Tumble and Fall

Danni was waiting in front of the hostel when Ryan pulled up. She waved when he saw him and rushed over to his truck, hopping in. Her smile was wide and it made Ryan smile too. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a long sleeved sheer button down purple blouse with black polka dots over a black tank top. She had simple black flats on her feet and her hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

“Hey,” she said once she was buckled.

Ryan swallowed and licked his lips, praying his voice didn't break when he answered her. “Hey.”

“So one of the people that works here told me that Dadeo’s is like right around the corner.”

“I put the address in my GPS. We should be there in like two minutes.”

“Awesome. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I was just wandering around and got so caught up that I lost track of time.” Truthfully, Danni had ventured into a coffee shop after leaving Ryan’s and was thumbing through the local paper when a want ad caught her eye. She had called the number and made an interview for the next day. She just wasn’t ready to tell Ryan yet but she was taking finding the want ad as a sign and she was following through on it.

They found the restaurant and Ryan parked. He looked over to Danni who reached for her door handle. “Don’t move,” Ryan told her as he got out and rushed around to her door. She took the moment to admire him, his boyish good looks coupled with his blue polo shirt and dark blue jeans were downright sinful and he didn't even know it. He opened the door and held his hand out to her, helping her climb down.

Danni smiled, slipping her arm through his as they walked inside. They got a table, the hostess recognizing Ryan as she moved them through the restaurant to seat them. She batted her eyes and smiled at him and Danni could sense his unease. Danni slid her hand down his arm to wrap her fingers tightly around his.

“Thank you,” Danni said, her voice dripping in a haughty tone when they reached the table. She shot a pointed look at the girl as Ryan gripped her hand tighter and she glared back at Danni before turning on her heel and walking away.

“Sorry,” Ryan said as Danni slid into the booth. She patted the spot beside her and Ryan sat beside her. She squeezed his leg.

“It’s all right. I should’ve expected it. Maybe next time I’ll just cook you dinner.”

“Justin will stick around if he hears you’re cooking.”

“I can cook for both of you, I don’t mind,” she smiled. They grabbed their menus and looked them over, ordering when their waiter walked over. They settled into a casual conversation with one another and when their food came, they ended up eating off of each others plates as they talked and laughed. After Ryan paid the bill, he stood and offered his hand to her, lacing their fingers together as they exited the restaurant.

“You ready for that rematch?” Ryan asked as they walked through the streets of downtown.

“I’m ready. Are you ready?”

Ryan laughed. “You’re going down.”

“Think again, buster. I will not lose this time.”

“We’ll see.” They reached the course from the night before and Ryan paid as Danni grabbed two balls and her putter. Ryan grabbed one for himself and followed Danni out to the second of three courses they had.

“Ladies first,” Ryan said with a half bow to her. She lined up in concentration and shot up the green, her ball settling several feet from the hole. She frowned and waited on Ryan, who lined up, tapped his ball up the green, only for it to sail right into the cup.

“You suck,” Danni muttered as he did a little jig at the tee. She knocked her ball into the hole as Ryan pulled the scorecard from his pocket and wrote down their score for that hole. She strode ahead of him, setting her ball down and letting it sail up the green on the second hole, landing in the hole on her first swing.

“Yes!” she shouted, shaking her hips from side to side. “Booyah!” She said to Ryan as he walked up behind her. He shook his head at her as she danced from foot to foot beside him, waiting to see where his shot would land. She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face when it took him three strokes to sink his ball.

They traded the lead back and forth through the game several times, Danni leading by a stroke when they reached the last hole. Ryan went first, landing his ball in the hole in one shot.

He dropped his putter to the ground and turned to Danni, sliding an arm around her waist and kissing her before he could even process what he had done. “No pressure,” he smirked as he pulled away from her.

“Are you trying to distract me?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“Me?” he asked innocently. “I never.”

She glared at him for a moment before turning away from him and setting her ball at the tee. She studied the hole and then very carefully lined up her shot and let it sail, where it landed with a clunk in the hole.

“Yes bitches!” Danni shouted in triumph. She jumped up and down with excitement. “I beat you!”

“Best two out of three,” Ryan reminded her. “We’re all tied up.”

“What are you waiting for then? Go pay for another round. We’ve got one more course to conquer, winner take all.”

