paper rings part four IS, in fact, on the way. it will be on your desks before i move in to college in a week and a half. i am so sorry for the delay and i love you all. MWAH!!!
hi everyone, paper rings may be placed on pause for a little while. i am going to work on it as much as i can over the next little while, but i am in a not very good mental state at the moment, and, unfortunately, writing is not very easy when i am not happy âčïž i love you all and thank you all for the support on the first three parts, i can assure you part 4 will be coming, and in the next few weeks! i just need a little while to get myself back up first :)
Summary: you and ryland are trying to get a quickie in during your wedding reception. Colt catches you both.
wordcount: 1051
warning(s): SMUT a tiny bit in the beginning, but like minimal smut mixed with fluff.
authors note: I tried to keep this gender neutral as possible which is why I don't really describe anatomy or outfits here, reader can be wearing whatever you want them to be I'm not a cop.
just a short one for your guys. More longer ones to come I promise. Enjoy! Don't bully me for this one.
my masterlist
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Ryland had you lifted up, your legs around him as he thrusted into you, in the bathroom stall at your wedding venue, on your wedding day, 10 minutes before you were supposed to enter the afterparty.Â
The day had been perfect, you had married the love of your life, you couldnât imagine marrying anyone else, but of course you had a few setbacks.
Like for instance Ryland losing his glasses â so he stumbled over his vows through tears of happiness, but also blindness â you losing half of your vows, but the ones you made up on the spot managed to be even more beautiful than what you had written; Colt arriving late; and the photographer going into labor moments before you were supposed to walk down the aisle.
You also hadnât managed to speak more than three sentences all day to each other outside of saying your vows, because of having to tend to not only your own family, but Rylandâs as well. And not to mention posing for photos and navigating the venue itself.
Still, you were both begging for some alone time, when Ryland quickly led you both into the bathroom and attacked your mouth before you could protest. And hey, why would you?
You slid his tie loose and he swiftly unzipped his dress pants, waiting for you to provide him with easy access as well, shifting your wedding fit swiftly. No words were spoken, it happened at lightning speed, knowing you only had so much time.
You were both locked inside of the bathroom stall, trying to stay as silent as possible. Ryland had your hips lifted so perfectly, his hands gripped your ass with a strong grip, his cock was hitting that perfect spot inside of you. You threw your head back whining, and he was hiding his head inside of the crook of your neck groaning as his hips pistoled forward. He was gasping and whining, you had him right where you wanted him, and he had you where he wanted you too.
âMissed you so much.â He whined. âGod, you feel amazing.â
âRyland, donât stop, Iâmââ Your sentence was cut off by a moan as he thrusted harder.
Suddenly you felt his hands slip, and he lost hold of you.
You yelped as you dropped to the tiled floor on your feet and he slid out of you abruptly.
You both had a look on each other's faces that said youâve been blinded by horniness like teenagers. Ryland pulled you towards him so your bodies were still pressed up against one another. When you looked at Rylandâs tie that was way too loose to be taken seriously, you both let out a fit of laughter.
You smiled at the absurdity of the situation and he leant his head down toward you to kiss your mouth again.Â
âGod, we are idiots.â
âMarried idiots.â Ryland murmured, kissing your cheek.
âYou know, this is so much better than reciting vows.â You joked.
Ryland gasped at you in shock.
âIâm joking!â You half whispered, half shouted.
âYour vows were so good. Did you see how much you were making me cry?" He asked.
You laughed.
"Hey, says you! I was a sobbing mess."
It was true, both of your vows had been the perfect amount of bantery and kind. He managed to tell you how attractive and talented you were in five different ways. He brought up inside jokes you had forgotten about. And you recounted falling for him reluctantly during his PhD (your Master's) and his obliviousness to your flirting. You even teased him about his nerdiness and his tendency to talk in puns. And by the end of it, you were both sobbing and laughing.
Ryland pecked your lips again, and you were overcome with a feeling of being utterly content.
"I'm so happy." You sighed.
"Me too. I just wish I could find my glasses so I could see you better.âÂ
You placed your hand on his cheek, cupping his face softly. Those were expensive glasses, and a gift from Colt.
âWhat do you say we try again, I was just about to cum.â You said, looking deep in Rylandâs eyes.
âWere you now?â Ryland teased. "Yea we can try again. Please, let's try again."
You let out a giggle at his begging.
He placed his hands on your waist again, he was about to place you back in position, when you heard the bathroom door open and a knock directly on the stall you were, it made you both jump. Ryland quickly tucked himself back inside his pants, and you tried to adjust your outfit too.
âRyland, y/n? Weâve been looking everywhere for you.â
It was Colt.
âAre you serious right now!â You whisper screamed at Ryland.
Ryland gently rubbed your shoulder.
âYea, weâre uh a little preoccupied.â Ryland cleared his throat.
