down. I looked him over and noticed just how pretty his hazel eyes were. His dirty blonde hair matched his tan skin and eyes perfectly. He was gorgeous.
"So, what were you so upset about?"
"I kinda had a nasty breakup with a guy and he tried to talk to me again today. He knows that I'm not ready to deal with that and he did it anyway." My voice was small as I told my story as shortly as possible.
The guy's beautiful hazel eyes studied me with intent. "He didn't treat you right. A beautiful girl like you, and he didn't have the gall to treat you like a princess."
"I guess you could say that." I shrugged. I was quite for a moment before I stuck out my hand. "I'm Rose."
"Ryan, it's nice to meet you Rose. You have a very beautiful name, you know?"
I smiled. "Only a million times."
"Sorry but make it a million and one. You want water or OJ or anything? I mean, you did wreck into my truck so I might as well make you stay." His hazel eyes turned to teasing as he stood up and offered me a hand.
"Water will be perfect."
Every since that fateful day, Ryan and I have been inseparable. I found out that he worked for the Ivashkov's fruit farm on the outskirts of town. He brought the fruits into town and dropped off the crates that the stores ordered earlier in the week. He was an only child and his mother died when he was a child from a train wreck. His father was the bookkeeper and manager of the Ivashkov farm.
I eventually told Ryan my full story of Dimitri and I and he hated it. He had meet Dimitri and was old buddies with him when they were children. When Dimitri started to focus on training and becoming a big guardian, he and Ryan went their separate ways. Ryan and I laugh at the fact that Dimitri was almost twenty-four and was still working on his family farm instead of living with some royal and being a guardian.
The moon is brighter than the morning sun
The birds sing sweeter and the bees they buzz
A silly little song and we're humming along.
Every time he was in town around lunch, I would meet him under the huge oak tree that stood near Lissa and Mia's store and we'd eat together something that Louise gave us from the diner. Sometimes, he'd come and pick me up from the store and we'd go on some spontaneous date. Ryan made me happy in every way.
Dancing like a dandelion, hands swinging in a breeze
Floating like a butterfly, falling like an autumn leave
It's no ordinary thing between you and me
Ryan had called me and told me that we were going somewhere but he didn't tell me anything more than to wear something that was comfy. I stood in my closet with Lissa and Mia for an hour trying to think of something to wear. My style of comfy was sweat pants and a tank and Ryan knew that. He probably meant for me to wear something comfy and appropriate for public.
I found a pair of jeans and Lissa threw me a yellow shirt with blue bonnets on it. I slipped into the top and pulled my hair into a high pony to reveal my molnijas. I loved to show them off because Ryan told me that they added to my beauty. I didn't have as many as he did, but I was catching up.
I pulled on a pair of converse and ran downstairs just as Ryan came into the house. Since my parents were always out entertaining people with my dad's tracker business, I was pretty much home alone all the time and Ryan didn't have to worry about knocking.
I jumped over the last two stairs and landed in Ryan's strong arms. I planted a kiss on his lips and felt him smile.
"You excited to see me?" he asked smirking.
"Only a little." I kissed him again.
"Good. When you stop, then I know I'm in trouble." Ryan smiled cockily at me as he grabbed my hand and loaded me into the truck.
"So where are we going?" I asked as I looked at his choice of clothes. His usual plaid shirts that we wore to work were swapped for a skintight black, thermal t-shirt and his jeans were my favorite ones with the stress marks in the legs. His steel toed boots were beat up Nikes that made him look totally sexy.
"You'll have to see now won't you?" Ryan wagged his eyebrows at me mischievously. His hand went to my knee and he squeezed gently.
We were silent the rest of the ride as I tried to figure out where we were going. When Ryan pulled off onto a small road, I knew exactly where we were and I gasped in surprise. I saw Ryan smile at my reaction because I was practically bouncing out of my seat.
He pulled up next to a bunch of trucks and cut the engine. We got out and walked hand in hand towards the campfire that was in a small clearing surrounded by trees. I hadn't been there since the break up with Dimitri and God did I miss this place!
Ryan pulled me over to a cooler and handed me a Bud Light. He popped the top on his Miller after popping the top off my bottle. I took a sip of the light beer just as two hands grabbed my hips from behind. I jumped and spun around so fast that the beer spilled on my hand and Ryan's shoes.
