Boys and Girls, Part III: Can't Stay Away

Chapter 7 – Confessions

Jacy hadn’t called on Lani since that Friday evening, which was strange. She hadn’t reported back to Lani, like she said she would. Maybe she had actually hit it off with the baseball stud at the party, in which case, Lani was thrilled for her.

Lani had other things on her mind, namely the fact that Ryan had not so much as called on her since “the incident” last Saturday. She didn’t blame him. She considered apologizing to him, but really, what was the point? Ryan was head over heels for her, and Lani just couldn’t reciprocate that. She was already taken.

The Hawks had just added another W to their still-perfect season record thus far. Delaney and Stephanie had asked Ryan, Lani, and Jacy to celebrate. Obviously, Ryan was in no mood to go, and Lani didn’t want to add salt to his wounds by going either. As for Jacy…

Where the hell was that girl? Lani needed to get her mind off of Ryan, so she decided to pay her friend downstairs, a visit.

****

Lani rapped on Jacy’s door three times. She heard footsteps before the door was slowly opened.

“Yeah?”

Jacy was sweating profusely and breathing hard, as if she was out of breath. She looked like she was doing something physically taxing, but Lani was sure it wasn’t sex because Jacy was wearing frumpy gray shorts and a black Zeppelin t-shirt. Her long, brown hair was tied into a lazy ponytail and strands of her brown bangs clung to her sweat-stained forehead.

“Am I interrupting something?” Lani asked.

Jacy rubbed her forearm across her forehead. “Sort of.”

“You didn’t report back after the party,” Lani scolded.

“Forgot,” Jacy replied nonchalantly.

Lani grew suspicious. She had the sneaking feeling that Jacy was hiding something from her.

“Can I come in for a sec?”

Jacy looked torn. She bit her bottom lip in hesitation. “Now’s not really a good time.”

“Oh?”

“Can I just call you later?” Jacy asked.

Oh this girl is definitely hiding something from me, Lani thought. But she decided that Jacy had her reasons for doing things. “Okay,” Lani answered. “If you don’t call me by eight, I’m going to call you.”

Jacy rolled her eyes. “Okay Mom.” She shut her door and Lani retreated back upstairs attempting to guess what in the world Jacinda Hewitt was keeping from her.

****

Ryan watched the recap of NMU versus USC on ESPN. He was happy for Jason and Joe and the entire team – well except for what’s-his-name Carter – but was still in a bad mood.

That debacle over at Lani’s place last Saturday had left him feeling like a complete pussy. The fact that Lani was dreaming about her good-looking, virile, navy man who actually could walk without the use of crutches shouldn’t have surprised Ryan. But when she had admitted that she wasn’t thinking about Ryan during that fucking fantastic kiss, it had hit him right in the gut anyway.

He had been made a fool of – exposed and utterly humiliated. He couldn’t blame Lani, but he was upset with her nevertheless. She had offered him a taste of something, only to whisk it away at the last moment.

The incident had made Ryan realize that he couldn’t compete for Lani’s affections. It made him want to return to playing football more than ever and be able to earn Lani’s reverence. It wouldn’t have been impossible. Out on the field, Ryan was unstoppable. He could impress the pants off of anyone, and Lani had never gotten to really see him at his best. Now, she never would.

Ryan angrily turned his television off. Jason and the gang had invited him for post-game celebrations yesterday, but Ryan had declined. He still couldn’t find the strength to celebrate something that wasn’t really his. It stung too goddamn much.

Ryan was thankful that Stephanie had dragged Joe to a shopping spree at North Mission Plaza’s mall. It left the apartment peaceful, and Ryan didn’t have to listen to the couple’s incessant lovey-dovey ickiness. Instead, he could wallow in his own self-pity and inevitable misery.

A knock sounded at the door.

Son of a bitch.

Ryan pushed himself to his feet and slowly limped over to the door. He reluctantly opened it.

“Hey Ryan.”

Even when he was mad at her, she looked beautiful to him. Her long, jet-black hair framed her long face. She was wearing a white sundress with turquoise stitching and white flip-flops on her feet. Her violet eyes exuded apology…but Ryan didn’t want any of it.

“What?” he asked impatiently.

“Can I come in?”

“Can I stop you?”

Lani frowned at his biting tone. “Come on, Ryan.”

Ryan left the door wide open and limped back toward the couch. He eased himself back into a sitting position. As Lani walked in and closed the door behind her, Ryan picked up the latest issue of Sports Illustrated and began absentmindedly flipping through it.

