A/N: Well hello! Hasn't it just been far too long? I'm sorry. It was a crazy month, but to make it up to y'all, here's an extra long chapter full of Rylos fluff. The area that they are in in this chapter is Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe, and the restaurant is called BaseCamp Pizza, Co. They're like a cross between a pizzeria and a regular Italian restaurant. All of the places mentioned were places I visited over the summer in 2013.
None of the other characters are in this chapter, but they have stuff going on too, so don't think I forgot ahah. I'm focusing a lot on this trip because some major stuff happens, but after a couple chapters, it'll speed up a whole lot with a bit of a time skip.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In the beginning of the story, Ryan and Alex are said to be 22, but I decided to change it and make Ryan 24 (it is her 24th birthday that they are celebrating) and Alex is 24 (a few weeks from 25). I'm sorry for any confusion that might've caused, but it was a necessary change. If I get the chance, I'll make those changes to the first couple chapters.
Anyways, on with the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable.
Ryan opened the hotel room door to reveal an anxiously awaiting Latino, rocking back and forth on his heels and biting the tip of his thumb.
"Um, hey 'Los," Ryan said, leaning against the white wooden door. "Uh, come in..."
"A-actually, I was just about to uh, head out. Walk around, see the town, y'know. I was- uh- I was wondering if you Wanted to come with?" He shuffled his feet, shifting his weight from side to side with a slightly wavering and nervously childish smile.
"Sure," Ryan accepted with a chuckle. "Let me just get my sweatshirt." He nodded, indistinctly patting the long, thin box in his pocket nervously and sighing as she turned away.
"I still can't believe you thought there was something between James and I," Ryan laughed, kicking the stones on the sidewalk with each step. Carlos chuckled bitterly, glancing at the girl.
"Well, I didn't really know what else to think," he responded humorously, turning the corner and trying to remember the directions Alex had given him. Ryan followed beside him, trying not to show her excitement at the sight of the small, familiar shops lining the area. Carlos, however, read through her calm demeanor and laughed.
"Damn, he was right," the Latino mumbled, just loud enough for the brunette to hear. Stopping him, she raised her eyebrows in question. "I, uh, might've planned this... With Alex's help..." Ryan laughed shortly, nudging him with her shoulder.
"Well, lead the way, sir. And remind me to thank Alex later." Carlos smiled wide with a newfound confidence and held out his hand for her to take as he led her towards the theater.
"Well that was hilariously disturbing." Ryan laughed in agreement, pushing a loose lock of hair to the side before shoving her hands in her back pockets and walking out of the theater. Carlos stuffed their empty Twizzlers package into a nearby trash can before stopping in front of Ryan, almost bouncing with enough excitement to make Ryan laugh.
"Okay, so what's got you all jumpy now?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Well," Carlos said, grabbing her arm, "don't kill me..." She raised her eyebrows in question, allowing him to pull her out from under the "Heavenly Cinema" sign and into the center of Heavenly Village. Eyebrows shooting up in realization, she frantically tried pulling away.
"Oh hell no!" she shouted, batting at the tan hand gripping her wrist. Carlos laughed, shaking his head and pulling on her harder with a firm grip.
"Pena, I swear..." Her voice trailed off threateningly, but he stubbornly yanked her to the skate rental booth where he picked up a matching pair of worn out ice skates. With a small chuckle at her clear disapproval, he pushed her onto a bench and kept a firm grasp on her leg, tapping her as he changed her shoes. Ryan glanced down at the hand on her thigh and made a desperate attempt to hide her blush with an annoyed smolder aimed at the Latino.
Carlos glanced up through his eyelashes, smirking at her feeble cover. Every ounce of tension had seemed to wash away despite the few unanswered questions. The hopeful outlook put a smile on Carlos's face as he finished typing her laces. Sitting beside her, he began to put on his own.
"Y'know," Ryan began, cutting into the makeshift wooden floor with the blade of her skate, "I can tie my own skates." Carlos laughed, shaking his head as he tightened his own laces.
