Together Forever (4 page)

“Why are you so snappy?” Ryan whisper-yelled at me Saturday morning when he came to visit me at the dorm. Samantha was still knocked out after her and Kyle’s night. She came home at around midnight already saying they went to downtown San Francisco for a concert.
I was being snappy at Ryan, because of obviously … Audrey. I sighed. “Nothing, it’s nothing,” I frowned, and turned my attention back to my laptop.
“No its not nothing,” he demanded, closing it, making me retract my hands away from getting bitten by the massive mouth.
“Nothing, really. Let me finish my essay. One more paragraph and we can leave,” I sighed, taking hold of his hand squeezing it lightly and smiled up at him to assure that everything was okay so he moved his hand away and went to lay down on my bed as I finished everything.
We went out for lunch having some French food, but everything was just so quiet and awkward. I felt like I was forgetting something. As we drove home, Ryan grabbed my hand. “You wanna go somewhere else?” he asked me. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Out of Palo Alto,” he told me. I just nodded and we drove out of the city and towards San Francisco.
Our ride was quiet. We didn’t know what to say. We’d just make comments about one thing or another but mostly quiet and blasting music. We then arrived at fisherman’s wharf where we both got out of the car and Ryan walked over to me wrapping his arms around me.
“Tell me what’s bothering you,” he said when we started our walk towards this stadium looking thing facing the water and the Golden Gate Bridge.
I sighed and pulled away from his grasp, walked over to the bench nearby and sat down. “I’m scared Ryan,” I told him, looking up since he was standing in front of me.
“I thought we talked about this already? I already told you. I’m just as scared to lose you as much as you’re scared to lose me. Maybe even more scared,” he said to me. “So, I think we’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I know, but ugh; Audrey is taking quite the liking of you,” I told him.
“Who the fuck is Audrey?”
“Girl in your 7 am class. Red hair, mini skirt, sending flirty looks at you,” I listed out to him.
“Oh, that was her,” he nodded, as if he was considering. I looked at him and glared. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and looked back right at me, his beautiful eyes burning into mine. He then took hold of my shoulders and began to speak. “Are you kidding
Kate
? You’re the only girl for me, and you know that,” he said kneeling on the ground in front of me and taking both my hands in his. “You do know that, right?” he asked me. I nodded slightly. “I hope you trust in me and have hope in me. I’m faithful to you and you only. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“I do, it’s just that….” I sighed. “She can do lots of things, Ry. I’ve seen her work her charm and magic and I’m scared that you might be her next victim,” I whispered.
“She won’t. Because you’re the only girl for me. I’ll love you endlessly, remember? It’s engraved on your skin. Don’t you ever forget it.”
“Endlessly,” I whispered back and gave him a tight hug.
“Are we clear now?” he asked me. I nodded and he gave me a light kiss, and slightly lingering until his phone rang, making me laugh at his current ringtone.
Girl will I stop loving you? Heck no!
Honestly I think you got me in a hex yo.
When I'm with you it's all perfecto
Ryan pulled out his phone and answered it. “Hello?... No prob ma. We’ll be there,” I heard him say. He then put his phone away and stood up. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Mom,” he told me.
“Your mom, or my mom?” I asked raising an eyebrow. Yeah, he called my mom, mom now too and
vice
versa. They said that we were gonna be connected family-wise either way, meaning with Ryan and I or Tristan and Stephanie. Plus, they’re basically sisters so it’s not awkward at all.
“Your mom,” he said.
My eyes widened. “Oh my fuck, I thought we were to have lunch with her?” Great, fucking great. During the past year and a half since my last presentation for the iPhone 5, my mom had been strict about being prompt and not being late to things. And when I am late, I get an earful.
“Yeah, but she had a meeting, and she said she’ll explain later,” he told me. I sighed in relief and nodded. We then proceeded to go meet up with my mom.

