In the kitchen, he wrote a small list on a piece of paper. “Here’s some money. It’s all the cash I have left on me after losing to Gary last night.” He
pulled a random mix of bills from his pocket and laid it on the table. “Use it!”
We waited by the back door in the pub kitchen for his driver. I punched in the numbers to shut the alarm off. “The code is 283091 and then you
hit this button here.”
He repeated the number. “You may have to remind me; I don’t know if I’ll remember it.”
“It’s my birthday but in reverse… remember? 19th of March in 82. You should at least remember the year.” I nudged him.
“I remember when your birthday is,” he droned kiddingly. “Do you remember mine?”
“November seventeenth.” I grinned. “Three more weeks.”
His driver honked once and he kissed me goodbye. “Got to go. I’ll call you later.” The annoying cameras started clicking the moment he stepped
one foot out the door.
By the time I reached the apartment door, I heard my cell phone playing Ryan’s ringtone.
“I forgot something,” he said, sounding a bit regretful.
I hurried to the kitchen. “You need me to add something to your list?” I already had the pen in my hand.
“No!” he said amusingly. “I forgot to tell you that I love you.”
My heart skipped another beat just hearing him say those words to me. “I love you too!” I whispered.
I plunked down in the kitchen chair and took a moment to revel in his words; his grocery list was still in my hand. I scanned over the items he
requested – typical items that you use every day – shampoo, razors, body soap, and contact lens solution. I chuckled when I read ‘man-scented
shave cream.’ Poor guy! All the products I had in my bathroom were definitely scented for women.
I did an inventory of the things I had on hand in the pantry and added a lot to his list. The last item he had noted was raisin bran cereal. His
needs were simple.
I turned my computer on to check the balance of my accounts before going shopping, just so I knew how carried away I could get. I pressed the
icon to open up my Internet connection; the second my finger clicked my mind flashed to Marie telling me I was on the Internet.
Search: Ryan Christensen
I hesitated before hitting Enter on my keyboard. My pinky finger hit the key anyway.
It was like opening up the floodgates to Hell. There were over sixty two million different hits for websites with his name. At the top of the page,
there were several items listed under “News results.”
Ryan Christensen’s steamy nights in Seaport
Ryan and Suzanne – their devastating breakup
Trouble in Paradise! Split could ruin the next Seaside
It’s Over! – Ryan moves on
Ryan’s New Love
I clicked the last selection and was redirected to some gossip news website in the UK. There was a picture of Ryan and me as we were coming
back from Cal and Kelly’s. I could tell when it was taken by which side of my body was facing the buildings. I read the article.
Ryan’s New Love
Ryan Christensen and Suzanne Strass may play star-crossed lovers on screen but fate has something else in mind for these two actors in
real life. Ryan has ended his almost two year relationship with Suzanne and is reportedly dating local Seaport, Rhode Island business owner,
Taryn Mitchell.
“Ryan met Taryn several weeks ago and is completely smitten,” says an insider. Ryan, 26, and Taryn, a 27-year-old New York native, have
been turning up the heat on their relationship. Ryan has been seen entering and exiting her apartment at all hours of the day and night and
has spent several all-nighters with the attractive blonde.
It was also reported that Ryan had all of his things removed from his private suite at the Lexington Hotel on Monday, where he had been
staying while on location, and had them delivered to Ms. Mitchell’s apartment. His reps have neither confirmed nor denied the relationship.
“Ryan has been disappearing a lot lately and has been spending less time with his co-stars,” says another insider, although last week we
reported that almost the entire cast spent several hours together at a private party hosted by Ms. Mitchell herself.
“Suzanne and Francesca left the party early and both appeared quite distraught. That’s the day Ryan let Suzanne know there was someone
else in his life now.”
I scrubbed my fingers through my hair. Even though the relationship rumors between Ryan and Suzanne were completely false, there was still a
lot of truth mingled in the article. God, most of this happened less than twenty-four hours ago and it was already in print! No wonder his manager
called yesterday. I clicked on another link.
Split could spell disaster for the Seaside movie series.
Timing could not have been worse for Ryan and Suzanne’s relationship to fall apart – Charles and Gwen’s relationship in the third installment
of Seaside is elevated to new intimate levels and is the primary focus of the story. “Everyone is worried that their off-screen relationship will
have damaging effects on their on-screen chemistry. If there is tension between the two of them it will certainly show in the film. The smallest
of changes can really destroy their amazing chemistry,” says a Seaside insider.
I spent the next hour searching him on the Internet. I was shocked to see how many photos there were of Ryan, along with thousands of other
pictures of him and Suzanne together. There were even a few fan-made websites devoted to worshiping his every move; the one website included
almost a day by day blog of his life.
I found that there were photos of me on several of the tabloid websites as well. Someone had taken several pictures of me walking down the
sidewalk alone; there were also pictures posted of Tammy and me taken the day my window was smashed. There were a lot of pictures of Ryan
and me from the night we went to Cal’s.
The general consensus indicated that I was nothing more than a home-wrecker, the reason why Ryan and Suzanne were being ripped apart. I
could all too clearly imagine the die-hard Seaside fans coming after me to burn me at the stake.
How convenient for me that they were already out on my sidewalk.
I thought about having to leave the apartment to go grocery shopping and panic welled in my veins. Will the paparazzi follow me into the grocery
store to report on what type of body soap I pick out for Ryan? I’d seen pictures of celebrities before and most of them were of the celebrities
outside, although the inside of airports seemed fair game; could they follow me inside the grocery store?
I looked out my front window; most of the street seemed clear, except for the normal traffic. Maybe Ryan was seen leaving this morning and the
paparazzi and obsessed fans followed him?
I took a shower and spent extra time fixing my hair and makeup, just in case. I took my time, fighting the urge to stay holed up in my apartment
instead of going outside… out there. I could understand why Ryan hid in his hotel room.
I put on my best jeans and my black low ankle boots with the chunkier two-inch heel – just in case I needed to run – and my black leather jacket
and sunglasses. I counted the money Ryan had left for me - one hundred and twenty dollars – and put it in my purse. Grocery list, purse, bank
deposit, keys, cell phone… bravery? Where did I leave my guts? Don’t let them decide for you, you can do this.
I paused by the back door, fixed the alarm, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the alley. That’s when the cameras began to click. About
five paparazzi followed me, asking me questions the entire way down the alley. I didn’t answer; I kept my focus on getting to my car. At one point I
found that I was almost able to tune out their questions by thinking about something else.