(CH2) Chapter 6: Female Friend

Riane and Julian had spent the last couple of days planning how they would interact during the meal. She knew that she could easily get Blake's attention, but it would be up to Julian to grab a hold of Adonia's. She would be the difficult one to pull away as her option was, well, a man she didn't particularly care for.

The two had studied the menu of the restaurant the night before in order to know what each other liked, and would want to eat there. They had studied topics to discuss and how to bring them up. Riane had even explained to Julian where he was rough around the edges, so that he could be seen as more companionable.

Arriving at the restaurant, it was not surprising that Adonia had picked a rather expensive one. Nanette helped put Riane's hair up as best she could, and she wore a nice black dress that went down to her knees and covered her shoulders. She refused high heels so they got her a flat dress shoe. Of course, it was freezing and she wore a long jacket around her. Julian had been forced to wear a suit and tie. He chose a dark brown.

Riane felt somewhat bad for Nanette as she had been excited to see the two of them go out as a couple. She told her how she had hoped that her son would come around and how great he had been acting since she moved in.

When they entered their coats were taken and they asked for Adonia's table, and were taken to the table and chairs as their hosts had already arrived. Hand shakes were offered and awkward greetings.

Adonia had chosen a little black dress with heels, and Blake wore a black suit and tie. Which had been humorous as Julian refused to wear the black one for fear he would dress like Blake.

The restaurant had low lights and every white cloth covered table had a candle on it. Most conversations were murmurs and it was nothing like the loud family style restaurants that Julian was used to going out with his friends. He hated these types of places and he could tell that Riane was uncomfortable as well. Though, she always looked uncomfortable in new situations and places.

“You look very nice, Riane.” Adonia told her with a smile as she sat down across from her, allowing Julian to have a seat next to his target and for Riane to be seated next to Blake.

“Thank you, so do you.” She said as she opened the menu with a slightly shaking hand.

Blake thought it was because she was nervous in this new place, and went to reach out to reassure her.

Julian's hand was there first on her shoulder and he smiled gently at her. He knew she was more worried about the actions they were about to take than the location they were in. “Take a deep breath. I'm here, you'll be fine, alright?”

Riane gave a strained grin at him before turning her attention to the menu.

Adonia had noticed what Blake had been preparing to do, and saw the look of disappointment on his face when Julian had stepped in before him. “We are ready to order whenever you two pick something.”

“Let me guess, you'll have the salmon.” Julian asked playfully and Riane looked up at him with a gentle smile and a nod.

“Steak for you?” Riane asked and he nodded with a grin.

The waiter came and took their orders and brought them their sparkling waters.

“So, Adonia, Riane tells me that you live on a ranch and raise horses.” Julian began. “I hear it has been in your family for generations.”

Adonia looked surprised, but immediately began talking about her home and family before Julian knew what hit him. This gave Riane the window she needed.

“How have you been?” She asked Blake, who turned his attention away from the countless stories he had heard before to his friend. “I have been well. You seem to be getting along well with Julian. How is his family?”

“They are wonderful. For the first time in my life, I enjoy going home and spending time with them. Nanette, Julian's mom, has done everything in her power to make me comfortable.” Riane kept a grin on her face. “Julian and I started rocky, but we actually have become good friends who are working hard to make a relationship out of this.”

Blake tried to look happy for her, but the idea of her forcing herself to love someone she didn't weighed on his mind. “That is good, I suppose.”

“Oh, you two should come out some time. We could go riding, have you ever been riding? Don't worry, I'll teach you.” Adonia continued to talk as Julian said very little and simply acted interested and asked questions like he had been taught.

Blake hated going horseback riding. He thought the animals smelled awful, but Adonia always said how much she loved the smell. He decided it had to do something with growing up around it and smelling it everyday. Part of him hoped that they would not be doing that in the future, but he decided to remain out of their conversation as he wanted to speak to Riane. However, no topics came to mind.

Riane realized that as close as she was to Blake, she had no conversation starters for herself. She had just thought that they would find something to discuss. Unfortunately, most of their time together was rather silent as Blake was never much of a talker.

“I wanted to apologize for showing up at that party a few months back.” Blake finally found something to talk about with her.

“It is fine.”

He slowly shook his head, “No, you asked for space and the first thing I did when finding out where you were was rush over to bother you. I should have respected your wishes.”

Riane didn't know how to respond and simply nodded her head briefly.

“I hope you know that this dinner wasn't my idea. Adonia just suddenly had a light bulb moment and raced over to you before I could discuss this with her.” He took a sip of his water and pulled nervously on his tie.

“That's fascinating.” Julian spoke from the other side of the table to Adonia.

“It's fine. Julian accepted, but he explained that we need to put this water under the bridge so that all parties are comfortable again.” It was one of the first times that she had ever lied to Blake and there was a slight pain in her stomach as she did it.

“He did?” Adonia asked as she had been partially listening to their conversation. Her eyes went over to Julian. “That is so nice of you. I didn't think any man would want his fiancee to have dinner with the man she was just crushing on not long ago.”

There it was. That moment were Adonia made everything awkward.

Blake's mouth opened slightly as he wanted to say something, but knew they should have this conversation in public.

Riane sat perfectly still with her eyes wide as she tried to formulate any words that could end this awful moment.

Adonia realized her mistake by their actions, and for a split second panic filled her heart as she tried to think of a way to apologize.

Julian laughed, “Yes, well, they were friends for years and they should make up. If Riane and I are to be married, then I would prefer to embrace her friends rather than demand she get rid of them. That would only be a recipe for resentment.” He laid his hand on top of Riane's own hand that she had set on the table and squeezed it gently to try to get her to return to reality.

Riane did so and chuckled. “It is all in the past.”

Both of their dinner hosts looked relieved and the conversations began once more. Though, Blake seemed a little more hesitant in the conversation than usual.

---***---

Joe walked into the house and into the kitchen were she roughly tossed her purse onto the island. Seth and Dalen stood there quietly with beers in their hands as she glared at him with her arms crossed.

Seth had no idea what was going on and thought perhaps he had landed right in the middle of a lovers' spat. He took a swig of his beer as he looked between the two of them.

“What?” Dalen finally asked.

“She wouldn't even talk to me about it. She is there right now. You have to text Ivy the information.” She knew that he was hesitant to do such a thing to a friend, but something needed to happen in order to end this madness.

“Text Ivy what information?” Seth asked as he realized that he wasn't yet stuck watching an argument between them. Though from her tone, it could easily become one.

Dalen sighed as he set his beer down. “Look, Ivy can be a bit much. I don't know if we should subject Riane to her. Trust me.”

“What is going on?” Seth barked.

“You know how Riane and Julian are going on that date to break Riane's friend's relationship up?” He watched his friend nod. “Joe wants us to tell Ivy about the location of the date, so she can ruin it for them.”

Seth made a face of fear and disgust, “That would be a bad idea. Ivy is extremely jealous of any women around Julian. He had to stop going to her favorite club because he couldn't get anywhere with the women there.”

“Is she violent?” Joe asked with some concern in her voice, but there was still enough anger and frustration to be apparent.

Dalen nodded slightly, “She has gotten into a few fights and had been banned from a couple clubs that I know of.”

Seth pressed his lips together and decided to add something that he knew would annoy his friend. “To be fair, she was hit first. It was just her running her mouth to the wrong person that got the fight started.”