Ryan laughed as I came face to face with Adrian who was laughing so hard he had o lean against a tree to keep himself up. I made my breathing settle before I walked up to Adrian and punched him in the shoulder.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You know that I get pissy when I spill my beer!" I shouted as I laughed. I smeared the beer off my hand and onto Adrian's shirt.
"Sorry Rosie, but I had to take the chance. You were so out of it that you didn't hear me swear when I kicked a rock!" Adrian sputtered out between laughs.
"Adrian, apologize to Rose. I have to deal with her when she gets pissy so be nice to me and apologize," Ryan said chuckling.
Adrian looked at me with a smile in his eyes. "I'm sorry Rose for making you spill your beer. Next one is on me."
"It better be," I teased.
I turned back to Ryan and took his hand. We sat down on an old log that was near the fire and talked while Blake Hayes played his guitar.
It's what I love about you love
Knocks me off my feet
Takes me on a trip to another galaxy
Smacks me with a smile longer than a country mile
Gets my heart a running like a river running wild
I can never get enough
That's what I love about your love.
We sang along to different songs that were poorly sung by everyone including Ryan who had an amazing voice. I think he did it just to make me feel better about my squalling. We laughed at some of the songs and Blake and Johnny's terrible jokes. I was having such a good time that I didn't notice someone across the fire pit watching me.
Ryan looked over to me and smiled. "Having fun?"
"God I needed this. I'm glad you thought about this." I gave him one of my full smiles that only he could bring out of me.
He kissed my cheek before going to grab us another beer. I watched the fire dance on the charred logs when I felt someone sit beside me. I looked up startled because Ryan couldn't have been back so fast. Instead, I saw Dimitri.
"Hey Rose," he said.
"Hello." I wasn't trying to be mean, but the tone of my voice clearly said that I didn't want to talk to him.
"So you and Ryan? I've seen you two together all night."
"Yes we are together and I couldn't be happier." I was snapping, but after the way he treated me, I thought he deserved it. I was saved by a shadow that came behind me and put a beer bottle in my hand. I looked up and saw a serious Ryan staring down at Dimitri. His hazel eyes flashed with something that looked like hatred.
"Belikov. It's been a while," Ryan said in a serious tone as he held out a hand. No matter how made he was, Ryan was always going to be polite.
"Ryan King. How's it been?" Dimitri asked as he shook his hand and stood up.
"Great." He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. I stood up and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Rose has told me about you every since we went our separate ways. How's the guardian thing working?"
I watched Dimitri's brown eyes flick to me and back to Ryan before he answered. His jaw tightened and his voice was hard. Mentioning his failure at becoming a guardian was a low blow to him and I was trying very hard to keep a smirk off my face.
"Went didn't go exactly as I planned but it's for the better. My family needs me here more than some Moroi who probably hates dhampirs."
I looked up between the two guys and took Ryan's hand. "Hey, sorry to break up this little pow wow, but Ry, I have to work early in the morning and it's getting late so can we go home?"
Ryan broke eye contact with Dimitri and looked down at me. I could read that he wanted me far away from Dimitri and he nodded smiling.
"Good idea. Nathan Ivashkov and my dad won't like it if I am late to work in the morning." He turned to Dimitri. "I'll see you around."
I looked up at my ex and smiled. "I forgot to tell you thanks for breaking my heart. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have met Ryan." I gave him a man eater smile and Ryan and I walked to his truck, the beers forgotten on the log that we had sat on earlier.
When we got into the truck and had driven down the road a little ways, I burst out laughing. I couldn't help but remember the look on Dimitri's face as my words to him settled in. His tanned skin turned red with embarrassment and anger. His eyes tightened and he might have sworn under his breath. Ryan, hearing me laugh, joined in.
We drove in comfortable silence until we got to my house. I moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me. His head went to my shoulder and I kissed his hand that sat on the top of my arm.
"I love you, Rose, and I refuse to treat you like Dimitri did. I was so mad that he talked to you," Ryan admitted.
"You are ten times the man that he is. I love you too."
"Good. I'd be worried if you didn't love me," he chuckled.
"Don't worry. I'm stuck to you and you can't get rid of me that easily."
