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Ryland knows that Colt is probably aware that summer break started not too long ago. He's been anticipating a phone call to make plans, but hasn't heard anything yet. He could ask, but it's all up to Colt anyway. He can wait. They always try to make something happen and it usually works out. Why should this year be any different? His schedule shows he can make something work in a week. He's got other plans before then, with Tom, but it'll be fine. As long as he can coordinate everything properly it'll all work out and Colt doesn’t need to know. Wait…
Some part of him wonders why he keeps going through all this effort to hide it. He really needs to think this through. He knows deep down he's just afraid. Of Colt's reaction. Of Colt being angry and disappointed. He knows the longer he waits the worse it'll probably be. Sooner or later it's all gonna come out. He should probably try to make it happen next time they see each other. Face to face is better for these types of things. He doesn't want this to become a wedge between them. And if it is he just needs to soften the blow so it doesn't get driven too deep to pull back out.
For a fourth time, Ryland checks his bag, making sure he has all the essentials. It’s not impossible to stock up when he arrives, but he’d rather not waste the time on it. Not to mention the stress. Flying already makes him feel anxious. On top of that he's still really worried something is gonna go wrong. Things with Tom are almost perfect, it's not him that’s the problem. All this sneaking around and withholding the truth is what really has him worried. But they haven’t talked about it and he doesn’t want to force the issue.
His Monday evening flight is short from San Francisco to L.A. He’s excited to be here, he just wishes that he could’ve traveled literally any other way and still make good time. He’d taken a Dramamine tablet. He doesn’t think it really did anything. The airport is huge and maze-like. It takes him a while to figure out where to go even though he's been here before, but he eventually finds his path. Ryland walks out to the pick-up lane with his carry-on bag rolling beside him and his phone in his hand, firing off a text quickly. His phone rings and he answers. He’d sent his arrival time ahead, right before his flight-in disembarked and it had been accurate, thankfully. His ride was probably just reaching out to confirm.
“Pulling up right now… ah there you are.”
The call ends and a sleek, black car pulls up. The driver side door opens and Tom, in his usual choice of camouflage (hat and sunglasses) steps out. He walks up looking absolutely overjoyed at just the sight of Ryland. They hug quickly, Tom grabbing his bag and putting an arm around him as they walk over to the idling vehicle. Ryland’s bag finds a spot in the backseat while he takes the passenger side. With a quick stride around Tom returns to the front seat.
“You all set? Have everything?” He asks as he shifts the vehicle into drive and pulls away.
“Uh yeah, I think so,” Ryland confirms. There’s a hand reaching over to grasp his own. He accepts it by meeting in the middle. He likes how tactile Tom is with him. It has only become more frequent since he’d confirmed their relationship. Boyfriends. Ryland thinks about that a lot. It's a nice reminder that this is something that actually has weight. It matters.
Ryland is dropped off around the corner of the high-rise that Tom calls home when he’s in this particular city. It’s near west Hollywood making it an ideal location for someone in Tom’s career. Accessibly close to most major venues. Close to filming locations. They’d agreed that Tom would come get Ryland from a side entrance so they could limit interactions with people, like the valet, that would recognize Tom and question who he was with. It didn’t really bother Ryland, he would prefer to remain under the radar at this point. Maybe forever if he could. He doubted it would stay that way though. He just wasn’t ready yet and Tom wasn’t pushing him to be. He knew eventually he’d either have to make the choice or have it taken away from him when something impossible to cover up inevitably leaked.
It almost had already. When their relationship was still fresh. Due to that post that had gone around from the employee at the conservatory but quickly and thankfully died. Lost in a sea of other more engaging content. Ryland felt horrible thinking about scenarios of that employee getting in trouble or fired for something so small. Ryland didn’t even know about it until he’d heard a couple of his co-workers speculating about it several days later. That's all it took for him to go searching. Now he’s got filters set up that include various turns on the words “Tom Ryder” with any assortment of titles like “partner” or “boyfriend” amongst others like “romance” or “fling”. He even has a few less than appropriate words filtered. He hates it, but better to be thorough. Luckily nothing has populated recently that’s been problematic. Ryland doesn’t know how something like that would impact them, his brother or his life. He doesn’t think it’d be good though.
Tom retrieves him from the side entrance and escorts him to the elevator. He’s on a high enough floor that taking the stairs would be quite a work out. The elevator is a fast but smooth ride. It still makes Ryland’s equilibrium tilt and stomach flip. They reach his door and he lets Ryland in first.