The look of “Why?” crossed over his friend's face before he turned back to Joe. “They are both adults, and they will get whatever consequences are coming to them.”

Joe frowned, “The world is not filled with a karmic force that punishes the guilty. Sometimes, people who do wrong just get away with it. Julian is one of those people. He just acts and acts without care or consideration and everyone just lets him get away with it. We need to be that force before he, without any consideration to her well being, gets Riane so entrenched in his vileness that she can't be saved.”

Dalen pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed while he thought over the conversation that was being had.

Seth slowly shook his head, “Joe, I don't think this is the best course of action. We don't know what is going to happen. I mean this is getting Julian and Riane to work together, to act as a couple, and to go on dates. What if this backfires on them and the best possible outcome happens instead?”

The look on Joe's face told him that she thought he was a complete idiot. “Do you think the best possible outcome is for Julian and Riane to actually fall in love?”

“Yes?” He said cautiously.

“I just sat here and told you how vile he is, and you think I would want Riane to spend the rest of her days with that man? What happens when he gets bored? What happens when there is no contract to keep him from cheating? That man is selfish and uncaring, and he will do whatever he wants and hurt her as many times as he can. Riane will never fight back and she will just be his doormat. There is no way in hell that I want these two together.” She snapped and slammed her hand on the table, before looking at Dalen. “Give me Ivy's number, I'll do it.”

Dalen sighed, “You are right. Julian is an asshole, but I think it is unfair to say that he would treat Riane that way. He has never had any long term relationships, so we have no idea how faithful he would be to her.”

Seth nodded in agreement, “Yes, after all, Riane said he could go see girls and she wouldn't say anything. Julian hasn't gone to the club with us since he got engaged.”

Joe put both her hands on top of her head, “What the hell are we talking about?” She pulled her hands away as she spoke and kept them floating in the air. “Riane and Julian are not in love. His faithfulness does not matter. What does matter is that he is exploiting her to break up another couple's relationship.”

“He's always been a good friend to us. I mean, I think you can see how good a person will be in a romantic relationship by looking at their platonic. Don't you?” Seth continued his train of thought and was asking Dalen not Joe.

Dalen shrugged and brought his eyebrows together. “A little bit, I think. Romantic relationships have a selfish dynamic though. Meaning you can have eight friends and no one minds, but you can't have eight girlfriends, you know?”

“Well, you can. You just won't live to see another day when they find out about each other.” Seth joked which made Dalen laugh.

Joe stood silently as she watched the two of them banter as if she wasn't trying to get something done. “Are you two trying to throw me off topic?”

Dalen sighed audibly as Seth backed away from the island and propped himself up on the counter behind him. He decided that this was no longer a conversation that he was invited to and decided to just drink his beer.

“Joe, I just can't do this to my friend and you shouldn't consider doing it to yours. This is not a pleasant side of you.” Dalen hoped that he could get through to her, but she looked determined. “What happens when Riane finds out?”

“I'll explain myself and hopefully she'll understand. I am only doing what is best for her as I have always done.” Joe held out her hand in an effort to get him to hand over his phone.

“Fine, I want no part of this. Use your own phone.” He picked up his cellphone and found Ivy's number, before showing her the screen.

Joe was quickly to copy it and send a text message with the name of the restaurant and an address followed by a quick message that Julian was there on a date right now.

“Who is this?” Was the message that followed.

“A friend that wants to stop this date from happening.” Joe replied, but the woman never sent another message to her.

“Enjoy her calling you and texting you whenever she wants to find Julian now.” Dalen frowned as he down the rest of his beer.

“If it means stopping this nonsense, I'll tell her.” Joe growled as she stared at the information that she had just given the woman.

Now that her anger was subsiding, she was already feeling remorse. She didn't know if the woman would even go there, but she thought how it might make Riane afraid to go on dates. She worried that she might have scarred her more than taught her a lesson.

“You aren't looking so happy with yourself.” Dalen reached out and touched her on her upper back.

“Damn it. I shouldn't have interfered.” She mumbled. “I don't suppose there is anyway to convince her not to go?”

Dalen shook his head gently and pat her back. “Nope, consequences are all you have now.”

“You could tell her that they are leaving, and she might not bother.” Seth suggested and frowned when he saw the annoyed looks they both gave him. “It is at least doing something instead of waiting for the destruction to happen.”

---***---

The group of four left the restaurant together and stood on the sidewalk covered in thick coats with gloves on their hands. They were waiting for the valet to get their cars and Adonia was still talking to Julian about the ranch and had even gone into her personal life about her childhood growing up there.

That single question had provided two hours worth of conversation for her so far, and had almost redeemed him in her eyes. Julian would have been proud of his immediate results if he weren't so bored with the topic.

The crunching of snow under their feet and the cars driving down the restored cobble road were the only sounds besides Adonia's voice as the four stood waiting.

Riane stood next to Blake and the two made eye contact with each other find time to time as the other woman went on about her favorite horse as a child. They had both made the mistake in the past to ask Adonia about her ranch, which was why Riane had known to have Julian bring up the topic.

She would rattle on and tell him everything she knew, thought, and felt which would give Riane all the time in the world to talk to Blake. He loathed the subject as he was uninterested and he had heard all the stories at least twenty times each.

However, it did not work out as planned. She and Blake had nothing to discuss. She had forgotten how polite and cordial he was in everything he said and did. In some ways, he was rather a boring man and she had gotten used to the loud, obnoxious, and downright crude remarks of her new group of friends.

She decided that was the problem. She had entrenched herself in their bad behavior for so long, she had forgotten what polite conversation was like. It wasn't that Blake was the problem but she was and she decided that something needed to be done about that.

After all, it was nice being with someone and conversation didn't have to constantly fill the air. That meant they were comfortable with each other, or perhaps he was uncomfortable after learning about her feelings for him. He might be pulling away from her in order to give her space even in the confines of a dinner date.

Her brain was running a mile a second and she decided that she needed to calm down before she freaked herself out completely. She would have to talk to Julian about this later, but right now this date couldn't end. She had to have some sort of conversation with Blake to make sure that they really were fine with one another.

This prompted her to take Julian's hand as he had been doing to her the last couple of months and she smiled at Adonia. “Shall we go somewhere for coffee?”

The blonde woman clasped her hands together and smiled widely, “Oh, yes, let's do that! I am having so much fun, I don't want the evening to end just yet.” Her eyes went to Blake. “What do you say, shall we? I know you don't drink coffee after noon, but they have other drinks there as well. Hot cocoa, tea, and I am sure other things that I can't think of.”

It was strange to Riane to see Adonia beg Blake to break his schedule. She had never once thought to ask him to do such a thing and she would never have thought of begging to him.

Blake sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “Since it is Friday, I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay out later just this once.”

Jealousy brewed strongly in Riane's gut as part of her hoped he would say no and not give into Adonia's request, after all she had made the suggest and he should be saying yes or no to her.

“There you are!” A woman's voice called out.

She approached them with a brown faux fur coat on that ruffled up the collar over her ears. Her hair was dyed white except for the pink tips, and she wore heavy eye make-up and purple lip stick. Her finger nails were long and painted pink with white dots, and she smelled heavily of a sweet perfume that reminded Riane of cherries.

