had incredible sex’ written on your foreheads!” She motioned the words with her hand.
Ryan and I laughed as he squeezed me tighter. “It was beyond incredible,” he whispered in my ear and kissed me on the neck.
Pete walked into the bar with another box of food, noting Ryan’s hold on me. A not-so-nice word slipped from his lips.
Gary was right behind him, and when he saw us he started laughing.
“Looks like you owe me some money,” Gary muttered.
“Doesn’t mean anything,” Pete snapped. He looked over at Marie; she twitched her lips and nodded her head to confirm his suspicions.
“Son-of-a… two more days… you couldn’t hold off for two more days?” Pete busted on us.
I glared over at Marie.
“Don’t look at me! You know how competitive those two are. It wasn’t my idea!”
Ryan released me and turned to Pete. “You bastards betting on us?” he asked jokingly.
“Yep!” Pete replied. “And you cost me twenty bucks, you prick!”
Ryan slipped his hand into his front pocket and peeled a twenty-dollar bill off of a small stack of cash.
“Here you go, Gary. Pete’s loss was my gain.” He laughed. “It was worth every penny!”
Gary didn’t hesitate. He snatched the bill out of Ryan’s hand and stuffed it into his pocket. Marie teasingly nudged me.
“You know Ryan, Gary is a Giants fan,” Pete baited him.
“Oh really?” Ryan asked, looking over at Gary.
“Ugh! Don’t tell me you’re a freaking Steelers fan too,” Gary groaned. “No wonder you and Taryn get along so well.”
“What do you say to another bet?” Ryan’s eyes narrowed on Gary. “I got another twenty in my pocket that says the Giants are going to get their asses handed to them tonight.”
While the three of them discussed the terms of the wager, Tammy, Marie, and I finished setting up the buffet table.
“He fits in perfectly!” Marie whispered in my ear. “Look at them! They’re like long-lost college buddies!”
“I know!” I whispered back. The sight of the three of them getting along so well was heart-warming.
“Ryan freakin’ Christensen!” Marie giggled as she gave me a shoulder hug. “So, tell me, is he packing or what?”
“What do you think?” I murmured.
She breathed out a rough sigh.
“Hey, no fantasizing about him,” I warned. “You have your own. That one’s mine. And try not to ask too many questions about their stupid movie, all right? They’re just regular people.”
Tammy set up an elaborate tiered cheese and veggie tray; she had hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, hot entrees to complement the steaks, shrimp and lobster bites, and several different little desserts and chocolate dipped what-nots.
I started to uncork a bottle of merlot while the guys discussed football trades and names of players. I never understood how men could remember all those details about sports but, yet, were incapable of remembering where they set their car keys or wallet.
Just like the other day when Ryan asked me where his messenger bag was. Did he really not remember where it was, or is there some primitive part of a man’s brain that starts to shut down whenever a woman comes into their lives?
Ryan was obviously hungry; he was popping food in his mouth between words. He had just shoved a big piece of cheese in his mouth when his cell phone rang. After a brief conversation, he met me at the bar.
“Cal and his wife are on their way. They’re driving themselves. The rest of the group is coming separately; they were just picked up at the hotel.
Cal told me that they are being followed by the paparazzi.” Ryan’s words sounded almost angry.
“I have to go start the grill; do you want to come up with me?” I asked, hoping he would follow.
He just nodded at me.
On our way through my apartment, we grabbed our coats. I presumed it would be cold outside. He playfully goosed my rear end all the way up the steps to the roof. I was getting the hint that he liked my butt.
I opened the rooftop door and turned to look at his reaction. His eyes instantly widened as he stepped outside.
“Oh my God, Taryn! This is incredible!”
I had a good portion of the roof transformed into a nice patio. There was a huge, raised composite deck with an outdoor stone bar with a granite top. I had designed a corner-raised fireplace at one end of the patio; the other end closest to the door contained the enormous stacked stone counter and stainless steel grill.