You lean over my shoulder and it's over and done
Ain't nothing like a feeling of finding that one
It's a piece of the puzzle
Ain't no doubt about it
It's a good kind of trouble.
"Come on," I sat up and took his hand. "Mom and Dad are in Pittsburg for the weekend so you can some inside and we can watch some cheesy movie that makes us laugh so hard we have belly aches for a week."
Ryan laughed and shook his head. "You are definitely not like normal girls, Rosie."
"But you don't like normal so you shouldn't complain," I giggled.
He let me pull him into my farm house and pull him down onto the couch. I popped in Steel Magnolias and sat back into Ryan's body. We both knew that this was the best movie ever made, but it was so damn funny and after seeing Dimitri tonight, we needed funny.
I ended up falling asleep in Ryan's arms and when I woke up, it was almost six in the morning and my alarm was about to go off. I turned over to see Ryan sleeping next to me; his right arm under his head and the left was tucked under his face. He looked so adorable when he slept.
I bent down and kissed his lips softly, not to wake him up. I turned off my alarm and got ready for the day. I showered and changed into a black long sleeved shirt that had orange flowers scattered on it and a pair of jeans. I was cooking eggs and bacon when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. The smell of soap and almond shampoo filled my nose. I leaned into Ryan's body as I flipped the bacon over in the skillet.
"Morning, Sunshine," he said into my ear. I shivered as his breath crept down my neck.
It's what I love about your love
Knocks me off my feet
Takes me on a trip to another galaxy
Smacks me with a smile longer than a country mile
Gets my heart a runnin' like a river running wild
I can never get enough
That's what I love about your love.
We spent the morning together as much as possible before we had to go to work. Ryan dropped me off at the store before he made his way to Ivashkov's farm. The whole day I was on cloud nine. I was always happy when we were together and Lissa and Mia teased me without mercy.
Through out the day, I kept a smile on my face and I was super girl that the store. I got more sales in that day then I ever had and I got so many complements that Lissa asked me if I was high.
"You hate working and you are doing more work than Mia or I," she laughed.
"I just had a great night and morning that's all," I answered as I folded a sweater and put it back on the shelf.
"Oh my god. You got laid last night!" Mia exclaimed in a not so subtle voice.
"No! I did not!" I blushed with embarrassment. "I just went to a bonfire with Ryan and after words we watched Steel Magnolias and we fell asleep together. No sex involved." I walked to the book shelves that lined the store and restocked the cook books to keep myself busy, but the girls weren't having that. Mia grabbed the books from my hands and threw them on the counter.
"Did he propose?" Mia asked in a quieter tone.
I shook my head. "Why would he do that? We've only been together for eight months. You guys make it sound like we're planning a future with bouncing kids and a farm all of our own, growing old together and watching the sun rise."
"Because it's going to happen!" Lissa wined. "Everyone in town knows that you two are mad about each other. I heard Eddie and Dimitri the other night at the diner and Eddie said that he heard from Adrian that Ryan has been asking his dad about things like the future. Maybe a ring was one of those things that were talked about."
I looked at my friends in disbelief. "Do you guys really think that he'd ask me to marry him?"
"Duh!" both of them shouted. I backed into the book case and started to laugh.
"Okay, so there might be a possibility that he wants to marry me, but we've been together for eight months! My parents will never allow it!"
"Posh! Your daddy loves him and your mamma thinks so highly of him. She talked to mine the other day before she went to Pittsburg." Lissa said as if it was nothing.
I felt my heart swell at the possibility that Ryan might ask me to marry him. I was at the age that most girls in town got married. Lissa was married at nineteen and Mia and Eddie have been promised to each other for a year now. All three of us were twenty-two and that's when most girls started to get married or elope. It wasn't uncommon for that kind of thing to happen here.
I spent the rest of the day and even the week thinking about the possibility of being married to Ryan. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I had loved Ryan since day 1. He made me perfectly happy in every way possible. I couldn't picture life without him, he was my perfect match.
It puts the hon in my honey
Oh it puts the fun in my funny
It's right on the money
All of the above
That's what I love about your love
It was May and summer was about to kick on. Lissa, Mia, and I were busy in the store changing all of the signs in the store to sale signs and bring out some of the summer clothes, shoes, and accessories that people would be being soon. The winter had been a cold one and the week of the bonfire back in March was the only week without snow and winter winds.
