Page 16 of Resting Grump Face
When the two of us walk down the stairs, we run into thescheminghappy couple, as they are making out in an abandoned corridor like smitten teenagers. They don’t even notice when we stop right next to them.
“Should we tell them we escaped?” Ryker asks out loud in that dark timbre that sends another shiver through me.
Both turn around and grin sheepishly. “We were just coming to get you. Dinner’s about to be served,” Olivia explains. “Did you figure everything out like I instructed? Because I will send both of you to bed without supper.”
Ryker and I lie like colluding criminals and make her believe we get along just fine, and therefore, fortunately, are allowed to attend dinner.
The rest of the evening goes off without a (further) hitch. The food is delicious and plentiful. The speeches are heartwarming, funny and almost not tacky at all, and, most importantly, the bride and groom appear to be the happiest people on earth. Of course, that has been the case for quite some time now. I had known they were meant to be together before they had even met. At least, I had suspected as much, and I’d like to think I had my grubby little hands in making their little romance happen.
Personally, I’m not so sure about this whole marriage thing. I know it will work out for these two, but if my past relationships are any indicator, remaining single seems like a good option.Besides, why get married when you can just adopt a bunch of cats and call it a day?
Later that evening, the band is playing wedding-appropriate tunes like Every Breath You Take by The Police, Phoenix is feeding Olivia second dessert, wine is flowing liberally, people are dancing slightly offbeat, and I am enjoying myself until I spot Ryker Grayson staring at me from across the beautifully decorated garden. When he sees that I notice, he doesn’t even have the manners to avert his gaze. Instead, he just stares harder if that is something one can do.
I probably should go over there to give him a piece of my mind, but I don’t. I am above it. I will not succumb to my lowly urges again. I will not get dragged back into whatever we have been doing so far. So, instead, I turn and head straight for the bar.Unbelievable that he would ask me to work for him.Me!After I have made myself more than clear that I have no interest in even talking to him. His mere existence is an affront to anyone with a conscience and the faintest resemblance of a moral compass.Maybe I should go over there right now and give him a piece of my?—
“That was an interesting speech you gave back there,” he interrupts my internal rant and makes Sting’s soothing voice in the background sound even more fitting.
Seems like not everyone is above their lowly urges.“Thanks, Mr. There Are Three Rings In A Marriage: The Engagement Ring, The Wedding Ring & The Suffering.”
“People laughed.”
“Because they didn’t know what else to do.”
“Suffering is an essential part of most relationships. I know because I’ve met you.”
From behind the bar, I hear a loud slurp from a straw running on dry ground. Nana sits on a chair, barely able to look over the counter, without letting her eyes off us. “Pray continue, darlings. This is very entertaining, very promising,” she says and slides the empty glass across the bar where the barkeeper seamlessly catches it just before it can drop off the surface.
He fixes her another cocktail.
“You know,” Nana’s already heavy Scottish accent is heavier than usual, and the slight slurring caused by the alcohol makes it even harder to understand her, “I have a feeling if the two of you ever got married, there would be a fourth ring involved.”
“Murdering?” I ask.
“Slaughtering?” Ryker adds.
She catches her sliding cocktail with one hand, takes another sip and hiccups once. “Devouring! The way you two are at each other’s throats, it’s gotta be devouring. All that sexual tension has to go somewhe—” Another hiccup cuts her off.
“Alright, Nana,” Ryker says, “how about I bring you to bed, hm?”
“Well, my wee laddie, I’d hate to disappoint you, but, like I said, you’re still not my type. I think you’d have a better chance with someone else.” She winks at me in the most obvious way possible before finishing her cocktail with one long slurp and allowing Ryker to help her off the chair. He props Nana up with both arms and leads her into the hotel and to her room.
I order a beer and produce my phone from my purse. There is an email from Earnest in my inbox. Worried about my cat, I open it and read the subject line:
Bad News - Robyn got an eviction notice
Shit.
Robyn is a dear friend who has been living in my building complex for decades now. Recently, she had trouble keeping up with some other bills, so I had been helping her out already.
She is not the first one in our building complex to be targeted with eviction though. The email, unfortunately, isn’t very enlightening about what happened. Earnest only mentions that they are already working on a solution.
The server puts a beer down in front of me and I remember that this was supposed to be a happy weekend.Happy.No negative thoughts allowed. No thoughts of unemployment, rude jerks, or homeless grandmas. All that doesn’t belong today. There’s nothing I can do from here anyway. So I close the email app and go back to reading headlines about Ryker Grayson. At least those are entertaining:
Betrayed By The Billionaire — Grayson Holdings’ Stock Plummets
From Everybody’s Darling To Everybody’s Dolt — What Happened To Ryker Grayson?
Good In Business, Bad In Bed? Ryker Grayson’s Ex Speaks Candidly