~/~/~/~/~

We walked into the Ritz-Carlton hotel’s restaurant, pushing my aviators off my eyes and taking in the
luxurious feel of the place. Ryan’s arms were around my waist and for some reason, I felt very under dressed. I then realized that every time I walked into a fancy hotel such as this, I was always dressed up properly.
“You okay?” Ryan asked.
“Fine, but I’m kind of scared my mom would freak that I’m not in a Gucci dress that she approves of,” I frowned.
“You’re fine,” he assured me. “You look gorgeous,” he whispered in my ear, kissing my temples softly and pulling me towards the stand where the hostess was standing.
“Table? Or do you have a meeting?” she asked him, not looking up from her clipboard.
“Meeting with Macintosh,” I said to her.
“Name?” she said and looked up, seeing me. “I’m not supposed to let just
anyone
enter to see her,” she sneered.
“It’s either DeLuca or Dolciani,” Ryan said from behind me, hands on my hips and rubbing circles with his thumb on the small of my back - soothing me. She looked up at him and her eyes widened and she gulped.
“Jay Dolciani,” she muttered and looked down on her paper, she nodded and mumbled a ‘please follow me’. I looked up at him and he just shrugged. We were approaching the table that my mom was sitting coffee in and my grip on Ryan’s hand immediately tightened. He just squeezed my hand comfortingly and pulled out the chair for me.
“Ryan,
Kate
,” my mom greeted with a smile. Then it faltered when she saw me. “What are you wearing
Kate
?” she asked me.
“I forgot that we were going to meet up with you today,” I said to her.
She nodded. “I guess that is understandable, I didn’t send a reminder,” she said throwing Ryan a smile.
“So, what’s up ma?” Ryan asked, easing back on his chair. I can't believe he’s more comfortable around my mom than I am. I loved that about him.
“Well, since last year’s iPhone 5 did great, now we need to set up a meeting for the next generation,” she shot me a look. “Which
Kate
designed,” she smiled at me.
“W-what?” I stuttered, wide-eyed.
“You left this at the mansion, and Tristan found it,” she said handing me over a familiar blue folder. I opened it and there it was the design that I had. “I got some people to figure it out and it works,” she said to me. “But now, I need you to make a proposal and present it at the meeting so we can release this immediately,” she told me.
“But ma, this is not for the world to know, it’s
my
design and its mine for a reason,” I frowned at her. “And I’m not a CEO mom nor am I an engineer. I’m a Music Management, Advertisement and Production major in college,” I sighed.
“I know, but if you want to keep this business going, you have to do this. For the company. For family,” she said to me.
“Fine, but why do I have to make the proposal?” I asked her. “Jeremy can do it.”
“Because you know this product better than anyone else, Jeremy said it was too complicated for him to work with,” she said leaning back on her chair.
“When is the meeting?”
“2 weeks.”
“Production?”
“The moment it gets approved”
“Release?”
“Hopefully in three months.”
“Meeting for release?”
“A month before we release it.”
“What does dad have to say about this?”
“Whatever you say,” she said sipping on her mug.
“I’ll have it done in a week,” I said to her.
“Good, now when’s the wedding?” she asked me.
“What are you talking about mom?” I frowned.
“I’m talking about wanting grandchildren,” she said to me.
“You’re asking the wrong people,” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Wait, so Ryan didn’t propose yet…?,” she looked from me to Ryan, who was wide-eyed. “Just kidding, wanted to see how Ryan would react,” she smiled and laughed. Ryan eased back on his chair and wiped some sweat off his forehead, shaking his head and chuckling.
“God ma, you almost gave me a heart attack there,” he said.
And just like that, the air was cleared.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~

“Aaaa! Friday,” I smiled as I let myself crash on the couch in our dorm.
“What’s up?” Samantha asked sitting next to me.
“I’m done with my report and I get to spend time with my boyfriend,” I smiled dreamily.
She just laughed at me. I heard somebody knock on the door. “Speaking of boyfriends, mine wants to see you,” she said standing up and running for the door. She swung it open and Kyle immediately kissed her.
“Get a room,” I mumbled.
“This is a room.” Sam laughed.
“
Kate
!” Kyle screamed and tackled me.
“I’m sore, don’t crush me,” I whined.
“But you’re so adorable, I need to crush you,” he pouted.
“Okay,” I smiled and he gave me a bone crushing teddy bear hug.
“I'm sorry I didn’t come sooner,” he pouted. “School’s crazy,” he sighed. “And so is your boyfriend,” he mumbled.
“How did my boyfriend get into this?” I chuckled sitting up.
“You didn’t know? I share a room with him,” he smirked.
“Awesome,” I nodded. “So, where is he?” I asked.
“He said he’ll be here in a few with important news,” he grinned. “For now, I’m going out with Sammy,” he smiled.
“Have fun guys,” I smiled and waved as they left.

