Come On, Sweet Catastrophe

"So, you live with a man?" Ryan furrowed his brow, looking away from the road for a moment to look at me.

I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. "Well, I don't live with him. I stay with him sometimes, I guess."

"I don't get it." Ryan gnawed on his bottom lip and I didn't know whether I should feel flattered that he was so bothered about this, considering he was obviously a bit jealous I was staying with another man, or if I should be upset. "Why would you need to stay with him? You have a home!"

"It's complicated." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

Derek had been really skeptical toward the idea of me going out on a date, especially when I mentioned that said date was going to pick me up from his house. I had gone through several outfits because each time I'd come downstairs, Derek would send me back up again to change into something else. "Too much boob!" he said the first time and then, "too much leg!" The simple black dress I came down in the third time 'left nothing to the imagination,' though I disagree with him on that. It wasn't until I came down in a long sleeved, burnt orange dress with black tights and leather boots that Derek had stopped pestering me about the amount of skin I was showing. Instead, he complimented me, telling me that I should dress like a girl more often. The compliment warmed my heart in a way. Most people would feel insulted or scoff, but I knew that that was Derek's way of telling me I looked pretty.

Ryan came to the door shortly after, and I smiled to Derek, who was seated in the love seat watching television. I sent him a small wave, making my way to the door, unaware of the fact that Derek had gotten up and was just steps behind me. When I opened the door, I looked up at Ryan. He was dressed in a simple pair of dark jeans with a light blue collared shirt and a blazer. I opened my mouth to greet him and tell him how good he looked, but I was cut off by another voice.

"Hello." Derek said and startled, I whipped around and gave him a blank look.

"Uh, hi." Ryan looked at me before looking at Derek oddly. "I'm Ryan. I'm, uh, taking Ruth out tonight. Yo-"

"Derek." He didn't even give him time to finish his sentence before speaking again. The look he was giving Ryan made even my skin crawl and I wasn't even intimidated by Derek. I could tell Ryan was becoming increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze as he shifted from foot to foot, sending me pleading looks in between looking up at the sky and down at his shoes. I glared up at Derek, shaking my head from side to side.

"Derek, behave." I hissed, giving him a look that said that we'd have a talk about this later. He merely sent me an innocent smile, shrugging his shoulders.

"You kids have fun, now." He cooed, pinching my cheek. I furrowed my brow at him, letting out a small laugh before grabbed Ryan's arm and dragging him away to his car. I watched the door from the passenger seat, noting that Derek was leaning against the door frame, watching us. I watched him until the house was out of sight and Derek hadn't moved that entire time. He just stood with his eyes fixed on the car, leaning against the door frame with one hand in the tight pocket on his fitted jeans.

"You can't just tell me it's complicated, Ruth." Ryan told me, sounding rather irritated with me. I started chewing on my nails, looking down at my lap. "We're dating now, so if you have another guy in the picture, it's kind of my right to know."

"It's nothing like that, Ryan." I said softly, glancing up at him from beneath my lashes. His jaw was taunt and his brows were furrowed. He was watching the road intently, too intently even, considering it was a straight road and we were the only ones on it. Despite the fact that his expression showed that he was angry at me, I couldn't help but admire how beautiful he was. My thoughts were becoming clouded as I started to imagine what it'd feel like to press a kiss against his pouty lips.

"What is it like then?" He insisted, tearing his gaze from the road. He looked at me expectantly with both his eyebrows raised, drumming his finger tips against the steering wheel. "Honestly, Ruth, your refusal to give me a proper explanation is kind of making me think that maybe I should be worried."

"No, you don't need to be worried." I sighed, running my hand through my hair tiredly. "Derek is my employer. I work for him. Kind of. I guess I used to work for him. Now I'm just kind of... There." His already curious glance became more questioning and he gestured for me to elaborate. "Well, he used to have a wife and a daughter, that's when I started working with them. My mom needed help because she had so many clients, so I went there and worked for my mom's maid service after school. I got really close with the family and spent a lot of time there, kind of like they were my second family, but then Sadie and Paige were in a car accident and they, uhm, they died." Ryan's face fell slightly, and he nodded his head lightly. "So, I've just been working for Derek, but he's... Not in a good place. At all. He never leaves his house and the rest of his family and friends have given up on him." I pursed my lips, looking up at Ryan sadly. "I'm the only one who hasn't given up on him yet and even though I'm supposed to be there to clean up after him and cook for him, we both know that I'm there because he needs me as a friend." I crossed my arms over my chest tightly, almost wrapping myself in an embrace. "Do you get it?"

"Wow, Ruth." He reached over the center console, taking one of my hands that was sitting by my waist. His hand brushed the curve of my side and sent a small shiver down my back. "I'm so sorry for being so pushy about you telling me all that. Really. I feel like such a dick."

I half smiled, shaking my head as if to dismiss the apology. "You had every right to know." My smiled broadened slightly. "After all, we're dating now."

For the first time since I had met him, I saw Ryan blush. For once, it was his turn, since it was usually me turning red at a comment he had made. His smile was shy and sheepish as he leaned over, pressing his soft lips to my forehead. Giggling, I scrunched up my nose, giving his hand a small squeeze. The rest of the ride was fairly quiet--Comfortably so, however.

Usually, when we went out, it was hard to decide whether we were acting like friends or more. We'd never really touch or get too close, probably because I was shy and Ryan wasn't pushy. Today was different, though. Ryan held my hand almost the entire night. He'd wrap his arms around me whenever he had the chance. Half way through dinner, he got up and slid into the booth beside me, so that there was no longer an entire table separating us. He was always grinning down at me, and if he wasn't, he was giving me some of the most intense gazes I'd every experienced.

And at the end of the night, he kissed me. I didn't even have to ask him to. It was like he just knew that was all I had been thinking of the entire night. His lips were so soft and they moved against mine so slowly and almost thoughtfully. His hands were holding either side of my face, the pads of his thumbs softly brushing against my cheek bones. When he pulled away, I was in a daze, barely able to form full sentences. He was beaming, his grin so wide that I could practically see his cheeks throbbing. We had said goodnight three times before Ryan finally was able to pull away, rather than pull me in for another kiss. When his arms left my waist, I felt cold and pulled my jacket tighter to my body. He walked backwards toward his car with his hands in his pockets, grinning widely at me.

I was blushing. My entire face and my ears were hot. I covered my cheek with my hand, trying to hide the red from his sight. I had no doubt in my mind that he could still see it, though, and I just embraced it, grinning back at him just as widely. He got into his car and eventually drove away, waving through the window. I watched longingly as he drove down the street, not going inside until he was completely out of sight.

I was so content with how this evening had played out. I wanted to just go to bed, reliving the events of tonight in my head as I was falling asleep. However, the second my gaze fell upon a man I knew well, sprawled out on the carpeted floor, I knew my night wasn't over.