“Well, you see our coffee table?” He glances over his shoulder into the living room. “I made that.”
“Really?” he asks, seeming impressed. “It looks expensive, like you got it from a fancy store.”
“It’s a Pottery Barn dupe. What should have cost me nine hundred dollars only cost me sixty-three dollars and thirty-three cents.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
“You know how to say all the right things, Bisley.”
“It’s the truth. You impress me.”
“Not sure how. It’s not like I have the second-best batting time in the professional leagues.”
He chuckles. “Second-best batting average in the Majors, and everyone is impressive in their own way.”
“Okay, so tell me how I’m impressive?” While he decorates his rock with orange paint, I continue to snack on pretzels—dipped in peanut butter, of course.
“For one, you’re painting rocks for the Children’s Hospital on your day off. You are loyal, hold strong to your morals, look for the good in people, and don’t take shit even from one of the most popular baseball players in Chicago.”
“Doesn’t seem impressive to me. Seems pretty average.”
His hand connects with my chin, and he gently turns my head to look him in the eyes. “It’s impressive, Myla. Not many people can say they hold strong to what they believe in, or that their loyalty is impenetrable. Very fucking impressive.”
I will tell you something right now. When I woke up this morning and decided to paint rocks, the last thing I expected was for Ryot Bisley to sit across from me, taking time to help me see the value I offer to this crazy world.
But on top of that, with those dangerously handsome eyes of his, I never expected for my heart to flutter, my mind to whirl, and my soul to take charge—and that this would be the moment I start to fall for Ryot Bisley.
“Okay, so where are you from again?” I ask as I cuddle up on the couch with Ryot only a few inches away from me. We painted three rocks together, ate half a bag of pretzels, and guzzled two glasses of water. An eventful afternoon if you ask me. And for some reason, after we cleaned up, I didn’t want him to leave, so I asked if he wanted to stay for dinner. He said yes with one of his nipple-melting smiles, so we ordered Chinese for delivery.
“Bright Harbor, Maine. It’s a small town on the coast. Have you ever seen those Lovemark movies, the Christmas ones that everyone raves about every year?”
“Uh, have I heard of them?” I raise my hand. “Avid watcher over here.”
“Aw, then you would be happy to know, the neighboring town is Port Snow, where many Lovemark movies have been filmed. Sometimes, the filming has overflowed into Bright Harbor.”
“Really?” I excitingly ask. “That’s so cool. Have you ever seen them film there?”
“No, didn’t happen until after I left. But my sister, Nola, and my parents have stood on the sidewalk while they’ve filmed.”
“Nola, I love that name. So just two siblings? Nola and Banner?”
“Yup,” he answers. “Nola is the oldest, Banner is the youngest, and I’m the dedicated middle child. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any childhood complexes of growing up as the middle child. My parents were pretty cool about splitting up their time equally.”
“And your parents still live in their original home you said.”
“Yes. They were thinking about an old community where people their age live, but the thought of an old-person community village made them cringe.”
“I can only imagine the kind of trouble that occurs in the village. I used to volunteer at a senior center in Phoenix, and if the thirteenth ever fell on a Friday, the staff knew the willies were coming out.”
“What do you mean?” He laughs as his arm extends along the back of the couch. If he reached to the right, he could twirl my hair in his finger.
“I mean, the men would strip down naked, a few women would join them, and then they’d parade around the hall, warding off all evil with their nakedness.”
“Fuck, are you serious?” He laughs.
“Yes. Some of them rode bikes around the center, and I’m going to tell you right now, once you see a pair of old man balls squished on a bicycle seat, you will never unsee it.”
He shivers. “Can’t imagine that sitting well in your mind.”
I shake my head. “I can still see it. Like an aged snail attempting to come out of its shell.”
“Ew, fuck.” We both laugh.
But his laugh is hearty. It’s very attractive, just like everything else about him.
“It seems you’re close with Banner, since he moved with you.”
“Very close. He’s my best friend. He always said where I go, he would go, and that’s how it’s been ever since I moved out to Phoenix.”
“Is there a reason?” I ask.
His fingers gently press along my shoulder, sending chills all the way down my spine. “I think he feels safe around me. He had a different childhood than mine. I was the star athlete, and he was the computer nerd. He was picked on, teased, and got into a few fights at school because he’s just . . . different. He has a different way of thinking, and I was the one who stuck by him. Defended him. Made sure no one touched him. He graduated early, because he’s really fucking smart and, instead of going to college—there wasn’t much he could learn that he hadn’t already taught himself—he worked on coding. He worked twelve- to fourteen-hour days at times until he developed his first real app.”
“What did it do?” I ask, totally unaware of how smart Banner is. I just assumed he played the hot nerd role with Nichole—the best-sex-she’d-ever-had hot nerd.
“Some banking exchange thing that a company in Japan bought from him.” Ryot slowly draws a circle over my shoulder. “It meant he didn’t have to get a nine-to-five job, which of course my parents were worried about when he moved out to Phoenix with me. For those first few years, he totally supported my ass because baseball players barely make enough to eat in the minor leagues.”
“Wow, I had no idea. I guess I just assumed you got paid the same all around.”
Ryot laughs and shakes his head. “No, not even close. It’s why so many guys room with each other in the minors, because they can’t afford to live alone. Thankfully, Banner was there for me.”
“You’re lucky to have him. I love your relationship.”
“You would have loved it when we were kids. We weren’t always as close as we are now. Before Banner started getting picked on, we constantly tried to get each other in trouble with our parents. It got to the point that whenever one of us did something, my parents grounded us both.”
“Ooo, I bet that made you rethink your decisions.”
“It did. That’s how we became so close, because it was no longer us against each other, it was us against our parents.”
“What about your sister?”
“She was always the goody two shoes. She’s been a prime example of how to be the picture-perfect child growing up. Banner and I couldn’t make it that easy on our parents, so we gave them a run for their money.”