“I don’t know what to tell ya, Ryan. She just needs to be loved. You know, real love. She was hurt really bad a few months ago; I thought she’d
never let another man touch her again.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“Ahh, don’t say anything to Taryn, but she was dating this guy… I couldn’t stand him actually,” Pete admitted. “He was an asshole. I used to think
she put up with his crap because it took her mind off of dealing with the pain of losing her pop... I don’t know.
“We all suspected he was cheating on her, but when she’d confront him about it he’d always have an excuse. Then he’d turn it around on her,
making her feel like shit for even saying something.
“I thought she had just about enough of him, and then one day out of the blue the son-of-a-bitch has an epiphany; tells her he loves her and wants
to marry her – even got her a piece of shit ring.”
“Then what happened?” Ryan whispered.
I heard Pete clear his throat. He had lowered his voice to the point that it was almost hard to hear him. “She went over to his apartment one
afternoon and caught him in bed screwing some girl. That was that. She finally saw it with her own eyes. Took all that I had within me not to go over
there and crush his fucking skull.”
“She said something about some guy and how one woman wasn’t enough. Now I understand. She never told me she was engaged though.”
“Does it matter?” Pete questioned him.
“No. Not one bit. I just don’t know why she didn’t mention it to me.”
“Well, it’s pretty obvious to me. You’re not just some guy, Ryan! You’ve got girls lining up all around the world for you. You don’t think something
like that isn’t going to make whatever girl you’re with a bit insecure?
“Taryn is up there just hanging on by a thread, waiting for you to bolt the minute you find someone else. Tell you the truth, we’re all kind of
preparing for that day.”
“I can tell you that that isn’t gonna happen. That woman up there is mine. I’m never going to let her go. In my mind, there is no one else,” Ryan
declared.
I felt a slight rush in my chest and gasped from hearing him say that.
“Well, I hope what you say is true. I mean you’ve only known her for a couple of weeks,” Pete stressed, a hint of doubt etched his voice.
I heard a glass bottle clink on the counter.
“You want to know why she’s fighting you?” Pete asked somewhat harshly. “Because she is smart enough to know that the day will come when
you’re not here every day. You’ve got more opportunities than most men could ever dream of to meet women. You don’t even have to try to get laid -
there’s a whole selection waiting and willing right out there on her sidewalk!
“Taryn is an intelligent, attractive woman. Let me tell ya, she’s not without opportunities of her own. You should see how many guys drool over
her every day.”
“I know. I’ve seen plenty of them hit on her,” Ryan admitted.
“Yeah, they do. But she’s not like that – she never was. And when some dirt bag from Seaport didn’t think enough of her not to cheat on her,
what’s to say you won’t do the same?” Pete asked.
“When you’re out there doing your thing and some hot model climbs on your lap and sticks her tits in your face… you gonna be able to resist
that?
“This is her life here, Ryan. This is her stability. It’s the only thing she can count on in this world. She struggled and suffered for every bit of it.
And you come in here, taking that over.
“When you break up with her, every time she looks at that new wall or that new door…
“Ah, just do us all a favor - if you aren’t one hundred percent in love with Taryn and ready to make a life with her, then stop. Don’t do what you’re
doing. Please don't hurt her like that.”
“Pete, I don’t want to take anything over or hurt her,” Ryan said somberly. “I want to share everything I have with her. My life, my money… I want
her to be the mother of my children one day.”
I flinched back from the shock of hearing his admission.
I heard Ryan sigh loudly. “Pete, I know you don’t know me that well but believe me, I’m done with the meaningless shit. I’ve been crazy about
Taryn since the first…”
Since the first what? I leaned closer to the wall to hear him.
“Huh. I just realized something. She has been taking care of me since the first day that I met her. Not even - from the first ten seconds of me
setting foot in this place. Knowing Taryn, she probably never told you the real story of how we met.
“She stopped the fans that were chasing me. She shut this whole place down for me, and here she is… doing it again. No wonder she’s so sad
today. I’m messing with her safety net. Oh fuck, how do I fix this?”
“I don’t know,” Pete muttered. “Marry her? Never leave her for some Hollywood slut? What kind of answer are you looking for?”
“Pete, I’m so in love with her and I’ve told her that already. I’ve never felt this way before, about anyone. I know what I want. I want a life with her.”
“I know Ryan. I can tell just by the way you look at her.” Pete sighed heavily. “Oh, man, well, just treat her right ‘cause I’d hate like hell to have to
break that nice jaw of yours if you ever break her heart.”
Chapter 20 - Insight
“I’ll be filming when you pick my parents up, so I’ll call you when I get a break,” Ryan said, rubbing the shampoo in my hair.
I leaned back to rinse under the water. “I thought I’d take them to lunch near the set; there’s a really nice restaurant down by the pier.”
“Just so you know… my dad is going to insist on paying for lunch. It will offend him if you argue.” He looked at me with a knowing smirk on his
lips.
“Like father, like son?” I asked jokingly, rubbing the soap bubbles on his chest.
“Exactly! But when we take them to dinner tomorrow, he’ll pass the check to me - just watch. Hey, do you want to bring them to the set this
afternoon instead? I’d really like you to see what I do for a living, since you won’t watch any of my movies.”
“I don’t know,” I murmured. “Won’t that cause problems with you-know-who?”
Ryan grimaced at me. “I don’t care. I want my girlfriend... my love,” he looked me in the eyes, “to know what I do and where I go every day. I want
you to trust me. I need you to trust me, Taryn.”
“Are you sure it won’t disturb you or ruin your performance? I don’t want to mmm-”
His wet mouth was locked on mine, stopping my words in mid stream.
“Please.” He kissed me again softly, resting his forehead on mine. “I need you to understand what I do. I need you to see that when I’m on set,
I’m an actor. That what I do is pretend. My lips, my heart, and my body… they belong to you.”
I looked up at him and nodded. After eavesdropping on his conversation with Pete, I knew he wanted me to trust him.
“Do I have to make a poster and scream Ryan, Ryan?” I kidded.
“Hah!” He laughed. “The only time I want to hear you scream my name is when I’m making love to you. Although you did call me God the other
night. That’s acceptable, too.” He leaned down and gave me another kiss.
I put on my nice dark trouser jeans, white long sleeved cotton top, with my brown suede zip jacket and a soft green scarf wrapped around my
neck. I wanted to look nice the first time I met his parents, and I was nervous since I was meeting them alone.
We had agreed that I would bring his parents to see him in action tomorrow. Ryan showed me a picture of his mom and dad to help me
recognize them easier, although I must admit it was hard to commit a picture flashed at me to memory. Both of his parents were in their upper fifties