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Embarrassed by my own thoughts, I cleared my throat as I bore a hole through the Ferris wheel with my gaze. “I guess all the things in these pictures did have to be designed by architects, didn’t they? I always just think of houses, and malls, and skyscrapers when I hear the word architect.”
Ryder nodded, his eyes lighting up as he smiled. It was as if he’d just discovered he’d found a kindred soul. “You’re right, most people do think that. But really, architects construct all physical structures.”
He wanted to be an architect. I mean, he really wanted it. It wasn’t just some passing oh, hey, architects makes money; I’ll be that wish. By the way his eyes sparkled and his smile bloomed, I could tell he actually loved architecture.
I liked that about him too, dang it. And I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t seem so very upset about me standing in his room, looking at his posters. It was as if he’d never said, “You don’t belong.”
“Did you know the Ferris wheel was named after its designer, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.?” he mused aloud as he studied the poster. “It was made in 1893 and was put into the World’s Columbian Exposition in order to provide some kind of competition for the Eiffel Tower that had been made only a few years before. Which I don’t really understand,” he added, casting a conspirator’s look my way. “Since the Ferris wheel was only two hundred sixty-four feet tall and the Eiffel Tower was over a thousand feet tall. That’s not really any comparison at all if you ask me. But you know what does amaze about the first Ferris wheel?”
“Hmm? What’s that?” I said, wanting to watch the amazing light in his eyes continue to beam as he blathered on. But honestly, he charmed me with the fact his passion could so fully suck him into raving about something as trivial as year and size and names of people no one had ever heard of.
“The first wheel could carry over two thousand people at a time. It was made of thirty-six cars and sixty people could fit into each one. Isn’t that crazy? Do you have any idea how much it would cost to construct something like that today? But back then, they only charged fifty cents a ride.”
Todd appeared next to us, shaking his head. “How the heck do you know all that?”
Ryder shrugged. “Read about it somewhere, I guess.”
Todd laughed as he clapped Ryder on the shoulder. “Man, you are such a freak.”
“Who’s a freak?” Kiera demanded to know as she danced over to us. When she spotted the poster we’d gathered around, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother. Are you talking about that stupid Ferris wheel again?” Cupping Ryder’s face in both hands, she looked him deep in the eyes. “Baby, no one cares.” Then she pecked him on the mouth and twirled away to prance off toward her friends.
I frowned after her, wanting to smart something off like she should care. Since this kind of stuff mattered to her boyfriend, then it should matter to her too, by God. No one wanted the people closest to them to make fun of their biggest passions.
Setting my shoulders with determination, I spun back to Ryder and pointed to the next poster. “So how tall is the Statue of Liberty?” I challenged.
“One hundred fifty-one feet,” he rattled off the answer before giving me an odd look. “Why?”
I shrugged and stared up at the jolly, green woman holding a torch. “No reason. I’ve just always wondered.”
“Did you know the copper it’s made of is only two point four millimeters thick?”
Lifting my eyebrows because, honestly, I thought that was way too thin for something so enormous, I said, “Really?”
“Yeah, it was built in—”
“Grace,” Kiera called out, interrupting her boyfriend. “You haven’t friended Ryder on Facebook yet.”
Spinning away from the posters, I gaped up at the second level where she now sat in front of the computer with three other people perched over her shoulder, studying the screen.
“I…uh…” I glanced, panicked, toward Ryder before looking up at his girlfriend and saying, “He never sent me a request.”
“Oh.” She smiled and turned back to the computer. “Well, then I’ll send you one for him right now.”
“Hey, how do you know my password?” Scowling, Ryder moved away from me to climb the ladder and crawl up into the second level where Kiera sat at his desk.
“I don’t,” she answered. “You never logged out.”
“So you’re on my Facebook page right now?”
Kiera grinned and blew him a kiss. “Of course.”
He groaned but didn’t demand she get off as he stood, staring over her shoulder, watching her send me a friend request.
A few seconds later, Kiera took her hands off the keys and smirked down at me. “There. I’ve sent you a request from him.”
I sent her a sick smile. “Great.”
“Thanks for accepting my friend request, by the way,” Mindy said from the couch. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to befriend all of us so soon after just meeting us.”
