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28
Everything started to unravel the day Ryan talked to Riley.
We were in the main room eating lunch, discussing how far to ride into the hills that afternoon, when the Skype song buzzed from Ryan’s laptop. He looked at the screen and cautioned me, “It’s Riley, so… maybe just hang back and don’t say anything.”
I almost said,
She actually WANTS me to ditch Derek for you,
but I kept it a bit milder than that. “I don’t think she would tell Derek.”
“I don’t think so either, but Derek might be there with her.”
Oh shit – he was right: Riley was in New York, and so was Derek.
“Okay,” I nodded, now totally freaked out.
He winked at me, positioned the laptop so there was no way I could be seen on camera, and clicked a button.
“Hey, Riley.”
“What up, farm boy!”
the familiar voice erupted from the speaker.
“How’s South Dakota? Tired of fuckin’ cows ‘n sheep yet?”
Ryan smiled. “I knew I was missing something, but I didn’t know what, exactly, until I heard your sweet, foul-mouthed little voice. How’s it going?”
“Awesome. I been drunker’n shit and gettin’ poon like a fuckin’ baBOON.”
Another voice, disapproving and motherly, spoke up.
“Riley!”
Riley started protesting like a five-year-old kid saying ‘But Mo
oooom
, all the other kids are doing it!’
“It’s just Ryan!”
she complained.
“I don’t care, don’t be so crude.”
Riley sighed, and even though I couldn’t see her, I could tell she was addressing Ryan again.
“I lied. I been livin’ with Mother Superior here for a week, and I been stone-cold sober and gettin’ about as much action as a butt-fugly nun.”
“Riley!”
came the voice again.
“I didn’t cuss, I said ‘fugly’!”
“Whatever. And I would hardly call three six-packs a day ‘sober.’”
“It is for ME!”
“Is that Megan I hear?” Ryan asked.
Riley’s sister,
I realized.
“Yeah,”
Riley said affectionately.
“Come over here, Meg!”
There was a few seconds’ pause, and a shy voice said,
“Hi, Ryan.”
“Hey, Megan! How’re you doing?”
