Fighting for Her

Tommy walked in to the house and saw his father, Paddy, watching an old wrestling tape from when Tommy was fourteen. He rolled his eyes at the sight and stomped upstairs without saying anything to his father. Today was great and he didn't want to ruin it by getting into another argument with his dad. Paddy called up the stairs but Tommy had already closed the bedroom door behind him.

He laid in bed thinking of Riley. How she hugged him, the little sounds she made when it started to rain. He smiled when he thought of her in his hat. He noticed it was still on her when he was getting out of the car but decided not to say anything because she looked cute in it.

Staring at the ceiling, he thought about going to see if she would be at her shop tomorrow. His eyes grew heavy as more thoughts of Riley flooded his mind. He had been getting up at 4:30 am everyday to train with Paddy all this week, so he was exhausted. Giving in to his sleepiness, he closed his eyes and dreamt of her that night.

------

The rain was heavy and Riley was soaking wet. Her hair stuck to her neck and shoulders. She pressed her hands against the hard chest looming in front of her. His muscles were perfectly sculpted underneath his shirt. It was clinging to his body, dripping wet. He stepped toward her, pushing harder on her hands. She took him by the sides of the shirt and pulled him closer. She felt his breath on her ear, her neck...

"Riley..."

He began slipping away from her. She stuck her arms out to reach for him, but he was getting farther and farther away.

"Riley..."

She began to run but felt unbalanced. She started to fall.

"RILEY!"

Riley jolted up and smacked something simultaneously.

"Jesus Ri!" Ryan stood back and rubbed his forehead.

Her eyes adjusted to the light in the room. "Ryan? What are you doing here?" She pulled the sheets closer to her suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable after dreaming about someone who was clearly not her boyfriend.

"I thought we could get some breakfast before you had to work since I missed dinner last night." Ryan sat on the side of her bed, smoothing out his jeans. Riley smiled and got up.

"Let me just get ready." She scanned the room for Tommy's hat.

Must be in the living room. She hoped.

----

Ryan opened the door for Riley once they arrived at the same diner she had been in yesterday with Tommy. It was Saturday, so it was a little busier than it was the day before.

"How was work yesterday?" Riley felt bad that she was silent the whole car ride over. Any kind of conversational started was needed right now.

"Uh, it was work babe. You know how it is." He was checking his e-mail, barely looking up.

"I get to paint a whole bedroom set today." She leaned her elbows onto the table and smiled with excitement.

"That's great babe." He looked up, flashed a smile and looked back down to his phone. Riley was used to this but was getting tired of it. She gazed at the table where she and Tommy had sat in. He barely took his eyes off her yesterday. She sighed.

"I also won the lottery and met the Queen of England last night." She cocked her head to the side.

"Very funny babe. I'm sorry, I'm just -"

"Busy. I know." Ryan was an investment banker in Pittsburgh, but was always traveling to Philly and NYC. Always working, always busy. But still he made time for Riley, even if it was just for a few days a week.

They ate quickly with surprisingly no interruptions. Riley's phone actually rang first, it was Anna.

"Hey girly. You're pieces are here." Anna spoke loudly into the phone, and then yelled at Max and Stephen for nearly dropping a piece of furniture.

"Okay, I'll be there."

"Toodles." Riley was thankful Anna didn't bring up Tommy over the phone. She must have really had her hands full at the shop.

"I should probably go to work, Anna sounds stressed."

Ryan was already on his phone, texting away. He set his phone down and threw money on the table without waiting for the check.

"Yeah they just texted from the firm so I better get down there too." He sat his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the car.

The drive was short, only a couple of minutes long. Ryan rested his hand on Riley's leg.

"Maybe we can get dinner tonight? I shouldn't be working too late." He squeezed softly, tickling her.

She let out a tiny giggle. "Okay, sure." Ryan pulled up to the curb and put the shiny silver car in park. He ran his fingers through the back of her hair.

"I miss you Ri." The moment was nice. The only sound was that of them breathing together. She remembered why she loved him so much. She instantly thought of the summer after their first year of college together. They had nothing but time back then.

Then his phone rang.

"Dean, yeah? Okay. Well I'm on my way. Its fine. Okay. Okay. Bye." He swiped his phone to end the call and got out of the car to open the door for Riley.

"I'll call you about tonight. Love ya babe." He pulled her in and kissed her quick. Ryan hopped in his sports car and sped off. Riley stood there for a moment before turning to go into the shop.

Tommy stood a few feet away and furrowed his brow at what he just saw. She had a boyfriend. He threw his hood up and ran.