Boys and Girls, Part I
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Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
18
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4,467
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Currently Reading:
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Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
18
Views:
4,467
Reviews:
22
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 14 - Lani to the Rescue
A/N: Since it's V-day...you know, the one in February, I decided to post two chapters up. These two chapters are pretty angsty, but I hope you enjoy them anyway.
Chapter 14 - Lani to the Rescue
It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. The sun was still up in the sky, shooting intense rays through the California atmosphere. Lani decided that she would rather run outside along the beach. Even though the sun was beaming, there was a subtle sea breeze that nipped at her skin and soothed all of her.
Well, almost all of her.
Lani prided herself on not being a nosy little chatterbox, like Stephanie or Jacy, but sometimes even she was itching to know what exactly was going on. She was sharp enough to detect when the group was keeping something from her, and by now – the weekend after her UCLA softball tournament – she definitely knew something was up. Whenever the four had gotten together the past week, Lani always sensed the presence of a 500-lb gorilla in the room. She suspected whatever they were keeping from her concerned one of them; she just wasn’t sure exactly who.
Lani’s black hair had grown to mid-length by now, so she tied it to keep it out of her face. She wore her navy blue running shorts and white tank top with her New Balance sneaks to jog across NMU’s main beach. She was also sporting an extra five pounds to her athletic frame because she always gained weight while she played a sport and eventually lost it during the off-season. But Lani didn’t worry about things like that; right now, she was worried about her friends.
Lani was about ready to end her jog, so she cut across a short bridge that spanned the sidewalk to the sand. She slowed down and walked over to the concession stand to buy some water. As she got to the front of the line, she began patting her pockets and realized that she had left her money in her other shorts.
“Shit.”
“What are you having?” a deep voice called from behind Lani. She turned around and saw none other than Ryan Mackey. The last time she’d seen him, he had been sporting a purple ring around his left eye. He looked better now. And at the beach, wearing nothing but white swim trunks and that stupid smirk he usually wore, he looked really good.
“Water,” she answered.
“And I’ll get a cheeseburger with everything on it,” he told the cashier, handing over the cash.
The two waited to the side of the line after placing the order. Lani was still trying to catch her breath from her jog…and a little from seeing Ryan in his current state of gorgeousness. He was a jock though. Shouldn’t she have expected Ryan to possess tanned, lean-muscular arms and six-pack abs that glistened in the late Friday afternoon sun?
“Thanks for the water. I’ll pay you back when I see you again,” she said.
Ryan snorted. “I may as well kiss that $1.75 good-bye right now.”
Lani couldn’t resist. “Your eye looks like it cleared up.”
“Yeah, well, it took longer to heal than the standard week. I must say, you pack quite a punch in that fist of yours. Do you participate in underground girlfights on the side?”
Lani smiled. “My dad taught me how to ward off male predators and jerks, in general, with that punch.”
“Well, here’s hoping I don’t piss your dad off like I did you,” he answered. He grabbed the cheeseburger and bottled water from the counter and handed the latter to Lani.
“Hey, it worked didn’t it?” Lani began, opening the bottle. “After I taught you that little lesson, Ryan didn’t so much as look at Delaney again, did he?”
Ryan stopped mid-chew and stared at Lani, looking a little more than surprised. Lani didn’t fail to notice. “What?”
Ryan finished chewing and swallowed, but it didn’t look like a very easy thing to do. He almost looked as if he didn’t want to swallow because that would mean that he would have to talk…and he really didn’t want to.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t nothing me,” Lani responded indignantly. “You stopped chewing and looked at me all funny. That does not imply ‘nothing.’”
“I thought you knew already.”
“Obviously not,” Lani snapped back.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say,” Ryan hesitated.
“If you don’t,” Lani threatened, “I’ll give you a shiner on the right eye too.”
Ryan looked unfazed. “Look, it’s really not my place to tell you anything, okay?”