âEw really? Here? Out of all places?!â Colt asked.
You and Ryland both cringed, the ridiculousness of the situation coming to light. Colt banged his hand against the door again.
âAlright, thatâs enough, come on love birds, itâs time for your entrance.â Colt demanded.
âDo something.â You whispered, looking at Ryland with pleading eyes.
He laughed, catching your puppydog look.
âUh, okay wait, can we get 10 more minutes you think? Please?â Ryland said, turning his head toward the door of the stall.
You heard Colt audibly sigh, then groan in disgust.
âWhatâs in it for me?â Colt asked.
And without seeing his face you could see the way Colt was giving you his squinty eye, face scrunch. You sighed. Ryland gave you a look that read, âyou know what he wantsâ.
âFine!â You whined. âYou can do a backflip! But only after your speech.â You grimaced.
You could feel Colt pumping his fists in excitement.
âAlright, fine! I guess I can tell them to delay the entrance because of an emergency or something. But only for at least 10 more minutes. Use protection you weirdos.â Colt said, his footsteps getting farther away.Â
Ryland turned back towards you.
âYou think you can do this in ten minutes?â You asked.
Ryland scoffed as if you were doubting his skills.
âItâs our wedding day, of course I can do this in ten minutes.â
He leaned back down toward you, starting to kiss your neck this time.
Summary: Ryland picks you up when youâre way too drunk to take the bus home at night. When you get back to your shared apartment you stumble onto an engagement ring.
authors note: hope you like this fic I came up with while I was drunk on Canada Day.
My masterlist
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You hadnât planned to get drunk when you had told your boyfriend Ryland that you were going out with his friend Marissa one night. It had just happened. She had proposed it, since she knew Ryland since college and Ryland was particularly important to her. Therefore, it was important for her to get to know you.
So there you were with Marissa outside a club a good 25 minute drive (45 minute bus ride) from you and Rylandâs apartment drunk enough to know better than to continue the night.
Marissa was drunk out of her mind talking about going to another bar â the third bar of the night â when you found yourself stumbling more than usual.
You grabbed Marissa as you stumbled out of the bar, she was smoking a cigarette and you stabilized yourself on the brick wall. The streets were obnoxiously steep and you felt a rush of tiredness coming over you.
It was almost 2am and everything looked beautiful, red neon lights over the bar, a club just across the street with blue neon lights, the wet sidewalk from rain earlier that day reflecting off of the traffic lights.
You wondered if Ryland and Marissa often partied at the clubs you went to that nightâŠwhat you had missed while you were finishing your night school courses on nights like this. Not in any jealous way, just in a way where you wanted to see a part of his life you had never seen before.
You shook your head and Marissa caught you, placing her hand on your shoulder to stabilize you further.
âI think I better head home.â You said.
âOkay, well you better call Ryland, I mean if he doesnât pick you up heâs a total jackass, but I know he will.â Marissa spoke.
You nodded in her direction.
âHe definitely will.â You confirmed.
And she gave you a look that said, âI know, I trained him well.â
You pulled your phone out of your pocket and tapped Ryland's contact to call him.
âHey, are you having fun?â He asked, once he answered. âI know Marissa can be quite the partygoer-â
Your lips upturned in amusement at his need for defense of Marissa. You just laughed, your drunkenness seeping through.
âYea itâs going good, butâŠwellâŠIâm way too drunk to be taking the bus home. Will you come pick me up, I know itâs out of your way and everything-â
âI will absolutely come pick you up.â Ryland replied. âJust send me your location.â
When you hung up you smiled, missing Ryland already, despite spending every minute with him already.
You had been together for two years at that point, having met during his PhD, and watching him pursue a career in teaching after his catastrophic failure at the UNESCO conference (that you frankly thought was badass). You had taken the next steps moving together to San Francisco, you had even met his brother Colt who would stay with you and Ryland when he had a production in San Francisco.
You even discussed the idea of marriageâŠokay, you discussed the idea of marriage with Marissa, not Ryland. But why rush it, you knew you were going to spend the rest of your life with Ryland. You were already getting on each other's nerves, but in the way that married people do when they know their partner better than anyone else.
When Ryland showed up in your car, you said goodbye to Marissa giving her a kiss on the cheek, and you stepped off the wet pavement to cross the street towards the car â your car that you let him borrow from time to time â and he led you by the waist to the passenger door catching your zigzagging footsteps.
You turned to face him, as he reached for the car door. You took in his familiar demeanor. His glasses framing his face perfectly, his sweatpants, and his cat's shirt tight on his body. He was absolutely amazing looking, and you felt extremely lucky all the time to call him yours, but now more than ever.