“Shoes there,” He points to a rack off to the side of the entry. “then I’ll give you the tour,” He shuts the door behind them and puts Ryland’s bag to the side to be retrieved later.
Ryland gets a bit caught up in looking around and stumbles trying to quickly remove his shoes. He really needs to learn to focus on one task at a time more often, but he thinks he’s passed the point of learning that. Clumsy to a fault. It's less of a problem with Tom there to catch him. One hand lightly catches him by the upper arm from behind and steadies him.
Tom lets out an amused huff, “Woah there, no need to rush.” Ryland turns to see that same attractive smirk that Tom always sports when he does something like this. It never stops Ryland from blushing. He already feels a bit out of sorts here. Maybe if his body could just cooperate and not try to make him kiss the wall or floor over such a small thing, it’d be one less thing to feel self-conscious about.
First time at boyfriend’s place definitely a bit nerve-wracking. He’d also rather kiss Tom than the floor but that’s neither here nor there at the moment.
Shoes finally successfully removed, Tom takes the lead, like he almost always does. Ryland tries and has been successful from time to time, but Tom is much better at it. He tries to hide his nervous energy. Raising his shoulders and crossing his arms in his cardigan. Tries to keep a neutral expression. Impossible task. The place is large, much larger than Ryland’s own apartment. It's tidy for the most part and well maintained. The surfaces are sleek and it’s reasonably decorated but not cluttered. The main area is a mostly open floor plan and there's floor to ceiling windows allowing for a view of the city if the curtains are pulled away. There are shelves that have various items of movie memorabilia mixed with amorphous artsy scultures or the occasional framed photo. Tom takes the time to show him all the essentials which he really appreciates.
He admires the place. It isn’t pristine. It actually looks like Tom spends time here. Lives here. It's weird that it had somehow been a thought that Tom wouldn't have a “lived in” place. Like his homes are just pit stops or for show and not actively used. Ryland checks that bias and reevaluates. There’s an unfolded throw blanket on the couch and a couple movies sitting on the coffee table in a disorganized pile. There's a clearly less than healthy plant on the kitchen island. Clothes are in the hamper he keeps in his bathroom that is attached to the bedroom. Bed unmade. Colorful sticky-notes are adhered to some spots. If Ryland wasn't already feeling a bit overwhelmed he might have taken the time to read them. It definitely makes Ryland feel less insecure and out of place about being here.
There’s two things he notices that he’s curious about. He can wait to ask though.
“So, that’s it. I made room for you in the closet and the dresser if there’s anything you need to or want to unpack. Oh and in the bathroom cabinet as well,” They are standing in the main room closer to the kitchen, as Tom explains this, he leans against the counter. Tour done.
“Can I ask about something, well more than one thing?” Ryland figures he can start with the safer of his two questions.
“Yeah, whatever you wanna know,” Tom answers and he tilts his head giving Ryland his full attention.
“I thought you had dogs?” He’s seen pictures of them plenty of times. So where are they?
“I do, but they don’t live with me here,” he starts “ I have another place out of the country, Sydney and they’re cared for there or in daycare when I can’t be there to do so or if they travel with me. This is not really a place that can handle them long term, but sometimes I’ll bring one here for a short while. They also are all working animals. Sometimes our gigs differ”
“Shame, would’ve been nice,” Ryland comments, he likes dogs well enough. “I have one other question? It might be kinda… stupid” He pauses for a second and wonders why he keeps finding himself having to ask these kinds of things. First the whole “what are we” conversation and now this, “There’s only one bedroom?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Tom puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “Though I thought there was no such thing as a stupid question, Mr. Grace?” Tom says his title like it's a dirty word. He’s giving Ryland a look that might mean he’s enjoying this. Like nothing could be more entertaining than watching him squirm about something that Tom seems to find no issue with. Like the answer is obvious.
And it kind of is, but Ryland can’t just assume what this all means. Being here in this apartment.
“Don't say it like that,” Ryland scolds, flustered. “Also, that’s just a thing teachers say” He takes the opportunity to be sidetracked, throw Tom’s attempt at humor back at him and work toward continuing what is positively an embarrassing line of conversation. Ryland’s not an idiot, far from it, but he needs confirmation that the plan is what he thinks it might be. “There is only one bed?”
