8.
Ryan stirred and slowly blinked his eyes open just a little. From the sparseness of light in the room, he knew it wasn't morning yet, so he closed his eyes again in an attempt to go back to sleep.
But somewhere in his semi-conscious state, something was bothering him. Something wasn't quite right and he didn't know what it was. He knew if he spent any time concentrating on it, his brain would wake up. Then he'd never be able to doze off again. But it was pointless. Whatever it was, it planned on nagging at him.
So he gave up and tried to focus, and in a moment, he knew the problem. Summer. He hadn't gotten in touch with her last night; and she hadn't called him back.
Gazing out at the dull light, he guessed that it was around six. So it would be three a.m. on the West Coast. He couldn't call her now. If she had been out with friends last night, she'd be fast asleep and she wouldn't thank him for waking her. He reasoned that he'd have to wait and call her in a few hours when she'd more likely be awake. Closing his eyes again, he attempted to go back to sleep, but there was no chance of that now. Not until he knew that she was okay.
Maybe he would call her.
She only had to tell him that she was fine, and then they could both go back to sleep. But if she didn't answer, what would he do then? It would only make matters worse.
He realised that he didn't have any other numbers to call and wondered if Dr. Roberts may have had some other way of reaching her. He meant 'Neil'. He guessed that if worse came to worse, he could call SeaWorld when they opened and try to find her that way. But he didn't even know if the research staff worked on the weekends?
He couldn't help but wonder if this was how parents felt when they couldn't get in touch with their kids? Because it sucked. This helplessness. Not knowing whether someone you cared for was safe.
He hesitated, startled by the admission. But it was accurate. He did care for her. A lot. She was one of his best friends. Scratch that, after the way that Seth had been behaving lately, he realised that she WAS his best friend. That may have seemed pretty pathetic considering that up until recently, he hadn't been in touch with her for almost a year, but it was a fact. She brightened his day. Every day. So the bottom line was that he needed to know that everything was okay. Otherwise, at this rate, he'd give himself an ulcer just from worrying.
In the now half light of the early morning, he blearily propped himself up on his elbow to see the clock on the nightstand. His breath caught as he saw that he was not alone in the bed and his heart stopped for a moment until he realized that it was Summer.
Seeing her there, sleeping soundly, relief washed over him. She must have arrived late last night and he was so out of it, he didn't even hear her.
But what was she doing here? She hadn't mentioned anything about coming back to New York. He just hoped that nothing was wrong.
She looked so peaceful, so angelic; certainly not someone with a problem. He took the opportunity to drink in the sight of her. Even in the half light it was obvious; she was beautiful. He'd never really allowed himself to look at her that way before because he'd always been too conscious of her connection to Seth. But that connection was over. And sometime during the last few weeks, Ryan had made a connection of his own with her.
They were friends.
Good friends.
Okay, so he occasionally found himself thinking of her as maybe more than a friend, but he reasoned that was only because it had been a long time since he'd seen any action. After Taylor's last stand, he'd started to think that celibacy had its good points and he'd sworn off women.
But studying Summer lying in his bed (or more correctly her bed) stirred something in him. He knew that he was going to have to get laid…and soon… before he did something to embarrass himself and ruin his friendship with her.
He suddenly felt self conscious about sharing a bed with her and wondered if he should get out of bed and move to the sofa. But she obviously had no problems about sharing the bed with him in the first place. Otherwise she would have woken him up and kicked him out last night.
Knowing that it was still too early to get up on a Saturday morning and scared that if he started to move around that he'd wake her, he decided to close his eyes, and attempt to go back to sleep again. He figured that now that he knew she was safe, there was a chance that sleep would come.
---
He woke up again a few hours later and for a second, wondered if he had been dreaming.
Glancing across to check, he couldn't help the huge smile that spread across his face. She was really there. Still sound asleep. Her hair strewn over the pillow. Checking the clock, he noticed that it was nearly ten. She was usually an early bird. She must have been really whacked when she got in last night.
As quietly as possible, he got up and stepped over Summer's bag that was dropped in the center of the room and headed for the kitchen.
He was glad that he had stopped at the store on the way home last night, planning on a big breakfast this morning. During the week it was always coffee, cereal and then out the door. But a big, leisurely breakfast on the weekend had become a sort of ritual. Summer would be able to share it with him and that would make it even better.
He put the coffee on first and then made the pancake batter, leaving it to stand while he cooked the bacon until it was nice and crisp. Then he started on the pancakes.
----
Stretching before I'm completely awake is something that I do. It wakes my muscles up, clears the cobwebs, and gets me ready to start the day. But my favourite place to stretch is in my own bed. I love my bed. But wait a minute …. is this really my bed? There's something not quite right about it. I blink my eyes open and squint at the bright sunlight streaming through the skylights and realise that it is no longer early morning. I must have slept in.
