I feel something flutter in my chest.
ME:I’m okay
He starts typing.
RYAN:u sure?
I don’t answer right away, because of course I’m not really fine. But I don’t want to bother him.
I watch the typing dots appear again.
RYAN:wanna call?
Before I can even type a reply, his name suddenly lights up my screen. I let out a small breath and sit down on the edge of my bed before tapping the screen and bringing the phone to my ear.
“Hey.” His voice is low and soft through the speaker.
“Hey,” I answer quietly.
“How was it today?”
I shift a little and lean back against the wall behind my bed. “Uh… long.”
He hums softly on the other end of the line. “Yeah,” he says after a moment. “I get that.”
A small silence settles between us, but it doesn’t feel awkward. Then I hear him chuckle faintly. “Do you want to hear something funny?”
I push myself up from the bed, pacing a step across the room. “Sure.”
“I took Bailey to the gym for the first time today,” he says, a hint of amusement already in his voice. “And guess what she did.”
I laugh quietly. “What?”
“She walked straight up to the biggest guy in the gym and started lecturing him about putting his weights back.”
I stand up a little straighter. “No, she did not.”
“Oh, she absolutely did. You should’ve seen that guy’s face.”
A laugh escapes me. “He probably had no idea what just happened.”
“I know,” Ryan says, clearly still entertained by it. “He was just standing there looking at her like—did this tiny human really just start telling me what to do?”
I shake my head, still laughing. “That’s insane. I wish I’d been there.”
“Yeah,” he says warmly. “You would’ve loved it.”
I wander slowly across my room, pacing near the window. “Okay, but the real question is… did she win the argument?”
Ryan lets out a quiet, teasing chuckle. “What do you think?”
I grin. “Alright, how exactly did that go down?”
“Well,” he begins, “she gave him this whole speech about how if he’s strong enough to lift the weights, he should definitely be strong enough to put them back.”
I snort softly.
“And then,” he continues, clearly trying not to laugh again, “she added that his calves were tiny and his dick probably was too.”