She immediately thrust her hand between Julian and Riane and yanked down forcing them to release each other's hand. “I have been calling for months now!” She snapped at Julian. “Who is this whore?”

Julian remained calm, “She is my fiancee, Ivy, and this is highly inappropriate behavior. Please leave.”

“Leave?” She scoffed and turned her attention to Riane. “He fuck ya, yet?” She motioned her hand, which had several large rings on it, over her body. “He's had all this to himself for years. I am a freaky bitch that gives him...”

“Enough!” Julian barked. “Do not speak to her like that!” He stepped in front of Riane to guard her from even the woman's stare. “You need to leave.”

Ivy glared at him for several moments, “You find yourself a rich bitch and ditch me without so much as a phone call.”

“I didn't have to call you. We were only together in your head as I stated several times. Stop stalking me and stop calling my friends to ask where I am. I am about to put out a restraining order on you, do you understand?” He growled.

At this point their cars arrived and the valets stood awkwardly with their keys in hand as they watched the scene unfold.

“No. No! I am not going anywhere. You love me, and we both know that you won't be happy with her, especially not with some half boy half girl thing.” She hissed as she tried to move passed him and get to Riane, but Julian put his hands on her shoulders.

Adonia and Blake stood by with wide eyes as if they didn't know what to do. Blake thought of reaching out to grab Riane and get her out of here, but Adonia held tightly to his arm and he feared she might think he was abandoning her to save his friend.

“Ivy, this is not the time or place for any conversation such as this one. You need to go home and cool down. Understand that we are finished, we have been since last year due to that little incident.” He was trying to talk calmly to her in order to keep her from getting further upset.

“It wasn't holding you against your will. You were free to go.” She chuckled and touched his chin playfully, “You just had to go naked.”

He swatted her hand away and spoke over his shoulder. “Riane, get in the car.” His eyes went to Adonia and Blake afterward, “You two should as well. She's not going to listen to reason.”

As Riane moved behind him to head for the car, Ivy got loose and leaped forward. She grabbed onto Riane's right upper arm, and quickly spit in her face.

Julian shoved her away and she landed with a hard thud on the ground. He quickly moved to put Riane in the car and shut the door behind her, before turning to the other two. “I don't think we are in the mood for coffee any more.”

“Are you certain? You don't have to be embarrassed.” Blake was trying to make sure that this incident would not harm his relationship with Riane going forward. Even though now, he was certain this man before him was pure scum.

“I am certain Riane is too upset. We will have to rain check it, and I am very sorry for this incident. I will explain the circumstances some other time.”

“It is not your fault.” Adonia said with concern in her voice.

He glared at Ivy who was still sitting on the paved sidewalk with tears in her eyes. “Stay away from me!” He barked with his finger pointed at her.

Ivy began to cry loudly as Julian grabbed his keys from the valet and handed him a couple folded bills, before walking around the car and climbing into the passenger side.

“Julian! Don't do this to me!” She cried and kicked her high heel cover feet. Her dark eyeliner was beginning to run down her face. “You love me!”

His car pulled away; leaving the other couple standing in confusion as they watched this woman self destruct on the sidewalk. Adonia felt slightly pain of jealousy over the way that Riane had been once again protected. She had purposefully held Blake in his place because she didn't want to see Riane have a second knight at her side. It was as if somehow Riane had convinced the world she was a tiny bird that needed constant nurturing and support.

---***---

Blake drove them to an ice cream shop; where Adonia ordered a sundae and Blake just had a cup of vanilla ice cream. The two had moved to a corner seat and slowly ate their dessert. Neither had spoken much since the incident as they both thought about what had occurred.

The ice cream shop was just a small store with four tables and was empty this time of year since it was so cold. They made ice cream cakes and seemed to cater to parties more during the winters than they catered to single cone buyers.

He was annoyed to see another person care for his friend. That had been his job and his place for years, and to see himself being so easily replaced was unbearable. It was more than that though. Years of watching her hide away behind bulking clothes too afraid to do anything she wanted, and suddenly Riane meets Julian and she is wearing dresses and growing her hair out.

Part of him wondered if some of it wasn't an act. He thought about all that Joe and he had sacrificed in order to help Riane. He was certain he knew exactly who she was and thought perhaps she would be that way forever. Instead, she changed within the blink of an eye.

The moment she walked away from him she no longer needed the fear to bind him, was that it? Had she tricked him all this time? He disliked thinking such thoughts about his best friend, but it was hard to imagine any other way.

Adonia, on the other hand, tried her best not to show her disgust for the other woman. Everyone was always taking care of Riane, and even she had fallen into the trap.

She thought for certain that their relationship was a complete sham. Julian holding Riane's hand whenever she came into view. It was obvious that he was using Riane in an attempt to what? Make her jealous? Ridiculous.

Julian was a jerk. A piece of garbage. Someone with no manners and no consideration for others. There was no way that he could keep up the charade of being a kind and devoted partner. She was going to prove to Riane that he didn't really care about her, and this was all his attempt to get her as he always wanted.

The thought was fleeting and she realized that if she did try to prove that she would be saving Riane once again. No, if she was a fool enough to believe that he was actually in love with her then let her figure it out on her own.

“They seemed content with one another.” Adonia said as she scooped up some ice cream with fudge and peanuts.

Blake nodded his head. “Yeah, I guess it doesn't really take very long to get to know someone deeply, especially if you live with them.”

She wanted to scream everything she had thought about Riane and Julian at him, but knew he would not be accepting of such thoughts.

In fact, he might scold her for speaking ill of Riane and tell her to find her own way home. He had never done such a thing before but she feared that he might if she pushed too hard.

Blake, on the other hand, was annoyed at Adonia's positivity over the couple. He did not want to have to fake pleasant conversation as he tried to process his feelings.

In truth, he had wanted to take Adonia home immediately after and be alone in his apartment. Instead, she had suggested ice cream and he simply could not turn her down. He didn't want to make her feel like what had happened with Riane was more important than her.

“I wonder how they managed to become so comfortable with one another.” Adonia may not be able to say what she wanted, but perhaps planting a seed might help. Let it grow. “I mean for the longest time he didn't seem to be talking to her at all, even though they were in the same group. The only interaction I ever saw was him grabbing her hand whenever we were in eye sight. You know what I mean?”

Blake nodded, “Yes, it was suspicious, but I guess we were wrong. Whisking her away after an attack and caring for her proves he cares about her.”

“Suspicious that his ex- what would one call that?” She didn't want to use a degrading term that might anger Blake.

“Ex-lover, I presume.” He gave her the word knowing that she was searching her brain for a polite term.

“Lover would imply a romantic element. I do not think they were romantically involved, or at least Julian wasn't.” She tapped her lip with her index finger as she thought over the term, but “fuck buddy” and “friends with benefits” was all she could come up with. It seemed saying they were friends would be a gross overuse of the word.

“It doesn't matter.” Blake quickly dismissed the search for the proper word. “Yes, it was strange that she knew where to find him, and I am sure they will figure out how that happened. It is none of our business, however.”

“How is Julian's ex-whatever coming over and harassing Riane not our business?” There she was making it sound like she was trying to protect Riane, but knowing she was only trying to stay close to him.

The last few months had been nice, as she hadn't had to worry much about Riane. She didn't know why bringing her back into Blake's life was a good idea, other than she was tired of him always looking upset. She shouldn't have meddled.