"But you'd have never put the skates on," he stated as he rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. She rolled her eyes in reluctant agreement before setting her messenger bag down beside her shoes.
"If I fall, you're paying my hospital bills," she informed him, defiantly crossing her arms. He smirked, struggling slightly as he stepped backwards.
"Likewise." Ryan's eyes widened, and Carlos threw his head back with a guffaw as she struggled to angrily stomp towards him. She shrieked when the blade of her skate caught on a loose wooden plank, and she fell forward. Catching her by the forearms before she could fall, Carlos smirked.
"Way to go, genius," he laughed, pulling her up and helping her reluctantly take her first steps onto the artificial ice. Shooting him a playful glare, she relaxed into his protective touch.
"Come on," Carlos whispered, pilling Ryan away from the cold metal railing and towards the center of he rink. Laughing while they stumbled around as a unit, they held each other tightly and slowly moved amidst the crowd of kids and teens.
"Jesus Christ, we're getting old," Ryan panted with a tired smile as she collapsed onto the bench beside a grinning Carlos.
"I know," he agreed with a chuckle. "Not gonna lie, my knees are starting to hurt, and we definitely got some judging looks from all of those teenagers." She grinned in agreement, slipping her blistered feet into her black Converse and standing to adjust her sweatshirt. Taking his hands in his, she pulled up to a standing position beside her.
"So, dinner time?" he asked, not yet releasing his grip on her hand.
"Where to?" Ryan questioned as they began to walk under the bright street lights that illuminated the chilly night. He chuckled.
"Right-about-here," he said slowly, pausing after each word as they came to a stop just yards from the ice rink. Ryan laughed, glancing around the always-crowded restaurant as he led her inside, tightening his grip on her hand. She grinned at the feeling, distracting herself with admiring the familiar decorations. When she heard a higher pitched voice call her name, she rose her head.
"Ryan?" asked the redhead, confusing Carlos with a surprised gasp when the brunette looked up. "Ry!" She exclaimed, balancing an appetizer tray with one hand as she pulled Ryan into a one-armed hug that pulled the brunette's hand from the Latino's. He hid the slight disappointment he felt with a smile and waited for the women to pull apart.
"Ooh, Ry, who's your friend? asked the waitress with a knowing smirk as she nudged the brunette. Ryan rolled her eyes with a sigh.
"Leigh, this is my friend Carlos. Carlos- Leigh," she introduced them as they shook hands politely. "Leigh has been working here since freshmen year of college. Leigh, Carlos is the new-"
"Owner of Hooked on Books. I heard." Ryan raised an eyebrow. "I still talk to Alex, you know," Leigh reminded with a laugh. "Hey, I have to get these appetizers to a table, but we need to catch up later. You performing tonight?" Carlos's eyebrows shot up as he cast a questioning glance at the exasperated brunette who let out another sigh.
"Nah, not tonight." She avoided eye contact with the man beside her as the redhead began to walk backwards towards a table.
"That's too bad. I guess I'll catch you later. Tom will be out to get you in a few." And with that, she returned to her job and left Ryan with Carlos.
"Performing, huh?" he asked immediately, crossing his arms with a playful smirk. She rolled her eyes.
"Alex and I come down here in the summer and perform outside," she explained, pointing to a guitarist strumming and singing on a platform in the outdoor seating area.
"You sing?" Carlos asked, surprised.
"Backup. I'm on the guitar, and sometimes I'll run the mixer or the computer tracks." By the time she had finished explaining, she could see a tall, dusty blonde approaching.
"Hey Ryan, how you been?" Tome asked, dusting his hands off on his black apron.
"Been well, thanks. And you?"
"Can't complain," he smiled.
"Great," she reciprocated is grin before gesturing to the door. "Any tables free outside?" With a nod, he led the pair out to a small table beside a gas heater. As they sat opposite of each other, Tom placed a menu in front of each.
"What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll take a Sprite, thanks," Ryan responded, glancing up at the waiter who nodded before turning his head to the man sitting opposite of her.
