Page 101 of Only You

“It’s me,” said Jack.

“I know. I saw you pull in. Come on up.” Ryan buzzed Jack inside.

Jack climbed the stairs to the second floor, and when he reached the landing, Ryan was leaning out his apartment door, waiting for him.

“I interrupted your workout,” Jack said, noting Ryan’s athletic apparel and sweaty forehead.

“I just finished,” Ryan said. “What brings you by?”

Jack followed him into the living room and slumped into a chair. “I screwed up.”

“Seems to be a common theme lately,” Ryan joked, sinking into another chair.

“It’s really bad this time.”

“What happened?”

“I confessed to my parents about my fake relationship with Kayla.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

“I thought it was the right thing to do, but I made things worse.” Jack shoved his hands into his hair.

“They’re returning to Florida in a couple of weeks. Why did you tell them now?”

Jack sighed. “Things have changed between me and Kayla, and I’m tired of lying. I was hoping they’d laugh it off, but now they hate me.”

Ryan shook his head. “They might be pissed at you, but they don’t hate you. You’re their only child.”

“They might disown me after this,” Jack muttered.

“They’ll get over it.”

“I don’t know, man. Maybe this is a sign.”

“A sign of what?”

“Maybe I’m not meant to be in a relationship. I never should have dragged Kayla into this, and none of this would have happened.”

Ryan shook his head. “What’s done is done, and you love her.”

“According to my parents, it can’t be true love if our relationship started out as a lie. What if they’re right? What if this was doomed from the start?”

“You’re panicking for nothing.”

“I’m serious. Kayla and I were only meant to be friends.”

Ryan shook his head. “You two were bound to get together. It was only a matter of time.”

“Well, the timing couldn’t be worse. Now, my parents hate me, and Christmas is next week. I should tell Kayla to move back in with Josie for a while. Just until this blows over.”

Ryan scowled at him. “Don’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“That’ll just make things worse for you and Kayla.”

“She’ll understand,” Jack said, but he didn’t really believe it.

“I wouldn’t risk it if I were you.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at Ryan. “You don’t want Kayla to move back in with Josie, because it’ll infringe on your privacy.”

“It’s not that. We hang out here too,” Ryan argued.

“Oh. So you’re just looking out for me, then?”

“Yes,” Ryan insisted. “I think you need to cool off before you make another stupid mistake.”

“Stupid. Right. Thanks for the talk.” Jack rose and started walking out.

“Wait,” Ryan called after him.

Jack was already at the door. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

Ryan gazed at him with a mix of frustration and sympathy. “You need to calm down. Go for a run or something. Just don’t make any rash decisions that you might regret later.”

“It’s too late for that,” Jack muttered. Then he turned and stalked out the door.