Never Do Something That Stupid Again

“It’s dark.”

My brilliant deductions and I came up with that about thirty seconds after everyone else had already noticed it. I felt my face heat up and I was glad it was dark because it meant no one else could see it. There was movement around me and a small scream escaped me as someone brushed past me.

“Calm down, Rina,” my best friend since we were kids, Ryan Getzlaf, said to me as he passed. I smirked a little as I realized that him moving passed me had, in fact, scared the crap out of me, proving I was still afraid of the dark. He stepped up next to me and the back of his hand rested against the back of mine. I moved my hand to grab his and he gave it a little squeeze; he knew I was still scared of the dark. “Need a nightlight, Ri?” he asked. I furiously shook my head.

“Ryan Getzlaf, if you tell anyone, I swear, I’ll kill you,” I whispered harshly. He laughed lightly.

“My lips are sealed,” he said. His mouth was close to my ear, and I could feel his warm breath on my neck. His closeness sent a shiver down my spine, which was weird since I’d never had that feeling around Ryan before. We’d been really close since we were pretty much in diapers, and he was my best friend. I think anything else would be really awkward. All of a sudden, the lights came back on. A wave of relief washed through me and I looked around to see that my house was filled with hockey players. I already knew at least half of Ryan’s teammates, but the other half of them were people I’d never met before. “Okay, Ri, you already know JS, Scott, Rob, Corey, Drew, Bobby, Chris, Erik, Teemu, Todd, and Josh, so here’s the rest of the team,” Ryan said, introducing me to his teammates one by one. “So, can we stay?” he asked. I rolled my eyes.

“You cut off my power and invite all, and I mean all, of your teammates to my house and expect me to let you all stay?” I pretended to be angry with him. “Make yourselves comfortable. Drinks are in the kitchen if anyone gets thirsty. Help yourselves to any snacks you find.” Ryan’s jaw dropped and the guys swarmed into my living room, rifling through my CDs and video games. I smirked as I headed into the living room. “And try not to break anything!” I added as I headed out to the patio. I closed the door and walked out onto the grass. I lay on the ground, staring up at the stars. Someone was next to me, and I felt Ryan’s arm slide around my shoulder and pulled me toward him. My head rested on his chest and I felt butterflies flit through my stomach.

“The stars are beautiful, aren’t they?” he said softly. I felt his chest rising and falling with his soft breaths.

“Yeah, they really are,” I said as softly as he had. We lay on the grass for a while until Scott opened the patio door.

“Hey Rina! Come inside for a minute?” he called. Ryan and I got up and walked into the house.

“What’s up, Scotty?” I asked. His cheeks turned pink as I said the name.

“Surprise!” the guys shouted, presenting me with a brownie cake. My mouth fell open. Happy Birthday Rina! was written on the cake in green frosting.

“Happy birthday!” JS cheered. Rob gave me a hug, Corey gave me “light” birthday hits (They still hurt) and Drew helped Ryan steer me to the couch. Ryan sat next to me and helped Teemu pass me gifts. By about 9:30, I had gotten gifts from everyone except for Ryan. I was kind of disappointed that everyone but him had given me something.

“Hey everyone, I have a special gift to give to Rina, so listen up!” Ryan called. The guys went silent and crowded around the couch. “Rina, you’ve been my best friend for forever, and I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the world.” He pulled out a ring. “It’s not an engagement ring, that one comes later. It’s a promise ring. I promise I’ll never stop loving you.” He took me into his arms and kissed me softly. The guys clapped and cheered. I smiled at him.

“I love you too, Ryan,” I said, kissing him again.

||Three Weeks Later||

“I’m done with this! I can’t believe you did that to me!” I shouted at Ryan.

“Well maybe if you weren’t gone so much, I wouldn’t have!” he yelled back.

“You’re so full of crap! You’re away more than I am! I can’t believe you! I thought you loved me! I guess I was wrong!” I took the ring off of my finger and threw it at him. “I never want to see you again, Ryan Getzlaf!” I stormed out of the house and into the pouring rain. I was angry that I had walked in on Ryan in bed with another girl! After all we’d been through together, that’s how he treats me?! I think not! I sat on a park bench in the pouring rain for a few hours. I got cold, but I didn’t want to go back, not now, not ever.

“Rina! Rina!” Someone was calling my name. “Oh, there you are!” a voice filled with relief said, and I felt a jacket fall over my shoulders.

“How could he do that to me?!” I wailed, falling into Drew Miller’s shoulder.

“I’m gonna kick his ass,” he said.

“Thanks, Drew,” I said, sniffing a little.

“Okay, since the season’s over, we’re going to Michigan, and you’re staying with me and Ryan for the summer,” he said.

“I need to get some things from home,” I said.

