15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

Allysa hops off the counter and carries her mug to the sink. “She’s
my friend, Ryle. You don’t have the best track record when it comes to
relationships.” She washes out the mug and then leans her hip into
the sink, facing us. “As her friend, I have the right to give her my
opinion when it comes to the guys she dates. That’s what friends do.”
I’m suddenly feeling uncomfortable as the tension grows thicker
between the two of them. Ryle doesn’t even take a drink of his coffee.
He walks toward Allysa and pours it out in the sink. He’s standing
right in front of her, but she won’t even look at him. “Well, as your
brother, I would hope you had a little more faith in me than you do.
That’s what siblings do.”
He walks out of the kitchen, shoving the door open. When he’s
gone, Allysa takes a deep breath. She shakes her head and pulls her
hands up to her face. “Sorry about that,” she says, forcing a smile. “I
need to shower.”
“You don’t have people for that?”
She laughs as she exits the kitchen. I wash my mug in the sink and
head back to Ryle’s bedroom. When I open the door, he’s sitting on
the couch, scrolling through his phone. He doesn’t look up at me
when I walk in and for a second, I think he might be mad at me, too.
But then he tosses his phone aside and leans back into the couch.
“Come here,” he says.
He grabs my hand and pulls me down on top of him so that I’m
straddling him. He brings my mouth to his and kisses me so hard, it
makes me wonder if he’s trying to prove his sister wrong.
Ryle pulls away from my mouth and slowly rakes his eyes down my
body. “I like you in my clothes.”
I smile. “Well I have to get to work, so unfortunately, I can’t keep
them on.”
He brushes the hair from my face and says, “I have a really
important surgery coming up that I need to prepare for. Which
means I probably won’t see you for a few days.”
I try to hide my disappointment, but I have to get used to it if he
really wants to try and make something work between us. He’s already
warned me that he works too much. “I’m busy, too. Grand opening is
on Friday.”
He says, “Oh, I’ll see you before Friday. Promise.”