Danni giggled as Ryan opened the door to his condo, her arm threaded through his and carrying a carton of ice cream. Three heads swiveled in their direction as Ryan pushed the door closed and Danni veered into the kitchen to collect a pair of spoons. She pushed the drawer shut and then on second thought, pulled it open and pulled out three more spoons. Opening the cupboard above her, she found bowls and pulled out four of those. She found a serving spoon in another drawer and silently doled ice cream out to the four bowls. Ryan joined her and she passed three bowls to him and he wordlessly deposited them on the coffee table in the living room before taking a seat in the oversized chair.

Danni brought over the fourth bowl and the half empty carton, handing the bowl to Ryan and keeping the carton for herself. She turned and judged the other three who were side by side on the couch, just watching her with their game paused. She pushed Justin over and squeezed in next to him. “Hey buddy,” she said brightly. “Good times with these two? No hot date?”

“I’m still waiting for you to set me up with one of your friends,” he answered, grabbing a bowl for himself as Danni stuck her spoon in the carton.

“You’ll be waiting awhile stud; all my friends are in Philly.”

Taylor frowned. “Philly? Why are your friends in Philly?”

“Because that is where I’m from,” she replied.

“You’re a Flyers fan?”

“Born and raised.”

“We can not be friends,” Justin told her.

“That’s cool. I don’t want to be friends with you anyways.”

“I’ll still be friends with you,” Jordan spoke up.

“You are invited to dinner then.” He smiled.

“We weren't introduced last night; I’m Jordan by the way, he’s Taylor. You’ll now the difference because his lips are huge.”

“That and you know, your smirk melts panties,” Danni said.

“How are yours?”

“Still intact. But keep trying, it’s cute,” she joked. “How many times a day do women tell you that gap is sexy?” Jordan laughed, a bright smile on his face.

“I like her,” he said to Ryan.

“Me too,” Ryan thought to himself.

“You cook?” Taylor asked.

“I cook,” Danni said.

“What do you cook?”

“Food.”

“No shit.”

Danni smiled and stood up. “See you guys later.”

“Where are you going?” Taylor asked.

“Ryan and I are gonna watch a movie.”

“We could all watch a movie; we were just talking about watching a movie.”

“We were?” Jordan asked, earning him a hard elbow to the gut from Taylor. “Yeah, we were,” he groaned.

Danni looked to Ryan who shrugged. “It’s fine with me,” he said. He liked how at ease she was with his friends. He spent a lot of time with these guys and he wanted them to get along. Then he stopped and thought about what he was thinking. Him and Danni weren’t, were they? He pushed it from his mind and focused on what was going on in the living room.

Jordan stood and Danni quickly slipped into his place. She motioned to Ryan who came over and sat beside her. “Pick a movie, Justin.”

“Why does Justin get to pick?” Jordan whined as he left the room.

“Because he lives here!” Danni called after him.

“Yeah, dude, because I live here,” Justin yelled, standing up. Danni pushed Ryan over into his place and then leaned against him, stretching her legs out across the space they had been occupying.

“And also because then I can get comfortable,” Danni added with a smile. Ryan put his arm around her shoulder as she made herself at home against him. He couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face.

Jordan walked back into the room and took the chair Ryan had vacated. Justin popped a movie into the DVD player and Taylor moved over, lifting Danni’s feet and laying them in his lap as Justin took the other end of the couch.

They were halfway through the movie when Taylor absently began to rub one of Danni’s feet, massaging it for a good ten minutes before he realized what he was doing when Justin elbowed him in the side and shot him a look. He stopped and Danni looked over at him. She wiggled her other foot at him and with a grin, he massaged it as well for another ten minutes. When he was done, Danni smiled at him and moved away from Ryan, kissing Taylor’s cheek before moving back to Ryan’s side. She tucked her feet underneath her and laid her head against Ryan’s chest. Taylor frowned as Ryan bent his head to whisper in her ear and he saw red when she rested her hand on his chest, leaning up and then close to his ear to whisper back.

“If you can’t share it with the group, then don't say it all,” Jordan said from his chair. Danni stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t do that unless you plan to use it. I’ll sic Hallsy on you.” Ryan tightened his hold around Danni’s shoulders as Taylor perked up.

