fall from sin

Andy sipped on his drink as Ryan spoke. The more Andy drank, the easier it was to drink more, he found, and he liked the way he was feeling more and more relaxed. It made him feel less concerned about every single detail, about all the stress that had been plaguing him the past week. He didn’t really care anymore, about watching his words or trying to appear “cool” to Ryan. It was easier to just relax, and talk, than to worry about everything.

Ryan laughed at Andy's toast. "C'est la vie," Ryan said. "Such is life, right?" Ryan raised his glass anyway and toasted to worthy cause. It was all his fault he stayed here though. His sisters moved on to their own jobs, one in California the other in New York. His brother even moved away with his mother but Ryan stuck around in the only place he knew. He was ready for a new place, new people, new adventures. Something to get him out of this rut. 

Ryan watched as Layla, almost over-carefully ripped open the package. He smiled as the necklace was revealed to her. The red stones reflected the sun onto her shirt with a beautiful patter. She gasped at the sight of it and if she were truly so genuine, Ryan may have thought that she was faking it. 

Jack was glad that Ryan had his hand on his shoulder. Though the other man was just as unsteady as Jack was, it was easier to find his way out to the parking lot with that extra support, no matter how shaky it was. It was just nice to have a friend walking with him, just as drunk as he was. It made Jack feel less lonely, helped him to forget the pain in his heart easier.

Jack began to speak and Ryan kinda looked at him like he sprouted another head. "What?" Ryan laughed. He had no idea what Jack meant. "Do you want me to get you a cab home?" Ryan asked again before sitting down on the curb of the sidewalk surrounding the bar. "Or can you walk home?" Ryan looked up to Jack, who was still standing and caught sight of the stars that were still pretty visible even though they were in the most densely populated area of Renata. 

“Layla,” a man said, and Layla jumped out from her reverie. She practically leapt off her stone and bounced on her feet. “Ryan,” she smiled, her face glowing like the setting sun. She waved away his apologies of being late. “No worries, I wasn’t waiting long anyway,” she reassured him. He was looking good, in Layla’s opinion, a fine sculptured face with the right amount of facial hair neatly trimmed to enunciate his jaw. In his hand, he held a small parcel, and Layla’s heart lifted. Did he get that for me? she thought. She was spared the agony of guessing when he lifted up the parcel and gave it to her. With slightly trembling hands that she tried to hide, she took the parcel. “Thank you,” she said sincerely, feeling the parcel secretly. It felt light and shapeless, made up of many little hard rock-like elements that made Layla guess that it was jewelry of some sort. 

Layla hopped up from his spot on the rock. Ryan reached out to steady her because she looked so jumpy. He grabbed a hold of her elbow to steady her as she stood. He smiled gently as she fumbled before him. He was flattered that she was so flustered just by his presence. Girls were always drawn to him but were never so clueless and hopelessly innocent. That was one of the things that drew him to the twins. 

Andy was glad that someone finally agreed with him, that Sam was trouble, and wasn’t to be trusted right off the bat, like Jack seemed to be doing. Even though Andy refused to tell the story, of why he had such a grudge against Sam, he still wanted people to believe him when he said that he didn’t trust Sam, that Sam was trouble just waiting to happen. But  Andy’s reluctance to explain what happened to him at one, stupid, high school party made it impossible for Jack to believe Andy, so Andy had to deal with Sam in the garage, though he hated it. Andy shrugged when Ryan said there had to be an upside, and Andy supposed that it was because Jack had hired new people to work, it had given Andy more time off, time to spend with Blake. At least that was nice, and Jack was being careful to schedule Andy and Sam for different times now, having figured out that they couldn’t work in the same place for long before they started bickering.

"I mean, if you like your job I guess. I really am not all that fond of my job anymore." Ryan sighed reluctant to speak about work again. He was hoping they could change the subject because Ryan hated his job and he got the feeling Andy was bored with his as well. Ryan thought he had potential. Ryan knew he had potential. He had the potential to be something more but alas, he stuck around Renata and worked his mundane job and a mundane town. 

