Page 14 of Faking it with My Boss' Son

‘‘Is that sarcasm?’’ I opened my eyes wide, “I had a close call because of what you call a beautiful sense of humor.”

‘‘Don’t just say that you had a close call; now you have to tell me how.” She said curiously, leaning towards me. The tension seemed to subside a bit.

I burst out laughing, ‘‘Well, I had a team member, Ralph, who played soccer with me at USC. Ralph hated my guts for a reason unknown to me, and he was always up to something.’’ I relaxed as Michelle listened to me attentively. ‘‘So, I decided to teach him a lesson. When he was getting ready to go on a run in his neighborhood, I placed a lot of jellies on the driveway without his knowledge and hid behind the shrub to shoot the video. The next moment, he was squealing and screeching and trying hard to balance himself, crying aloud and kind of dancing like crazy, ‘‘Somebody help… somebody help.’’

Michelle let out a tiny laugh.

“I sent that video to his girlfriend Mila right away, telling her what a crazy boyfriend she had. She called me, and we laughed. The next moment, I saw Ralph standing before me, bristling with anger. He ran after me like a lunatic, and to make things worse for him and funnier for me, a dog started chasing him. The running continued for almost ten minutes until I finally managed to escape. The dog almost bit him.’’

I had never seen Michelle laugh as hard as she did at my story, “I can’t believe you did that.’’

“And after that, Mila would call him clumsy when they got into an argument,’’ I told her as I poured us more coffee.

“Oh God, I hope you didn’t do that because you had a crush on Mila and wanted to win her over.’’ She said, placing her hand on her forehead.

“No… no, not at all. Mila is only a friend… a good friend. My crushes usually don’t last long. All the dates I have had have been a complete failure.’’ I said honestly.

“Really? Why so?’’ Michelle took a sip of her coffee.

“Maybe because I have yet to find someone I really connect with. That’s why all these dates fail before they start.’’ I shrugged my shoulders, sitting down at the table across from her.

We drank our coffee in a happy silence before digging into our late-night dinner. It felt natural to be here with Michelle, laughing and reminiscing about our time in high school.

Michelle finished clearing the table and turned back to me, saying, "I hope that you get to experience how incredible it is to fall in love.”

“Are you or have you ever been in love?’’ I looked at her quizzically.

“Ryan…’’ Michelle laughed, “It is getting late. I am going to hit the sack. And the answer is no. I just imagine that being in love must be incredible. Good night. Ryan.’’ She said as she turned to walk to her room.

“I hope we both experience it someday soon. Good night, Michelle.’’

Chapter six

Michelle

Ryan and I ended up talking until late last night. I had to get up early to go to work, but it was worth it. I took a shower and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. Ryan was already awake and sitting in the living room reading his morning newspaper.

‘‘Good morning,’’ he greeted me warmly as if he’d been up for hours.

‘‘Morning! You’re already up?’’ I looked at the clock that read 6:45 a.m.

‘‘Yes, I woke up early for a morning run before starting my day,” he yawned.

‘‘Fine. I’ll make breakfast before heading off to work. When I get off, I need to run to the grocery store and buy some food to cook for when Leah comes to visit.’’ I said, glancing at Ryan.

‘‘Leah?’’ Ryan looked at me blankly.

‘‘Yeah…Lucas’s cousin… one of my good friends. She wanted to surprise me, but Lucas spoiled her surprise. Poor girl,’’ I shook my head.

‘‘How did Lucas spoil the surprise?’’ Ryan sounded almost annoyed.

‘‘It was his birthday a couple of days ago, so I texted him late at night, but because he is an early riser, he had already gone to bed. He called me in the morning and ended up blurting it out while we were talking. I’m sure if Leah finds out, she’ll give him an earful.’’ I laughed. ‘‘Scrambled or fried eggs for breakfast?’’ I pulled the eggs out of the fridge before turning towards Ryan.

‘‘You remember Lucas’s birthday? Since when are you guys that close?’’ he stared at me slack-jawed.

I was a little surprised by this question and the incredulous look on his face, but I managed to answer it normally. "I told you this already, silly. We went to the same college, and we’re good friends.’’ I said as I continued making breakfast.

‘‘You seem to be very fond of him.’’He said, looking at me over his shoulder.

---