18. Alan

Chapter eighteen

Alan

The next few games, we don’t get to spend much alone time together at all, but with the guys knowing about us, Ryan’s been able to hang when we catch up outside of the team stuff.

“So what’s this ranch like?” Duckie asks as we sit around the large wood table at Brend’s Steak House. The second we walked through the door, I knew I was going to like this place. The scent of wood and sizzling meat tickles my nose and reminds me of home.

“A lot like this actually,” I say, looking around at the wooden walls, floors, and furniture. “My family built the place forever ago and other than the obvious additions of modern technology and plumbing, it’s stayed pretty much as it was when it was first crafted.”

“Are there horses? I’ve always wanted to ride a horse. I reckon I’d be awesome at it. Ohhh bulls, can we ride bulls?” Duckie asks.

“Horses, yes, bulls, no. Or at least I don’t think so. But just so we are clear, if there is a bull, you won’t be riding it.”

“We’ll see,” he says, finishing off his beer and refilling it from a jug in the middle of the table.

“There are some pictures online,” Ryan says, turning his phone for the others to see. My brothers set up a webpage to help with bookings, and Ryan scrolls through the pictures of the online gallery. “There are twelve cabins on the property they’ve added for guests and the main house is kept more for family.”

“So, where are we staying?” Duckie asks.

“Nial booked us all the cabins, but if we need more room, they’re happy for us to stay in the main house, too. You just have to let me know who’s coming.”

“You’re bringing Gramps, too, right?” Ryan asks, and Harrison makes a choking sound on his beer.

“You’re getting the old guy to leave his apartment? No way. How did you manage that?”

Gordon and a few of the others look confused.

“My grandfather lives next door to Duckie, Ian, and Ryan. He’s become sort of a homebody for, well, years now. He only goes out if he has to, and it’s a big drama even then. I still don’t think he’ll come.”

“He told me yesterday he’s coming. He ordered a special cat travel thing for Precious and everything,” Ryan says, and Harrison raises his brows with a cheeky smile.

“You and the old guy getting along then?” he asks Ryan.

“We talk. He’s at the window across from my room all the time with Precious. Why?”

“No reason. I guess the only thing he would really say to me was to tell me I need curtains and to get a real job.”

I laugh. “Yeah, Don can be…fun. He asked about the curtains once, but after a bit, he said not to bother. I guess the view improved.”

“Fuck you. I’m fabulous to look at.”

Ryan looks at me, a half smile on his lips, but a nervousness in his eyes like he doesn’t want to say the wrong thing here. I know he had a thing for Harry ages ago, but I don’t care. I stretch my arm over Ryan’s shoulder, and his blush deepens.

“It’s okay, Ryan. You can tell Harry he’s pretty. He needs to hear it more and more the older he gets.”

Harry gains insult, clutching at his chest, but Duckie is looking at my arm around Ryan with a raised brow and a smirk. I immediately pull it away, grab my drink to take a sip, trying to act like it was nothing before I turn my attention back to Harry. “As pretty as you are, Ryan is British. He has the whole Tom Hardy thing going for him. Gramps always said the Brits are the only ones who know how to speak properly. My Gran was from London, too. He tried to pick her up in a pub in town and she called him a cheeky fella and that was that.”

“Really? That’s what hooked him? Cheeky fella,” Ryan says, and the whole table looks his way.

“Okay, I hear it now,” Harrison says with a chuckle, and the guys all agree, then start asking him to pronounce all sorts of things. I love Ryan’s accent, it’s smooth and dreamy, and I have no idea how the others didn’t notice how amazing it is until now.

Nights like this are what I want all the time, only I want them to end with us going home together, not to separate hotel rooms we’re sharing with two other guys.

***

“I guess I’ll see you on the bus?” I say when we get back to the hotel.

“I can’t wait to get back to Savannah. I miss my bed.”

“Me, too. It’s cool they have us returning to play for our home crowd through the tour. They really are the best.”

“And we will finally get some proper alone time.”

“Sort of,” I say, and he frowns.

“Why sort of?”

“Well, I live with my sister, and you live with Duckie and Ian, oh and across from my Gramps, and there are no curtains.”

That gets a laugh out of him.

“Right. Blimey, I guess going home won’t make things that much easier.”

Is this too hard for him? I know we agreed to keep this a secret, well, secret from the public and most of the teams, at least until the tour is over, but it is hard remembering to keep my distance. He walks by me, and I want to take his hand in mine, and it pains me that I can’t. Being at home should make things easy, but it doesn’t. What if he decides that I’m not worth this much trouble?

“Hey,” he says, stepping closer. It’s dark and late, and we’re outside the hotel, but I still look around to make sure no one is watching us. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he asks, and I swear, I want to melt into his arms.

“I guess I was worrying this might all be too hard.”

“You… is it too hard for you?”

