Chapter Seventeen
Ryan
After breakfast, we said goodbye to Reed and Trinity.
“Can I stay? Daddy, please can I stay?” Trinity pleaded. She was already dressed and ready to go, but she was still hoping that her father would give in to her. I wasn’t sure how he didn’t. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to be tough on her, but he was probably so used to it by now.
“No, my girl, you have to go to school. But Uncle Ryan and Blaire will be here when you get back. I promise.”
She sighed dramatically, almost as if she were a teenager, and I chuckled to myself. Poor Reed was going to have quite a handful to deal with when she was older.
“Fine!” she said then she looked at me. “You’ll be here later?”
“Of course I will. And you know that I don’t break my promises.”
She nodded. “I know. And you too?” she said to Blaire.
Blaire smiled. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here too. And I want to hear all about your day at school.”
Reed rolled his eyes and looked at me. “You’re welcome to use the car today, by the way. I have two and the one never really gets used, so it will be nice to get a bit of mileage in it.”
“You have two cars? Why?”
He shook his head. “Actually, I have no idea. But it’s come in handy now.”
I had a feeling that Reed bought a lot of things just to make himself feel better. He never used to be that way, but I’d noticed a change after his wife had left him. I decided not to rib him too much about it. “Sweet, that works out well for me. I was going to get a cab today, but I’d much rather drive. Thanks, man.”
Once they left, I turned to look at Blaire. “Keen for a day out in Seattle?”
“Yes! I’ve actually never been here.”
“You’ve never been to Seattle?” I asked, surprised. As an actress, she didn’t strike me as the kind of person that hadn’t traveled. “Not much of a traveler?”
She shook her head. “Oh, I love traveling. That’s the funny thing. I’ve been to Paris. I’ve been to Auckland. I’ve even been to Cape Town. But no, I haven’t been to Seattle.”
“Then allow me to be your guide for today.”
“Ooh, this is cool. Thanks, Ryan. I hate going to a new place and not getting to know it.”
We got ready, and I took Blaire around the city for the day. I had been to Seattle many times, so I knew the area quite well. I hadn’t walked around as a tourist in a long time, so it was actually a lot of fun to look at things through her eyes. I forgot how much I enjoyed this city. I took her to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum first and watched as her face lit up in amazement at the beautiful glass sculptures. I remembered going to that museum for the first time. I had taken Trinity when she was even younger. Blaire’s face showed just as much awe and excitement as Trinity’s had.
“Oh, Ryan, this is incredible,” she said. “How did you know about this place?”
I chuckled. “I told you that I’d be your guide today. So this is my job.”
“Impressive! It’s so beautiful.”
After that, I took her to the Pike Place Market where we walked around looking at all the stalls on offer. Blaire wanted to buy everything, and I had to keep reminding her that we still had to get things back home by plane. In the end, she settled on a big bouquet of fresh flowers, and a box of locally produced chocolates.
“For Reed and Trinity,” she said. Then she looked at her hand and laughed. “Uh, I just realized I shouldn’t have bought this now. What am I going to do with this all day?”
We put everything in the car and hoped the flowers would last the trip. Thankfully it wasn’t a very hot day. I thought it was nice that she wanted to get something for my brother even though she’d just met him. But I was starting to realize that this was just who Blaire was. She was the sort of person that always put others before herself. When she wasn’t watching, I quickly bought a box of the same chocolates for her too.
“For me?”
“You can’t not have some of these yourself. Try one.”
I watched as she popped a chocolate into her mouth. Her face lit up as it had with the sculptures. “This is incredible,” she said.
After the market, I took her to the Sky View Observatory so that she’d have a 360-degree view over the whole city. Even though it was a very ‘tourist’ thing to do, I loved it myself. It was hard not to love something that offered such an incredible view.
“Wow, this is amazing. I cannot believe this view. It sort of puts everything into perspective, don’t you think? It makes all your problems suddenly seem small. I would ask how you knew about this place, but I’m assuming as my tour guide you simply know it all?”
I chuckled. “That’s correct. It really is nice up here,” I said as I looked out. “So, after this do you want to get something to eat?”
“Sounds great. I’m surprisingly hungry despite that big breakfast we had. Being a tourist is hard work. Have a place in mind?” she asked.
“Have you not learned anything yet?”
“Oh, of course, you’re the tour guide. Of course you have a place in mind!”
I laughed. “Exactly.”
We made our way back down, and I found a small restaurant not far from where we had parked.
