Boys and Girls, Part I

**I've finished my second story! Although I'm still in the process of editing my first, I want to upload the second story ASAP, but that doesn't happen until I get more reviews, guys. Thanks for bearing with me so far!

Chapter 10 - All Things Must Come to an End

“What’s wrong with Delaney?” Stephanie asked Lani.

“She’s just not feeling well today.”

Obviously, that response did not appease Stephanie’s curiosity. “We always walk to our 9am class together. She’s never been absent yet. That’s not like Delaney at all.”

“She’s sick, Steph. She’s not going to school, or she might spread it to her classmates.”

“Something’s fishy here; that’s all I’m saying,” Stephanie added.

“How’s Jacy doing?” Lani asked, in an attempt to change the subject. “I haven’t seen her since Sunday.”

“Oh, she’s fine. She says she’s planning to get plastered this weekend too,” Stephanie answered nonchalantly.

“What a glutton for punishment,” Lani mumbled. “Well, whatever floats her boat. As long as she pukes in her own toilet this time.”

Stephanie kept trying to peek over at Delaney’s door, but Lani kept directing her elsewhere. Finally, unable to deal with Stephanie’s skittishness, Lani offered to escort Stephanie to her 9am class, even though her first class was wasn’t until 11am that day.

“You must reeeally not want to tell me what’s going on,” Stephanie chanted as Lani locked the front door of her apartment.

“If you don’t shut your mouth, I’m going to send Jacy to your apartment after her scheduled bender this weekend.”

Stephanie Kaelin was finally silenced…for now.

****

A bead of sweat traveled down the side of Ryan’s face as he finished his last set of free weight arm reps. As he set the weights back on the metal tree, he stretched out his fingers and cracked his neck from side to side. Lifting weights was always tougher after the football season was over, but it was the only way to prepare for the upcoming season. He walked over to the bench where he had set his towel and crouched down to retrieve his water bottle. That’s when he saw a pair of New Balance-clad feet in his line of vision. Ryan instinctively looked up.

Ailani.

“Hey,” he said, starting to get up. He didn’t even get a chance to rise completely when he felt Lani’s fist club him in the side of the face. It wasn’t that strong a punch, but it wasn’t a wimpy one either. Ryan’s hand slowly came up to massage the spot that Lani had hit him as he shot her a murderous glare.

“What the f –

“You lied!” Lani yelled at him.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Turns out I know your best friend better than you do!”

“What?”

“He made my friend cry!”

Ryan’s expression turned serious, and his eyebrows furrowed. “Are you telling me that Jason made a move on you?”

“N-no!” Lani stammered. “But he upset Delaney enough that she had to miss her classes today.”

“Oh,” Ryan answered, looking a little relieved.

“Oh?” Lani asked indignantly. “I tell you that your friend upset my friend, and all you have to say is ‘oh’?”

Ryan scratched the top of his head. He really wasn’t that well trained in dealing with furious females; he usually tried to compensate for mistakes by showing them a real good time, but Ryan figured that such a course of action would not work with this particular female.

“Maybe she just overreacted to something he said.”

Lani looked about ready to explode, and Ryan was a little ashamed at how turned on he was by it. Lil’ Miss Ailani was hot even when she looked as if she was ready to slice his balls off.

Lani pointed an accusing finger at Ryan. “You said that Jason wasn’t the type of guy to make a girl cry.”

Ryan shook his head in self-defense. “I said that he wasn’t the type of guy who would use one girl to get to another. And you just clearly said that he didn’t do that, am I correct?”

Lani didn’t answer.

“I never said that girls never cry with Jason,” Ryan finished, as he wiped his face with his towel. “What girl doesn’t cry for fuck’s sake?”

Lani’s eyes narrowed, and Ryan had to suppress a grin. He made his face as serious as possible, but it wasn’t easy. “What did Jason actually do to trigger these alleged tears?”

Lani hesitated. She didn’t look like she wanted to actually share all of this information with Ryan. Eventually, she caved. “He kiss and ran.”

Ryan looked unfazed. “He must have had a good reason. Look, Lani, Jason’s a real practical guy…he wouldn’t do something like that without a valid explanation.”

“Should I take your word again?” Lani asked skeptically. As she bent over to place two ten pound free weights on the bench, Ryan shamelessly stole a glance down her navy blue training bra to glimpse the top of her B-cups. Even her breasts were flawless. “You were wrong the last time.”