“It's Julian and Riane's issue, not ours.” As much as he knew that was true, it still bothered him. Even if Julian was the one to protect her, he had been the one to cause the pain in the first place.

Of course, the whole reason that he and Riane put their friendship on hold was because he had caused her pain and tried to remedy it without success.

If only Adonia had slipped up then none of this would be happening. Even if Julian and Riane got engaged, which probably only happened out of their new found friendship, she would have gladly decided to come live with him instead of Julian and she would be safe to live out her life. They could have broken up after college and everything would have been fine.

Now, she will be forced to marry a man who obvious has multiple skeletons in his closet, and one particularly crazy one.

“Your friend's issue are your issues.” Adonia tried to argue back, but knew she shouldn't push too hard.

“Only when they ask you to help. Otherwise, it is not part of your responsibilities.” Blake countered.

This was the time to be silent on the issue and she knew it as she returned to eating her sundae. She would try again at another time.

Honestly, she didn't know what she was doing anyway. Was she trying to create a divide between Riane and Blake? Was she trying to prove Julian was a fraud? She didn't know what she was doing at this point and it was all grasping at straws.

Blake didn't look too pleased to be sitting across from her and eating ice cream. He had ordered a small and was getting close to being done.

Adonia realized that this date had not had too many good moments between him and her, and decided to start eating her sundae a little slower. She didn't want it to end so quickly without any bonding time with him.

“Always boring vanilla.” She teased with a smile.

“Yours is vanilla too.”

She chuckled, “Yeah, but with hot fudge, peanuts, whip cream, and a yummy cherry.” She had set the cherry aside for last. “It's way more complicated than just scooping some ice cream into a cup.”

“I like things to not be complicated. I like simple.” He expressed to her as he finished up his dessert.

---***---

Julian was driving home and grinding his teeth as he thought about Ivy showing up to say such things to his friend and then treat her in such a manner. He didn't even know how she had managed to find him. He had been very careful in avoiding her, because he knew that drug addled woman with horrible judgment would destroy everything he was trying to accomplish.

He had never once told a woman that they were dating or even in love. He was always very clear that it was just a fun for now situation.

Ivy had been a great deal of fun in the beginning. She was smart and funny, which made him stay around her for longer than he should have. The length of time went on for too long and he spent one too many nights in her apartment.

The rule was to never sleep in bed with a one night stand or even a friend with benefits. You have sex with one another and then you leave or sleep on the couch if you can't drive or take a cab. He broke that rule after too many drinks and would simply be too drunk to move himself to the couch. This caused confusion.

He should have cut and run the first time Ivy had made him breakfast, but his hungover mind accepted it graciously. He thought for certain she understood the perimeters of their relationship, but then it happened.

Sitting on the bed after a long night of partying, he was getting ready to go home. Putting on his shoes and Ivy wrapped her arms around his neck to tell him how much she loved him.

He hadn't been able to get out of that apartment fast enough. She didn't understand as he mumbled excuses and then attempted to avoid her whenever he went out. Somehow, she was able to find him. It turned out her friends would contact her if they saw him, which made partying a little harder.

Ivy didn't know that he was nineteen and thought he was in his mid-twenties. Of course, he didn't know if that would make a difference considering she seemed to care deeply about his money. At least, she did at first.

When his father decided to blackmail him, he had stop going to clubs entirely as he didn't want the temptation nor did he want the suspicion. This meant that Ivy had no way of finding him. He changed his cellphone number so she couldn't call him, but he had been told by Dalen and Seth that they were not so lucky. He tried to encourage them to change their numbers, but they had refused.

Looking over at the woman in his passenger seat, he frowned as he noticed the napkin in her hand that she used to clear away Ivy's spit.

Riane sat with her hands in her lap and her eyes looking out the window. She had been quiet since they got in the car. There were no questions, no anger, no yelling, no nothing. It was unsettling to him as he expected some sort of reaction from her.

“Are you alright?” He finally asked.

She looked away from the window and to him, “Yes, I am fine.” She said softly and returned to the contemplative stare.

“I am sorry about that.” There was a fear that she was angry with him and this was how she showed it. He was more used to the yelling and screaming than the silent treatment.

“For a moment there, I thought perhaps you planned all that.” She informed him. “Since we left in such a hurry it couldn't have been that, right?”

“Trust me when I say I would rather never see that woman again. I have no idea how she found us.” He tried to sound as sincere as possible.

“I am trying to figure out if that will be perceived as good or bad.” She told him which put his mind at ease.

“Good or bad?”

She nodded and looked at the man behind the driver's wheel. “By Adonia and Blake. Will they think that you were acting in my best interest when you left? Or will they think you are a scumbag for letting someone like that in your life?”

He chuckled, “We all pick the wrong person to spend your time with from time to time.”

In her words, he realized what he had done. He hadn't even asked Riane if she could power through the incident so he could spend more time with Adonia. No, he had simply thrown her in the car with no concern for himself as he wanted to get Riane as far away from that horrible situation as possible.

“I think that leaving them wanting more was a good play.” Riane looked at the napkin in her hand. “It must have looked rather convincing that you rushed off with me like that. Good thinking on your part.”

“Thanks. It might have been fortuitous that she found me or, like you said, it could be disastrous.” He cleared his throat. “Adonia might not particularly care for the fact that I used to associate myself with that woman.” He didn't even really care about that at the time as he realized his actions were in Riane's favor and not his own.

“From what I know of Adonia, she is a rather forgiving person. Blake isn't the type to judge people harshly either. I think we might be fine when we can figure out an excuse and explain the situation. We should apologize as well.” She adjusted herself in the chair to sit up straight.

“If you think that is for the best.” He hated apologizing and hoped that if they did that Riane would take point.

He was a little confused on how well Riane was taking this entire development. Actually, confused would be an understatement. He was afraid.

Her cold calculations of how being assaulted by another woman would fit into their plans was almost horrifying. He knew he would not take such actions lightly if the situation had been reversed. She seemed detached from it as if they had happened to someone else.

When they were in the restaurant, he remembered Adonia droning on and on about her ranch and her life growing up on it. However, what stuck in his mind the most was looking over at Riane and seeing that uncomfortable look on her face.

She was trying so hard to come up with subjects topics for her and Blake, but these two close friends seemed unable to have the most basic of conversations. There were times when he felt bad for her and wanted to just leave. Abandon the plan and just get out of there, but he knew that Riane wouldn't have wanted to do so.

Now, he was more certain than ever that she would have been angry had they left any earlier. No matter how awkward it was, she wanted to be around that man and she wanted to ensure the plan worked. It seemed even being attacked was a plus when it came to the plan.

He did not approve, and he couldn't pinpoint why.

After all, this was his idea. He was the one that convinced her to do all this. They had worked so hard in a couple days to make sure the evening went smoothly. They had learned so much about each other. They told stories of their childhoods, talked about their favorite foods, and in some ways had become closer.

He didn't like it when he found out that Ryan was actually Riane. Part of him hoped that it was all a lie, and that as he went to sleep he would wake up to find his new friend again just as he was. Instead, the bitterness of reality kept her female.

Now, though, he liked his friend, Riane.

Never in his life had he had a female friend and every girl that he knew either didn't care for him or were just some club girl looking for a fun time.

