“Good luck with that!” I teased him and tugged on the straw in his mouth. Ryan clamped his teeth down hard on his straw and playfully snarled at me.

We all gathered back at the table to play the next round of poker. Everyone was concentrating on their cards; it was eerily quiet. Ryan and I had already pushed and kicked each other under the table a few times and we were both smiling from our secret.

Pete broke the silence first. “You know what I could eat right now?” he asked out loud as he was stacking his chips.

“Pussy?” Gary answered immediately.

“Gary!” Marie yelped and smacked him in the arm.

Ryan was taking a sip from his glass; he just about spit his beer all over himself, breaking out in a laugh.

“What?” Gary flinched away from Marie. “He asked, I just answered. Sounds like a perfectly good thing to eat right now, right guys?”

“You’re driving him home!” I pointed at Marie while laughing.

“Although I have to agree with Gary, I was actually thinking about those juicy steaks Taryn grilled for us a couple of weeks ago. They were delicious!” Pete ran his tongue over his lips.

“See? Pete has juicy meat on the brain,” Gary teased.

“No, I think you have juicy meat on the brain,” Marie groaned. She shot her elbow into his ribs.

I smiled and laughed with embarrassment. My friends were nuts.

“Ryan, do you like pus…steak?” Pete asked.

“Yeah.” Ryan nodded and smiled shyly.

“You almost asked him if he…!” Gary was laughing hysterically as he pointed at Pete. He couldn’t even finish his own sentence. He turned a few shades of red while coughing and trying to catch his breath.

Ryan looked down in embarrassment, but he was still grinning when he rolled his gaze over at me.

Pete ignored Gary’s outburst. “Well this girl here grills one hell of a steak,” he stated proudly, pointing a finger at me.

“They were the best steaks I’ve ever had,” Tammy agreed.

“What can I say?” I shrugged. “It’s good that I get to use my college education.”

“Where did you go to college?” Ryan asked conversationally.

“Brown, in Providence. Economics/Business – sirloin steak major,” I declared.

“So are you going to grill me another steak soon, or what?” Pete wanted to get back to the point.

“Pete, you know I’ll grill for you any day of the week!” I love cooking for my friends.

“So where do you grill these wonderful steaks?” Ryan asked.

“On the roof.” I laughed.

“No really.” Ryan looked confused.

“On the roof!” I repeated with a giggle. “The top of my building is flat. I have a garden patio up there. We have excellent summer parties, right guys?” My friends all confirmed. “You can see the ocean from up there too,” I continued.

“A steak does sound good right now,” Cal agreed.

“Okay, let me ask this. How many people were you thinking about having here for this private party?” I asked Cal.

“Maybe ten or twelve people?” he summed.

“And would you mind if my four friends here attend this gathering?” I asked.

“Sure, they’re welcome. Absolutely,” Cal confirmed.

“You tell me what night, and I’ll grill steaks. How does that sound? Then everyone will be relaxed, happy, and well-fed.”

Ryan slid his foot under my leg. Our legs were touching now under the table and I was hyper-aware of his presence.

“We’ll check everyone’s schedule and get back to you. Is that all right?” Cal asked.

“Sure. Just so you know I have entertainment booked for Friday and Saturday, but we can do a weeknight or Sunday if that suites you. Just give me enough notice so I can get the steaks.”

We played for another hour; Marie started to yawn. “Are you ready? It’s getting late.” She grabbed Gary’s arm and started to pull him up out of his chair.

“Oh man, been sitting too long… my hip hurts,” Gary moaned. “Marie, you’re going to have to get on top tonight!” He grinned.

Ryan and I could not stop laughing.

Everyone started shaking hands and having those brief “it was nice to meet you – see you later” conversations. Cal used his cell phone to call for their driver. I was sad to see the night come to an end; it seemed to fly by so fast with Ryan here.

I walked my friends to the door and locked up behind them. Ryan and Cal would leave by the back door. Cal departed for the bathroom, leaving me all alone with Ryan. I started to clean up.

“I had a really great time tonight.” Ryan smiled and set a few empty glasses on the bar. “Your friends are great.”

“Thanks!” I smiled back. “I’m sorry about the questions though.”

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m glad everyone had fun,” I said, even though I truly meant I was glad that he had fun.

“I’ll call you when we figure out what night we can do this party gathering, okay? Um, so what number should I call?” Ryan asked.

I stopped in my tracks and smiled to myself.

“What number would you like to call?” I asked, knowing what he was truly getting at. I just wanted him to say it.

“I’d like the number that I asked for, but I’m not sure I’m going to get it,” he said. He grinned at me as he took a new Mitchell’s Pub napkin out of the holder and turned it over.

I took a deep breath and picked up the pen next to the register. I questioned my own actions as I wrote my cell phone number down. My friends were the only ones who had my cell number. I justified that he and I were becoming friends too.

Ryan’s smile was huge. “Thank you!” He quickly snatched up the napkin and shoved it in his pocket.

I walked both of them to the back door and Cal thanked me for an excellent evening. He gave me an awkward hug before putting his coat on.

Their car pulled up in the alley and Cal patted Ryan’s arm before heading out the door.

Ryan looked down at me and smiled as he took a step closer. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in to give me a nice hug.S ensations, long suppressed, rocketed through me when our bodies touched. His body pressed into mine when he hugged me tighter. I allowed myself a moment to appreciate his warmth, his scent, the feel of his back muscles on my hands, the enjoyment this hug gave me.