“So, you share a room with Kyle?” I asked when Ryan, not looking up from my book as he walked in. I was laying on my bed facing the door with the book on my lap.
“Yup, so you don’t have to worry about me taking home other chicks,” he said pushing the book down so he could see my face. He leaned down and kissed me lightly.
“I’d find out either way, you know,” I smirked at him.
“I know you would,” he grinned.
“So, news,” I reminded him.
He beamed at me. “So, as of today,” he paused. I motioned for him to go on. “I’m on the school’s football team!” he cheered.
“Oh fuuuuck no,” I stood up facing him.
“What? You’re not happy?”
“No,” I frowned.
“Why the hell not?” he retorted.
“Because! You can get hurt! High school football was nothing, but this is college football. This is dangerous!” I argued.
“That’s why we have protective gear!” he frowned.
“What if you sprain something? Break something? Get a concussion? What would I do then?! Huh?”
“The same risks that you take when you snowboard,” he argued.
“It’s not the same!”
“It is the same! Plus, in snowboarding you only have a wrist-guard and a helmet. In football we have all that padding and support!”
“It’s not the same!”
“It is the same! You love snowboarding, just as I love football. You’re not giving snowboarding up, so I refuse to give up football,” he said firmly.
“You snowboard too!” I retorted
“You don’t see me jumping off a helicopter 75 feet from the ground. You don’t see me in a verge of causing an avalanche. You don’t see me almost crashing into trees. I only do the simple stuff. Hell, the worst I’ve done was jump off a ramp, and went 30 feet above ground” he argued. “Do you know what I go through everytime you go heli-boarding?” he asked me, his voice begging me.
“Ugh, you’re so difficult! Get out!” I growled, my stubbornness taking over me.
“What the fuck?”
“You heard me damn well, get the fuck out.” I glared at him. I expected for him to have soft eyes, but I was mistaken. He returned my hard glare with his own hard glare.
“Fine, and I thought you were going to support me,” he shook his head and slammed the door on his way out.
“Fucking bitch!” I screamed into my pillow. I laid back down on my bed, tears in my eyes. I can't believe that we’re fighting over stupid sports! What the hell? I shook my head and stood up, grabbing my keys, phone and wallet - stuffing them into my back pockets - and exited my room, slamming the door behind me. I went over to my car, and sped off to the closest ice cream place that I could think of.
I ended up in Piedmont, where this awesome ice cream place was. Fenton’s. I got a huge cup of swiss-milk chocolate ice cream and milkshake. I took a seat under one of the small umbrella’s outside. I angrily started chugging on my milkshake and attacked my ice cream.
“Looks like somebody’s having a rough day,” I heard a voice from the side. I looked up and saw my brother.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I mumbled.
“I followed you out of the campus. You seemed pissed, so I didn’t get in your way,” he said putting his hands up in surrender.
I sighed. “Good idea,” I told him. “Well? I don’t get a hug?” I asked. He rolled his eyes and me and stood up, then leaning down to give me a hug.
“I was just visiting to talk to you about the presentation that mom’s making you do, but this doesn’t seem to be a good time so I’ll go with asking about what’s bothering you,” he pointed out.
“Well, let’s say Ryan and I got in a fight,” I sighed.
“You lie,” he accused.
“You think I’d lie about that?” I frowned.
“Point taken.” He sighed. “Go on.”
“Well, it was about sports,” I frowned.
“You always fight about sports,” he laughed.
“No, I mean, he joined the football team, and I got upset because it’s dangerous and he pointed out that I snowboard, which is more dangerous,” I sighed.
“You’re both right,” he smirked.
“Don’t you smirk at me, Nathan,” I glared.
“No, really. It is dangerous. When you do backcountry, you do put your life on the line, probably more than Jay does,” he told me.
“Did I overreact?” I frowned.
“Kind of,” he smiled lightly.
“I should apologize?”
“You should,” he confirmed.
“I’ll apologize later, right now, my brother is here and I wanna hang out with him,” I smiled at him. “So, what are you doing here? Seriously?”
“I missed you,” he shrugged.
“You’re dumb,” I shook my head at him.
“I haven’t seen my little sister all summer, am I wrong?” he chuckled.
“Ehhh, I’m not surprised. I am the best sister ever,” I smirked at him.
“Don’t be too full of yourself, if you didn’t know, I could be visiting Jay but I felt the obligation to follow after my sister,” he stuck his tongue out at me.
I glared at him and was about to say something back but I heard a familiar high pitched voice behind me.
“
Kate
!” she squealed. “I didn’t expect to run into you out here,” she smiled giving me a hug.
“Oh, hey Audrey,” I smiled tightly.
“Who’s that?” she asked me, eyeing my brother.
“Oh, this is Nate. Nate, Audrey. Audrey, Nate,” I smiled at him.
“Is this the bestfriend?” she asked. I just gave her a look and didn’t answer. “Well, he is hot,” she whispered towards me. Though I think Nate was supposed to hear it, since it was pretty loud. He just raised an eyebrow at me and smirked as I was about to puke. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, finally,” she reached out a hand to my brother who - out of politeness shook it. “I have cheerleading practice and I heard that Jay got into the football team,” she winked at me. “I’ll catch you later,” she said and walked away towards her Mercedes.
“Did she think that I was Jay? Wait, does she know you and Jay are going out? Fill me in please?” Nate told me.
“Well, no PDA on school grounds, meaning nobody can know about us. Plus the media and all that crap. I don’t have much friends on campus, so yeah,” I frowned. “Her dad’s the dean,” I said.
“That explains,” he smirked. One of the things I’ve always loved about Nate? I don’t have to tell the whole story. He just gets it.