Riane was smart and funny. She could keep up with him and his friends when it came to smart ass comments. She was still 'little man' to him.

It took that evening for him to realize that he cared about Riane, and that he might have hurt their friendship with this plan, because he was beginning to doubt if it was a good idea at all.

---***---

Standing in the gaming section of an electronics store, Kalei could see the exit that would take them out into the mall. There was a nice shoe store within eyesight and they had banners that told of a buy a pair of shoes and get another pair half off. She loved getting deals even if they weren't necessary on the budget that her parents' gave her.

However, she wasn't here today to shop for herself. She had come with Parker in order to buy her some stupid computer thing or another.

Parker loathed shopping for clothes, jewelry, or anything that Kalei loved, but she always did it with a partial grin on her face. She would walk around with her for hours as she pointed out every little item she liked, say she would buy it, change her mind, put it back, and then decide she wanted it and have to go find it again.

In truth, if it weren't for Adonia the two would not be friends, but they found a lot more time together now that their friend was stressed over her boyfriend. She wanted to spend more time with him, and less with her female friends. They, of course, understood as they had abandoned their friends from time to time for a guy.

“Don't you have ear buds? Can't you just use those?” Kalei whined and immediately knew she was not being supportive.

Parker didn't seem to care. “Yes, I could, but they tend to slip out of my ear and the audio quality is not what I am looking for when playing my games. I want something that can block out sound nearly completely, but not totally.”

“Why not?”

“I'd like to know if people are coming and going from my room. With three brothers, it is a possibility that they will use my detraction as an opportunity to steal from me.” Parker explained as she held two boxes that contained headphones with a mic; one was a blue box while the other was black with green trimming.

“Steal what? I have seen your room. It's nothing but knick knacks and video games.” Kalei touched one of the boxes as if she was interested in it, though that could not be further from the truth.

“Those knick knacks are expensive collector items from movies and video games. I would explain to you in depth why they are not just knick knacks or toys, but I have a feeling you don't care.” Parker put one of the blue box down and started to read the specifics of the headset she kept in her hand.

“You would be totally correct.” Kalei leaned on one foot and whimpered slightly. “Do you want to get coffee after this?”

“I guess, but I have to be home at eight. The guys and I are planning a run through of a new dungeon in...” She stopped talking when she realized that her friend had completely zoned out of the conversation. “Ok, I'll stop, but I have to be home at eight.”

“So, boring. Ugh, I wish Adonia was here.” Kalei took her phone out of her purse and looked at the screen to discover the time. “She should be done by now. It was a rather early dinner.”

“She'll probably text us soon to find out where we are.” Parker put the headset down and picked up the one she had just set down to read its' specifications.

Kalei screamed internally that she should just pick one already and they are all the same, but she continued to remain calm on the outside. She knew this was what Parker felt like shopping with her. “I don't know why I wasn't invited, if it was a couples thing then Chad and I could have gone. We have been together since high school, we are the much more developed couple.” She pouted slightly as she always did hate being left out.

“If you went with Chad then I would be here all by myself.” Parker told her without looking away from the box.

It made her smile and she gave her friend a gentle hug from the back. “You are right, I would much rather be here with you. So, do you think they are really a couple?”

“Adonia and Blake?”

Kalei sighed exasperated, “No, Riane and that dick hole. The whole reason that she is doing this is to prove to Riane that he is just using the fiancee thing to get to Adonia.”

“Sounds underhanded.” Parker knew what was going on, but she liked to make Kalei explain everything out loud when it came to these playground antics that the two liked to engage in. Kalei was the kindest person she had ever met, but she did get wrapped up a great deal in what was a popular thing to do and not what was the right thing to do.

“I guess, but how else to figure it out?” Kalei watched her put down another box and pick up the first box once more. She wanted to jump up and down to stomp her feet like a child, but maintained her cool.

“Ask him directly? Not play into his dirty game? Let Riane live her own life and discover the world for herself? Her words were spoken slowly as she read the box again, and there was no hint of sarcasm or any bite to her words.

“He could lie and she could get really hurt. Adonia cares about this girl because she is Blake's friend. It would serve nobody for Adonia to see a wrong being done to her and remain silent.” Kalei did have some annoyance in her words as she never understood how Parker could simply be calm in these situations.

“Then she would have talked directly to Riane, and not staged this. I think this was meant to help Blake find his friend again, but there is a little bit of selfishness on Adonia's part and I am not sure where it is coming from.” Parker held the box closely to her chest as she stopped reading and turned to her friend. “Alright, I am going to go with this one.”

“Finally!” Kalei tossed her head back. “But what do you mean selfishness?”

She shrugged as she clutched the box. “I don't know. Julian never seemed to bother her much before until he suddenly started holding Riane's hand. I know he did it in the most obvious way, and I saw him do it. I think he was genuinely trying to make her jealous, but what if it did?”

Kalei laughed for several moments, “You have to be kidding, right? Adonia loathes that little toad fart. There is no way she would be jealous. He has been nothing but rude to her this past year and you heard what he did when they first met.”

She gave a quick nod, “Adonia thought he was cute until he started opening his mouth and obviously only caring about arm candy. If he had been a nice guy who actually knew how to talk to her; we might be talking about Julian and Adonia leaving us out of a date.”

The blonde stood with her mouth slightly ajar. “No, but... no.”

Parker nodded once more, “However, if you think about it, he only started to actively pursue her when she rejected him. I believe that he only becomes romantically interested in a woman when she does not want him. If Adonia were to ever decide she did want something to do with him; I don't think he would stay much passed the first night together.”

“He practically stalked her for a month, before he started acting like more of an ass than he already had been. There is no way. You are just backseat councilor with no idea what you are talking about, Park.” Kalei laughed it off.

“If you say so, but you know I have almost a sixth sense about people and this is the vibe that I am getting from all this. Just watch.”

Crossing her arms, Kalei smirked, “Oh yeah, and what about the vibe you get off of Riane and Julian?”

“There isn't one. Not yet, anyway. They need more time before I can figure out through body language what they are up to.” Parker started to walk towards the cash register.

“There is no way.” Kalei shook her head and then looked down at her beeping phone. “It's Adonia. She wants to meet up. Shall I tell her to meet us in the coffee shop?”

Parker nodded, “Yeah. Why don't you head there now and order all of our drinks. Mocha with extra chocolate, please.”

“My pleasure. You enjoy that line.”

---***---

Julian and Riane arrived at home. He hadn't said much on the rest of the drive, while Riane discussed what they could for future interaction. He hadn't really heard anything she had said and simply agreed with her whenever it sounded like she was asking a question.

The two walked quietly up the stairs and then separated at the top as they each went to their own bedrooms. Both tossed themselves on their beds to sit for a moment and think about what they were feeling and why.

Riane was stuck on something that Julian had said while he was somewhat zoned out. He had told her that if they go too far they might expect the two of them to be more intimate with one another. She understood that this went beyond hand holding, and she had gone quiet over the topic.

She had never kissed anyone before and the thought of allowing Julian to take that from her had caused her heart to drop.

The idea alone was enough to stop what they were doing.

She had always thought that eventually Blake would be her first kiss. There were moments when she and he had been close enough that she thought he would kiss her. Now, she understood that he only saw her as the boy her mother had always wanted her to be.