I was hanging up jean jackets on a rack when I heard the door open. I turned to greet them and noticed it was Ryan. He smiled at me and waved. He stood off to the side while I finished hanging up the jackets and I danced over to him.
"Hey you," I said standing in front of him with my hands clasped behind me.
"Hey yourself," he leaned down and kissed me. "When do you get off?"
"Around six. I have to take Mia's shift and close tonight because she is still on her honeymoon with Eddie." The two lovebirds had tied the knot the first week of May and they went to New York for a three week honeymoon.
"Okay, I'll be here to pick you up at six. Here." He held out a Tupperware container with cut up apples, strawberries, and oranges in it and a bottle of water." I thought I'd bring you lunch seeing as it is almost one in the afternoon."
I took the food from him. "Aren't you going to join me?"
"No, I'll see you later tonight. I don't want to spoil myself too much today. Besides, Dad needs me at the farm to get ready for the rest of the crops that haven't been planted."
He kissed me and put a calloused hand on my face. "Love you."
"You too," I said as I watched him walk out of the store and drive away.
"What was that?" Lissa asked as she came over with a stack of jeans in her hands.
"I'm not sure. I think I have a date tonight. I also have lunch thanks to the cutie in the Ford," I laughed.
Knocks me off my feet
Takes me on a trip to another galaxy
Smacks me with a smile
Longer than a country mile
Get's my heart running
Like a river running wild
I can never get enough
That's what I love about your love.
At six, I turned out the lights and locked the store doors behind me. Lissa had left early to greet Christian when he came home from his business trip that sent him to Atlanta. I was stuck doing inventory and the final money count for the night, but it also gave me time to freshen up before Ryan came and picked me up.
I looked at my reflection in the glass windows of the store. My hair was flowing freely down my back and my jeans and blue button up that was tucked in looked nice enough for work and was still comfy for regular days. My ballet flats looks good with my outfit.
I heard a truck come up the road and I turned to see Ryan had braked by the sidewalk. I ran around and hopped into the passenger side door and we took off. Ryan had changed into a nice pair of jeans and a red button up. His sleeves were rolled up to reveal toned, muscled arms. He looked relaxed as he drove towards our oak tree that was two miles away from the store.
He pulled up and together we walked to the tree's base and he laid down a blanket. The night stars were about to fade and the sun was going to rise in an hour or so. I kicked off my shoes and curled up on the blanket. Ryan had already laid down so I put my head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around my back.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" I asked softly as I stared at the stars.
"I don't think so," Ryan said. I thought I heard a teasing tone but I couldn't be sure. I looked up at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't think that the stars are beautiful when I have you right here to compare them to," he said in all honesty.
"Cute. Have you been working on that line for long?"
"Everyday." Ryan smiled as he ran a hand over my hair.
That's what I love about your love
That's what I love about your love
That's what I love about your love
We were silent for a while, taking in the beauty of the sunrise and being perfectly happy in the company of one another. Ryan broke the silence just as the sun broke the horizon.
"Rose."
"Hmm."
"Do you love me?"
I sat up. "Of course I love you. Why would you even ask?" I was confused and slightly hurt that he didn't know me well enough to know just how much I loved him.
"Because I want to know if you will love me forever or just until you find another guy's truck to wreck into," Ryan's face looked serious.
"I love you and there is nothing that can change that. You know that." I made my voice more confident in those words than anything else I had ever said.
"Good, because I plan on loving you forever and I want to know if you plan on loving just as long. I also wanted to know if you love the name Rosemarie King."
I stared at him and my eyes grew wide in shock. My shock grew even more when Ryan pulled out a silver band that looked like the metals were twisted into a circle. He held it in front of me and watched my eyes intently.
Before I could stop myself, I launched myself at him. I threw my arms around his neck and felt us both tip over he was on his back. I crashed my lips to his and didn't let go until I needed air.
"I'm taking that as a yes," Ryan laughed.
"Good, because that's my answer." I smiled as I kissed him again.
The moon is brighter than the morning sun
The birds sing sweeter
And the bee's they buzz.
so for those of you who wanted the story to continue, it has! I have decided to add two more chapters the talk about what happens to Rose. The next chapter will be the last and then i will be off to bigger and better stories. Thanks Lovelies!
-SagWarrior