I pat the mattress a few times just to be sure that it is my bed. And it IS, because I'm in MY room, but the enticing smell that's wafting through the doorway is not something I'm used to. At least not in this apartment. I checked the other side of the bed and realized that Ryan is up. Correction, Ryan is cooking breakfast. I didn't need to think of Ryan 'UP'. That would start the day off on the wrong track entirely. I needed to keep reminding myself that he was just a 'friend'. If my traitorous body occasionally liked to think of him as more, then I was bound to end up a very frustrated young woman.
The smell of coffee and bacon was too good to ignore. Sliding from between the sheets, I softly padded out to the kitchen hoping that my 'roommate' had made enough for two.
---
Ryan looked up from turning the pancakes and couldn't help but be both delighted and surprised by Summer's appearance at the same time. Even though he'd been waiting for her to arise he still wasn't fully prepared for it.
"Hey sleepyhead! You finally decided to wake up," he commented teasingly, while trying to get his reactions under control. His brain was in overdrive. She looked amazing. Even first thing in the morning, with hair amok and face scrubbed clean. The tiny boy shorts and skimpy tank top only enhancing her obvious assets.
Summer rubbed at her eyes, still not fully awake and nodded in reply while trying to find her voice.
"I'm not a sleepy-head," she finally got out.
Ryan didn't recall her ever looking so adorable. The tiny sleep addled voice only further serving to enhance her attraction.
"Yes you are. It's nearly eleven. If you slept much longer, this could have been lunch," he pointed out.
Summer was coming to and she wasn't going to let him tease her without giving something back.
"It might be eleven here, but it's only eight in San Diego. My body clock is still on West Coast time," she explained.
"Good excuse," Ryan replied as he removed the last of the pancakes from the griddle and put them on the warmed plate.
"I hope some of that's for me," Summer remarked as she sat upon the stool that was pulled up to the kitchen bench. She was desperately in need of food and coffee.
"I'm not sure if I should feed you after you nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Aww. Did the strong guy get a big fright from little old me?" Summer asked, the grin on her face indicating that she'd do it again in a minute.
She realized how much she liked teasing him, and watched him move around her kitchen, knowing that it was something that she could easily get used to it. He was dressed in just his boxers and wife beater, and she doubted that there was any better view to wake up to. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off him as she watched the muscles and tendons flex in his arms as he moved about. Her whole body was acutely aware of how attractive he was, so much so that it started to respond, completely out of her control. Much to her discomfort, she could feel the heat and moisture building between her legs and her nipples started to peak as she envisaged those arms holding her ... those hands touching her ...
She knew that her body's traitorous signs would be visible through her tank top and she needed an excuse to remove herself before he noticed.
But right at that moment, Ryan had his own problems. With her eyes on him, he was having trouble doing the simplest things. She was so goddamn hot, with her bed hair and skimpy outfit. He thought there should be some law about your roommate looking like that. How was he going to be able to hold it together without jumping her? She must be cold, he thought to himself; her pert nipples were showing through her tank top. But that was only making him hot. He was afraid that his body would betray him soon.
He thanked God that there was a counter between them. But he knew that he was gonna have to move at some point, and then his 'state' would be pretty damn obvious. If he kept looking at her and thinking these thoughts, there was no way that she would miss what was going on in his boxers.
He tried desperately to distract himself by answering her previous question.
"Yes. I did. Why didn't you answer your phone last night?"
"The battery was dead," Summer explained. "Did you try to reach me?"
"Uh huh. Several times." Ryan pointed out, wanting her to realise just how concerned he had been for her.
"I'm sorry," Summer apologised. She hadn't wanted to worry him.
"And then when I woke up and saw another body in the bed …." Ryan started but when he noticed her smile, his anger dissipated. But he couldn't let her off that easily.
"You're lucky that I didn't physically attack you."
Summer's mind went in to overdrive as thoughts of rolling around on the bed with Ryan flooded her mind. She realised that she was hesitating and that he must have guessed that she was considering it.
"Why? Would it have been that bad?" she asked, coquettishly.
The slight control that Ryan had over his dick was now gone. He was sporting an impressive tent pole and it was pressing against the counter. He couldn't move, because if he did, she'd see it.
Summer couldn't believe that she'd spoken those words. He was obviously shocked. She needed to distance herself from him in a hurry before she died of embarrassment. Realizing that she hadn't even been to the bathroom yet, she found her exit line. She stood up from the stool.
"I'm just going to use the bathroom."
Ryan tried to stifle his sigh of relief. It was a good idea, but he needed to buy more time.
"K. Hey, when you're finished? Why don't you hop back in bed? I'll bring it in when it's ready."
Summer was happy to have a little more time to compose herself. Anything to get away from him before she lost control completely.
She nodded. "Sure. Sounds good."
As soon as she disappeared into the bathroom, Ryan felt safe to move from behind the kitchen counter. He hastily found a pair of jeans and put them on, needing to get something restrictive on his dick in a hurry. He hoped that she'd take a while in the bathroom knowing that he needed to get himself back under control before he could serve her breakfast.