Part of her doubted that she could ever change the way he saw her. From the moment they met, he had thought she was Ryan.

Then one day, she got in a bikini to go swimming and he had said nothing to her. He did not question it nor did he ever ask questions about it in the future.

She did understand why he was so confused now that she was running around and finally finding a place to be herself. She finally understood what her truth self looked like and in order for her to find it, she had to walk away from him for a time.

Of course, from what Nanette had said, if she and Blake had not gotten into that fight, then she and Julian would have never become friends. His mother would have never gotten this engagement idea in her head, and she wouldn't have pushed for Riane to try new things.

She did feel guilty for the way she was handling this, but it was mostly for Nanette. From the beginning she had no intention of marrying Julian or falling in love with him. The idea of doing anything romantic with him sent shivers down her spine.

“Hey.” Joe walked into the room as the door had been left wide open. She made her way over to the computer chair and sat down.

“Hey.” Riane replied as she sat up from laying on her stomach and let her feet dangle off the side of the bed.

“How did everything go?”

She shrugged, “It was a strange meal.”

Joe was surprised that Riane started talking about the meal, and part of her felt relieved that maybe Ivy hadn't found them.

“Adonia droned on and on about her ranch, and Julian kept asking her questions so she was engaged with him. However, Blake and I really didn't have much to talk about.” She began to pick at a hang nail on her left index finger.

“Isn't that usual for the two of you though?” She slide down on her chair and stretched out her legs as she began to feel more comfortable with the thought that Ivy had not arrived in time.

“I guess.”

Joe snorted, “I would find the two of you dead silent in a restaurant. You weren't even playing with your phones, you were just sitting there staring at each other and looking around. It wasn't until I joined you did you two talk, and I was the one leading the conversation.”

Riane nodded slowly as she thought about it.

“Adonia took over that place recently, I bet.” She sighed as she folded her hands on her lap. “Must have been tough.”

“What?”

“Having all those lunches all to yourself for so long, and then Adonia showing up and pushing her way into your friendship. At least, the other girls got the hint and would only come around from time to time.”

Riane pressed her lips together as she thought over her friend's words. “I guess I did cause him a lot of problems, huh?”

“I guess so, but he wouldn't have done it if it wasn't important to him. That man is stubborn. I'd take trying to get a mule to dance ballet then to get Blake to do something he doesn't want to do.” She laughed.

A gentle smile came to Riane lips before she looked surprised. “Oh, this woman found us when we were leaving. She is like Julian's ex or something.”

Joe heart sank immediately upon hearing those words.

“Anyway, she tried to attack me but Julian stopped her, but before I could get away she spit in my face.” Riane told her. “She had completely lost her mind. She apparently held him against his will by hiding his clothes, and she was asking me if we had slept together or not. It was rather embarrassing, but I was too shocked to feel it at the time.”

Joe swallowed hard. She could have easily acted startled by the entire incident, but she knew that would only prolong the inevitable. The longer she lied the more upset Riane would be when she found out.

“Are you alright?” Riane asked when she saw the look of discomfort on her friend's face.

Joe slowly shook her head, “No, I am not.” She cleared her throat as she tried to piece together the words.

“Are you feeling sick? Do you need medicine?” Riane stood up.

She waved her hand for her to sit back down, “No, Riane. I need to tell you something. I did something that will make you upset with me.”

Riane sat down and stared at her friend with little doe eyes.

“After I found out what you and Julian were planning, I was very upset. I found out that there was a girl that kept harassing Dalen in order to find out where Julian was hiding.”

The redhead's mouth slowly began to drop open in disbelief as she put the pieces together of what her friend was trying to tell her.

“I came home to talk to you about it, but you weren't interested in a discussion. So, when you went on the date, I told Ivy where you would be. I am the reason she showed up.” Joe lowered her eyes. “I want to apologize. Dalen and Seth warned me that she was insane, and asked me not to do it, but I thought it would be a good lesson.”

Riane's face of shock slowly turned into anger. “I can't believe you would do that to me, Jolene. That is so cruel and underhanded.”

Joe wanted to point out that what she was doing to Adonia and Blake was just that as well, but knew this was not the time or place to discussed that.

“She could have seriously hurt me. I mean she grabbed at me and spit in my face.” She shook her head. “Dalen and Seth were involved and they were against this, but refused to inform me or Julian about what was happening?”

“Please don't blame them. They tried to stop me, but I refused to be stopped.” Joe continued to look down at her hands in her lap.

A look of disgust came over Riane's face. “In all the years that we have been friends, I never thought you could do something like that to me.”

Joe finally looked up, “I never thought you could do what you are doing to Blake, but I guess deceit changes people.”

Riane glared at her for a moment. “Please leave.”

“Riane...”

“Leave.”

---***---

Blake entered his apartment and dropped his keys and cellphone into a bowl on the small table next to the door. He locked it behind him and removed his jacket before hanging it up in the small closet in the hallway.

His apartment entered into the living room with a small kitchen directly to the left. A short hallway was immediately in front of him that held the bathroom and two bedrooms. It wasn't a small apartment for a two bedroom, but it wasn't exceptionally large either.

It was mostly grays inside the apartment. Hardwood floors with gray couch and love seat and glass and metal coffee table, side tables, and tv stand. His tv was thirty inches as he rarely used it and didn't understand the giant ones in his friend's houses, anyway.

Walking into the small two sides kitchen, he opened the fridge and pulled out a container of orange juice. A glass from above the sink was retrieved and he poured himself half a glass before placing the container back into the fridge.

He remained in the kitchen as he leaned with both hands against the counter and stared at the glass of orange juice before him.

After dropping Adonia off at home, he didn't much remember his drive home. His thoughts had been stuck on what had happened today.

He and Riane finally eating together again in somewhat silence. Yes, Adonia was discussing her ranch with Julian, but it was a meal with Riane. Something he had sorely missed.

However, it was the after events that bothered him most. He had allowed himself to be held back from helping her.

He would have taken her hand and ran to his car, valet be damned. Once they were safe, he would have consoled her and told her that everything would be alright. He would then immediately have to apologize to Adonia for leaving her behind with Julian and the crazy woman.

Of course, even in his fantasy heroics he would make a mistake with a woman in order to help Riane, because that would be the reality of the events. He supposed if Adonia was smart enough to run with them then she would have come along.

It was thoughts and actions such as that one that caused him to lose the girlfriends in his life, so he stopped himself. He blamed Adonia's hold on him at first, but he knew he used it as an excuse to not help.

Yet, there was a nagging feel deep inside of him.

He was very much bothered by Julian.

No, he disliked him.

He could not stand, Julian.

No, he was disgusted by him.

He loathed that little shit, Julian.

He could not bare to watch someone else take his place with Riane. It had always been his place to stand in front of whatever she feared and fight it away. He would not allow this person with obvious ulterior motives to act as her guardian when all of his intentions would end up harming her.

He had to convince Riane that she would be safer living here with him. No one would question if the two were suddenly engaged and he knew that Adonia would not be bothered.

He sighed at himself as he gulped down the entire glass of orange juice. Who was he kidding? He couldn't be deceitful nor could he asked Adonia and Riane to do so, even if it was for the latter's own good.

Walking out into the living room, he picked up his cellphone and looked at it. He had a specific time when he would chat on his phone and that time had come and gone, but he decided to make an exception.