"Hmm, I think I'll have a beer, please," he said, pointing to a specific one on the back of the menu with a polite smile.
"No problem. I'll be back in just a second." With that and a smile, tom rushed off. Ryan sighed contently, eyes risking over the familiar menu. Carlos glanced up at her over the top of his own menu, laughing to himself at how she bobbed her head along with the beat of the unfamiliar song.
"So," he began, catching her attention, "do you feel like going classy with a salad and entrée, or would you rather just share a pizza?"
"Only if it's the margarita pizza," she smirked, closing her menu and setting it down.
"Perfect," Carlos agreed. "And just in time." Tom arrived with a mason jar of Sprite and a bottle of beer on a tray. Setting down their drinks, he took their order before leaving them to sit back and make small talk. Ryan laughed, sipping her drink as Carlos went on about the tour. When the pizza finally arrived and each person had removed a square shaped slice from the rack, the topic of conversation shifted.
"So music," Carlos asked more than stated before taking a bite off of the corner of his pizza. Ryan raised her eyebrow in question.
"What about it?" she responded, biting into the thin crust pizza and licking the crumbs off of her lips.
"Well how long have you been playing?" She picked up her mason jar as she thought back.
"Oh, well," she began, taking a short sip through her straw, "a while really. Since I was 15, I think." Carlos rose his eyebrows with an impressed smirk.
"Well damn," he laughed, "when I'm back in Weston after tour, you'll have to play for me." Biting down on her bottom lip, she smiled shyly and nodded once. For a moment, they ate in a comfortable silence, both occupants of the table glancing up periodically and smiling.
When the check had been snatched up and paid by a very persistent Carlos, he brushed himself off and cleared his throat in a manner that caught Ryan's attention. She set down her mason jar as she watched him nervously reach into his pocket. Hands shaking, he pulled out the long, black velvet box.
"Los..." Her voice trailed off as he held the box in front of her. "What..."
"Well, uh, h-happy birthday," he stammered as his clammy hands snapped open the lid.
"Carlos, really," she began, voice shaky with shock, "this is way too much."
"Not enough," he whispered, mostly to himself.
"Carlos, seriously, I cannot take this. Y-you already... I mean- the movie, dinner, skating, it's all more than enough already.
"Ryan, for once, just say 'thank you' and shut up." Carlos spoke with regained confidence and a slight chuckle as he stood and walked around the table to the brunette. Ignoring the many eyes watching him, including the performer that was still singing from the platform, he removed the chain from the box and carefully pulled out the attached ring. Standing behind her, he bent his head down to be level with hers.
"May I?" he whispered in her ear. Softly nodding once without turning, Ryan attempted to mask her blush by looking down and pulling her wavy brown hair to the side. The cold metal of the ring hitting her skin contrasted with the warmth of the glowing heater beside the table. As Carlos wrapped the thin silver chain around her neck, his fingers brushed over her heated skin, making her visibly shudder under his feather-light touch.
With the clasp finally closed, Carlos returned to his seat. He watched as she released her grip on the wavy brunette locks that barely slid back off of her right shoulder. She examined the ring with adoration before noticing and squinting to read the minuscule and uniquely familiar scripture that read:
Safe. Sound. -C
Her head shot up, but her surprise was simply met with a warmly content smile from the Latino. Standing once more, he held out his hand.
"Come on." He pulled her up from her chair. She followed behind in a stupor, never releasing his hand. Her free hand thumbed at the ring, rubbing over the carving repeatedly. As they left the restaurant, Carlos watched her out of the corner of his eye with a smile that he didn't bother hiding. He laughed when she didn't notice that they'd arrived at the next door Cold Stone, but the melodic sound that she loved so much seemed to bring her out of her thoughts. Looking around, she chuckled.
"Only you would bring me to a nice cream parlor when it's 50 degrees out." He smirked.