---
Summer fidgeted in bed while waiting for Ryan. She couldn't decide if she should lie down or sit up. While she was in the bathroom, she'd thought about getting dressed, but then decided he would wonder why she bothered to get dressed just to get back into bed. But she couldn't seem to get her nipples under control. It seemed that just the thought of Ryan moving around in her kitchen brought them to attention, and they had no intention of relaxing.
She ended up sitting up, reasoning that if she was lying down, he might think that she'd gone back to sleep and, knowing that he was bringing her breakfast that would have been rude. She pulled the covers up over her chest so he couldn't see the evidence of what being around him did to her.
When he appeared at the doorway with the tray, she felt like all her birthdays had come at once.
She was disappointed to see that he had pulled on his jeans, but the rest of the package was unbeatable. Ryan, still in wife beater with bed-mussed hair, carrying a tray of breakfast goodies, the sun streaming through the skylights falling on him, made everything look delicious. And she meant everything. Not just the food.
"Here we go. I hope you're hungry," Ryan said while placing the heavily laden tray on the bed.
"I'm ravenous."
Ryan's eyes met hers briefly and he quickly looked away. He wished that she would stop making that sort of comment because his body was interpreting everything she said as suggestive. He was having enough trouble keeping his dick under control and she was only making it harder. Literally.
Summer noticed him look away and tried to gloss over the awkward moment.
"This looks delicious. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."
As soon as he words left her mouth she regretted them. Glancing at him, she noticed the smile slowly spread across his face. Now she was wondering what he was thinking. He was really quiet. She wondered was he running through his options.
Ryan was stunned. What the fuck? He didn't know how he would survive this? Everything she said had his mind racing and his heart pumping. He was sure that there was no innuendo intended, and yet, that was all he was hearing. The look on her face made him want to take her, to have her, here and now … but he knew that he couldn't. She was a friend. Nothing more. He needed to keep reminding himself of that.
Summer's heart was pounding. She knew that whatever he wanted, he could have. If he wanted a blow job … If he wanted to take her from behind … He was so quiet ... until ...
"Dinner sounds good," Ryan said simply.
Summer didn't know whether to be pleased or disappointed at his suggestion.
"Sure. I can take you out for dinner. It's the least I can do," she replied as her mind recoiled. She was definitely disappointed. But she knew that she shouldn't be. He'd been waiting for her to show him around New York for weeks, and now she was finally here. Of course, he'd want to go out. Just because she'd rather stay here with him didn't mean that was what he'd prefer.
Ryan quickly corrected her. "I don't want to go out. I want you to cook for me."
Summer was surprised but delighted and couldn't help the smile on her face as she responded. "Oh. You want to stay in?"
Ryan was stunned at her words. They just confirmed what he already knew. That he really needed to get laid. Everything she said, that he was sure was perfectly normal, he was hearing as sexual. He knew that if he was buried in her right now, then he'd definitely want to stay there. He realised that she was waiting for some sort of reply and nodded his head in lieu of shaking it with frustration.
"If that's okay with you?" he replied softly. The thought of spending time together had been on his mind a lot lately.
"Sure. It sounds great." Summer couldn't wait. A whole night together ... on their own … alone. Better than great.
"We could go to the market later and pick up whatever you need," Ryan suggested.
"Okay," Summer replied, realising that she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She wondered why even the idea of grocery shopping with him sounded like about the best offer she'd ever had.
"But I should probably go find a bed first."
"A bed? Why?" Summer asked.
Ryan was amazed. Fuck! Couldn't she see why? He couldn't share a bed with her. It was hard enough to keep his mind out of the gutter when he was sharing a meal with her. He doubted that he'd ever get to sleep with her next to him. He would have to stay awake all night trying to restrain himself.
"I can't throw you out of your own bed and the sofa isn't really big enough for me," Ryan explained.
"I'm only here for one more night, then I'm off to Orlando. The bed will be all yours again. It's seems silly to buy another bed when this is already here. You might as well use it," Summer reasoned.
"I guess. But I'll sleep on the sofa tonight and let you have your room to yourself."
He knew that he couldn't sleep in the bed with her … but he also couldn't tell her why without revealing his feelings for her.
"You can't do that. You'll never fit on that sofa, and you won't be able to sleep. If someone has to sleep out there, I will. But I don't see why we can't just share this bed. It's big enough for both of us. Did you have any problems sleeping last night?" she asked.
Ryan wondered how was he supposed to answer that? He was already asleep when she slipped in, and once he fell back to sleep, it was with relief that she was okay. But he knew that sleep wouldn't come easily if he was lying there thinking about what she's not wearing and what he wanted to do to her. But he couldn't admit that, or she'd know what was going on in his head (and his pants). He knew that he sucked at lying, so he was going to have to keep his answer short.
"No."
He just hoped that she wouldn't push the issue. Otherwise he was in big trouble.
"Exactly. So we'll just do the same tonight," Summer responded.
Ryan gulped. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been more certain of anything in my life," she replied, her tone indicating that the discussion was over.