“Last I checked.” Okay yeah he’s definitely enjoying this. It's no longer a question. Poking Ryland’s buttons has to be high on his list of favorite activities. Tom, somehow, keeps finding new ways to do it.
“So…” Ryland trails off, sighs with exasperation. Gosh how does he ask this?
“So…?” Tom parrots back.
“So we’re sleeping together?” Ryland realizes the connotation of that only after it has left his mouth and Tom is smirking at him. Ryland takes a great effort to not just grab the hem of his cardigan and cover up behind it. It's a close thing with the way his hand grabs it. “I mean sleeping like actual sleep. Not that. Please stop looking at me like that.”
It's not that Ryland hasn’t thought about it, how could he not? The furthest they’ve gotten was after the whole “Are we boyfriends?” conversation. Ryland couldn’t really help but want to mark that occasion with a kiss. He doesn’t think it would really qualify as anything more, but it was definitely longer than the quick peck Tom had given him before.
Tom steps away from the kitchen and approaches Ryland, “Whatever you want, sweetheart,” he brushes a hand through Ryland’s hair up and over his ear and plants a kiss to his forehead.
They do end up sleeping in the same bed that night. Ryland quickly finds out that Tom is a clinger in his sleep. It's fine he can cling right back.
The first few days start a routine Ryland doesn't expect to stay consistent but enjoys anyway. He learns on the first morning that Tom's phone plays the generic, default android alarm sound. Tom has a tendency to sleep through the first one or two and usually sets multiple. It's in contrast to Ryland's ability to get up without issue like clockwork. He blames it on his teacher schedule. Either way Tom still has to wake up in the morning and get to set.
Ryland wakes up to find they are in a tangled mess. They apparently are both active sleepers. Or maybe it's just Ryland and Tom just adjusts accordingly. Either way he finds it easier to escape by waking Tom the rest of the way, knowing the process of extricating himself will probably be difficult anyway.
The way Tom had pulled him back in had shown proof of that when he had tried to sit up to start his day. Tom, barely functional, mumbled a quiet, sleepy complaint.
“Noooo, stay.”
Tom is strong. Stronger and more built than Ryland, even with their similar heights. It's plain to see even with a shirt on. He sleeps shirtless though, which just shows even more evidence. Ryland got relentlessly teased for staring. But those abs, holy buckets. He also knows that if he wants to get up he's going to have to get Tom to let him. Unfortunately he doesn't quite do so the first morning and ends up having to hear generic, android alarm two more times. Ryland isn't going to let that alarm go off more than once as long as he can control it.
By the second morning he's ready to figure it out. He ends up deciding that he'd rather be nice about it. He's heard Tom call him cute under his breath a couple times. Might as well lean into it. He grabs his glasses from the bedside table and puts them on beforehand. He'd prefer to see this clearly.
“Time to get up, come on,” he urges softly and places a kiss on Tom's temple. He might change it up tomorrow morning but this feels right for today.
Tom's hold loosens and he sits slightly up so he's leaning on his elbow. His other hand goes to his face to rub his eye.
“Mornin’” He mutters.
They separate and Tom goes to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day first. Ryland only lingers for a moment so he can take in the “view” and then gets up himself.
By the time Tom joins him in the kitchen there's a cup of coffee waiting for him. Cream and sugar off to the side. He's fully dressed and ready to go, but the slightly earlier wake up allows him to take it slower than usual. Ryland takes this time to go do the essentials of his morning routine. A quick shower, brushed teeth and an attempt at styling his damp hair. It'll end up a mess anyway.
Their morning is eventually cut short. Tom has to leave. Ryland chooses to stay behind. He has stuff he can do. He brought his laptop for this very reason. There's some end of year work he can finish up. A couple emails to respond to. Admin has been trying to get him to commit to a late session of summer school they want to do. He might do it. He could make some lesson plans for it just to get a head start. All this can last him a couple days.
It's Wednesday night after Tom comes back that Colt calls. They were just hanging out. Spending time together. A movie is playing that Ryland isn't really paying attention too. It might have to do with the fact that Tom's arm is around him or that Ryland keeps sneaking glances at him. Tom has definitely caught him a couple times.