“I’ll get them. Come on,” He led me to his car and I got in the passenger’s side. He drove me to his house and I gave him a list of things I needed. I sat on his couch and watched television while he went to Ryan’s apartment to get the things on the list I had given him. His phone rang and I jumped. ‘Ryan Miller’ flashed on the caller ID. I picked up the phone.

“Hello?” I said.

“Um, who is this?” Ryan asked.

“I’m Drew’s friend Rina,” I responded.

“Oh, Getzlaf’s girl?”

“Not anymore. Drew went to go get my things from his house. Apparently I’m staying with you and him this summer.”

“What did he do to you?” There was compassion in his voice. I explained the situation with Ryan and what he had done. “I’m going to kick his ass,” he said. I laughed.

“That’s what Drew said.”

“Well, he can do it, then. He’s closer.” I heard a car pull into the driveway, and then Drew walked in.

“Oh, Drew’s here. You want to talk to him?”

“Nah, I’ll call him later.”

“Oh, okay then. I guess I’ll see you.”

“All right, bye then.” We hung up the phone.

“Who was that?”

“Your brother. He’s really nice.” Drew smiled, but it never reached his eyes, and it fell away instantly.

“Yeah, he’s pretty understanding. I can see why you were talking to him.” There was a bitter tone in his voice.

“Drew, we talked for all of five minutes. Besides, he promised to let you kill Getzlaf for me.” He smiled again and hugged me. “He screwed up big time.” He pulled away.

“Rina, you’re not—“

“Drew, I’m just saying it’s going to take a lot of chick flicks and ice cream to fix this mess.” He laughed.

“Anything for you, sweetheart,” he said, and he kissed me softly.

|| A Few Weeks Later In Michigan||

“Oh Drew who I love Drew best boyfriend ever Drew!” I called in a singsong voice.

“What’s up, Rina?” he asked, poking his head out of his room.

“I’m bored, I want to go shopping, and no one wants to go with me,” I said. He sighed.

“Let me finish something up,” he said. I smiled and threw my arms around him.

“You’re the best!” I exclaimed. He laughed and turned to kiss me.

“All right, let’s go,” he said. We drove to the mall and I stopped in several stores. Drew, being the nice guy he was, didn’t complain once about being dragged into women’s clothing stores.

“So, where do you want to go, Drew?” I asked as the woman put my shoe boxes in a bag. He stared blankly back at me. “Come on, there has to be somewhere you want to go.” He grinned.

“Follow me,” he said, leading me into a sporting goods store. “I’ve always wanted this, but I could never get enough money for it,” He said, pointing to a card on display.

“You certainly have the money now,” I said. He smiled at me.

“Well, after today’s excursion, I don’t think I can get it,” he said.

“Why, because it’s something for you?” I asked. He nodded. I rolled my eyes. “Just get it,
Drew! If you really want it, get it!” I shook him by the shoulders. He laughed and shook his head.

“Let’s just go home,” he said. I rolled my eyes again and followed him out.

||Several Weeks Later||

I was at the mall, looking for that store Drew had taken me to. It had taken a lot of time, but I finally had enough money for that hockey card Drew had wanted. I found the store and my heart soared when the man behind the counter said they still had it. I paid him and he carefully wrapped it up and gave it to me. Excitedly, I hopped into my car and drove home.

“Drew, you here?” I called. I went upstairs and had a flashback of the last time I saw Ryan, only this time it was Drew breaking my heart.

“Rina, please, let me explain!” Drew said.

“Who the hell is that?” the girl in Drew’s bed asked.

“This is Rina, my girlfriend,” he said.

“Ex-girlfriend,” I corrected. The card slid out of the bag I held in my hand as I raced down the stairs and ran out of his house. I got into my car and sped away. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I had to get out of Michigan. I ended up in Detroit at the airport. I got the first flight out I could, not caring where it was. I got onto the plane and curled up in the seat, pressing my face into my knees.

||A Few Hours Later||

The plane landed and I got off the plane, realizing that I had ended up in San Jose. I left the airport and headed outside, again not knowing where I was going. I tried to control the tears that were now streaming down my cheeks and I ended up accidentally walking into someone. I fell backwards, but the person grabbed my arm before I fell. I mumbled thanks before walking off again.

“Rina?” his voice was surprised. I whipped around and saw Ryan standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, wiping my eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, hesitantly putting an arm around my shoulder.

“I went out for two seconds to get Drew something he told me he had really wanted and what happens? I get home to find him in bed with some random girl!” Tears flowed down my cheeks once more and Ryan pulled me into a hug. “It hurts so bad,” I cried, burying my face into his shoulder.

“Rina, I’m here for you,” he said. “I know what I did was horrible, and I probably don’t deserve to ask you this, but can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?” he asked.

“I forgive you, Ryan, if you can promise me something,” I said.

“Anything,” he said.

“Don’t do anything that stupid ever again,” I said, kissing him softly. He laughed as we pulled away.

“I think I can manage that,” he said, pulling me into another kiss.