"Fine, but send the text."
She gave his ass a light pinch and he could feel her pull away from him before he finally opened his eyes again. She had thankfully moved to the other side of the condo, giving him some space to get control of himself. He looked down at his phone and pulled up Sydney's name in his texts.
Send help. I need donuts, he typed.
"The deed is done."
He put the phone on the counter and finally pulled on the shorts Lucy had handed him. Then he took a sip from his coffee cup, thankful that he had perfected his coffee-making skills this summer. At least it gave him something to focus on that wasn't hockey and wasn't Lucy.
"How long does this take?"
Too long, apparently. Ryan really needed Sydney to get over here because he couldn't stand this anymore. Seeing Lucy sitting over on his couch wearing only his jersey with his mug in her hand, it was all getting to be too much. He needed food, he really needed food. But he also needed Lucy and he couldn't do that without food first. He grabbed his phone again, desperate for Sydney's "help."
Donuts! Pleeeease!
He finally saw the little dots on his screen letting him know that Sydney was awake and finally ready to come over.
Be there shortly.
"She's on her way," he said as he dropped his phone on the counter.
"So how does this all work?" Lucy asked him.
He shrugged. "She pretends to my girlfriend, and then she'll look at you, and then…I don't know. That part has never happened before."
Lucy gave him a smile, and it gave him an idea that would make this whole production of theirs even better.
"Stay here," he quietly told her as he started to head back into his bedroom.
Lucy gave him a dangerous smile and put the coffee mug to her lips, her eyes never leaving his. Damn, she was hot.
Ryan ducked into his bedroom, standing just at the doorway for his grand entrance. He had never done this whole thing with someone who was in on the show. And he had never done this with someone Sydney knew. Hell, there were times when he couldn't even remember the names of the women he brought home.
But now this is something Lucy wanted to do and maybe it would be fun after all. For once, he was actually anticipating Sydney's entrance with excitement instead of just relief that his neighbor had finally arrived to save him.
He heard Sydney loudly shove her key into the lock of his front door and walk in.
"Hey, babe," she said as she closed the door. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I—"
A silence descended on his condo and he really wished he could see Sydney's face right now.
"Lucy?"
"Morning."
Ryan had to hold back a laugh that threatened to escape his throat. Lucy was playing this perfectly. So calm, so collected. There were reasons that he was apprehensive about doing this, and they were good ones, but he didn't anticipate just how well Lucy was going to play her part in this. If he wasn't starving, he would've stomped out there right now, said "Thanks and goodbye," to Sydney, and dragged Lucy back into his bedroom.
"What…what is going on? Why are you here?"
Ryan smiled to himself. Then he casually walked out of his bedroom, wearing just his shorts and t-shirt, and gave his neighbor a huge smile.
"Oh, hey, Sydney! I didn't hear you walk in."
Sydney's mouth dropped open and she took a deep breath before unleashing on him.
"Don't you dare 'Oh, hey' me! What is going on?"
Ryan gave her a huge smile. "Well, Sydney, the thing is that when a man and woman like each other—"