And then, Lani’s face inexplicably fell. She felt like she wanted to cry. Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything? She could handle the news like a big girl, right?
Ryan looked worried. “Shit. Come on, Ailani. This is something you should talk over with Re – with Delaney, okay?”
A big fat teardrop rolled down Lani’s face and she exploded. “Well, she won’t tell me anything, okay? None of them will! I’ve been gone for three weekends, and suddenly, my opinion isn’t worth anything? I’m her fucking roommate and best friend, and she doesn’t want to confide in me! That really pisses me off!” Lani rubbed the teardrop away with the back of her hand, and her expression turned a shade more desperate. “Look, Ryan. I sense that Delaney’s not going to tell me anything, so it would really make things a lot easier if you just told me what you know…please.”
This wasn’t the first time Ryan had been in front of a begging female, but Lani’s imploring was so much more genuine, and it dealt with friendship – not with sex – so he knew he was toast before she had even said “please.” Having lost his appetite, all of a sudden, Ryan tossed the remains of his burger into the trash and pulled Lani over to an unoccupied spot on the sand.
He told her everything.
****
Of course she hadn’t known you asshole! If she’d known, she would’ve tried to sock you the moment she saw you!
Ryan was ready to kick himself. Lani was not being nice to him for the sake of being nice; the girl had no frickin’ clue about Red and Jason’s secret mating. And now that she knew…she was pissed.
Ryan was trying to catch up with Lani as she sprinted to his and Jason’s apartment. This was one angry woman on a mission to kill his best friend, and the only reason Ryan made himself tag along was that he needed to make sure there would be a witness through all of this.
****
A loud, hard knock sounded at the front door. Jason switched off the rerun of The Real World that he was barely watching and shuffled miserably to the door. What now?
Jason was hardly prepared to expect a very irate-looking Ailani Bennett standing on the other side of the door. He was even less prepared for the fist that began to make its way toward his face. But Ryan – God bless him – grabbed a hold of her arm before she was able to do any damage.
“Let go!” Lani exclaimed. She and Ryan scuffled, almost comically, for several seconds, but Jason knew that this was no laughing matter. He opened the door all the way, and Ryan ushered Lani inside before she decided to use her fists again.
“Sit,” Ryan ordered, urging Lani toward the living room sofa. She sat, looking simultaneously pissed and beautiful, as usual. She looked up at Ryan murderously, and for a second, Jason thought that some of her anger toward him may have been redirected toward Ryan.
Then her ultraviolet eyes shot to him, and he knew he was screwed.
“You,” she growled.
Ryan stayed glued to his spot, a safe distance from both Jason and Lani. He didn’t want to butt in completely and remained silent. Jason really wished that Ryan could pin her down because he was pretty sure that Lani was going to jump him any moment – and not in the good way.
“What did I –
“Don’t play stupid, Jason,” Lani interrupted. “I know everything.”
Shit. Jason glanced accusingly at Ryan, who averted his gaze guiltily. Since simple denial seemed futile at this point, Jason went on the offensive. “I don’t see how that is any of your business, Lani –
“If it involves Delaney, it is my business,” she interrupted with hostility.
“Well, she hasn’t called me. So, maybe she’s not all hot and bothered by it after all.”
“She’s scared!” Lani yelled, jumping up. “I couldn’t put my finger on it before, but it all makes sense now. She’s been completely subdued lately, and it’s not only her! Stephanie’s been chatting up more than usual – if you can believe it – because she’s trying to make Delaney feel better, and I haven’t heard one ounce of sarcasm from Jacy! If that’s not bothered, than –
“If things are so bad, then why won’t she call me?” Jason wasn’t a total cad. He knew that if he was the one who left after a night of great sex with a great girl, it was his responsibility to call her.
“Are you kidding me?” Lani roared indignantly. “You walk out on her, and you expect her to call you? Come on, Jason. I may not know you all that well, but not even you could be that much of an asshole.”