“Ryan?”

He lifted his eyes to her and regarded her with hostility. “Yeah?”

“We need to talk about…you know.”

Ryan shook his head and his eyes dropped back to the magazine. “What’s to talk about? I like you, you kissed me, you’re unavailable…”

Lani winced. “It’s not that simple, Ryan.”

“Don’t see why you’ve got to make it so complicated,” he grumbled.

“I’m in a relationship, Ryan.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” he added.

Lani lowered her voice and tried to sound as calm as possible. “I think that…maybe you’re overreacting about all of this.”

Cold gray eyes shot up and scared the shit out of Lani. Ryan abruptly got up and winced when he felt it in his knee. He angrily threw the magazine aside. “You think I fucking…overreacted?” Lani cowered slightly, but Ryan wasn’t finished. “Tell me, how is a guy supposed to react when you swap spit with him and then tell him you were picturing someone else all along!”

“It was a kiss, Ryan! You don’t have to act so damn proud all the time!” Lani shouted.

“Pride is all I’ve got left now, Lani!” he shouted back. He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “And after what you put me through, I’m running pretty low on that now too.”

Lani regarded him sympathetically again. He hated that more than anything. He wanted to walk over to her and run his hands through her hair and kiss that look off of her face. Lani’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“I was dreaming of you, Ryan.”

Ryan froze. “What?”

She lifted her gaze and violet eyes met his gray ones. “I was asleep, but I w-was dreaming of you…n-not Hunter.”

She regarded him cautiously, as if she didn’t know what he would do. Ryan continued to stare at her, unable to believe what she had just confessed.

He limped over to her as quickly as his legs could carry him and cut off her personal space. His breathing grew heavier. He never broke eye contact with Lani, as he cupped her face in his hands and bent down to kiss her.

Lani tried to jerk away, but Ryan’s grip was too strong. He held onto her tight – never wanting to let go of her now that he knew she had feelings for him. He slipped his tongue past her lips and tasted her sweetness. She moaned in protest, but Ryan couldn’t be turned now. He pulled her in more and made his kiss harder. His tongue become more domineering as he searched through her lips, forcing her mouth to accept his invasion. When Ryan’s erection grew prominent, he pushed it against Lani’s thigh, making it known how he felt about her.

Lani pushed Ryan away with all her might, and the kiss finally broke. She wiped her mouth, as if she was disgusted. Ryan’s feelings weren’t hurt. He knew that Lani wanted him on some level, and that was enough for now.

Ryan’s breathing was still heavy. He looked at Lani with challenge in his gray eyes. “Don’t play games with me, Lani.”

“What do you want from me?” she cried, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“You know what I want,” he growled. “Don’t ask me questions you already know the answers to.”

She screamed in frustration. “I’m in love with Hunter!”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” he shouted, pursuing her again. “You don’t love someone if you have fucking dreams about another guy, Lani. That’s not how it works, sweetheart.”

Lani shook her head. “It was a dream, Ryan.”

“Is that supposed to stop me or something?”

“I won’t break up with Hunter,” she persisted. “He’s a good guy. I don’t have any reason to leave him.”

“You don’t love him.”

“You don’t know anything, Ryan! You’ve been campaigning from day one to break us apart. Why should I take anything you tell me seriously?”

“Because I’m right,” he bit out. “It’s one thing when two people are head over heels in love with each other. I can’t do anything about that, Lani.” She shifted uncomfortably, and he continued. “But staying with someone just to appease your overbearing father…that’s not love Lani. And now that I know you don’t really love this guy…” He walked over to her slowly and lowered his voice to a threatening whisper. “…I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure that you end up with me.”

Her violet eyes shot up and glowed with indignation. Lani’s hand flew up and slapped Ryan hard across his cheek. He didn’t even flinch.

“Fuck…you,” Lani spat out. “Don’t you ever come near me again.” She stormed out of the apartment before Ryan could say another word.

****

“Oof!” Hunter uttered, as Lani nearly knocked him over when he showed up at her front door.

“I missed you so much!” she squealed.

Hunter obviously wasn’t as enthusiastic about the hug as Lani was, but he seemed to take it in stride. “I was away for two weeks, sweetheart.”

“It was really quiet around here,” she answered.

He gave a small smile and walked into the apartment. Lani wasn’t blessed with ESP or anything, but she had a strange feeling about Hunter’s return. She figured she was being paranoid, though and just casually shook off her suspicions.