“I wasn’t wrong,” Ryan insisted. “You were the one who jumped to all the premature conclusions. If anything…I think you owe me for being so cooperative with you after all the accusations and physical abuse you’ve subjected me to.”

Lani rested one knee on the weight bench and turned at the waist to glare at Ryan. “I should…thank you?” She laughed disbelievingly and then stared away, as if she was in the process of thinking about it. Her head perked back up within seconds. “Okay…what did you have in mind?”

Oh, there were about a million things that Ryan could think up as an answer to that question, but he wasn’t an idiot. She wasn’t being serious – just humoring him…so he played along.

His hand slowly began rubbing his cheek again, and he made a bigger deal out of it than was actually necessary. “Well, now that you mention it…you clubbed me pretty hard on my cheek. I’m thinking, it could use some TLC right about now,” he answered with a suggestive arch of his eyebrow.

Lani’s own eyebrow shot up as she regarded Ryan a little more seriously than he had anticipated. Was she taking him seriously now? His heart leapt, confirming his suspicions that this girl had the power to turn him into a complete pussy.

Lani brought her knee down from the weight bench and began to saunter slowly over to Ryan. He inadvertently gulped as Lani grew closer and closer to him. She stopped about a foot away from him, her violet eyes piercing into his gray ones with the merest hint of…seduction. The last image Ryan saw before him was Lani leaning forward, her lips puckering, and her eyes closing…Then, he too, closed his eyes.

That’s when he felt a hard fist slamming into his face. Ryan immediately snapped out of his lovey-dovey reverie. Okay, this one hurt. Ryan’s hands instinctively flew to his eye, where the brunt of Lani’s strength had been aimed.

“Jesus, you’re fucking crazy!”

“You’re a pig!” Lani responded. “You better make sure that Jason stays away from Delaney, or else –

“Or else you’ll probably hang him by his dick over a pot of boiling oil!” Ryan interrupted, enraged.

Lani turned up her nose, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and resumed her intended workout. Ryan still clutched at his eye. He sputtered profanities under his breath as he trod over to the locker room. Jesus, there was definitely going to be a shiner tomorrow, and Ryan would have his “dream” girl to thank for that.

****

“What the fuck happened to your face?”

Ryan scowled at Jason as he entered their apartment.

“Loony Lani happened, asshole. Hey, how ‘bout telling me what the fuck happened between you and Red?”

A look of guilt instantly clouded Jason’s features. He averted his eyes from Ryan.

“Nothing happened, Ry.”

“Bullshit! Are you telling me that nothing prompted Red’s best friend to do this?” Ryan yelled, pointing to the darkening spot around his left eye.

Jason didn’t say anything, so Ryan continued his tirade. “I thought you didn’t have time to deal with females right now. Aren’t you trying to prepare us to win the Bowl Championship next year or something?”

“Coach didn’t like the ideas.”

Ryan paused. “He didn’t did he?” Something in Ryan’s tone bugged the hell out of Jason. It was almost as if Ryan was saying ‘I told you so’ without actually saying it. Ryan’s expression softened a little, as did his voice. “Jason, man…what’s going on with you?”

Jason didn’t even know if he knew the answer to that question. This entire mess had started because he had to be the good guy and return a purple snakeskin wallet to one Miss Delaney Cameron. And then, he kept seeing her and realizing how much fun she was to be around. And as much as he wanted to kick himself for what occurred yesterday evening at her apartment, he couldn’t shake past how good it had felt.

Ryan walked over to Jason and put a friendly arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Look, man. I don’t know what’s exactly going on with you two, but…I think it might be good for you guys – and for my face –…if you didn’t see each other anymore.”

The thought of never talking to Delaney Cameron ever again inexplicably made Jason’s heart hurt a little, but as he pondered over it, he realized that what Ryan said was probably right. Of course, Jason made it sound like he already had that course of action in mind.

“You think I haven’t already reached that conclusion? Whatever was between us is over, Ry. In fact, there was never anything to begin with, so what is there really to end?”

Ryan patted Jason on the back. “That’s my boy!”

Jason attempted a smile as Ryan made his way toward the kitchen. Everything was going to be easier now that he had agreed to sever ties with Delaney. They’d both be happier in the long run anyway…right?

“Do we have anymore of those steaks left?”

“Are you going to eat again?” Jason asked.

“No,” Ryan answered, turning around, “I’m gonna give myself some facial therapy…and rue the day I ever laid eyes on Ailani Bennett.”

****
R & R --> :)