Jason regarded his best friend with utter desperation, looking for some kind of out, but Ryan didn’t do anything to help him. Instead, Ryan cleared his throat and walked over to the living room window, pretending not to hear anymore of Lani and Jason’s argument.
Jason sighed. “It was sex, Lani. And Delaney knows that too.”
“It’s never just sex with Delaney,” Lani answered more softly, but just as sternly. “You may think it doesn’t mean anything to her, but you’d be wrong.” She walked toward the kitchen – opposite the direction of the living room window – and continued. “Don’t think I’m trying to sell Delaney, because I’m not, but I feel the need to point out just how much of an idiot you are.” She leaned in the kitchen doorway and stared daggers at Jason as she proceeded. “Delaney is passionate about life, and she hides it behind indecision, messiness, and insecurity. She may not know what she wants right away, but once it’s there, she isn’t the type to just let it go, Jason. She’s such a great girl, Jason –
“You think I don’t know that!” Jason snapped.
Lani looked genuinely surprised at Jason’s sudden outburst. “What?”
“I know Delaney’s a great girl, Lani! I’ve been thinking about what a great girl she is since the day that I met her – after I returned that stupid purple wallet to her. I know that Delaney’s passionate about life. I know these things!”
“Then why did you leave her – twice?”
“Because I can’t give Delaney what she needs!” Jason ran a trembling hand through his thick, light brown hair. Ryan shifted at the window. Lani’s spine straightened.
“I can’t…I can’t be that passionate guy counterpart to Delaney, Lani,” Jason continued, more calmly, yet almost ruefully. “I want a football championship, and I want to play in the NFL, and I want to do a lot of things that need my complete concentration. I can’t juggle those things along with a girlfriend who’s indecisive and messy and insecure.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” Lani asked, stepping away from the wall and moving toward the front door. She opened it and turned around one last time. “You’re more confused than Delaney. I don’t care how you do it, Jason…but you better clean up the mess that you’ve made.” With that, Lani stepped out of Ryan and Jason’s apartment and quietly closed the door behind her.
****
A/N: What's our hero to do now?
Chapter 14 - Lani to the Rescue
It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. The sun was still up in the sky, shooting intense rays through the California atmosphere. Lani decided that she would rather run outside along the beach. Even though the sun was beaming, there was a subtle sea breeze that nipped at her skin and soothed all of her.
Well, almost all of her.
Lani prided herself on not being a nosy little chatterbox, like Stephanie or Jacy, but sometimes even she was itching to know what exactly was going on. She was sharp enough to detect when the group was keeping something from her, and by now – the weekend after her UCLA softball tournament – she definitely knew something was up. Whenever the four had gotten together the past week, Lani always sensed the presence of a 500-lb gorilla in the room. She suspected whatever they were keeping from her concerned one of them; she just wasn’t sure exactly who.
Lani’s black hair had grown to mid-length by now, so she tied it to keep it out of her face. She wore her navy blue running shorts and white tank top with her New Balance sneaks to jog across NMU’s main beach. She was also sporting an extra five pounds to her athletic frame because she always gained weight while she played a sport and eventually lost it during the off-season. But Lani didn’t worry about things like that; right now, she was worried about her friends.
Lani was about ready to end her jog, so she cut across a short bridge that spanned the sidewalk to the sand. She slowed down and walked over to the concession stand to buy some water. As she got to the front of the line, she began patting her pockets and realized that she had left her money in her other shorts.
“Shit.”
“What are you having?” a deep voice called from behind Lani. She turned around and saw none other than Ryan Mackey. The last time she’d seen him, he had been sporting a purple ring around his left eye. He looked better now. And at the beach, wearing nothing but white swim trunks and that stupid smirk he usually wore, he looked really good.
“Water,” she answered.
“And I’ll get a cheeseburger with everything on it,” he told the cashier, handing over the cash.
