She's right there. Good God, she still looks incredible. Ryan shuts the door behind him and sees Marissa Cooper standing just a few feet in front of him.
"Marissa." Ryan finds himself blurting out. But he can't seem to move from his spot. He felt like it was just a dream and in two seconds she would disappear. But she doesn't.
"Hey." She says gently, making Ryan want to just run over to her and wrap his arms around her.
Finally, Ryan's feet begins to move and the next second, his arms are wrapped around Marissa's waist. At one point, he thought he can feel her heart beating fast against his own chest, but he shrugs it off and tells himself that she's just here for a friendly visit.
Now he can feel her arms around his neck and he relaxes a little bit because she feels so good against him and he realizes how much he missed the familiar sweet strawberry scent she carried around.
Ryan's mind begins to race and he's trying to figure out what to say without him sounding too obvious that he's been missing her like crazy since she left Newport.
"It's great to see you." He decides to say and he finally pulls away gently, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.
He sees her begin to form a smile and he can feel his heart begin to race, "It's great to see you too." She says to him, sounding sincere.
She asks him how he's doing and Ryan says he's doing great. But Marissa doesn't know that it's because, for the first time in years, Ryan felt like he can breathe again.
"You seem pretty busy right now." She says, making Ryan's face drop, No! She can't go yet. Don't let her go yet, Atwood. Not yet.
"No, no." Ryan says, "Em, can you cancel my meeting? And I'll finish those papers later." He continues, turning to face Emily.
Marissa steps up and says she doesn't wanna intrude. You're not intruding. I want you here. Ryan thinks, but decides not to say anything like that yet.
"Of course not. I'll cancel the meeting and the deadline for those papers aren't for another week." Emily says, and Ryan smiles at her gratefully.
"See, it's taken care of." Ryan says, "Do you wanna get some coffee or anything?" He asks, wanting so bad for her to stay and talk to him.
And, almost as if God was listening to everything he was thinking, Marissa says yes. And Ryan felt like he was about to burst with joy.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The two walks into a small café and ordered two hot coffees before sitting down at a table by the window. For a while, they talked about how each other were doing, about work, they re-lived memories from Newport, and Marissa was mildly surprised at Ryan, he usually wasn't one to talk, but I guess being a business man, you would have to learn the skill quite well.
Ryan looks down and notices a ring on Marissa's finger. And almost instantly, Ryan felt like his heart was just torn in two. "You're married." He manages to say. It was more of a statement than a question.
Marissa pulls her hand away, "Engaged…" she utters, correcting him, but she knows that the damage has already been made. She forces a small smile and then takes a sip of her coffee.
Ryan smiles back and Marissa can't exactly tell what his eyes were saying. "What's his name?" He asks.
"Josh." Marissa replies, trying not to sound too disappointed, and Ryan smiles again.
"What's he like?" he asks, his voice low and gentle.
"He's pretty great. Successful, smart and he comes from a good family from Long Island." Marissa utters.
Ryan nods his head and takes a sip of his coffee, "He sounds perfect for you." He says, "You deserve it."
Marissa smiles at him and he looks away, his eyes now focused on something outside. She looks down at her coffee and twirls the ring around her finger. And suddenly, her cell phone rings in her purse and Ryan looks in her direction.
Marissa looks at the small screen. It's Josh. And then she looks at the time. 11:40. She's late for their brunch.
"Go ahead." Ryan says with a small smile and Marissa smiles back before answering her cell phone.
"Hello? Hi…yeah sorry, I lost track of time…I'm with a…I'm with an old friend from Newport…yeah I'll be there soon…bye." And she closes her phone and looks at Ryan.
"Sorry to keep you. I didn't know you—
"It's okay." Marissa interrupts with a smile, "But, let's do this again. How about dinner tonight?" she asks, and hoping maybe they can clear some things up.
"I kinda have a…this thing tonight." Ryan says, sounding a little disappointed himself.
"A date?" Marissa asks with a small smile and Ryan nods his head.
"Yeah, but…tomorrow night?"
"Sounds great." Marissa replies, "So, I'll see you then?" she asks, getting up from her seat.
"I'm looking forward to it." Ryan replies, doing the same, and they hug goodbye.
When they pull away, Marissa smiles at him again and then walks out the door, leaving Ryan by the window, and he sits down trying to process what just happened in the last hour.