Physicality

Sophie sighed and leaned back against the wall of the club she was currently standing in. It had been Ryan's idea to go here, and within minutes he had already ditched her. She picked at her nails and glanced around the dingy club, noting the neon lights that light up the bar and the thick smokey air with a roll of her eyes. Sophie was reaching for her phone when her eyes caught on Ryan, recognizing him simply by the tattoo on his bicep, which was wrapped around a brunette, his hands resting dangerously low on her backside as they two bounced to whatever song was being blasted ridiculously loud on the speaker. Typical.

Ryan's eyes caught Sophie’s, and immediately he smirked, this was the reaction he loved getting out of the girl he had been living with for nearly a year. He pulled the brunette girl closer to him, for the life of him Ryan couldn't remember her name, was it Tracy, or maybe it was Tina. He shook his head lightly, and only smirked larger when he watched Sophie turn and grab the guy beside her, pulling him out onto the dance floor, coincidentally right beside him.

The two watched each other for the remainder of the song, and when the song clicked and changed to a much slower one, each excused themselves from their previous dance partners and met in the middle. Ryan smirked at her again and said, “Wanna get out of here?”

“You had to ask?” Sophie questioned, smiling up at him. Ryan shrugged, and slipped his hand into hers, leading the way out to his vehicle where he surrendered his keys knowing Sophie would never get into a vehicle with him when he had been drinking. The two stayed in silence for the drive home, Ryan's hand resting on Sophie's thigh, making her nervous so she reached down, and tangled their fingers together.

When the two arrived at the small home they shared with one of Sophie's friends, Ryan unlocked the door before he turned and slammed Sophie into the wall, his hands tangling with hers, he stretched them high above her head as he watched her for a few seconds. Sophie bit down on her lip and looked up at Ryan through her lashes, knowing she was only making him crazy, before she finally leaned up as high as she could and pressed her lips against his. Ryan grinned as Sophie bit down on his lip slightly, before his hands let go of hers and slid down her side, resting on her hips for a few short moments before he bent down slightly and picked Sophie up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, barely missing a beat as his lips moved from her own lips, down to her jaw, planting a few kisses before his lips grazed their way down to her neck as he moved from the wall, and carefully made his way down the hall, closing the bedroom door with his foot. So much for taking things slow.

- - -

Sophie rolled over and sighed, wiping the sleep from her eyes as the previous evenings events flashed through her mind. She pulled the sheet closer to her body, and let her eyes fall on Ryan's bare back, which rose and fell with each breath he took. She rolled her eyes at the typicality of the position she found herself in, and carefully tiptoed to her closet. She slipped on a pair of underwear and a bra, before she located Ryan's shirt that had been discarded on the floor only a few hours earlier.

She crept out of the bedroom, cringing each time the floor boards squeaked even though she knew something like that would never wake Ryan. There was a tiny part of her that wished he would simply stay home today, rather than going to train, but she knew he would never do that, nor would she actually ask him to. She bumped hips with her roommate Ren, who turned and smiled at her before stirring the bowl of pancake mix.

“What time did you get home?” Sophie asked, pulling an apple from the fridge and sinking her teeth into it.

Ren turned and smirked knowingly at her, “Like ten minutes ago. What about you, have a good night with lover boy?”

Sophie chuckled for a short second before she said, “Oh yeah, loads. You know us, we always have fun.”

“Morning ladies.” Sophie and Ren turned as Ryan walked into the kitchen, running a hand through his dark hair. Sophie rolled her eyes at the fact that he couldn't be bothered to find another shirt, but rather chose to slip a pair of sweat pants on and leave it at that.

Sophie turned back to the counter and reached for a cup as Ryan pressed into her back, before he swiped his finger into the pancake batter. Ren turned and glared at him, but turned away the moment Ryan's hand hit Sophie's rear, causing the girl to jump slightly before she turned and slapped his chest. Ryan smirked and licked the batter from his finger before he grabbed a bottle of water and left the room.

