Roughing It With Ryan

And this time, the door slammed. Hard.

9

AFTER SLAMMING THE DOOR-why had she done that, she didn’t care who Ryan went out with-Suzanne stalked through the dark hallway, up the stairs and straight into Taylor’s apartment.

“Taylor?” She let herself in. “I need an ice cream fix!”

“Well, then, come on back! I have a brand new gallon and two clean spoons.”

Suzanne stormed into the kitchen, headed for Taylor’s freezer and grabbed the gallon container. Since Taylor had sold her antique dining room set to start work on the loft, there was nowhere to sit, so they each hopped up on the counter.

Doing her best not to remember what had happened the last time she’d sat on a counter, Suzanne took the spoon Taylor handed her and dug in.

Taylor waited until they’d each had five good-sized bites. “So.” Swinging her feet, she sucked a drop of ice cream off her spoon. “What did he do?”

“He who?”

“He who. Ryan who.”

Suzanne studied a swirl of chocolate. “What makes you think he did anything?”

“Because he’s got a penis, hon. He can’t help but be an idiot.”

“Yeah.” Suzanne sighed. “But for some reason, I always forget that idiot part.”

“Well, I have to admit, Ryan does seem to have evolved slightly further than the average knuckle-dragger. I mean he looks at you, really looks at you. If you gave him any encouragement at all, I think he’d go for it.”

Suzanne snorted and shoveled in more ice cream.

Taylor lifted a brow. “Are you saying he’s already gone for it?”

“No.”

“Oh,” Taylor said with disappointment.

“I went for it.” At Taylor’s shocked laugh, she sighed. “Remember when the electricity went out the other evening? We nearly…”

Taylor put down her spoon. “Nearly what?”

Suzanne dug back into the container with more force than was required. “Let’s just say the electricity came on just in time and my sanity returned.”

“Wow. So you nearly…” Taylor sighed. “He’s got the best body.”

“One he took out a date tonight with a woman who looks like a Barbie doll.”

“Hmm.”

“He kissed her.”

“No.”

“Oh yeah.”

Taylor put her spoon down. “Should we kill him?”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” Taylor hopped off the counter, and looked deep into Suzanne’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? I’ve seen him watch you. There is no one else, there couldn’t be.”

“There was tonight.”

“Talk to him.”

Suzanne hopped down, too, but kept a hold of the tub of ice cream. She wasn’t letting go of her comfort food. “No way.”

“I think you should.”

“And I think we need to renew our vow to remain single, since you’ve apparently forgotten it. I’m borrowing this ice cream.” She went out the door.

Taylor sighed. “I’ll renew my vow,” she said to the swinging door. “But I have the feeling you won’t be needing yours for long.”

CONCENTRATING ON shoveling ice cream into her mouth at a rate that would ensure obesity by her next birthday, Suzanne headed toward her own apartment.

Her throat was tight, her eyes burned and it bugged the hell out of her. Good Lord, one would think she actually cared who that Neanderthal dated, when everyone knew he dated anything in a damn skirt.

It didn’t matter, not one little bit, because she was never going to date again. She was never even going to look at another man again, no matter if he was Adonis.

She’d have to get a vibrator, of course. Or turn lesbian.

No, a vibrator would do.

Reaching out blindly for the front door of her own apartment, she nearly swallowed both her tongue and the spoon on it when she encountered a hard chest instead.

She knew that hard chest.

“Suzanne.”

Oh, God, she knew that voice too, mostly because it made her mouth go dry and her thighs clench together.

Two large hands settled on her shoulders. One gentle shake had her raising her head to meet his dark, dark gaze. “We have to talk,” he said.

She swallowed her latest bite of chocolate ice cream and thought about that. “No.”

“There are things you need to know.”

“N-period-O-period, no.”

“The date was set up by Rafe.”

“You poor, poor baby. I bet it was rough.”

“Hey, you’re the one who said I should go.”

Yes. Yes, she had.

“Look, I’ve come to terms with this…” He waved a hand between them. “This thing between us, and you should, too.”

“This thing? We have a thing?” She gaped, then laughed. “Don’t be silly, we don’t have a thing.”

“We sure as hell do.” His forehead was furrowed as he opened her apartment door, one hand still on her arm as if he thought maybe she’d bolt. Or slam the door on him.

She considered both.

“All I’m saying…” He ushered her inside. “Is that we might as well see it through.”

“Why? To get it out of our system? We tried that!” Exhaustion made her shoulders sag. “Go home, Ryan.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly. You date obsessively. You’re addicted to women!”

“Suzanne-”

“And given what’s almost happened between us, twice now, I think you’re also addicted to…sex.” She whispered the last word, horribly embarrassed that her mouth seemed to have run away with her good sense. In fact, forget him leaving, she’d leave.

He caught her in the kitchen. When he turned her back to face him, he was smiling, damn him.

“Suzanne.” He bit his lower lip, and she had a bad feeling it was to keep from laughing. She wondered how he’d look wearing a spoonful of ice cream, and gripped her spoon and gallon tight.

“If I’m addicted to anything,” he said. “It’s you. And don’t take this wrong…” He backed her into a corner. “But