He doesn't want to, but he knows he has to. Ryland steps away to answer his phone and listens to Colt as he drops a bunch of suggestions about Ryland coming to visit. He doesn't know that Ryland is already here. Just another thing that he's hiding. The list just keeps growing, but Ryland lets it slip about his Friday plans and ends up talking about Tom. Without giving away his name. Hopefully the details aren't specific enough to clue Colt in either. It's all positive. Maybe Colt will better understand, be less upset, if Ryland can plant it in his head that Tom is a good guy? Worth a shot. Maybe Colt will take it better if he knows that he's seeing someone and keeps the length of time vague. Make it seem more recent. Instead of revealing a whole relationship out of the blue.
After they've finished talking, plans set for Ryland to be picked up on Monday morning, he returns to the main room. It's when his flight home had been initially planned. Tom was going to drop him off before going in. Ryland can move his flight though and adjust his plans. He had only packed enough for this week and a couple extra days. He can do laundry before then, Tom had shown him where. This can work out. Tom drops him off, Colt picks him up. Easy enough. Then it's just finding the right time for the rest. He can come up with something.
He thinks that Tom had at least overheard his half of the conversation by the way he's grinning at him from over the back of the couch. Ryland watches as Tom's gaze gives him a cursory glance before landing back at his face.
“Come here,” he beckons. Ryland rounds the couch to stand right in front of him. His phone is plucked from his hand and set aside, before that same hand is being used to pull him down. He follows and finds himself sitting in Tom's lap looking down at him slightly. A second hand finds a home cupping the side of his face.
“So, you think I'm hot,” it is not a question, can't be if it's a fact.
Ryland tries to hide his face with his available hand. Between the proximity, Tom's looks, his voice and the teasing there's no way he isn't blushing. He can feel it. He still tries to meet his gaze with his own between his fingers.
“That's the only thing that you heard?”
“It's the part I'm choosing to latch on to.”
A hand drifts down to his waist. Ryland steadies himself by grasping Tom's shoulder. Their other hands are still clasped together. Ryland's leaning in. He pauses.
Ryland isn't inexperienced, though maybe compared to Tom he thinks he might be. He's not sure. He doesn't know Tom's history, but he can take a guess. Ryland has had relationships though, it's just been a while. He's made out with people before. Heck, he had that whole thing with Linda when he was going for his doctorate, before Mark came along and broke that apart. But this is Tom, and Ryland is a bundle of nerves. He falters. He really wants to kiss him. Like a lot, for an extended amount of time. Right now. But he overthinks like always. A lot of what ifs and doubts swirl in his mind.
Tom looks at him with a puzzled expression at first. Ryland can tell that he’s probably frowning. Not because he’s upset. It's just the bit of anxiety that he always has sitting inside him. He needs to fix this. Lighten the mood.
“You're the worst,” he jokes.
Tom seems to have realized he's not upset, just feeling a bit awkward and meets his eyes, “Maybe so, but you love me anyway.”
He doesn't give Ryland a chance to respond to that. It's probably for the best. He'd almost certainly be a stammering mess. Tom pulls him the rest of the way forward and their lips meet. It's just a brief moment, short and sweet, but Ryland responds in what he hopes feels like approval.
Tom still asks, anyway, “Okay?”
Fuu-dge, how is he so cool? He grips Tom's shoulder a little tighter and says, “yeah.”
“Okay, then.”
And that's all it takes for Ryland. He lets Tom take the lead. Plans for next week can wait a little bit, they've got time.
Ryland does find himself going out to explore Thursday while Tom is gone for the day. He takes precautions and chooses to follow Tom's example by partially covering his face. Just in case. He grabs a spare key that will let him have access without having to talk to anyone for re-entry. He's just going for a walk, nothing serious.
He had thought of going to a beach that he and Colt had gone to in the past. He decides against it, too far. They can go together after Monday maybe. It's a safe and familiar choice. Maybe he can break the news there? For now it's probably best to avoid places Colt frequents.
While he's out no one approaches him, he feels successful in going unrecognized. He's leaving no loose threads. So he thinks, until Thursday afternoon, when his phone pings. The filters he's been following have turned up something on Twitter.
There's no good photos, which is a blessing, but someone had seen Tom's car at the airport and had tried to get a couple shots. The angle is bad and keeps Ryland mostly obscured, hiding his identity. There's speculation and various comments, not all positive. It makes Ryland's stomach drop. The realization that they were so close to being exposed hits him hard. He tries not to freak out, but that's not in his nature.