You swore to god it was the glasses that made you fall for him, he got them about a year into his PhD when you mentioned he might need reading glasses. Thatâs when your pathetic little crush started
âThose damn glasses.â You whispered, not expecting him to hear. âYouâre so fucking hot.â
He mustâve heard, because he looked down at you sheepishly. He was the only man you knew who was incapable of taking a compliment.
âTheyâre just glasses.â He whispered.
âJust take the compliment, please.â You begged.
Instead, he leaned down and kissed your mouth, and in your drunken state the kiss felt like it was your first kiss all over again. You melted against him, and you pulled back with a smile.
âAlright let me get the door-â He managed, still flustered.
You interrupted him, sending him a goofy smile, and he laughed lifting his hand to cup your cheek.
âI missed you.â
âWe saw each other three hours ago.â Ryland mumbled.
When he saw you pout he rolled his eyes, and opened the door.
âI missed you too, now get in the car please.â He requested.
You nodded and planted yourself in the passenger seat, he leaned over and pulled the seatbelt over you, clicking it into place, before closing the door gently.
The drive back mostly consisted of you trying not to fall asleep while admiring how attractive your boyfriend looked driving your car. His hand was on your thigh most of the way home, running it up and down in gentle motions to check up on you. The radio was on, but one of Rylandâs dumb science podcasts was on so you werenât all that interested, and if you werenât drunk Ryland would have turned to you to tell you what they were talking about. But his eyes stayed focused on the road.
When you got home Ryland held your hand the entire way into the apartment complex, in the elevator, and only when you had both reached the door did he let go to unlock it. It was nice, sharing a constant sense of comfortability, enough to know that Ryland didnât expect you to talk in your quiet drunken state.
You stepped inside and when Ryland closed the door you walked toward him and started peppering little kisses all over his face.
When you kissed his mouth, he relaxed, humming into the kiss. When you tried to deepen it, grazing your tongue against his lips, he pulled back.
âSweetheart, go get changed and Iâll make you some coffee before we do anything, okay?â
You whined, and he laughed.
âYouâre right.â You admitted. âIâll be back.â
You planted another soft kiss on his stubble, and he kissed your forehead before you disappeared into you and Rylandâs bedroom.
You took off your shoes and socks first, feeling the cold hardwood floor with your feet. Your drunkenness was beginning to get less intense, but you still felt the room spinning. You grumbled as you slipped out of your pants, leaving you in your underwear. When you heard the sound of Rylandâs kettle steaming from the kitchen your shirt was the next thing to go.
You wanted to be sexy for him, you wanted him to know you had missed him, and yes you were still drunk and leaning into your ridiculousness. So you pulled Rylandâs favorite button up out of the closet and slipped your arms through.
âSweetheart, do you feel like black coffee today or the regular?!â Ryland managed to shout from the other room.
You started to button up the shirt, and you were halfway there, the shirt was closed enough to cover your stomach, but open enough at the top to have your chest peek through, when you stopped. You noticed Rylandâs dress pants on the ground on the left side of the bed, he usually liked to put them up in the closet right away, maybe he had forgotten.
âSweetheart?!â
âUh, black!â You shouted back.
You stopped your motions on the shirt, and you walked around the bed, picking up the pants. Your eyebrows wrinkled in confusion when your hands felt something square in the pant pocket. You put your hand in and pulled out a small blue ring box, and you gasped at the same moment the kettle stopped steaming and you heard the sound of coffee being poured into a mug.
âSweetheart, you okay?â You heard Ryland asked.
You turned around to face the open door, and you heard footsteps walking toward you. Ryland was holding your cup full of coffee. Suddenly, you were less drunk than you had thought you were.
When you made eye contact with him, he paused, noticed your shocked expression before looking at the ringbox in your hand. His eyes widened and he immediately placed the mug of coffee on the dresser just inside the bedroom door.
âRy, Iâm so sorry I didnât mean to snoop, but I was just putting away your pants and-â You started to tear up.
âHey, hey,â Ryland whispered. He walked to you, placed his hands on your shoulders. âItâs okay, I can explainââ
âIs this what I think it is?â You asked, your mouth pulling up in a smile as you felt yourself tear up even more.
When Ryland looked at you the same way you were looking at him â like you were falling apart with happiness â your knees gave out, and he caught you pulling you into his chest as you collapsed on your knees onto the ground.
âI can explain, if you just give me that.â Ryland said, placing his hand on yours, the one holding the ringbox.
He stole the box from you, taking it out of your very tight grip, and he laughed. He pulled back from you, holding you by the shoulder with his free hand. And he was looking at you in that exact same way he always did, like you were the sun. Yes it was cliche, but you really felt like you radiated when he looked at you too.
He lifted his hand from your shoulder to wipe away a tear from your eye, and you noticed the tears forming in his too.
âRemember when I took you to the planetarium, where we went for our first date?â
You nodded, letting him take the reins, ready to feel your heart explode.
