Chapter Twenty Five: Splash!

(Third Person)

Of all the things Jessica could have imagined, a boat ride in Miami was not one of them. Turns out, Ryan has a friend that owns a boat. He told Ryan that anytime he wanted a loan of it, it was his, no questions asked. The boat was actually a human-operated one. Manual, with oars. Truth be told, Ryan really hadn't a clue about boats or anything, and he had only operated one once. He was hoping and praying that this would go smoothly and no one would fall out. Jessica had never been on a boat before, and was a little worried about sea-sickness. Although, she had to admit...Ryan knew exactly how to show a girl a nice romantic time. He led her onto the boat and sat her down. He handed her his coat and winked, sending her into her own train of thought. She cleared her throat and fluffed her hair up a little. "Say, Mr. Wolfe...have you ever driven one of these things before?" She highly doubted he had, as he was staring blankly around, obviously unsure of what to do.

Ryan shrugged. "Once. The guy says you just row. That's it, easy as."

Jessica nodded, wondering what kind of inspiration Ryan had. Or maybe he was always this spontaneous. "Right." She would believe that when she saw it.

Ryan sat back and started rowing away, getting more and more into it. Soon enough, they were going steady. He was deep in concentration, gnawing on his lip, eyebrows furrowed. He looked altogether comical. Jessica giggled to herself and looked over onto the scenery. The sky was gorgeous. Lots of deep, dramatic oranges, pinks and even a few lighter ones. Jessica was a sucker for skies like these.

"You know, you're very pretty when you go off into your own world." Ryan brought Jessica crashing back to the real world. He swallowed. He himself was caught up in his own thoughts. He had brought her here for a reason, but he had to think it out. Properly, not half-assed like every other relationship he'd ever had. Jessica blushed.

"Well, thanks. Um..." How do you follow after that?

"And I have some stuff that I'd like you to know." He inhaled, nerves fumbling about in his stomach. Jessica sat back and clutched Ryan jacket around herself. It smelt like him, which she definitely appreciated.

"Okay, go ahead." Really, Jessica didn't know whether to be excited or to be worried. "Take your time."

Ryan nodded, and suddenly let go of the oars, creating a gargantuan splash in the water. He didn't know why on earth he did that, but he knew it was the wrong thing to do. Jessica widened her eyes and gasped. Great, now he'd never be able to tell her whatever it was he was planning on. "Oh, no. I did not just do that. Jess, please don't tell me I did that?" Jessica clasped her hand over her mouth, and muffled a quick 'okay'. Ryan sighed and rubbed his face. Jessica grinned.

"You know what? It's fine...don't worry about it. What were you gonna say?" She was now highly intrigued as to what Ryan wanted to tell her. If he planned all this - minus the whole oar-dropping thing - then it must be serious.

Ryan mentally had a small tantrum, but he only swallowed and sat back. Well, of course, now everything was ruined. He couldn't say anything half way romantic with the thoughts that were currently running through his head. He shook his head. "Nothing. Forget it."

Oh, of course this news was devastating for Jessica. A thousand thoughts were whirring through her mind as to what he was on about. She smiled, hopefully. "No, no, it's okay. Just tell me."

Ryan furrowed his brow, looking over the edge of the boat. Stupid oars... "Sorry, Jess. If I told you now, it just wouldn't be right."

Jessica pursed her lips together. "Well, fine. I guess we'd better see about, I don't know, moving some time soon." Ryan raised his eyebrows. He was still in shock over the loss of the oars. He should've been paying more attention. He shouldn't have been thinking about what he actually was thinking about, which was Jessica. "What about Delko?" Eureka, a flash of inspiration! On Jessica's part, of course.

Ryan shrugged. "What about him?"

She folded her arms, smiling. "Well, he's a sea, or water, specialist kinda guy, isn't he? He'll save us."

Oh, no...Ryan's pride couldn't handle that. Bad enough he screwed the rowing part up, now Delko could come along and get them out of this mess. He shook his head. "No need. We'll be fine. How about...we wait ten minutes, and if we haven't moved, well...we'll call someone."

Jessica shook her head this time. "Not just anyone." She looked around. "Delko." Frankly, she trusted him in the water. He hadn't gotten eaten yet. He sighed and gave in.

"Fine." But... "But I'm not gonna be happy about it." He folded his arms, like a kid being forced into something he didn't want to do. Of course, Jessica almost bust a gut laughing at him. He watched her for a few seconds, finding himself getting sucked in by her laugh. He grinned, rubbing the side of his eye with a finger. "I'm glad you find it so funny."

She giggled, slapping her hand against her leg. "Oho-you-are-so-damned-right...I find it...hilarious!" She choked out, gasping. Ryan chuckled. This girl was cracked. "You...dropped...the oars!"

Ryan arched an eyebrow. "I did. How many of those painkillers did you take?"

Jessica managed to hold the laughter off for a few minutes, and then, miraculously, it stopped. "Okay, I'll stop...if you tell me what you were gonna say."

Ryan frowned. He would rather she went hysterical with laughter as opposed to him being majorly embarrassed. "No, that's okay."

Jessica bit her lip and moved forward a little. "Please?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Fine. But it's ruined now."

She swallowed. "I'm sure it isn't." The way she said it, made it sound like a walk in the park.

