Page 22 of I Met Him At The Library

“Sounds great.”

Hanging up the phone, I let out a loud sigh before I set my task on putting away the depression snacks I purchased. I wasn’t going to let this bring me down. There wasn’t any reason for it. Despite logically knowing this, the pang of disappointment still had its little nails in my brain. Somehow, I let myself get my hopes up about Ryan, and I had to deal with the consequences.

Chapter 13

Ryan

Walking into the bar for our nightly meet up, I didn’t feel great about my interaction with Emily earlier in the day. She wasn’t nearly as talkative as she normally was, and she almost looked like a deer caught in headlights when she saw me in her apartment building. I hoped maybe she’d show up at the bar tonight, and I could figure out why she was suddenly acting weird. Maybe she wasn’t as interested in me as I thought she was.

Either way, I called my sister as soon as I left and informed her to purchase some headphones because every neighbor in her building could probably hear the music she was blaring. She agreed, and I hoped I could make at least one thing easier in Emily’s life - even if she was back to her standoffish self. What could have possibly pushed her back when we were starting to become friends?

“I really don’t like that you went all the way to Fairwood. Why couldn’t you two have come here?” Trey spoke into his phone.

I gave Levi and Preston questioning looks but they both shrugged and shook their heads.

“Fine, don’t drink too much, text me when you’re leaving.” Trey hung up the phone and ran his hand through his hair.

“What was that about?” Levi asked.

“Meghan and Emily are going out to Fairwood to go to a place called Shotz,” Trey explained in a huff.

“Why would they go to Fairwood to drink when they could drink here and be close to home?” Preston asked.

“I don’t know,” Trey shrugged.

He was protective over his sister after an incident in her teenage years. Like me, he sometimes struggled with his baby sister being all grown up and making decisions - especially ones like going to a bar an hour away in a town where recent druggings had been reported. When gossip around here slowed down, we often ended up discussing problems in the neighboring and more populated towns.

“They probably want to pick up some guys,” Levi shrugged and snapped all of our attention to him. His eyes widened and he said, “What? It’s the same old crowd here every single night. I mean Shotz isn’t really a great place for that, but they’ll be fine. Do you think Meghan wants to flirt with someone when her brother is sitting in the corner booth glaring at every single guy she talks to?”

“Emily isn’t interested in flirting, right?” I asked.

“Fairwood had reports of recent druggings,” Preston pointed out.

“What if someone drugs their drinks?” Trey asked, sitting up.

“Guys! Let them have a girls night. They’re both smart women. I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Levi stated.

“Meghan shares her location with you right? We could go and keep an eye on them,” Preston suggested, and I narrowed my eyes on him, but he continued, “Plus Ryan’s making progress with Emily. What if some asshole swoops in and derails everything for him?”

“I don’t know. If they want to have a girls night, I don’t want to interrupt them,” I interjected.

“No no, that’s what happens. You’ll be put in the friendzone,” Trey agreed with Preston.

“There is no such thing as the friendzone. You know this, right? We are either friends and that’s it, or we are more. You aren’t friends with a girl only so you can hope to be more. That’s gross.”

“What he said,” Levi agreed with me.

“But you want to be more, right?” Preston stated.

“I do, but it’s not a condition of friendship. If that’s all she wants to offer, I’m okay with it.”

The table went silent for a minute before Trey turned to me, “Right now, there could be some guy rubbing up against her on a dancefloor. His intentions are not to treat her well. No, he’s going to drag her along in a relationship and use her and treat her like garbage. Then he’ll dump her and she’ll swear off all men, including you.”

I stared down at my hands, trying not to let what Trey was saying get to me. He was only using my interest in Emily so he could spy on his sister and keep her safe.

“Imagine it. The guy’s hands are on her hips. He’s speaking sweet nothings into her ear. She’s giggling with him instead of with you,” Preston stated, and I fisted my hands.

I briefly questioned why Preston was joining in the “torture Ryan” game Levi and Trey started the first time I ever mentioned I had a thing for Emily, but the vision of Emily flirting with some guy pushed the question from my brain.

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