We were watching some program about ghosts, but I could tell that Ryan was looking mostly at me. He curled his hand and softly brushed my cheek. It seemed that he was almost frightened to touch me; his hand seemed so hesitant. I didn’t know if he was testing himself or me.
I could feel his confidence grow as he ran his fingers through my hair. We were definitely becoming more than friends. I was so relaxed by his touch that it was hard to keep my eyes open.
Ryan’s voice pulled me from the haze. He called someone to get a ride to the hotel. I wondered why he just didn’t walk.
“I’m gonna get going. I have to work tomorrow and so do you.” He gathered his things and I walked him down to the back door.
“Thanks for taking me fishing. I had a great time.”
“Me too.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in for a nice hug. His hand held my face as he quickly kissed my cheek. He didn’t linger. I was surprised that he didn’t try to kiss me. It appeared that he was conflicted. I could relate… the line between just friends and something more was definitely blurred today.
“See you.” I waved as he hopped into the waiting car.
That night I had the most beautiful dreams.
“Are you feeling better today?” Marie asked when she came in at four p.m. to start her shift behind the bar, her eyes assessed my appearance.
“Yes, much,” I replied. “I think I got food poisoning from the lobster. Either that or it was the bagged salad.”
“Did Ryan get sick too?” she wondered aloud.
“Yeah, we both were really sick, but he seemed to get over it quicker. I stopped for pizza on the way back from the cabin but after I ate a slice it just sat in my stomach like a brick. I’m sorry for last night… I didn’t want them to cancel poker on my account.”
“Don’t apologize! You were sick. It happens. Besides, Gary and I had an awesome good time anyway, if ya know what I mean.” She winked at me and held up three fingers.
“Three?” I gasped in amazement. “You or him?”
“Me, of course!” She smiled and bobbed her head.
“That accomplishment deserves a high-five!” I reached over to slap my hand into hers.
“So did you rack up any numbers yourself this weekend… all alone in the forest with Prince Charming?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not like that. We just took the boat out on the lake.”
“When are you going to see him again? I presume you are going to see him again?” she prodded.
“I don’t know. He’s working. I’m working. I guess I’ll see him Sunday.” I shrugged and continued to hustle behind the bar. “We didn’t make any plans. Besides, he won’t be sticking around here anyway. A couple of more weeks and he’ll be gone.”
Thoughts of him leaving surged through my brain like wildfire and burned all the way down my throat and into my heart. This friendship with him, these feelings growing inside of me for him, in reality all had an expiration date looming.
Even though I was mostly trying to enjoy the moment, the knowledge that the moments wouldn’t last forever was still overshadowing everything else.
I went about my day, but my heart felt like it was burning.
I had taken care of business – Tammy and I spoke and we finalized the dinner menu for Sunday.
I placed an advertisement in the local newspaper for a part-time weekend bartender and hung a ‘Help Wanted’ sign that I made on my computer in the front window.
“Marie, I’m going to hire a part-time bartender,” I said as I taped the sign on the glass. “I think we could use an extra set of hands on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s getting to be too much for you and me to handle alone, and Tammy doesn’t want to work every weekend.”
“Sounds good to me. We’ve been getting slammed lately,” she agreed.
“Yeah, just while the movie stuff is still going on. Once they all leave, we probably won’t need the help, but I think it’s too much for just the two of us.”
Marie flipped the channels on the television until she got to the local news. It was mostly background noise to me until the reporter mentioned the words “Seaside movie.”
“Over one hundred people had to be removed from the remote beach location where the second installment of the Seaside movie was being filmed today. Dedicated fans are desperate to get any glimpse of the film’s all-star cast, including the movie’s lead actor, Ryan Christensen.