"Okay, uh..." He sighed. He hadn't imagined it going like this. He imagined them sitting in the boat, preferably with Jessica completely enthralled with what he was saying, maybe even half naked. Okay, that wasn't going to happen, but, hey! It's his daydream. "I've known you for, what..." He wracked his brain yet he couldn't remember. He was currently being distracted by Jessica, who was twirling her hair around her finger. Jesus, was there one thing that girl could do that wasn't attractive?

"A while." Jessica herself actually couldn't remember. She remembered her first day...vaguely. She squinted, now estimating it at about two or three months. "A few months."

Ryan nodded. "Right...uh, okay. We've gotten kinda...close." Understatement, if ever they'd heard one. "Anyway, you mean whole lot to me..." Why had his voice just risen? This was a very, heinous idea. Terrible. He licked his lower lip and glanced at his hands. Jessica smiled, noticing how very nervous he was. His hand was trembling a little. Then again...could've been the OCD. He looked up, smiling awkwardly. "I guess...I mean, what I'm trying to say-" He was rambling so quickly, and with such vigorous hand movement that Jessica couldn't really keep track of anything.

"Wait..." She held her hand up and shifted forward. "Either this is something really good...or you're breaking up with me. Either way, I want to be close enough to slap you." There was a large hint of amusement in her voice, just enough to let Ryan know she was kidding.

Ryan grinned. This had only made him feel marginally more confident. He inhaled and exhaled sharply. Why was this so hard? It's only Jessica. Of course...therein lies the problem. It's Jessica. "Okay. What I'm trying to say..." Girl feelings. That was his problem. He had girl feelings. His dad and brother always said he was a sissy. In jest or not, they were right. Deep down, he was a big girl's blouse. If this were up to Jessica, she'd have done it hours ago. Jeez, Wolfe...get it over with. What's the worst she can say? 'Aw, shucks...thanks!' and be done with it? No, but she might lie. Maybe he doesn't know her well enough... "Is, uh..." He took her hand, quickly. "I think...I mean, I guess-" You guess? No! You know! Of course, the voice in his head was not helping. Jessica had leant forward a good bit, eyes firmly stuck on Ryan. She was actually...enjoying watching him be all nervy and awkward? Yeah...because she hadn't really seen him in such a state. She gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"Ry...it's all right. You don't have-" Jessica's speech was cut short by Ryan's lips crashing onto her own. She sat upright and tilted her head to the side as Ryan's other hand came onto her neck. It was cold, but the thought left her mind as soon as it entered it. He pulled away quickly, and she gasped, mouth agape. That was by far the best kiss she had ever experienced. "Whoa..." She pulled her legs up to her chest, feeling a sudden wave of cold come over her. Ryan sat back and licked his lower lip again, out of breath with a mix of shock...maybe a teeny bit of passion.

"I kinda love you..." He said, hurriedly and quietly, after a few moments of silence. The look on Jessica's face - at first - told him that he'd made a huge, stupid, idiotical mistake. Possibly the biggest of his life. He furrowed his brow and slapped his hand against his face. "Look, I'm sorry-"

Jessica giggled. "Sorry...you, uh...could you, please say that again?"

Ryan shook his head, now feeling consumed by his embarrassment. "I-I am sorry! I shouldn't have said that...I'm an asshole." He let his head fall into his hands, giving up. He may as well throw himself off the side of the boat. And they hadn't moved since he dropped the oars. What an ass he was, screwing everything up. Even the 'I love you' part didn't come out properly. It was supposed to be smooth. Not dashed out in a mad hurry!

Jessica took his jacket off herself and set it beside her. Without taking her eyes off him, she went on her knees and sat right in front of him. Even now, it was clearly evident that she was short. She looked up at him and smiled, eyes sparkling slightly. "You are not an asshole." She lowered her voice, fluttering her eyelashes a little. Ryan still wasn't convinced. "And this is supremely romantic." More so than anyone else had done for her lately. "And, I suppose..." She grinned, holding her breath. "I kinda love you, too."

Ryan rolled his eyes. She was probably just saying that to sooth his faltered ego. They'd only been together a short while. He should have waited...not rushed her so much! "Yeah..."

Jessica grinned. She couldn't have been happier if she'd tried. She was on a boat...with the guy she -kinda- loved, who had just exclaimed his own love for her, unprompted. Granted, he could've been smoother...but that was perfect. She wouldn't have had it any other way. "Yes, Ryan! God!" She shook her head, laughing a little, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ryan swallowed, placing his hands awkwardly on her back. She was his best friend after only a short time...then the feelings got stronger...now he's on hid pal's boat, telling her he loves her...and she hasn't scoffed and ran away, slapped him or any other negative responses.

Oh, my God. Could it be...is it at all possible...

Had Ryan Wolfe narrowly escaped screwing up, badly, with the best person in his life? It would appear so. And it would appear to have actually gone better than he'd have thought.

A/N: Hi!

Okay, I am incredibly sorry for the long wait - I hope it was worth it! I had a severe bout of gnarly writer's block. Awful...the WORST! But you may have noticed that I had as many updates on Flowers in the Rain as was possible. Again, I am SO SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY!!! Sorry :)

Thanks to all my lovely, fantastic reviewers...you guys are too nice to me! I promise the next chapter will be better and longer and - Nikki! You might just get that cameo soon!!!

Please R&R,

Have a great rest of the day,

JauntyChick

XOX