13Chapter 14
"Wow, look at how many stars there are tonight!" Ryan said as she and Blake walked along the beach. "I didn't even know there were that many!"
Blake turned his head to the side glancing at Ryan with a smile on his face. "And if you look over there, you can see the Big Dipper," he said in a movie announcer voice as he gestured with his hands up at the sky.
"Ah! You totally can!" Ryan squealed, making Blake laugh out loud. "This is so exciting, I've never actually seen a constellation before."
"You're great you know that Ryan," Blake said as he casually linked his hand with hers.
Ryan looked down shocked. "Um, Blake..." she said looking down at their intertwined hands. "What are you doing?"
"I was just holding your hand..." He replied confused, but not letting go. "Is that not okay?"
"It's not that it's not okay, it's just..." Ryan stopped, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Actually, it's not okay."
Blake pulled her to a stop and turned so that they were facing each other, still not letting go of her hand. "What do you mean it's not okay?" He asked her, looking slightly hurt, but more so, confused.
"Blake, you can't just do this to me," Ryan said, still not explaining things enough for Blake to understand her reasoning. "You're with Jaylie, she's you girlfriend, you do remember her, don't you?"
"Of course I remember who Jaylie is, I just don't understand how she has anything to do with you and me holding hands."
"She has everything to do with it." Ryan stated exasperated that he wasn't understanding her. "I can't just let you make a move on me just because she's away at camp, even though I'd like nothing more."
"You'd what?" Blake asked astonished at what he'd just heard Ryan say.
"I like you, okay Blake, I really like you." She said pulling her hand from his and running it through her hair. "I know I shouldn't, because you're dating Jaylie, but I can't help it, I've liked you all summer, and now I'm leaving in a couple days, and I want you to know."
"Ryan," Blake said reaching to take hold of her hand again, but she pulled away. "Ryan, I like you too. Why do you think I hung out with you so much this summer? Why do you think I cared so much that we stopped hanging out?
"I know this isn't the best timing, but there's something I have to tell you about Jaylie and me." He said slowly, finally getting hold of her hand again.
"What could you possibly have to tell me?" She asked, her voice rising in volume.
"Jaylie and I are through." He said looking Ryan straight in the eye. "I knew she wasn't for me, but I thought I should give it a chance."
"Then how are you through, when you gave her a chance?" Ryan asked him, feeling hope rising in her.
"She met someone at camp," Blake stated, still not breaking eye contact with Ryan. "And I met someone at the beginning of the summer, and I never should have ditched her for Jaylie."
Ryan stared at Blake her mouth hanging open slightly. "You know I've waited all summer for you to say that, right?" She said to him as her lips curled up at the corners into a smile.
"I'm sorry that it took me so long, and I'm hoping that even though you have less than a week left here you'll still give me a chance." Blake said reaching with his free hand to grab hold of her free hand.
Ryan looked down at their hands, joined together. Then back up at him, the smile gone from her face. "I don't know if I can do this Blake." She said completely serious. "I liked you so much, and you just threw me to the side like garbage, how am I supposed to know that you actually mean this and you aren't going to find someone else the minute I get on that plane?"
"I understand where you're coming from," Blake said pulling her slightly closer to him. "But I promise I'll never be as stupid as I was this summer, to let you go again. So please Ryan?"
She looked down at their hands again then back up at his face. "I don't know if I can fully trust you," she said as she pulled her hands away from his. "But I think it's worth the risk!" She said quickly, before she hurt him to much, then wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
As Blake pulled away from Ryan, he looked her in the eyes and smiled. "You know, you really had me thinking that you were going to reject me." He said, smile still in place.
"I know, but how could I reject you?" She asked him, completely serious. Before she had time to say anything else Blake pulled her in again only this time he kissed her gently on the lips.
Ryan looked at her empty closet and sighed, she had just finished packing up all her suit cases again, only this time for the trip home. Her dad would be up any moment to carry them down to the car. She walked over to her window seat and glanced out the window at Blake's room.
He stood framed by the window like a picture, staring straight at her, a sad smile on his face. Then tilted his head to the side indicating the door and turned around.
Ryan knew what he meant and turned around as well, just as her dad entered the room.
"Ready to go, kiddo?" he asked as he grabbed hold of the first and heaviest suit case that Ryan had sitting on the floor. "Your mom's waiting down by the car."
"Yeah, there's just one more thing I have to do." Ryan replied as she headed towards the door at a brisk pace, steadily increasing as she moved along.
She was thundering down the stairs when she heard her dad's voice from her room call, "No running in the house!" But she paid him no attention, and flew out the door and across the front of the house towards the neighbor's house, Blake's house.
He was standing in between there to houses his arms open like wings, ready for her to hug him. She raced to his arms wrapping hers around him while tucking her head into the crook of his neck, smelling his familiar scent.
"I'm going to miss you so much," she said to him as she pulled her head away from him while keeping her arms exactly where they were.
"I'll miss you too," he replied right before kissing the top of her head.
She looked up at him and smiled, tears itching the back of her eyes. "Promise you'll call or text or e-mail me at least once a day?" She said to him before placing a light kiss on his lips.
"Of course," he answered, their lips still touching. "Same goes for you." He then added as he pulled away slightly.
She smiled at him. "I promise." She answered as she heard her mother call her name from around the back of the house, where the driveway was.
"I think you have to go." Blake said, pulling her tighter in to him.
"I think you're right," Ryan said as the tickling behind her eyes stopped and the tears were set free. She pulled away from him keeping her hand in his for as long as she could as she slowly backed away. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze when their arms were stretched as far as they could, and then let go, their arms falling down at their sides.
"See yah," he called as she turned and headed towards her waiting parents, she reached up every so often to wipe away her tears.
"Later," Ryan called back just before she reached the end of the house and had to turn. She looked back at him one last time and swore she saw the early morning sun reflecting off a tear on his face. But the next moment she had made it around the corner and lost sight of him.
Ryan walked up to the car and sat in the back seat behind her father who was driving. "All set Ry?" He asked as he started the car and began to pull out of the driveway. "Forget anything?
"No," Ryan said shaking her head, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "I didn't forget anything." And with that said her dad pressed his foot on the accelerator and headed off to the airport where the plane was waiting to take them home.
A/N:So, that's the end of it! I can't believe I actually finished. I had originally finished writing this story in 2007, and just recently decided to post it. But after reading comments I changed it all up. My original was basically the same, but in the end neither Ryan nor Jaylie ended up with Blake. It's funny, I had still been planning on leaving the ending the same, and then last night, this ending just popped into my head, and it was like Blake and Ryan were taking over and telling me that they wanted to be together, which is weird, I've never had characters in my stories change things on me:P I'm glad though, because this ending is so much better than what I had originally written, and completes the story so much more. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, and thanks for all the wonderful comments, I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. :)