Before Ryan Was Mine (The Remembrance Trilogy - Prequel) (30 page)

I searched the crowd for the golden brown head I loved. Yes, I
loved
Ryan. I officially admitted it to myself last semester the day Jen, Aaron, Ryan and I went to San Francisco, but really, it had happened about the second time I’d laid eyes on him. After four years, Ryan was still my best friend, my calm in the storm, my rock. We were pretty much inseparable and despite our fights and the huge pull that sometimes gave us issues, we depended on each other unconditionally. There wasn’t a day we hadn’t seen each other since we met, other than the one silly time he said he couldn’t hang out with me because of his school obligations and school breaks when we each went home to see our families. Though, after that first year, we spent most of those together too. He was gorgeous, brilliant, funny, and sensitive. We told each other everything, which was both a blessing, and a curse.

There were easily 600 students milling around the large room filled with long tables, and the din was deafening. I longed for our usual booth in the snack bar. Sometimes, I took my books to study and he’d come back to get me after his last class.

Someone shoved into my shoulder as they made their way past me. I stumbled and almost fell down, the guy’s momentum slamming me into the brick wall on my right.

“Hey!” I grunted as my shoulder exploded in pain. “Watch it, will ya?” I almost dropped my backpack as my left hand moved to my injured appendage.

The man was large and oafish; his focus obviously on the food line. He looked back briefly, but said nothing, just shot a look over his shoulder at me then stopped dead when he ran into someone else. This time, he was the one knocked down when he came in contact with the solid wall that was Ryan. A scowl was firmly in place on his perfect face as he looked down on the larger man now sprawled in front of him on the floor.

“Watch where the fuck you’re going, asshole! Say you’re sorry.”

“Fuck off. You ran into me,” the downed man muttered.

“I didn’t mean to me, dickhead.
Her
!” Ryan growled as he nodded in my direction. “You smashed her into the goddamn wall! She could have been seriously hurt as you hauled your fat ass to the trough!”

I almost laughed out loud and bit my lip as I looked on. Ryan stepped around the kid, who scrambled clumsily to his feet at the same time. The arm that came around my waist was gentle, concern etched on Ryan’s face. “Julia, are you okay?” His hand ran over my hurt arm lightly.

“Yeah. It was an accident,” I said softy, the fingers of my other hand curling into the fabric of the back of Ryan’s navy blue button-down.

“The hell it was.” I thrilled at the hard tone in Ryan’s voice and his rush to come to my aid. It swelled my heart even though I knew he was just being Ryan. “
Say you’re sorry. Now!”
he commanded of the flustered kid.

By now, we’d garnered the glances of several other students and a small crowd was beginning to form.

“Look, I’m really sorry.” The guy was flushed and embarrassed. He was out of shape, and Ryan was lean, tall and strong. Even though smaller in weight, he towered over the other man and was defined by solid muscle.

“Stop being such an inconsiderate dipshit and pay attention to where you’re going. Look at how little she is!” Ryan was still pissed, and I longed to put the last few minutes behind us. My shoulder throbbed, but I was over it.

I tugged on the back of my best friend’s shirt. “Come on. Let’s find Ellie,” I pleaded. Ryan finally turned and lifted my backpack off my shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Can you move your shoulder?”

I rolled my eyes and closed my fingers around his bare forearm. The long sleeves of his shirt were rolled up above the elbows, and the soft covering of hair was like silk over the strong muscles of his forearms. My fingers weren’t long enough to reach much more than halfway around. He hoisted my backpack up onto his shoulder next to his own.

”I’m fine.”

I noticed the eyes —mostly female eyes—on us as we navigated our way through the rows of tables searching for Ellie. Women envied me; even hated me. I was used to it by now, but was still conscious of every glare. Some of them pretended to be my friend just to get closer to Ryan but I was getting good at spotting it early now.

They envied me, but I was jealous of those who knew what it was like to be held in his arms, to feel kisses from his perfect mouth, to make love with him. We were close, but there were holes that couldn’t be filled without violating our friendship; a friendship I wouldn’t risk. I was so green, sometimes I couldn’t stand it, and worse, it had become a constant ache.

We spotted Ellie on the far side, standing on one of the chairs, waving her arms wildly.

“There she is,” Ryan pointed out. “That’s not weird at all.” He rolled his eyes.

