Love Unscripted
Page 128

For a moment everything went dim. I felt like I could pass out from hearing the confirmation that my picture was now on the Internet, forever associated to Ryan Christensen.
Ryan and Pete walked out of the kitchen; they were both laughing at something, although Pete looked a little worried.
I squinted at Ryan and gave him a questioning nod. He leaned over and spoke quietly in my ear.
“I gave Pete a few bucks for the plywood and I paid him for the pizzas. And I thanked him for being a great friend and for taking care of the window and everything.”
I squeezed his leg. Ryan was truly a good man, down to the core.
After we finished eating, we started our usual game of poker.
“How’s your business doing, Tammy?” Ryan asked somewhat over-casually, tossing his cards into the center of the table.
“Good! It’s hard to keep up though, trying to make all the food in our kitchen at home. Hopefully I’ll get a few more jobs and then we might be able to afford looking for a shop somewhere.”
“Why don’t you let her use your kitchen, Tar?” Ryan suggested. “You have that huge kitchen back there that you don’t use.”
My memory recalled conversations I had with Pete about that and the reasons why it never happened. I was also wise enough to sense I was being set up. I launched my counter-defense.
“I’ve thought about that before, Ryan, but the kitchen as it stands isn’t fit for cooking and baking. New gas lines need to be run and all the appliances need to be replaced. Even the copper piping needs to be removed and replaced. It’s an expensive disaster back there. That’s why I don’t serve food in the bar.”
“Well, look into it and see how much it would cost,” Ryan stated.
I shook my head, wondering why he cared and hoping he would let it go.
“What?” he asked.
I leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Please drop it. I can’t. I already have one huge loan I’m paying on for the renovations I did to the poolroom, stage, and sound system. I can’t afford it.”
“I’m sure we can figure something out,” he dismissed.
“Figure what out?” I wondered.
He tapped me in the foot and scratched his nose.
Several rounds of poker later, I was losing big-time. My game was off tonight; I had a hard time reading everyone’s tells. Ryan smiled devilishly every time he won more of my chips.
“A few more hands like this and you’ll have to ante with clothing,” Ryan slyly suggested, kicking me in the foot.
“I’m not drunk enough for strip poker,” I muttered.
Ryan abruptly sat up and joked, “Where’s the tequila?”
“Not so fast! I still have a few chips left!” I defended.
“Yeah, but not for long,” Ryan teased. “All you have to do is ask. I’ll be glad to loan you a few chips. We can even call it a favor if you’d like.”
I smirked at him.
“Speaking of favors…” Ryan continued, making his general announcement. “I have a favor to ask of all of you.” He looked around the table at my friends. “My parents are coming to town this Wednesday and they’ll be staying here until Monday. We want to take them to dinner and spend as much time as possible with them.” He smiled at me. “I was hoping you’d let me steal Taryn away for the entire weekend. Do you guys think you could handle a few days without her?”
I glowered at the table. I could not believe he just did that. He didn’t even give me an opportunity. I suppose he thought that I would chicken out.
“Of course!” Marie answered immediately.
I knew exactly what she was thinking just by the way she looked at me. It was a combination of “Oh my God” and “Holy Shit” followed by a lot of high-pitched, excited screams. This was a big step – Ryan freakin’ Christensen was introducing me to his parents.
I hadn’t even told her that he was sort of staying with me. That round of screaming would have to wait.
I had serious doubts whether or not they could handle Halloween weekend on their own. This was a big occasion for Mitchell’s Pub, and I felt guilty as sin for sticking them with it.
“I have bands booked for Friday and Saturday. Cory will be working every night this week too.” I looked at Marie and sighed. She smiled and winked at me.
“I can help out,” Tammy added. She was also grinning excitedly at me.
“Are you guys sure? I really feel bad…” I started my apology but Marie cut me short.
“Taryn! It’s okay! We can handle it. Pete will keep a head count. We’ll just make sure that we don’t overcrowd the place, that’s all,” Marie confirmed. “Besides, we can always post a sign out front that says he went away for the weekend so don’t bother looking for him in here.” She pointed at Ryan.