He ends up trying to scour for more and is at least a little relieved to come up empty. Good. He's not certain they should go out on Friday anymore. He tells Tom about it and his concerns.
He hands Tom his phone with a screenshot open. He's initially surprised that Tom doesn't already know about it. People think Tom's conceited? Ryland thinks it's more like he just doesn't take other people's opinions and judgements particularly seriously.
“We were spotted. Well more like you were spotted, but I'm in there,” He's talking fast. Stressed out. Anxious. Shy of panicking. “And I know I'm not that visible and we've been careful but… This was so close and what if tomorrow it's a better photo and all of a sudden… I just don't know if we should go out tomorrow. What if…”
A hand on his shoulder. An empathetic look. His name said softly. He stops spiraling, rambling.
“Hear me out,” Tom says. His tone is level but not dismissive. “We have some options.”
Ryland nods, “Options?”
“As far as tomorrow, we can change plans,” Tom offers. He lays out what he'd originally had planned. A night out, an exclusive and small cocktail place but still close by. Close enough to walk. Something casual. “We can figure out something else or we can cancel entirely. We can do something a little further out. Away from the city.”
It's a compromise. Ryland is willing to try.
They land on going for a short hike together. There's a cool nature park with well maintained trails nearby. It has some large tree canopies, a few waterfalls and cool rock formations about an hour and a half away. There's not a ton of reviews so it must not be as frequently visited. Tom agrees with a promise that if the place is somehow busy they can just leave. They'll go later in the day and if everything is good, on the way back, find a place to park and see L.A. from a distance. Maybe see some stars.
Having that figured out makes Ryland feel much better. It feels like less of a risk.
“You said options? Plural? More than one?” Ryland asks. He doesn't think the date thing is the only thing they needed to talk about with this mess.
“I know that you might not be ready, but we could also make this public, on our own terms,” Tom offers.
Ryland's brain starts cycling through insecurities and uncertainties immediately. Is that what he wants? Does it matter either way if it's going to eventually happen anyway? Does Tom really want that?
Tom comes back into focus when he pokes him in the forehead. “I can almost read your mind, you're thinking so hard,” He jokes, trying to break some tension. “Ry, I wouldn't have offered, if I didn't mean it. I already know what I want. You just gotta tell me what you want. What's going on in there?”
“No matter what we… I have to tell Colt first,” he starts. “He's not an idiot, even if we don't go public he's gonna figure it out eventually. I just need to find the right time”
“Ok, I might want to keep my distance during that conversation,” Tom can handle himself, but Colt knows how to fight. “And the rest?”
“Can I think about it?”
“I'm not going to rush you,” Tom guides him to the kitchen. It feels like things are mostly resolved or at least they've got a semblance of a plan.
They're going to try to cook tonight. It's probably going to go terribly. They are both abysmal at it in different ways. Ryland can't chop or dice to save his life and Tom can burn water. It's fun. Ryland laughs hard enough he falls into Tom at some point. It's a failure and they end up ordering in. Not a big deal.
There's one other vehicle here when they arrive. Ryland considers it. What are the chances they run into whoever that car belongs to anyway? They made these plans. It's not busy or crowded. It's fine.
The place has one main trail that circles most of it. That's what they are gonna walk. Ryland only has his converse, hardly good for the rough terrain if they go off trail. The trail has a few changes in elevation but nothing extreme. It'll probably take an hour and a half but maybe more if they stop along the way.
Which they do.
Ryland points out a large rock that looks vaguely like an elephant from erosion. He stops to look at some ferns under a couple trees. There's a small waterfall trickling. Not enough rain for it to do much more.
That's all fine and good. Ryland catches Tom looking on, more interested in Ryland than rocks and plants, apparently. A twin snaps up the trail and they both freeze. Just for a second. Ryland latches onto Tom's wrist. Hide, his brain supplies. He isn't sure if going off path is the best reaction especially when he stumbles and falls into the brush behind a large tree. Tom falls with him.
Ryland almost laughs at how absolutely ridiculous this is, except there's a finger pressed to his lips. Tom is looking off to the side toward the trail. He shushes him.
An older couple walks by, dressed much more appropriately for this type of activity, walks by. Ryland waits to see if they'll be noticed, but the couple keeps walking and disappears around a bend. Coast clear.
“Y'know if you wanted to tumble in the weeds you just had to ask,” comes Tom's voice next to his ear. Ryland doesn’t understand how he seems to have the perfect quip for everything.