I laughed at her silliness. She was flamboyant and didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. Not that I tried to blend in, but I certainly didn’t make a spectacle of myself either.

“Took you long enough,” Ellie grumbled as she plopped back down in her chair.

We each pulled out a chair, and Ryan dumped both backpacks in the empty one to his left while I took the one between Ellie and him. “I got sidelined for a minute, that’s all, Ellie.” I wrinkled my nose at the bowl in front of her. Cottage cheese, raw broccoli, and sunflower seeds.
Ugh.

She stopped eating and looked at me. “Why?”

“Some dumbass plowed her into a wall.”

“Ryan knocked him down,” I said flatly and started tracing imaginary circles on the table with my index finger.

“No, I didn’t. He wasn’t watching where he was going. I just didn’t move out of the way. Little bits of Newton’s Laws are in there somewhere. Body in motion, outside force,
mass
,” his eyebrows rose in emphasis, “velocity, opposite and equal reaction. That’s me. Outside force. Maybe a little
more
than equal reaction in this case.”

“You’re such a science snot,” I shot back.

He laughed. “That’s why you love me.” He moved a hand down the front of his shirt as he sat back in his chair, smirking. “All this and brains, too.” Ryan had taken and passed his MCAT with flying colors just a couple of months back. His score of thirty-eight put him in the ninety-ninth percentile.
Ridiculous.

“Yeah. And your incredible humility is what closes the deal.” My tone was deadpan and I stifled the urge to laugh but didn’t quite get the job done. His smile was brilliant, and it went all the way into his eyes, only making him more mesmerizing. I soaked in every line of his face.

Ellie glanced from one of us to the other, knowingly. “Aren’t you guys eating?”

“Yep.” He got up and walked away leaving Ellie and me sitting at the table.

“What about you?” Ellie nudged me slightly.

“Ryan will bring me something.”

“But, you didn’t tell him what to get.”

I shrugged. “Whatever he picks will be fine.”

“You guys are like Siamese twins. We should go to The Mill tonight. A bunch of people were talking about it in my fashion merchandising class. It sounds like fun.”

“Okay. Sure.” The Mill was a medium-sized college bar with a DJ and dancing. It was always packed to the gills.

“Hey, girly.” I looked up to find Jason Milner hovering over us. “Are you done with that assignment for Jelinek’s class?”
Girly?
Was he twelve?

It was an international marketing class in which we had to research a culture from another country, write a paper on it, and then in the second half of the semester we would write another to market a product pointing out the differences in process due to culture.

“Hmmph!” I scoffed. “Yeah, right. That isn’t due for two weeks. You?”

“Not yet. I thought we could work on it together.”

I bristled in my chair at his obvious advances. “Um... we have different countries, Jason, so that would be impossible.”

“Yeah, but Julia...” Jason began. He was good looking with dark hair and bright blue eyes. A striking combination that most women were drawn to, but I was immune. One, because when he opened his mouth it completely erased his charm and two,
Ryan
.

Ryan returned with a tray full of sandwiches, chips, fruit and cookies. He set a bottle of green tea in front of me, and looked pointedly at Jason.

“Excuse me, man, but you’re occupying my space.”

“Your
space
?” Jason asked sarcastically. “Your name’s not on her Matthews. Besides we’re talking academics.” I flushed at the implications, but smiled at what happened next.

Ryan burst out laughing, over-exaggerating it by holding his stomach and wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. “Hahahaha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day, dude! Seriously, that’s a good one!” Ryan openly mocked then glanced down at me to check if I really wanted to talk to Jason. I shook my head a fraction of an inch. The look of trepidation in my eyes was all Ryan needed. “But, your
ass is
still in my space
.”

With a scowl, Jason stood to go, but hesitated as Ryan sat down and started doling out food. He held up some strawberries and looked at me. I nodded, and he set them down in front of me then took one and popped it in his own mouth. He picked up half of one of the sandwiches and traded with the other one so we both had part of each. None of it went unnoticed by the man now standing over us.

“I guess I’ll see you in class, Julia.”

“Okay,” I answered back casually, absorbed in what Ryan was doing.

Jason moved to a table near us and sat with another guy. I could feel his eyes boring into my back as I began to eat the lunch Ryan laid out in front of me.