Jack did his best to keep up with Ryan, as they continued to order drinks and talk. At least Ryan wasn’t as heavy a drinker as Jacob was, who Jack had been drinking with lately as well. Despite the fact that Jacob was rather short and small, he had a better tolerance than anyone else Jack had had drinks with. The practice helped Jack to keep up with Ryan, as the bar began to get dizzier, the room spinning around Jack as they laughed and joked. It was easy to just hang out with Ryan, sometimes. He didn’t ask a lot of questions, and was happy to never speak deeply about any topic, which was sometimes a nice break from the probing questions of Jack’s family. Ryan didn’t expect anything more than just a drinking buddy, which was all Jack wanted that night.

Through their laughing and carrying on, Ryan managed to make it to the bathroom and back without any serious mishaps. He almost cracked his head on the urinal when he walked in the bathroom. Ryan decided on a stall though, because he was pretty sure there was no way in hell that right now he would be able to stand up right for the length of time it would take him to urinate. So he leaned against the wall of the stall. 

A Boat Ride For Two - Summer Solstice ||Layla & Ryan||

Ryan was heading off to the fair to meet Layla. He would have picked her up from her house but with the ways things worked out, they had decided to meet at the fair in a designated spot. Plus Layla had said just friends, so Ryan really didn't have to pick her up. He didn't want to just jump into this one. He knew how those church girls could be. 

“I’m not really one to blow my own horn, as it were,” she said, her voice slightly hushed. She turned to the painting he was facing, standing right next to him, her shoulder barely grazing his arm. Cocking her head away from him, Tessa admired her own work with a small, satisfied smile on her lips. “Thank you, Ryan,” she said, noticing the sincerity in his voice. 

Ryan laughed at Tessa's modesty. "You're welcome but really though," Ryan emphasized. "They're great." Ryan was admiring Tessa's painting when he felt her move to stand next to him. He shifted his weight just so, so that his arm brushed against hers more. He played it off as an accident. He just stood straighter and moved slightly farther away from her. With each breath either of them took, Ryan could feel the fabric of his shirt as it moved against Tessa's arm. 

Andy listened as Ryan spoke, and he wondered how often Ryan went out with new people. He seemed rather awkward, especially with small talk, when Andy had known him to be distant. Maybe Ryan had just hidden his lack of conversation skills with his intimidating demeanor? Andy wasn’t sure, but he found it rather strange that Ryan was trying so hard to make conversation, to be polite. He wondered if it had anything to do with Jack, coming back drunk more often than usual after nights out with Ryan. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Ryan wasn’t seen with many other people, that many wouldn’t consider him a friend. “Yeah, do you know Sam Wilcox? Jack, for some reason, hired him, though I don’t see how he can trust him, when that guy has such a reputation. And I think Jack had the idea of training Graham until he was experienced enough to work, but Graham hasn’t shown up for the past two weeks, so Jack’s a little fed up with him.” Andy said, continuing the conversation. As he spoke he measured up Ryan, trying to see if he actually cared about anything Andy was saying, seeing if he was actually here for the company or just for the drinks.

"Sam," Ryan drawled out starting to feel just slightly tipsy. "Yeah, I remember him from high school... He was trouble, if I recall. Is trouble." Ryan laughed. "It sounds like the new hires might be more work than it's worth. I would probably just fire them." Ryan tapped his fingers around his glass trying to understand Jack's reasoning behind that, because even to Ryan, who had no experience with having his own employees, that sounded like bad news. 

Go for it. Hopefully I’ll be working then.

Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure of it. 

Maybe we could stop by the fair together? 

But they’re so good. Everyone is happier when they have something sweet. Unless they’re diabetic, then it gets complicated. That’s very sweet of you Ryan. 

If you insist. I'll have to come around one day and splurge on some serious sweets action. 

We have extra’s all the time at the end of the day. I usually bring them home, but if you ever want anything let me know.

Lydiaaaa, don’t even say that! I do. not. not need to be enticed by baked goods. Though I wouldn’t mind coming round sometimes if it meant seeing you.