“We’ll check everyone’s schedule and get back to you. Is that all right?” Cal asked.
“Sure. Just so you know I have entertainment booked for Friday and Saturday, but we can do a weeknight or Sunday if that suites you. Just give
me enough notice so I can get the steaks.”
We played for another hour; Marie started to yawn. “Are you ready? It’s getting late.” She grabbed Gary’s arm and started to pull him up out of
his chair.
“Oh man, been sitting too long… my hip hurts,” Gary moaned. “Marie, you’re going to have to get on top tonight!” He grinned.
Ryan and I could not stop laughing.
Everyone started shaking hands and having those brief “it was nice to meet you – see you later” conversations. Cal used his cell phone to call
for their driver. I was sad to see the night come to an end; it seemed to fly by so fast with Ryan here.
I walked my friends to the door and locked up behind them. Ryan and Cal would leave by the back door. Cal departed for the bathroom, leaving
me all alone with Ryan. I started to clean up.
“I had a really great time tonight.” Ryan smiled and set a few empty glasses on the bar. “Your friends are great.”
“Thanks!” I smiled back. “I’m sorry about the questions though.”
Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m glad everyone had fun,” I said, even though I truly meant I was glad that he had fun.
“I’ll call you when we figure out what night we can do this party gathering, okay? Um, so what number should I call?” Ryan asked.
I stopped in my tracks and smiled to myself.
“What number would you like to call?” I asked, knowing what he was truly getting at. I just wanted him to say it.
“I’d like the number that I asked for, but I’m not sure I’m going to get it,” he said. He grinned at me as he took a new Mitchell’s Pub napkin out of
the holder and turned it over.
I took a deep breath and picked up the pen next to the register. I questioned my own actions as I wrote my cell phone number down. My friends
were the only ones who had my cell number. I justified that he and I were becoming friends too.
Ryan’s smile was huge. “Thank you!” He quickly snatched up the napkin and shoved it in his pocket.
I walked both of them to the back door and Cal thanked me for an excellent evening. He gave me an awkward hug before putting his coat on.
Their car pulled up in the alley and Cal patted Ryan’s arm before heading out the door.
Ryan looked down at me and smiled as he took a step closer. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in to give me a nice
hug.S ensations, long suppressed, rocketed through me when our bodies touched. His body pressed into mine when he hugged me tighter. I allowed
myself a moment to appreciate his warmth, his scent, the feel of his back muscles on my hands, the enjoyment this hug gave me.
Ryan’s hand gently cradled the back of my head, his fingers slipped into my hair. He kissed me softly on my forehead; his lips lingered for an
extra second or two before he released our embrace.
“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered softly, took a few steps back, and slipped out the back door.
Chapter 5 – Connections
“So, did he try to kiss you last night?” Marie breathed in my ear.
“No.” I shook my head, annoyed that she even asked. “You promised!” I reminded her.
“Yeah, I know. I’m not pushing! I just wanted to know if that’s the reason you’re finally smiling. So he didn’t try to kiss you?”
I opened a new case of bottled beer. “No. He didn’t kiss me… on my lips.” I trailed the last part of my sentence hoping she wouldn’t catch it.
She started to jump up and down. “Come on! I’m dying here!”
“He gave me a hug, okay?” I quietly muttered. “And he sort of kissed my forehead.” I shrugged it off and continued to put more bottles into the
cooler.
“Remember, you can’t say anything to anyone about them being here. I’m not going to have my pub and my friends involved in any media circus.
Got that? Not one word!” I said to her privately.
She twisted her fingers over her lips and then cracked a cocky smile at me.
“I’m warning you! I’m pretty sure I can shove your entire body in this cooler. No one will find you in there!”
Marie ignored me and turned the TV channel in time to catch the seven o’clock entertainment news. Her excuse was to see if our pub made it to
the television version of celebrity gossip, but I knew better. My attention was diverted to the screen when I heard his name mentioned.
“We got Ryan Christensen arriving at LAX this afternoon...” some guy on TV said.
Ryan was filmed as he hurried through the airport. I was thankful that he had several security guards around him; the photographers and people
bugging him for his autograph were relentless. I wondered if those leeches did nothing all day but lurk around the airport waiting for celebrities.
“What’s he doing in L.A.?” Marie asked out loud. She seemed just as surprised as I was.
“Shh, I want to hear this,” I whispered.
Ryan’s face toggled between a blank stare and moments of annoyance as the cameramen who chased him asked him stupid questions. To
me, he looked tired. They managed to film him signing an autograph or two before he jumped into an awaiting car at the curb.
I was surprised that he was on the West Coast. He didn’t mention anything last night about getting on a plane today - but then again why would
he.
It was soon after that when my phone buzzed in my pocket. My thumb hit the buttons to retrieve a new text message. To my amazement,
someone sent me a beautiful picture of red and white flowers. I immediately smiled. I had never received virtual flowers before.
The text message read: “Greetings from LA”
Butterflies instantly fluttered into my stomach.
I texted him back. “Who is this?”
I didn’t want to let on that I knew where he was, even though I had only found out a few minutes ago.
I read his reply. “Knight who says Ni?”
I laughed out loud from Ryan’s movie reference. “You are funny. Why ru in LA?”
“Interview n meeting with my agent n producer b back thurs”
“R u having fun?” I sent back.
A few moments later, he sent another message: “not really”
“Sorry to hear that” I replied, adding a sad face emoticon.
“Can I call u later tonight?”
“Sure” I quickly typed.
It was almost three in the morning when I crawled into bed. Since Ryan and his friends had been in the pub on Saturday my customer count
seemed to rise. I laughed to myself considering most of the new crowd was female. As I lay there, I became quite absorbed in my thoughts of how
pathetic some of his fans were. One girl was even wearing a T-shirt with Ryan’s face on it tonight.
I wondered how Ryan felt about that. Most men would probably love the attention and get huge egos from it, but I couldn’t see Ryan being into
that at all. He was much too modest. I guessed things like that probably made him very uncomfortable.
Marie and I hustled again tonight, and it was only a Tuesday. I was thinking about asking Tammy if she wanted to work weekends to help out
while the celebrities were still in town. Once they were gone, things would go back to normal. But there were too many customers for just Marie and
me to handle on our own. Maybe I should hire some additional help? I could use a third bartender.
I started to yawn; my eyelids were very heavy. I pulled my comforter higher over my shoulder, snuggling even deeper. I felt myself drifting when I
was startled by my cell phone rattling on my nightstand. I looked at the number, but the screen showed “NO NUMBER.”
“Hello?” I whispered. My voice definitely sounded groggy when I spoke.