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"You say that as if I'd never even held a knife before last night," I shake my head. "God...in hindsight, the whole ordeal was terrifying. Thank goodness Ryan was there."
"Ryan was there…?" Madison asks, cocking an eyebrow.
"Oh...I didn't mention that?" I ask, even though this is the part I'm the most hesitant to share. I don't want them to read too much into it...but I also want them to validate everything I'm feeling about him. "Yeah, he pulled up right after and ended up taking me to the hospital."
"I told you he was watching you," Bryn mutters.
"He wasn't," I say, rolling my eyes. "He was leaving for the night and saw me locking up, then just happened to catch the end of the mugging. And seriously...I'm glad he was there because I would have been fucking spooked if I'd had to walk to the subway after that. Plus, I was bleeding."
"And what happened after that?"
I shrug. "I went to the hospital, got the cut cleaned up, filed a police report...and then I spent the night at Ryan's."
Bryn puts her glass down with a loud clink. "Ma'am, you could have led with that—"
"I didn't sleep with him," I say. "We talked, he gave me some food, and then I got some rest. I didn't want to be alone."
"You could have called any one of us," Bryn says.
"I know, but he was there, and..."
Madison bites her lip, laughing softly. "You have a thing for him."
"I don't—" I start, but Madison smirks.
"I get it, he's hot."
"He's old," Bryn chimes in.
"Remember, you're clearly outvoted here when it comes to dating older men," Kylie says. "Bryn, you don't know what you're missing out on."
"Me and Ryan are not dating," I declare.
"Yet," Madison adds.
"It would be totally against my own self-imposed rules," I murmur. "I'm the one who originally said wait staff shouldn't date members at the White Oak."
"You're not a waitress," Madison says.
"I don't know, I've always felt like he's a little weird," Bryn mutters. "Just...bad vibes."
"I mean, he's awkward, but for a good reason," Madison says. "I got to know him pretty well when we worked together earlier this year. He's had like uh…really shitty few years."
"Has he?" I ask, surprised at Madison’s statement.
Madison nods. "I know he can be kind of private, but he, like...moved here to be with his long-term girlfriend, and she left him two years ago."
"He mentioned a name," I frown. "Amanda?"
"Yep," Madison says. "I guess they parted on okay terms, but he's shy and has been considering leaving the city for a while now. I don't really know what's keeping him here."
I take a sip of my wine, trying to process everything Madison has just shared. It makes sense, in a way. Ryan has always been a bit of a mystery to me, and I never really felt like I knew much about him beyond the surface level. But hearing about his past makes me feel a little closer to him, like maybe we have something in common after all. I've had my own share of heartbreak and disappointment over the years, and I know how hard it can be to pick yourself up and keep going.
"Maybe he's just waiting for something," I say, more to myself than anyone else. "Or someone."
Bryn rolls her eyes. "God, you are so transparent."
"What do you mean?" I ask, feeling a little defensive.