The two waited to the side of the line after placing the order. Lani was still trying to catch her breath from her jog…and a little from seeing Ryan in his current state of gorgeousness. He was a jock though. Shouldn’t she have expected Ryan to possess tanned, lean-muscular arms and six-pack abs that glistened in the late Friday afternoon sun?
“Thanks for the water. I’ll pay you back when I see you again,” she said.
Ryan snorted. “I may as well kiss that $1.75 good-bye right now.”
Lani couldn’t resist. “Your eye looks like it cleared up.”
“Yeah, well, it took longer to heal than the standard week. I must say, you pack quite a punch in that fist of yours. Do you participate in underground girlfights on the side?”
Lani smiled. “My dad taught me how to ward off male predators and jerks, in general, with that punch.”
“Well, here’s hoping I don’t piss your dad off like I did you,” he answered. He grabbed the cheeseburger and bottled water from the counter and handed the latter to Lani.
“Hey, it worked didn’t it?” Lani began, opening the bottle. “After I taught you that little lesson, Ryan didn’t so much as look at Delaney again, did he?”
Ryan stopped mid-chew and stared at Lani, looking a little more than surprised. Lani didn’t fail to notice. “What?”
Ryan finished chewing and swallowed, but it didn’t look like a very easy thing to do. He almost looked as if he didn’t want to swallow because that would mean that he would have to talk…and he really didn’t want to.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t nothing me,” Lani responded indignantly. “You stopped chewing and looked at me all funny. That does not imply ‘nothing.’”
“I thought you knew already.”
“Obviously not,” Lani snapped back.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say,” Ryan hesitated.
“If you don’t,” Lani threatened, “I’ll give you a shiner on the right eye too.”
Ryan looked unfazed. “Look, it’s really not my place to tell you anything, okay?”
And then, Lani’s face inexplicably fell. She felt like she wanted to cry. Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything? She could handle the news like a big girl, right?
Ryan looked worried. “Shit. Come on, Ailani. This is something you should talk over with Re – with Delaney, okay?”
A big fat teardrop rolled down Lani’s face and she exploded. “Well, she won’t tell me anything, okay? None of them will! I’ve been gone for three weekends, and suddenly, my opinion isn’t worth anything? I’m her fucking roommate and best friend, and she doesn’t want to confide in me! That really pisses me off!” Lani rubbed the teardrop away with the back of her hand, and her expression turned a shade more desperate. “Look, Ryan. I sense that Delaney’s not going to tell me anything, so it would really make things a lot easier if you just told me what you know…please.”
This wasn’t the first time Ryan had been in front of a begging female, but Lani’s imploring was so much more genuine, and it dealt with friendship – not with sex – so he knew he was toast before she had even said “please.” Having lost his appetite, all of a sudden, Ryan tossed the remains of his burger into the trash and pulled Lani over to an unoccupied spot on the sand.
He told her everything.
****
Of course she hadn’t known you asshole! If she’d known, she would’ve tried to sock you the moment she saw you!
Ryan was ready to kick himself. Lani was not being nice to him for the sake of being nice; the girl had no frickin’ clue about Red and Jason’s secret mating. And now that she knew…she was pissed.
Ryan was trying to catch up with Lani as she sprinted to his and Jason’s apartment. This was one angry woman on a mission to kill his best friend, and the only reason Ryan made himself tag along was that he needed to make sure there would be a witness through all of this.
****
A loud, hard knock sounded at the front door. Jason switched off the rerun of The Real World that he was barely watching and shuffled miserably to the door. What now?
Jason was hardly prepared to expect a very irate-looking Ailani Bennett standing on the other side of the door. He was even less prepared for the fist that began to make its way toward his face. But Ryan – God bless him – grabbed a hold of her arm before she was able to do any damage.
“Let go!” Lani exclaimed. She and Ryan scuffled, almost comically, for several seconds, but Jason knew that this was no laughing matter. He opened the door all the way, and Ryan ushered Lani inside before she decided to use her fists again.