Finding their texts messages, Blake smirked at the last texts that the two had sent each other.

“Be there soon.”

Followed by, “Ok.”

They didn't really chat much in text as they spent enough time in person, though most of those moments were quiet as well.

He knew Adonia was annoyed by his texting habits, as she would send a long text and he would reply with a one word answer.

He decided to text Riane, “Hey, had a good evening. Let's do it again soon.”

Staring at the text before sending it, he considered how she might take these words. Would she think that he was acting out of character and think his feelings had changed?

Well, to be honest, he was acting out of character, but his feelings for her had not changed. Though, he had never properly explained what those feelings were towards her. He did love Riane, and he was sorry that he had mistreated her for so many years.

In his defense, she could have said something at any time. He was just acting as he always had towards her and tried not to change anything to make her uncomfortable. If she had just said something earlier none of this would have been a problem.

Swallowing, he decided to hit the send button and let the cards lay where they will. If she took it wrongly then he could simply explain himself.

Walking over to the couch, he sat down and turned on the news as he stared at his phone's text screen.

“The Mitchell-Kincade wedding is said to be the event of the decade. More information as the couples' representatives allow. Back to you, Sandra.”

“Thank you, Maxine. Now, onto the flooding in-”

Blake sighed when Riane did not respond, and he decided to sent her another text. “We should do something together just you and I, so that we can talk about everything. It's hard getting to talk real issues surrounded by a restaurant staff.”

His phone suddenly ringed and Adonia's face popped up on the screen. It was strange for her to call him now, but he decided to answer since he was already playing around on his phone.

“Hello, Adonia.” He answered.

Adonia was quiet for a moment, “Oh, hey. Um, I thought I would get your voice mail.” She chuckled uncomfortably.

“No, I was being unlike myself and playing on my phone a bit, since I got home so late.” He explained even though it was partially a lie.

“Oh, that makes sense. Anyway, I am in the car right now and I am heading to meet the girls out at the mall.” She was obviously reaching for something to say. “I... I was just going to leave a sweet message on your phone to let you know I love you, and that I was going to get you a gift.”

“Why?”

“I already said why, because I love you.” She laughed. “Anyway, since I have you. I was thinking a sweater, but if you want something else I can look into that.”

“Whatever you would like to buy is the perfect thing for me, Adonia.”

There was a smile in her voice, “You're so sweet. Alright, anyway, I had a whole speech planned out but it would be weird to say it live. Could you hang up and I can leave it for you?”

“Sure, talk to you later, love you.” He heard her reply in kind and hung up. He checked his text messages and there was a reply from Riane.

“We'll see.” Was all she said.

After a couple moments, she called once more and a smirk appeared on Blake's lips.

“Hello, Adonia.” He said as he answered it once more.

Adonia chuckled, “You jerk.”

---***---

Julian laid on his stomach in his bedroom. His two windows were covered in a black film to keep the light out, and his walls painted black. Posters from old and new, but obscure movies hung on the wall. He had seen them, but he wouldn't share them with anyone else. They were his alone to watch like a secret he kept from everyone else.

He liked his room to be dark where if he turned the lights off at any time of day it would be night time in his room.

Night time had always been his moment to reflect. Turning off his eye sight so that his mind could process everything that was happening to him. No distractions. Just thoughts.

His thoughts tonight were with what happened during the double date. He could have simply given Riane a napkin to clean herself up, sent her to the bathroom, and make an excuse for himself. They could have laughed the entire event off.

Obviously, Ivy was out of her mind. How often does someone make him the voice of reason in any argument?

Instead, without thinking at all, he had rushed Riane away from the danger and without so much as a friendly goodbye to Adonia. The one thing he didn't want to appear to her was rude, but that is exactly how it must have looked.

Perhaps, Riane was right though. It may have looked convincing and gallant of him to choose his fiancee first.

Still the questioned remained, why?

Why had he done that? It wasn't like him. Of course, since meeting Riane there were a few things that were unlike him that he had done.

He doubted he would have ever agreed to this pretend engagement with anyone else but her. He hadn't even put forth an effort to have her removed as he had promised. He had only pouted until there was something in it for him.

In truth, after a couple of days of being engaged to her, he hadn't had the anger to push forward on any of his threats. When his friends sided with Riane, he knew that without them helping him to stay focused that he would get bored and give up. It was best to admit defeat before looking anymore foolish than he already did.

Maybe that was it. Riane was now his friend. She was an important person to him. They were partners in crime for lack of a better phrase.

Would he had done the same thing for Seth and Dalen though?

No, most certainly not. Why?

Simply enough, because Riane was a girl, right? Right?

He nodded to himself as he sat up, “Right.”

Standing up from the bed, he turned on the light as he smirked to himself. Of course, he had this all figured out now. Thanks black out room.

Heading down the hallway, he bumped into Joe who seemed to be leaving Riane's room. She locked fiery eyes with him until she was standing right before him.

“Yes?” He slightly sung the word.

“You are an asshole.” She said in a low voice. “You are the reason she was convinced to be so conniving. When this falls apart and she has lost her friends, I hope you will finally be happy. You selfish, little prick.”

Julian did not respond but he did raise his eyebrows in mock surprise.

Disgust made her upper lip curl as she purposely shoulder checked him as she headed behind him and down the stairs.

Moving on, he thought to himself as he headed towards Riane's bedroom. He gave a couple knocks in the form a playful melody that only he could actually hear.

The door slowly opened and Riane sighed as she leaned against the door frame. “I didn't think I'd see you until tomorrow.”

He shrugged, “Your chauffeur is a bit... uh, saucy tonight.” He wanted to have a conversation with her, and from his training he knew it wouldn't do him well to call her by the word he actually wanted. That might make Riane defensive.

“She is more mad at herself than anyone else. She was the one that sent Ivy to us; to teach us a lesson, she said.” Riane stepped aside and waved him in before shutting the door behind him.

Julian tossed himself on the bed as he was used to doing whenever he visited. He laid on his back with his hands behind his head, as Riane walked over to the computer chair to sit.

“And how did she find out about Ivy?” He questioned.

“How do you think?” Riane folded her arms across her chest and sighed. “I am really annoyed right now.”

Sitting up, he shrugged his shoulders. “We can't be bothered by it. I think today was a good start and maybe she helped us more than hindered us. We will find out on Monday, unless they want to see us sooner. We can hope.”

“You're rather upbeat about all this.” Riane said somewhat surprised.

“I had to listen to that woman rattle on about horses, ranches, and stories about her fear of snakes, but never actually running into one.” He said with a smile.

“How is that good?”

Julian chuckled, “She talked to me, Riane. She has never once sat down and had a real conversation with me. It was boring as shit, but it was a step forward. How did your end go then?”

She had talked about it in the car some, but he was too busy questioning himself to listen.

Riane inhaled deeply and then shrugged her shoulders. “It was the same as it always had been. He and I are together, but barely speak a word to each other. So, comfortable, I guess.”

“I would have preferred silence to what I got.” He chuckled once more.

Riane followed in his laughter, “That girl can talk, can't she?”

“She can, she really can. My favorite part was when she started talking about how they collect horse sperm while I was eating mashed potatoes.” He made an vomiting action which caused her to laugh very loudly.