Before he can really come up with something witty to say, Tom's hand is under his chin, tilting his head a bit and giving him a quick kiss.
Ryland feels like he barely blinks and Tom is standing up offering him a hand. He takes it, and once upright brushes himself off.
Ryland gives Tom a sideways glance, “We're gonna have to check for poison oak later”
He expects Tom to laugh or to be a bit annoyed if the attempt at humor doesn't land, but he's just too smooth.
“I'll check for you later,” He keeps his voice low. Tom has the gall to WINK at him before adding, “Thoroughly.”
Ryland wheezes a little laugh mutters under his breath, “Jeez” and has to grab onto Tom's shoulder for stability as they get out of the thicket.
On their way out there's a different car parked near Tom's. They don't pay it any attention. The sun is getting low in the sky as they drive away.
Tom finds a secluded spot to park. Music plays quietly from the car speakers. The view isn't anything crazy. Ryland can see a few of the taller buildings with ease but not much else. A few stars are visible, but light pollution makes it impossible to see most of them.
That's okay.
Ryland doesn't feel particularly engaged with either of those things. Tom is right here. Ryland thinks he might just be more interesting. This feels like a perfect set up anyway.
He thinks he'd maybe like to run a hand through Tom's hair. It's a good place to start at least. So he does. Followed by lips joining. Soft at first but more insistent in less than a second.
Ryland’s glasses go missing, they’re in the way anyway. He puts a hand under Tom's shirt up by his shoulder blades. Digging nails lightly into muscle when Tom pulls away to push Ryland's collar down and gently bite his collar bone.
That's the pace for a while alternating between leaving marks on skin and swapping spit until Tom's hand finds the waist of his jeans. Ryland pulls away and grabs Tom's hand.
Eyes meet. Ryland feels apprehensive. He doesn't want to push Tom away but…. This is not something he wants. Too soon. Not here.
There's a deep breath. Two. It's not frustrated. Or angry. It just is. Like it's a necessity from lack of oxygen. Ryland can't help his own heavy breathing either.
“No?” Tom asks while pulling his hand back. Ryland has to process it. He sounds sincere. Not judgmental. Ryland shakes his head, not sure about using his words just yet. He's still trying to gauge whether he's reading this right. “Everything else though?”
It's telling. That Tom asks. Doesn't push. If Ryland said no right now he honestly believes that'd be it. Not the end of them, but the end of this moment. That Tom would take it in stride.
But Ryland says yes. They start again a little slower, a little calmer. It doesn’t stay that way, but doesn’t go to territory outside of his comfort zone.
He can't help but think he's lucky.
But Ryland has never had a lot of luck. It always, eventually runs out.
He became aware of it late Saturday. He opens his email to find one from the 6th grade literature teacher, Ms. Gregory. She's newer, recently graduated, but they occasionally have breaks between classes together. It's not out of place for her to email him to ask if he can help watch her class for a few minutes, cover lunch duty for her or just ask for advice. But it's summer break and he’s not at school.
There's no subject line. He opens it. It's brief and there's a link to a “twitter” post. She's also a doom scroller in all facets. She finds off-the-wall stuff all the time. It feels informal and unprofessional but it's not Ryland's first time receiving an email like this. It's got to be a meme or joke.
THIS U?
[LINK]
She didn't even bother with end text.
He clicks the link and his mind blanks. It's a photo of him, clear as day, and Tom. In the woods. Not quite but, very nearly kissing.
It starts with a bird watcher with a very expensive, high-quality camera. He ends up finding a frankly precious moment between a couple in the woods. He snaps a photo and thinks nothing about posting it.
That's what Ryland finds as the roots of this whole thing. It explodes. People are tagging Tom in it immediately. It has its own trending hashing, #BiRyder. Someone made an edit with low-res sparkly hearts. By Sunday night it's everywhere. Ryland feels sick. He hasn't heard from Colt. Has he seen it? Is he mad?
Ryland doesn’t swear often and he doesn't today. Tom does it for him.
“Fuck”
It's Monday morning. Ryland is waiting for Colt to pick him up from the airport. The same Tom had picked him up from just a week ago. Where he'd also dropped him off not 20 minutes ago. He has a carry-on bag of freshly-laundered clothes. He is riddled with anxiety. This can't possibly go well.