The aroma of chicken Marsala and roasted potatoes wafted in the air. Lani almost never cooked, but this was a special occasion…plus cooking had helped to take her mind off of Ryan.

“I hope you’re hungry,” she said.

Hunter smiled. “I always have room for homemade cooking.”

The two sat and ate mostly in silence. Lani kept asking questions about Hunter’s trip, and he gave her brief answers. He wasn’t being particularly cold with her, but he wasn’t chatting like he normally did when he saw her.

After dinner, Hunter excused himself to take a shower, so Lani took the time to wash dishes. She noticed that Hunter hadn’t even begun to unpack his things but realized that he was probably just tired from all the touring and sightseeing.

She snuck into the bathroom while he was taking his shower and brushed her teeth. She stared at his warrior’s body through the shower screen and realized how badly she craved sex. She hadn’t seen her boyfriend in two weeks, and the earlier episode with Ryan had only reminded Lani how much she needed human contact from a virile male.

When Lani entered her darkened bedroom, she slowly unzipped her sundress and let it pool to the floor. She pulled off her strapless bra and panties and left them by the dress. Then, she crawled onto her bed and smoothed out her comforter. Hunter walked in with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped when he saw Lani, naked on all fours.

She casually turned her head to face him and smiled. A sliver of moonlight shone across her features and illuminated her pretty smile.

“What are you doing, Lani?” Hunter asked nervously.

“I haven’t seen you in two weeks, Hunter,” she purred. “I should hope you could put two and two together.”

Hunter didn’t say anything for the longest time. Lani assumed he was too turned on for words and was attempting to compose himself. She expected him to pounce on her any second now.

Except he didn’t.

Hunter didn’t move towards Lani; he moved backwards until he backed into her wall. He leaned up against it, and the moonlight caught his features.

He didn’t look like a man who wanted to have sex. Lani grew concerned and sat up on her knees. “Hunter, what’s wrong?”

Hunter’s hands flew to his face. He covered his eyes and sighed deeply.

“I did something really bad, Ailani.”

Lani tipped her head to one side and regarded him curiously. “What?”

Hunter rubbed his face before letting his hands fall slowly to his side. He hesitated before finally speaking.

“I slept with someone else while I was in Los Angeles.”

Lani’s breathing quickened. “What? You did wh – why?”

Hunter’s eyes began to tear as he attempted to explain. “I-I…don’t know why. I just –

Lani leapt up from her bed and grabbed her robe from the back of her chair. She tried to suppress her panic, but she just could not believe what she was hearing.

“I had to tell you…that’s why I came over tonight.”

“Why didn’t you tell me right away?” she snapped, throwing the robe on and tying it around her waist. “Why did you eat with me and take a shower –

“I got scared. I knew that I was going to tell you, but then you made me dinner, and I-I…just got so afraid, Lani.”

“You mean you thought you could get away with it for another day!” she shouted.

He didn’t answer. “I’m telling you now, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that!” she demanded. She screamed. “How could you do this to me? You’re not supposed to do things like this, Hunter! You’re supposed to be a good person who doesn’t do things like this. I’ve defended you this whole time, and –

“Why would you have to defend me?” he interrupted hotly.

“Not everyone thinks you’re perfect,” Lani replied. “I thought they were nuts, but apparently, they know you a lot better than I thought.”

“Who? Ryan? He’s been talking smack about me, hasn’t he? I knew that pussy was getting to you!”

“You’re in the wrong, Hunter. Not Ryan.”

Hunter sneered. “So go to cry in his arms, Ailani. God knows you’ve paid more attention to him in the past month than to me.”

Lani shot a hostile gaze in his direction. “You said that it was okay. Besides, he’s devastated –

“He’ll get over it,” Hunter bit out. “You know, Lani…if you had been a better girlfriend to me than maybe I wouldn’t have been tempted to do what I did.”

Lani couldn’t believe it. He was blaming his infidelity on her! She couldn’t understand where this Hunter had come from. It wasn’t the Hunter she had grown to love over the years – that was for sure. This was bitter, nasty Hunter at his worst, and she wasn’t going to have any more of it.

“Get out,” she ordered.

Hunter pushed himself off the wall and abruptly left her room without another word. Lani heard the zipper of his bag open. He was rustling around for clothes. She gave him some privacy before hearing his bag being zipped up again.

As she left her room, she only glimpsed Hunter’s back as he left without parting words. Lani wasn’t the type to break down. Except for Jacy, Lani was usually the least likely to shed tears within her circle of friends.

Oh fuck it. She had been through a lot today.

****