“That's not so bad. The first time she told me, I was eating tapioca.” She made a gag noise. “I still can't touch the stuff.”

Julian held his stomach while he laughed and his face turned slightly red. “Oh no, I'll never... I'll never see it the same again.”

They continued to laugh together for a moment, until Riane put on her serious face.

“Thanks, Julian, I needed to laugh. Also, thanks for being cool about what Joe did.” Riane gave a gently smile. “I really didn't expect that from you.”

Julian had never been truly thanked for anything he had done before, and his red cheeks from laughter were now red for an entirely different reason that he couldn't place. “Oh, um, Seth and Dalen will die. Bastards.”

She smirked, “I should have seen that coming.”

“Hey, you want to watch a movie?”

She thought for a moment, “Well, it has been on my bucket list.”

He grinned, “I have these weird movies that no one really knows about but they have followings. You having nothing to compare them against might make you the perfect person to see them. What do you say?”

“An experiment and entertainment? I'm in.” She giggled.

“Great, I'll make popcorn... no, you make popcorn. You can make popcorn, right? In the microwave?” He watched her nod and laugh. “Ok, you make popcorn. I'll get everything set up in my room. Meet me there.”

Riane had never seen him this excited before and watched him hurry from the room like a boy on Christmas morning. She actually didn't know how to make popcorn, but she knew Nanette was home and would teach her.

---***---

Adonia walked through the mall as she made her way towards the coffee shop. It was a little tiny place with only four tables as much of the traffic came in and left. The coffee was not as good as the larger shop, but they loved the close atmosphere and the fact that the staff knew them.

“Bean's Brew” was on a white sign with a little coffee bean behind the words. The work area was on the left when one entered and it filled half the room running the length of the wall.

It smelled wonderful as soon as one opened the door. Not only was there a scent of coffee, there was a deep aroma of the pastries that had been baked there that morning.

Adonia even thought of buying one when she realized she had just eaten dinner and a dessert and didn't need anymore food.

Kalei and Parker smiled at her as she approached the table. Parker shoved her paper cup with a plastic lid towards her as she sat down.

“Latte?” Adonia asked.

“Yes.” Parker sighed, “It might be a little cold. We thought you were closer and would be here sooner.”

Adonia shrugged her shoulders, “It's fine. I can get them to warm it up in the microwave if I have to.” She looked between the two of them with a smirk as they stared at her. “What were you two shopping for today?”

“Um, no.” Kalei chuckled. “You just had a double date with Julian Swithin. We want the juicy bits.”

She pressed her lips together as she thought. “You know he was rather pleasant. We talked about my horses and the ranch.”

Both girls moaned at the same time.

“Oh, stop it. I am not going to tell you word for word.” Adonia scolded them playfully. She fully knew that she could go on and on about it, and she had done so that day. However, her friends would often change the subject in the middle of her sentence if she did it for too long with them. It was meant to be funny and it often had been.

“So, he was pleasant?” Kalei asked. “I can not imagine him acting any other way than a total jerk.”

Swallowing a little annoyance she could identify, Adonia tossed up her hands. “Maybe being engaged has toned him down.”

She didn't know if she wanted to tell them about the woman that attacked them after the dinner. Part of her wanted to not seem gossipy and she also didn't know if the story was embarrassing for Riane.

“He doesn't seem toned down at school.” Parker leaned back in his chair. “So, do you believe him now?”

“That he is really engaged to her?” Kalei added.

Adonia bit her lower lip, “I am still not certain. You know, he and I talked the entire meal, Blake and Riane did thier silent together bit that drives me insane. If it weren't for Julian talking to me that would have been the most awkward dinner ever.”

“Are you seriously saying that Julian saved your evening?” Kalei asked and left her mouth slightly ajar in surprise.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

Parker put her hand on her chest, “I never thought such a thing could be possible. So, why aren't you certain they are a real couple or not?”

“I don't know. There whole bit in the beginning where they knew exactly that the other was going to order seemed rehearsed. It was like they were pretending at what they thought real couples were like, but then...” She looked down at the cup in her hands and took a small sip.

“Then what?” Parker asked.

Kalei leaned forward. “Yeah, what?”

“I don't know if I should be telling you this. It might be a private matter and I shouldn't be saying things that might cause rumors.”

“We won't tell anyone.” Kalei promised.

“Yeah, seriously, the only people we gossip with is each other. Rather, the only people I do is with you two. I am not so sure what the two of you do in cheerleader practice.” Parker was half teasing and half serious.

Adonia sighed audibly, “Well, I guess this girl that is like an ex-girlfriend to Julian showed up. She was very... colorfully dressed, and she was angry that he hadn't contacted her in some time. She ended up spitting in Riane's face, and he rushed to get her out of that situation, barely said goodbye to us.”

“Maybe it was staged?” Kalei sat back in her chair. “I mean sounds a bit ridiculous that she would know where to find them.”

“I don't know. Riane looked genuinely shocked, and Julian, for lack of a better descriptive word, looked embarrassed. I mean that man has no ability to be humiliated, but he came pretty close to it this evening.” She took a large gulp of her coffee.

“So, you think the way he 'rescued' her made them look like a real couple then?” Kalei asked as she tapped her index finger on the white table.

Adonia shrugged, “I have no idea. Something doesn't add up. Julian has been harassing me since he first set eyes on me, and then I tell him off only to have him start acting like a kid pulling a ponytail. Now, he suddenly is a sweet guy who... what became that way because he met Riane? It just smells all kinds of bad.”

“If it is true and this is all a ruse, then wouldn't Riane be in on it?” Parker questioned. “Wouldn't that mean that she was trying to help him, which means she gets something out of it, right?”

Kalei nodded in agreement.

“No, Riane would never agree to anything like that. He has to be tricking her, which makes me think that she will be really hurt when the truth comes out.” Adonia ran her hand over her forehead briefly before scratching the top of her head with her index finger. “If I tell her what I think, she might think I am jealous or something.”

“Jealous? What would there be to be jealous of?” Kalei laughed.

“That I am not getting his attention anymore, but he pays more attention to me now that he is with her. Holding her hand and waving it at me. Taking up all my time at dinner tonight.” She shook her head, “No, this has to be all in my head. I have to be making this up out of ego or something, right?”

Both of them shrugged their shoulders in unison.

“We weren't there. We can't read body language or pick up on cues like you could.” Parker reached out her hand and pat Adonia's.

“Yeah, or you know, what some people call intuition, but we can do that long drawn out explanation instead.” Kalei teased which made Adonia giggle.

“I guess time will tell. I just wish Blake would stop worrying about her so much. I am beginning to understand why he has so many ex-girlfriends. They were probably worried he was thinking of Riane while they were being intimate.”

“Do you think that?” Kalei asked.

“Not yet, but he is like a worried boy whose little kitten is lost in the storm at all times. Everyone is always rescuing Riane. It can get frustrating at times, you know?”

They both nodded.

“Maybe we should invite Riane out with us some time. If she gets closer to us, she might open up and we can figure out what is actually going on.” Kalei suggested.

“I would only agree if we are actually trying to make her our friend, and not trying to exploit her for information.” Parker crossed her arms.

“Alright, I can ask her next we meet.”

Chapter 7: http://rkphunt.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=405

Comments for Chapter 6: http://rkphunt.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=430