Jess's POV
We stayed on the pier until about 6PM. At that point, we both felt the pressure of the cold- not to mention our feet hurt and we were hungry again. So, we ended up going to a random restaurant nearby. Straying from the itinerary- how shocking. The waitress sat us in the back at a table with 7 chairs. Apparently, it was the only one they had left. Ryder and I both sat there awkwardly near the edge, shivering. Seriously, the wind was insane and those hot chocolates only lasted so long. "So," he said, his teeth chattering, "W-what are our ch-hances of not h-having hypothermia from t-today?" I chuckled, poking his nose, watching the little spot go from white back to red. "Lynn, you're so cold your face is red." He groaned quietly, looking me up and down, "I was hoping you were the only one." I glared at him playfully and grabbed my menu, "You're lucky you're too pathetic to hit right now." He gave me a look, but then grabbed his menu. I looked at him confused, then just focused on the list of food. I was reading the components of the 'Gigantic Bubble Burger' when Ryder cleared his throat. I laid my menu down and looked at him, "Yes?" He looked uncomfortable. Oh no. "Why do you hit me so much?" I paused for a second, completely taken by surprise. I blinked a few times and shook my head, "I-I don't know… I hadn't really noticed." He gave me a half-smile, "Well, do you mind easing up a bit? My arm is starting to get sore." I felt a pain in my chest and I immediately started apologizing, "I'm so sorry. I meant them to be playful. I'll never do it again. I'm so sorry." Shit- I hurt Ryder. I'm turning into my dad… I looked down at the menu, trying to keep myself from spiraling. Ryder pulled my menu down again and held my hand, "Woah, Jess- it's ok. I was just saying…" I nodded, still looking at my menu. Whatever he said after that was drowned out by thoughts of my dad running through my head.
The waitress came over and we ordered. As I told her what I wanted, I felt myself losing my appetite. I could feel Ryder's eyes on me, but I refused to look up. When she walked away, he started to say something, but interrupted: "Let's go to the hotel after this." "Uh- sure. Are you ok? Did I set something off in there?" he asked, pointing to my forehead. I could hear the worry in his voice, but I also heard a smidge of annoyance. I looked up at him, sadly, "I'm not going to talk about it if you don't actually want to hear what I have to say." He shook his head, "I just don't want to fight after having such a nice day." I shrugged, drinking some of my water and he continued, "Jess, I can tell that you're upset now, but I doubt you want to talk about it in a restaurant packed with people." I couldn't take it anymore: "I'm not my dad, ok?" I snapped, looking at him sadly. His eyebrows raised and he shook his head, "Of course not- he's a fucking monster." "And I'm Sully," I frowned, holding my face in my hands. I could feel the tears coming. He sighed, pulling his chair around so he was sitting on the end of the table. He held my hand and kissed me lightly, "If I recall correctly, Sully was a good guy." I groaned, looking at him, "Ryder, I'm serious. I didn't mean to hurt you…" He gave me a sad smile, pulling my hand up to his lip and kissing it. I looked at him- completely baffled that he was so calm about all this. But then, he just looked back at me and lowered my hand. His eyes bore into me: "Jess, I know and I'm sorry… But please don't think too deep into this. I know you probably feel insanely triggered right now, but you didn't hurt me. Look," he said, gesturing to himself, "I'm fine. All in one piece. I was just saying to ease up on me, that's all." I shook my head, "Fine, but I'm still not going to hit you anymore." He gave me a small smile, "Deal." I looked down at our hands and intertwined our fingers. I felt my heart rate slowing down and my muscles relaxed. How did he calm me down so fast?
Our food arrived and I actually picked at it- eating about half of it, which was way more than I expected. Ryder still held one of my hands under the table and I felt his eyes on me as we ate. "Lynn, these burgers are too good to be ignored. Give them some attention, will ya?" His eyebrows raised in surprise, realizing that I had noticed him staring, and he quickly looked at his burger. I chuckled, taking one more bite of mine before laying back in my seat. He looked over at me and I sighed, "I'm fine, ok? You worked some magic on me. Look, you can even check my heart rate if you don't believe me." I held out my wrist and he looked at it and then back to me. "Is this a trap?" I chuckled, "No." He set his burger down and then turned in his chair, facing me. "Are you sure? Because if I check your pulse right now, you could try and say that I don't trust you… On the other hand, if I don't check your pulse, I could look like I'm actually neglecting you…" I rolled my eyes, pulling his hand to my wrist, "Oh my gosh, just check it, Lynn." He gave me a look and then proceeded to take my pulse. After a few seconds, he looked up at me and smiled, "Does this mean I'm a wizard?" I chuckled, shoving his shoulder lightly, "Sure, Potter, whatever you want to be." He had a smug look on his face and continued to eat his burger. I shook my head, waving the waitress over. I asked her for the bill and she quickly walked to the register. Ryder gave me a confused look and I shrugged, "Magic isn't free. I'm paying this time." He chuckled, finishing his burger and then grabbing a handful of fries. The waitress came back and I paid, leaving the money on top of the bill. I looked over at Ryder and he finished his last fry. "Ready?" He nodded, getting up and licking the salt off his fingers. I shook my head, grabbing my purse and smiling at him, "You may actually like food more than I do." He looked at me- one finger still in his mouth- and blushed. I walked us out and called a Lyft. Sure, I was feeling better, but I still wanted to go back to the hotel. We needed to relax our feet- pronto.
Ryder's POV
"Hey, Lynn? Can you get me one of my night shirts?" Jess asked, peaking her head out from the bathroom. I nodded, getting up from the bed and looking through her bag. I chuckled to myself, seeing my sweater hidden under a pair of jeans. I smirked and grabbed it, taking it to the bathroom. Once I stopped in front of the door, I closed my eyes and held the sweater out in front of me, "Alright, here." I heard the door open and the sweater left my hands. "Thanks! Now go find something good on TV- wait…" I chuckled, taking a peak at her with one eye. I couldn't see anything- she was still hiding behind the door. She looked down at the sweater and then at me. She sighed and then let out a giggle, "Lynn, I asked for a shirt… and this is yours anyways." I shrugged, "It' not like I was getting it back anytime soon. Just wear it- you look hot in it." Her cheeks went red and she shut the door: "Go watch some TV!" I smiled to myself and then walked over to the bed, sitting down and flicking through channels.
Within minutes, I was spaced out and looking at my phone. Seriously, hotels have the worst shows playing at any time of day. I heard the bathroom door creak and footsteps. I looked up and saw a now calm Jess, standing there in with wet hair. "Did you shower?" I asked, confused. How did I not hear the water? She nodded, pulling at the bottom of the sweater and looking at her toes, "I was too cold." I chuckled, shaking my head at her, "But I make a great space heater." She shrugged, coming to the side of the bed, "I was more worried about my blue fingers..." I smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding her hands in mine. "Well thank you for caring about me! Haha. So do I feel cold?" She pouted, "Yes you do. You should take a shower too. I swear I didn't use all the warm water." Chuckling, I pulled her onto my lap and hugged her: "Nope, I'm gonna do it the old fashioned way- cuddle me!" I felt her shrug and cuddle into my chest. We slid under the covers and she rested her head on my chest, looking over to the TV: "Thanks for calming me down earlier." I hugged her a little tighter, "No worries. I'm happy I could use my powers for good." She giggled, looking up at me: "Ok, you're adorable." I chuckled, pecking her lips, "Thanks, Jess."
