Page 138 of Out of Bounds

What the hell is he talking about?

Ryan nodded. "I’d like to submit an official request to be your boyfriend."

My mouth fell open.

"Your real boyfriend," he amended.

For a moment, I didn’t think I heard him. I stared at him for a long moment. Once again, Ryan knocked me off my feet and I had literally no idea what to say. My mouth fell open but I snapped shut just as fast when Sloane hurried up with our drinks.

"I have a lot of good qualities that would help me with this new role," Ryan continued, unfazed by the stunned silence. He held up a finger. "I’m loyal. More than sixteen colleges in the last month have tried to poach me for a potential transfer from the Romans and I declined all opportunities." He scrolled down a little further and held up another finger. "Communication is one of my strongest suits. I answer all texts and phone calls within a twenty-four hour period—"

"Ryan," I blurted out.

"What?" Ryan glanced up from the phone. He raised his eyebrows. "I have fifty-two items left on the list."

I stared. Shocked. "You—you wrote that?"

"Yeah." He flashed me the phone. "You showed me the notes app and I wrote it in the waiting room at UrgentCare."

"You…wrote all of that…?"

"Yeah. Somehow, I added pictures of our Tuesday schedule in here? I don’t know how I did it but now I can’t delete them. I hate these phones."

I hurried to take a drink of water, heart pounding in my chest.

"Can I continue with the list?"

"No!" I flinched. "I mean, no. You don’t have to. This isn’t a job—job interview." It wasn’t embarrassment that hit me. I was so out of my depth, I honestly didn’t know what to say. "Wow. You got me, Ryan. I’ve never had a conversation like this before."

"I haven’t either."

"And you just…did all that?" I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, trying to think of exactly why he wrote all of that. "I’m not…fucking other people, Ryan."

"I don’t want this to be just about sex," he told me in a firm voice. "I don’t want to be the benefit friends shit or whatever it’s called. I want to be your boyfriend. It’s different."

I gazed up at him. "Oh."

"Can I continue? I had to prepare. I know I’m not your type."

"Not my…?" I blinked at him and the embarrassment ebbed away to being plain confused. Did Ryan seriously think I wasn’t attracted to him? How was that possible? "What the hell gave you that idea?"

"Adam told you like skinny boy band guys."

Oh, Jesus Christ.

"We’ve got to stop listening to our dumbass friends," I muttered. "No. Ryan. Of course, I’m—I’m attracted to you. And you’re one of the most…"

I couldn’t struggle with my words. Ryan needed to know how much I liked him. Because as much as it felt like my throat wasclosing up, I hated the idea that Ryan had been thinking about himself like that.

"Look, you’re hot as fuck, that’s just a fact,” I told him point-blank. “And you’re also one of the most uptight dudes I’ve ever met in my entire life. And you’re so dedicated to everything you do, it shocks the shit out of me. And you put people first without a second thought. And youcareso much." My voice strained. "It’s amazing and it’s so stupid and I wish I could—I wish I could protect you from all of these people who demand so much from you—"

Sloane reappeared with breakfast and my words died. I stared hard at the table.

But I could still feel Ryan’s eyes on me.

"Do we need anything else?" Sloane asked.

"No," Ryan said, his voice soft. "No, we don’t."

---