Ren turned to Sophie and raised her eyebrow before she said, “Seems like you two had a really good night.”

Sophie shrugged and said, “It was...decent.”

Ren laughed, “Yeah, sure. I doubt you've had a decent night with Ryan since you two met.”

Sophie laughed and turned away from her friend, knowing this was in fact true, there was never really a dull moment between her and Ryan. There was always something. She made her way down the hall, and leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, smiling as Ryan turned to her as he put the cap on the mouthwash.

“What time do you think you're gonna be home tonight?” She asked him quietly.

Ryan turned to her as he reached into the medicine cabinet for his deodorant and shrugged, forcing her a light smile before he stated, “Not sure. Probably not until late, wanna work on some stuff today.”

Sophie nodded and allowed him to finish up before smiling lightly as he wrapped his arms around her softly. She rested her head on his chest, looping her arms lazily around his waist before she admitted, “Sometimes I really wish you didn't have to train so much. I miss you.”

Ryan nodded and leaned down, kissing her temple swiftly before he told her, “I know.”

Sophie let go of him, and followed him back out to the kitchen, before standing at the front door with him, waiting as he pulled his shoes on and slipped a baseball cap onto his head. Ryan turned to her, and pulled her closer to him by her hips, kissing her lips softly before he turned and closed the door behind him.

Sophie tried to be discrete about her feelings around Ryan, she knew putting the extra stress of knowing how unhappy she was, wasn't good for him, but it was days like this that made her resent everything he was. Swimming was Ryan's life, it had been since before she had even met him, and she understood that, but she hated that she barely got to see him. Sophie wasn't sure when the last time they had spend more than an hour together during the day, or the last time they had been on a real, sit down, date.

Sensing her mood Ren sat down on the couch, leaving her pancakes to get cold on the table, and wrapped her arm around Sophie, who slowly dropped her head onto Ren's shoulder. Ren sighed and said, “Sucks huh?” Sophie nodded and Ren continued, “I'm not trying to make you feel any worse but it doesn't get any easier.”

Sophie nodded, she could remember Ren in the days after her breakup from Ryan's close friend Jason, after the two had decided that it would be best to go their separate ways. The breakup had scared Sophie, because she had always assumed that Ren and Jason were solid, but knowing they broke up because Ren didn't want to distract Jason from his swimming was what scared Sophie the most. Jason was in no way even close to as focused as Ryan was.

“Doesn't mean I can't hope though right?” Sophie asked, holding onto the tiny amount of hope in her and Ryan that she had left.

Ren nodded and then asked the question she had been meaning to ask for a long time now, “Do think he's really training when he's gone for so long?”

Sophie stayed silent already, Ren didn't need any other type of confirmation other than Sophie's silence, but instead she got Sophie's vulnerable voice saying, “Honestly? No.”

“Then why don't you just ask him?”

Sophie chuckled, “Yeah, because Ry would just love that.”

Ren shook her head, “When the hell did you get so submissive to him?”

Sophie turned sharply, and pulled out of Ren's comforting grasp, “What's that supposed to mean?”

Ren shrugged and said a lot softer this time, “All I'm saying is that you used to be so much fun, you didn't give a shit what anyone, especially Ryan, thought. You were always the life of the party and if someone pissed you off you made sure they knew it. Now...honestly Soph now you just let him walk all over you. Three years ago you never would have sat by and let him do this to you, especially if you thought he was sleeping around on you.”

Sophie sighed and sat back on the couch before she admitted, “I just don't wanna lose him.”

Ren nodded, “Wouldn't it be better if you both treated each other right though? If losing him means that you two don't have to keep at this game anymore, then maybe that's for the better you know?”

Nodding, Sophie let her mind wander, wondering where exactly she and Ryan had stopped putting work into their relationship, and instead started competing with each other to see who could hurt the other the most.