“Hey, this is where we started,” she said.
“I always knew we were going to this restaurant. That’s why I parked here. So that we would end up here again.”
“Ah, smart thinking sir. What is this place?”
“This is my favorite restaurant ever. It may not look like much from the outside. Actually, it may not look like much from the inside. But they make the best food. I always come here when I come to Seattle.”
I took her inside, and we waited our turn to be seated. The place was busy, so we had to wait for a table to become available. I had never taken someone to this restaurant before. I’d only ever gone once with Reed, but the other times I’d gone alone. I was pretty excited to share it with Blaire and to see if she shared my joy for it too. I had a feeling not everyone would like or appreciate the place as much as I did.
“Ah, my first mistake as a tour guide today. I should’ve made a reservation.”
“This place is kind of crowded,” she said. “That’s always a good sign.”
“Yeah, it’s very popular. And I should’ve known.”
When a table finally became available, we took a seat. Blaire pulled out the menu, and I shook my head and took it from her.
“Let me order for you. Trust me.”
She giggled. “You want to order for me? I must say, that’s the first time someone has done that for me. Usually, I’d be offended, but I have a feeling you know what you’re doing. Okay, I trust you. Order away.”
When the waiter came, I placed an order for the hot dog special and laughed at Blaire’s confused expression.
“A hot dog?” she said. “Did you really just order me a hot dog?”
“Ah, but not just any ordinary hot dog. You’ll see.”
“What’s the special?”
“It comes with chocolate milkshakes.”
“Wow, there’s no dieting with you, is there?”
“Nope. Anyway, we did our fair share of walking, don’t you think?”
“That’s true. Well, I’m not sure if I trust your tour guide skills anymore.”
“What? Why not? I thought I was doing an amazing job. You’ve seemed pretty impressed so far.”
“You are doing an amazing job, and I have been impressed,” she said. “But hot dogs for lunch? Out of all the amazing restaurants I spotted along the way? I think you’ve lost your touch.”
“And I think you shouldn’t say anything until you’ve tried one.”
“Fair enough!” she said. “But I’ll have you know that I’m onto you. Also, I’m not much of a hot dog person.”
The food arrived surprisingly quickly for a place that was so busy. Blaire tried to look skeptical, but I could see she was impressed. The presentation was good for a place that was known for their hot dogs. I had no idea how they even managed to make such an ordinary food item look so good. I watched as she took a bite. She closed her eyes and smiled, and I knew immediately that she was hooked.
“Disgusting!” she said. “I’ve never tasted anything so bad.”
I laughed. “Is that why you had to close your eyes? Is that why I heard you audibly groan when you took a bite?” I didn’t tell her what a turn on that groan had been. I’d keep that little bit of information to myself.
She chuckled. “You got me. This stuff is amazing. This is by far the best hot dog I have ever had in my life. I actually can’t believe it.”
“I know, right? It’s amazing.” I picked up my own hot dog and took a bite. I had been so interested in seeing her expression that I almost forgot I had my own waiting in front of me.
“And the more I eat it, the better it gets. This stuff is addictive.”
“Tell me about it. I’m so glad you like it.”
“I may have to visit Seattle more often. I wonder if they have a branch near us? Maybe I should ask them. No, maybe I shouldn’t. If there was one near us, I’d go all the time, and that wouldn’t be a good thing. I mean, can you just imagine what I’d look like? I’d come here all the time. Ah, but who cares. I’ll just have to go for more runs every day. Maybe I should ask them.”
I laughed. “I’m actually kind of enjoying your monologue. So, which is it? Do you want one near us or not?”
“After much debate, I’ve decided that I want one near us.”
“Well, I’m sorry to say. But there isn’t one. This is the only location.”
“What? And you knew all along? You’re cruel. For that, you better do all that you can to convince them to open one by us.”
I chuckled. “I’ll try my best. So, does that mean I’m still doing good as your guide today?”
“You should seriously consider doing this for a living,” she said and took another bite of her hot dog.
After the hot dog and the milkshake, she insisted that we take another walk around to burn off the food. I didn’t mind. I was enjoying being out with her. It was nice to be with someone that took an interest in everything around her. I took her to one of the local parks that I’d actually never been to before. It was a beautiful place, and Blaire took a lot of interest in the duck pond. After about forty minutes of walking, I turned to look at her.
“Uh, you know, I parked near that café for a reason. Now we’ve walked forty minutes away from the car.”
She giggled. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I was enjoying the walk so much, but I forgot that we still had to get back. We better turn around.”