“Bite me, Ebs,” Danni said.

“When and where?” Ryan threw the nearest thing he could find at Jordan, which happened to be a controller for the Xbox. “Hey!” Jordan shouted, throwing his hands up to protect himself from the incoming object.

“If you children don't behave, I’m throwing you all out,” Justin announced.

“You can't kick me out; I live here,” Ryan pointed out.

“And you can't kick me out because you love me,” Danni added matter of factly.

“I can still kick these other two out.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Taylor protested.

“You’re not even the oldest,” Jordan said.

“Who is the oldest?” Danni asked.

“I am,” Jordan answered.

“By not even two months,” Justin said. “Doesn’t count.”

“How old are you Jordan?” Danni asked.

“23.”

“When's your birthday, Justin?” she asked him.

“July 6.”

“We established this morning that we're the same age but I was born June 14 so I’m older than you too.”

“You’re older than Nuge?” Taylor asked her.

“Yep.”

“I just assumed you were the same age, maybe younger. You look younger. You’re 22?”

“I’m 22. I just graduated college. Am I older than you?”

Taylor nodded. “I’m 21.”

“You’re legal at least.”

“I’ve been legal for a couple years.”

“I mean in the states dumbass.” She grabbed a pillow from the back of the couch and hit Taylor in the head with it. He grabbed it, pulling Danni into his lap and he hit her back with the pillow before tickling her. She laughed and squirmed out of his lap and back to Ryan.

“You’re lucky Ryan is holding me back,” she said, putting Ryan’s arm around her. “Otherwise I’d kick your ass. I’m quite dangerous when I need to be.”

“I don’t believe you but if you wanna go, I’m down.” He licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. Ryan pulled her against him protectively and Danni turned to kiss his cheek. Ryan blushed at her touch.

“Shut up,” Jordan said, throwing a pillow at Taylor. Justin biffed him in the back of the head and glared at him.

“Knock it off,” Justin warned lowly as Danni whispered in Ryan’s ear again. “Nuge saw her first.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know what she wants yet.”

“I think they look pretty happy so stop. I mean it. It’s not cool.”

Taylor folded his arms across his chest and started straight ahead, no longer paying attention to the movie on the TV. He could only think about the hot brunette that was curled into his friend, his teammate.

As soon as the movie ended, Taylor stood and walked over to Jordan, kicking him lightly in the shin. “You ready to go?” Danni had fallen asleep about twenty minutes before the end of the movie and she was curled contentedly in Ryan’s side. Jordan looked over at them and then to Justin who only shook his head.

“Get the hell out of here,” Justin said, pointing at the door. “Let me take her,” he said to Ryan, motioning towards Danni. Instinctively, Ryan held her tighter. “If you try to stand up with her you’ll wake her up. I’ll take her to your room. Scouts honor.” He stood and Ryan relaxed as Justin bent, picking Danni up in his arms. She stirred but remained asleep.

“Is she coming to tomorrow’s game?” Jordan asked as he and Taylor headed for the door.

“I don’t know....I didn’t ask her. I’m not sure how long she’s staying. She’s just passing through and traveling around this summer,” he answered.

Jordan smiled and clapped his hand around Ryan’s shoulder. “I bet if you ask she’d stay awhile. In the meanwhile, start by asking her to come tomorrow. I’ll loan her one of my jerseys.”

“Or mine,” Taylor added with a shrug. “You know how girls like options.”

Justin stepped back out into the hall, catching the tail end of the conversation. “If she wears any jersey that isn’t Ryan’s it will be mine. End of discussion. Now get out of here.” He opened the door and ushered the other two out and closed the door behind them. He turned to Ryan with a serious expression.

“You need to be clear with Hallsy that Danni is with you. He likes her and you know how he is. He will do anything he can that he thinks will win her over. He’s a charming little shit, I’ll give him that, but she’s yours, Ryan. You have to tell him to back off.”

“What if she likes him though?”

“In case you didn't notice, it was you she was glued to all night. If she liked Taylor she would have left with Taylor. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about and in fact, I'm sure she can handle herself when it comes to him but I’m telling you that privately, you need to stake your claim to Taylor. Otherwise he is going to pursue her.”