“Sit,” Ryan ordered, urging Lani toward the living room sofa. She sat, looking simultaneously pissed and beautiful, as usual. She looked up at Ryan murderously, and for a second, Jason thought that some of her anger toward him may have been redirected toward Ryan.
Then her ultraviolet eyes shot to him, and he knew he was screwed.
“You,” she growled.
Ryan stayed glued to his spot, a safe distance from both Jason and Lani. He didn’t want to butt in completely and remained silent. Jason really wished that Ryan could pin her down because he was pretty sure that Lani was going to jump him any moment – and not in the good way.
“What did I –
“Don’t play stupid, Jason,” Lani interrupted. “I know everything.”
Shit. Jason glanced accusingly at Ryan, who averted his gaze guiltily. Since simple denial seemed futile at this point, Jason went on the offensive. “I don’t see how that is any of your business, Lani –
“If it involves Delaney, it is my business,” she interrupted with hostility.
“Well, she hasn’t called me. So, maybe she’s not all hot and bothered by it after all.”
“She’s scared!” Lani yelled, jumping up. “I couldn’t put my finger on it before, but it all makes sense now. She’s been completely subdued lately, and it’s not only her! Stephanie’s been chatting up more than usual – if you can believe it – because she’s trying to make Delaney feel better, and I haven’t heard one ounce of sarcasm from Jacy! If that’s not bothered, than –
“If things are so bad, then why won’t she call me?” Jason wasn’t a total cad. He knew that if he was the one who left after a night of great sex with a great girl, it was his responsibility to call her.
“Are you kidding me?” Lani roared indignantly. “You walk out on her, and you expect her to call you? Come on, Jason. I may not know you all that well, but not even you could be that much of an asshole.”
Jason regarded his best friend with utter desperation, looking for some kind of out, but Ryan didn’t do anything to help him. Instead, Ryan cleared his throat and walked over to the living room window, pretending not to hear anymore of Lani and Jason’s argument.
Jason sighed. “It was sex, Lani. And Delaney knows that too.”
“It’s never just sex with Delaney,” Lani answered more softly, but just as sternly. “You may think it doesn’t mean anything to her, but you’d be wrong.” She walked toward the kitchen – opposite the direction of the living room window – and continued. “Don’t think I’m trying to sell Delaney, because I’m not, but I feel the need to point out just how much of an idiot you are.” She leaned in the kitchen doorway and stared daggers at Jason as she proceeded. “Delaney is passionate about life, and she hides it behind indecision, messiness, and insecurity. She may not know what she wants right away, but once it’s there, she isn’t the type to just let it go, Jason. She’s such a great girl, Jason –
“You think I don’t know that!” Jason snapped.
Lani looked genuinely surprised at Jason’s sudden outburst. “What?”
“I know Delaney’s a great girl, Lani! I’ve been thinking about what a great girl she is since the day that I met her – after I returned that stupid purple wallet to her. I know that Delaney’s passionate about life. I know these things!”
“Then why did you leave her – twice?”
“Because I can’t give Delaney what she needs!” Jason ran a trembling hand through his thick, light brown hair. Ryan shifted at the window. Lani’s spine straightened.
“I can’t…I can’t be that passionate guy counterpart to Delaney, Lani,” Jason continued, more calmly, yet almost ruefully. “I want a football championship, and I want to play in the NFL, and I want to do a lot of things that need my complete concentration. I can’t juggle those things along with a girlfriend who’s indecisive and messy and insecure.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” Lani asked, stepping away from the wall and moving toward the front door. She opened it and turned around one last time. “You’re more confused than Delaney. I don’t care how you do it, Jason…but you better clean up the mess that you’ve made.” With that, Lani stepped out of Ryan and Jason’s apartment and quietly closed the door behind her.
****
A/N: What's our hero to do now?