“I’m enjoying it too. You know, I’m not sure when the last time was that I just went for a walk in the park.”
“Same here. This is nice.”
We turned around and headed back. It was only when we got to the car that I realized I hadn’t talked about fighting the whole day. Not only that, but I hadn’t even thought about it. This was unusual for me. Usually fighting was the only thing on my mind, and I always found every opportunity to speak about it when I could. And the reason why I didn’t go for walks in the park was because the only thing I really did back home was fight, or train, or think about fighting and training. When I was with Blaire, things felt different. Even my headache had been better that day. I knew the Advil would’ve worn off by now. Blaire was like a walking, breathing Advil.
“Come on, Sunny,” I said when we eventually got to the car. “Let’s get in quickly before we cave in and buy another hot dog. Avert your eyes.” I said as we passed the building.
“Actually, I have an idea.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, I was going to suggest that we make dinner for Reed and Trinity tonight. You know, to say thank you.”
“You’ve already got them flowers and chocolates,” I pointed out. I didn’t want her to think that she had to constantly do something for them.
“I know. But I thought it would be nice to cook for them too. I’m sure Reed would appreciate a night off. He seems like such a nice guy, but I have a feeling that life isn’t always that easy for him. I wasn’t sure what I was going to make though, but now I’m thinking we should just get takeout hot dogs for everyone. And yes, before you ask, it is mainly because I want another one. But my selfish act will benefit everyone.”
“I want one too. I think that’s a wonderful idea. Let’s do it.”
We ordered hot dogs and milkshakes and took them back to the car. Blaire held onto the milkshakes so that they didn’t spill over, and I laughed at the sight of her.
“You know, Trinity is never going to want us to leave after this. I have a feeling Reed doesn’t usually have dinners like this.”
“I hope Reed doesn’t hate me after this,” Blaire said.
“How could anyone hate you, Sunny?” I said, and she smiled.
I drove slowly because Blaire was having a hard time holding onto the milkshakes, and when we got back, we put everything in the fridge. The hot dogs probably wouldn’t taste as good later, but I didn’t think Trinity would mind. Trinity was still at school. Reed had called to inform me that he would pick her up in the late afternoon. I looked at the time and saw that we still had a bit of time before anyone came home. I liked the idea of having the place to ourselves. I turned to Blaire and saw that she was grinning at me. I wondered if she was thinking the same thing.
“What’s up?” I said.
“You know, I’ve spent a lot of years watching MMA.”
“Okay?” I said. I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. It was the first time we were even talking about fighting that day.
“And I’ve picked up on a lot of moves myself. I may not look like a contender, but I think I could pull a fast one on you.”
“You really think you can beat me in a fight?” I teased.
Blaire was standing with her hands on her hips, looking incredibly cute. The thought of her in the middle of a fighting ring made me chuckle. She was simply too small and sweet for something like that. I walked over to her, and she immediately started showing me some of the moves she knew.
“Actually, that’s quite impressive,” I said. She knew more than I thought she would. She wouldn’t be able to actually fight anyone, but she knew more about it than most people did.
“Yeah, and I also know how to do this one,” she said and before I knew what was happening, she had pushed me down onto the ground. She sat over me and laughed. “I can’t believe I actually did that.”
Her hair was falling down from her face, and she looked incredibly pleased with herself. She’d taken me by surprise, but even though she was holding me down to the ground, I knew I could just get up without hassle. She was half the size of the guys I was used to fighting with.
“So, impressed or what?” she asked.
“Nah, I let you do that,” I said, still lying on the ground looking up at her.
“No way. You had no idea that was even coming. Admit it; you didn’t think I would be able to do that. Sure, it might have just been the element of surprise, but I still did it!”
I grinned at her. “Hmm . . . okay, I’ll admit it. You caught me by surprise. Which, to be honest, is the best move you can make in a fight. So yeah, I’m impressed. You got me. I was too mesmerized by your utter cuteness. But that doesn’t mean I can’t retaliate.”
She chuckled. “Oh yeah? And how exactly are you going to do that, Mr. Knuckles? I have, after all, just pinned you to the ground.”
“Do you really think that’s going to stop me?” I teased.
“Ha! I’d like to see you try. Tell me, how are you going to get me off you?”
I immediately turned her over and pinned her to the ground.
“Like that,” I said. I chuckled. “You have no idea how light you are. Or,” I said as I looked down at her face, “how beautiful.”
I leaned down and kissed her.