“No. Fuck no,” I say, my pulse doubling instantly. I close the distance between us and take his hands in mine. “I was worried it was too hard for you .”

“It’s not,” he says, and my racing heart starts to slow. “Nothing will ever be too hard, not for us.”

“Are you sure?”

He glances to the left, then right, then pushes up on his toes to kiss me. It’s over way too quick and my heart is beating a million times a minute when it’s over, but it brings the same warmth to my chest that it always has, and I smile.

“So we’re okay?” I ask, and he releases my hands slowly, stuffing them into his pockets.

“We’re good. We’ll figure it out. That’s what couples do, right? They work stuff out together?”

He bites his lip in a way that makes me want to kiss him so badly.

I glance around. No one is outside, but the street is lit well enough that someone could see us.

“What is it?” he asks.

“I want to kiss you again, but I don’t think out here is the best idea.”

“How about we check out the gym?”

“It’s a bit late for a workout, don’t you think?”

“Exactly. It should be empty. I’d like to kiss my boyfriend goodnight before I go to bed.”

I follow him inside, praying the entire way to the gym that there is no one there.

***

Landing in Savannah, we’re greeted by the home crowd we love so much. Fans and family have all turned out to welcome us. We’ll be here for a little over a week, play three games, and then fly out again to continue the tour.

I grab my bag from the carousel and immediately see Kelly waving me over.

“Thank god you’re back,” she says, wrapping me in a tight hug.

“Why?”

She lets me go and grabs Ryan on his way past, pulling him into an even tighter hug.

“Oh my God, I am so happy to see you,” she says, and I look around to see if anyone is watching, because if anyone sees them, I am fucked. After all, I have no explanation for why my sister is hugging Ryan in the middle of the airport.

“Umm, Kell, you can let him go now,” I say, taking my sister’s arm and almost prying it off my boyfriend. Even in my head, I love the way that sounds.

“Sorry, but you have no idea what it’s been like the last two weeks.”

“We’ve been gone for four,” I correct her.

“Yeah, but Gramps ate through all of Ryan’s meals in two, so who do you think has had to hear about it for two weeks straight?”

Ryan laughs. “I’m glad he enjoyed them. I’ll make him up some more before we fly out again.”

“Seriously, you need to teach me how to make them because I tried to make the casserole thing and the shepherd’s pie, and neither went over well.”

“Why didn’t you just buy him some frozen dinners?” I ask, and she starts waving her hands around.

“Oh, don’t even get me started on that. I tried to stock him up with frozen meals. You know what he did with them?”

“What?”

“He threw them out the window and down into the dumpster. Said he would rather starve than eat that trash anymore. Told me to call the mortuary and prepare the casket because he was on his way.”

I can’t help but laugh at that one, too.

“Ryan, look what you’ve done to my sister,” I say, and he blushes a beautiful rosy glow. “She was the cool and collected one when we left.”

She sighs and drapes one arm over Ryan’s shoulder, leaning her head against him.

“Please, can you teach me how to cook, because I don’t think the authorities will believe me when I tell them he jumped from the window?”

“What’s this all about?” Harry asks, sidling up beside us. Most of the team have already left the airport luggage section.

“Ryan is going to teach me to cook,” Kelly says, letting Ryan go again to place her hands together in front of her, begging him with her pleading gaze.

“I can give you the recipe, and we can go through it tonight. I was planning on cooking up a shepherd’s pie, anyway.”

“Seriously, oh my god, you are amazing.”

Harry slaps a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “What I’m hearing is dinner at Kelly’s?”

“Yes,” Kelly replies before I can shut it down. “You should invite all the guys. We haven’t had them over in forever.”

“Yeah, like never,” I say, and she frowns and waves a hand in my direction.

“You used to have them over at your place all the time. I keep telling you to treat my place as your place for as long as you want. This is good. Ryan, you and I will go shopping for ingredients. Alan, you go check on Gramps. I’m not visiting him until I have a Ryan dish in my hands.”

“I’ll invite Arlo and text the guys,” Harry says.

“Where is Arlo?” I ask, and Harry smiles wide and proud.

“He’s at the library teaching a bunch of niblets to draw their pets as cartoon characters.”

Kelly gushes. “Aww, that’s so sweet. We should get him to do a drawing of Precious for Gramps. Does he take commissions?”

“I’m sure he’d do it for free. We can ask him tonight. He’s in for dinner. Texting the guys now. See you all later,” Harry says, walking away.

“You don’t have to cook for everyone. We can order pizza or something,” I say to Ryan as Kelly grabs his bag from his hand and loops it over her shoulder.

“Yes, he does. He said it was fine. I’ll carry this, you start on the grocery list. Come on, Alan, we’ll drop you at Gramps’s on the way.”

“Great,” I reply as Ryan smiles my way, then pulls out his phone and starts typing a list on his notes app. “Can’t wait.”