“So? The Mill tonight?” Ellie asked again.

I nodded, picking up half the sandwich. “Sure. You up for it, Ryan?”

“Uh, can’t tonight, but you should go have fun.”

I waited for a reason, but he said nothing, instead concentrating on his lunch. I noticed the occasional glance out of his peripheral vision at Jason who continued to look on with interest while Ellie and I made plans for the evening.

I had that sinking feeling which had become like ESP every time Ryan had a date. My heart fell like a stone into the pit of my stomach.

“Julia!” Ellie broke me out of my thoughts. “So, we’ll shop this afternoon and get something hot to wear tonight.”

I tried to lift the corners of my mouth in the start of a smile, but didn’t quite make it and so contented myself with a nod.

“Ryan, is Aaron going out with you? If so, we’ll call Jen to see if she wants to come along.” Ellie was brilliant. She knew I needed the answer even if I hadn’t told her how I really felt.

“Um, no. I don’t know what he’s doing. Maybe they’ll both wanna go,” he murmured softly.

The food in my mouth suddenly turned to cardboard, and I put the remainder of the sandwich down on the plate and turned to him. “Is it a secret or are you going to tell us what you’re up to tonight?” I asked, trying to lace my voice with a lightness I didn’t feel.

“I have a date with Samantha Cosen.” He appeared uncomfortable, shifting uneasily in his chair as his eyes met mine. I remembered her. She was pretty and he’d gone out with her a time or two before. I figured that was a done deal since he hadn’t pursued her further. I couldn’t help the way it hurt... just as it did every time he spent his time with someone else.

“Oh.” I picked up my drink and searched my brain for a way to bury the way my heart was aching inside my chest. My throat started to close, and I wanted to get out of there before my emotions got the better of me. I pushed the food away and gathered up my backpack off the chair.

“Will I see you after class? Should I meet you in the Student Union?” Ryan’s blue eyes questioned, his brows dropping over his eyes slightly. He was puzzled by the sudden change in my demeanor, disappointment evident on his face. Though, his own discomfort at disclosing his plans was telling. He knew it would bother me, and I hated that I wasn’t better at hiding it.

“Um, I don’t think so. I have to study awhile before Ellie and I go shopping.” I slung the bag over my shoulder. “What time, Ellie?”

“I’m done now. Are you sure you have to study? It’s
Friday
, Julia!” Ellie encouraged.

I sighed in relief; grateful she would secure my clean escape from the cafeteria. “Yeah. You’re right. I just need to drop off my stuff at the apartment.”

She smiled brightly and stood up. “Me, too. See you later, Ryan.” She started to put her dishes back on her tray and I took some leftovers off mine and stacked them alongside.

“I can take care of that, Jules. Don’t worry about it,” Ryan murmured, his eyes watching my face.

I somehow managed to smile at him. “I got it. Talk to you tomorrow.” I nudged his shoulder with my uninjured one because I couldn’t help myself. I hated it when we had any sort of distance between us and this was my cross to bear. It wasn’t his fault I was in love with him so I shouldn’t punish him for it.

“Call you later?” he asked hopefully.

“That’s okay. Concentrate on your date. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

He nodded slowly as Ellie and I turned to make our way to empty the trays and then left the cafeteria.

*****

Ellie was disappointed, even pissed that I changed my mind. I didn’t feel up to going out, even though it was probably in my best interest to get out the apartment and be with friends.

My heart hurt and I didn’t feel strong enough to put on a happy face. Even for her.

I wandered aimlessly around the apartment after she left, wrapping my arms around myself and trying not to cry. I didn’t want to watch TV. I didn’t want to study. I tried to eat a sandwich, but it tasted like dust in my mouth and I ended up throwing three-quarters of it in the trash. The clock on the cable box blurred in front of my eyes as I stared at it for what seemed like hours. My throat tightened in protest and the huge hole in my chest expanded. I felt sick inside.

Ryan!
My mind screamed relentlessly
. Why didn’t it get easier?

I closed my eyes and pressed my head back into the cushions, trying not to let the tears that threatened to choke me spill over. I gave it a good fight, swallowing the pain over and over until I couldn’t take it anymore. My lips started to tremble and the fat tears that were building in my eyes, fell in two heavy drops down my cheeks as a soft sob broke from my chest and erupted into the room.