"Well why the hell not?" She responded with a look of agreement to the defiant yet rhetorical question. Standing quietly, Ryan took in the familiar surroundings, laughing when she spotted a group of girls that seemed to have recognized Carlos. When she felt said man squeeze their still intertwined hands with a whisper of her name, she turned her head and realized that they had reached the counter.
"Oh, uh, one mint mint chocolate chocolate chip on a waffle cone, please." The man behind the counter nodded at her order, and after a minute, she was handed her cone. Carlos also accepted his cookie dough ice cream with a smile.
"At least let me pay here," Ryan pleaded, trying to stop him as he handed the cashier a $10 bill.
"Nope," he argued back defiantly before receiving his change.
"You're a pain in the ass," Ryan informed him, but as they exited the parlor and walked towards the main road, she slid her hand into his. "But thank you."
Not once during the walk back to the hotel did either party release their grip on each other, but neither verbally acknowledged the fact either, mostly out of the fear of it ending. Up the elevator and down the hallway of Harvey's, they talked and laughed, but the moment they reached the door, they fell silent. Ryan sighed, turning her head sideways to face the Latino who met her gaze. A smile broke across his face, matching hers.
"Thank you, 'Los. For everything," she said, subconsciously clasping her free hand around the ring hanging from the chain around her neck. As she said this, he moved forward on impulse, grabbing her hand from the chain and intertwining their fingers to match the other pair of hands. Their clasped hands fell to their sides as he leant forward, bending his head down slightly.
She watched, breath hitching in contrast to her closing eyes as she barely tipped her head upward, feeling his breath ghost across her lips before he captured them with his own. Despite the rising panic she felt in her chest and the thoughts screaming at her in the back of her mind, she moved slowly, calmly an giants him, shamelessly relishing in the feel of his scruff scratching and tickling her chin.
He fought back the need to breathe as he tilted his head down, further into Ryan. His tongue poked out, sweeping across her bottom lip before retreating back behind his own. The chaste yet passionate kiss sent continuous shock waves of electricity up her spine and shivers of pleasure down her arms. The dizzy high and lack of oxygen clouded her mind, and she nipped at his bottom lip before pulling away taking in a small gulp of air. He pulled away, squeezing her hands before releasing them as well. Nervously shaking, she adjusted her glasses and glanced around for a distraction. She began to rifle around her bag before finding her key. As she unlocked and opened the door, she glanced back at Carlos.
"Um, g-good night..." she stammered with an anxious but genuine smile, biting her lip to resist pulling him into her shared room by another mind-jarring kiss. He smiled small, stuffing his hands in his front pockets.
"Night," he said, bowing his head and turning to walk down the hall. As he made his way out of the hotel and across the street to Harrah's, he couldn't quite manage to hide neither the grin on his face nor the bounce in his step, and as he entered the shared hotel room, James noticed.
"You're freaking ecstatic. Dinner went well?" James suggested.
"Yepp. And the movie, ice-skating, dessert... The kiss..." His voice trailed off as he kicked off his shoes with a smug smirk.
"Damn, nice!" Carlos laughed, humming in agreement. "And finally! So when's the next date?"
"I didn't ask her," Carlos pointed out as if it was obvious, rolling his eyes.
"W-wait, you-" James sputtered. "You didn't... Oh Jesus Christ..." he moaned in exasperation at the conditionally naïve Latino before falling backwards onto his bed. "Carlos, you are so fucking stupid."
As Ryan shut her hotel room door, she backed up against it, sliding down to a sitting position.
"What the hell just happened..."
A/N: Longest chapter I've written for this story, but hopefully it was all worth it. Just to clear things up, the gift he gave her was a silver ring that had Safe. Sound. -C engraved on it in his handwriting that was strung onto a silver chain like a necklace pendent.
Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed my little twist heheheh. I do promise you though, this is nowhere near a solution. That kiss... Doesn't solve anything XD You'll see what I mean later. But yea, TOLD YOU THERE WAS MAJOR RYLOS IN THIS CHAPTER. Okay, I'm gonna go to bed now. Follow/Favorite/Review! Bye!