âI was going to propose to you, but um, then that group of teenagers was being way too loud and it didnât feel like the right time.â
Rylandâs gaze was perfectly still on you, like if he said anything wrong this moment would be broken.
âThat would have been hilariously catastrophic.â
âExactly.â He laughed.
Ryland opened the box, and showed you the perfect ring. The one you knew you wanted, the one you told Marissa you wanted. She was good, she had given Ryland all the information you needed.
âWell, I kept bringing it with me, hoping itâd be the perfect time, but I just didnât know what qualified as âperfectâ, and I justâŠIâm doing a really horrible job at this arenât I?â Ryland dropped his head, embarrassed.
You shook your head, you ran your fingers through his hair to bring his gaze back to you.
âYou know Ry, this might be perfect. Iâm a little drunk, but otherwiseâŠperfect.â
You gave Ryland a suggestive gaze, saying, âdo it already!â, and Rylandâs face lifted in recognition. He pulled the ring box to hover in between your bodies and he grinned, his tears coming down his face under his glasses now. Your face and heart both melted at the sight of him loving you to the point of tears.
âI have loved you ever since you told me to get these stupid glassesâŠI mean thatâs the moment I could see you so clearly.â He joked.
You poked his shoulder.
âStupid joke.â
âYou are smart, most times smarter than me, I learn so much from you everyday. I love making you coffee when youâre drunkâŠand when youâre sober. I love when you tease me for being a giant nerd, even though I know deep down you love it. I love waking up with you every morning and going to sleep with you every night. You are the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I guess this isnât the most movie worthy proposal, youâre on our bedroom floor, and I may have forgotten a lot of what I was supposed to say here, but will youââ
âYes, Ryland.â
âCan you let me get the rest out?â He asked, teasing you.
âGo ahead.â You sniffled, rolling your eyes.
âWill you marry me?â He asked, finally.
You nodded your head, whispering a quiet âyesâ.
âReally?â He asked, you could tell how nervous he was.
You shut him up by throwing your arms around his neck and kissing him. A passionate kiss, one where youâd only let go if he did. You smiled, kissing him harder, only pulling back when he went to put your ring on the ring finger of your left hand.
âLooks good on you.â He whispered, pecking your lips. âGoes with the shirt.â
You smirked at him, discarding the ring box on the floor, pulling his hands up to your waist.
âCan we have coffee in bed?â You asked.
He smirked back at you, he nodded. He wrapped one arm around your waist, picking you up, then turned to grab the coffee cup that was on the dresser too. Before placing you gently on the bed, and closing the door.
Part 3 of the Paper Rings mini series!
Romantic relationships werenât easy. Being best friends with Ryland Grace was. At least, it had been, until youâd decided to get married to pacify your co-workers. Playing the role of a loving married couple seemed to come to you far more naturally than youâd prepared for.
Ryland Grace x BestFriend!Reader || series masterlist || part one || part two
a/n: I am. so fucking sorry this took two and a half weeks. my life has been hell. im not even posting on ao3 why am i getting the ao3 curse
warnings: reader is mentioned as wearing glasses once, florida mention, vague chronic illness mention, reader is mentioned to have been raised by their grandparents (who have since passed rip sorry guys), brief mentions of dead parents, like the slightest whiff of angst, mentions of having kids, desperate ryland grace sighting
2.7k words!
It had been two days since Rylandâs speech at the kitchen counter and zero seconds since the last time you thought about it. Youâd played it over and over in your head all day every day, wishing you could smack yourself for the reaction youâd had.
âOh. Thatâs sweet.â Thatâs what youâd said.
Sweet? Sweet? Jesus, what was wrong with you? Your best friend had practically confessed his love for you and all you could say was that he was sweet.
You were getting ready, now, for your first dinner out as a âcoupleâ. Ryland swore you needed to do this in order to really sell it, even if it was just to sell it to yourselves, so heâd elbowed his way into a reservation at a nice restaurant in the city and told you to get dressed up. It felt stupid how excited you were, hands nearly shaking with excitement at knowing you were being perceived as a couple. Youâd noticed, in the last two days, that that feeling â the longing â had made itself a home in your chest. It had placed itself close to your heart, warming your body with every pump of blood that spread outwards. It had intertwined itself with the way you felt about Ryland, safety and comfort evolving into something more.
You knew, somewhere in your mind, what it really was. It just didnât feel right to say it yet, even if not out loud. Even if you said it only to yourself.
The word âloveâ had always been something you had associated with Ryland. Outside of your family, Ryland had been the first person you had ever loved. There had never been a time in your life where wouldnât tell anyone who would listen how much you loved your best friend. Youâd tell them about how smart he was, about how he managed to make every upsetting situation into a stupid joke. Youâd tell them about how good of a teacher he was, how he treated every child that entered his classroom as his own. Youâd tell them that you respected his work, even when nobody else did, and that you had always considered him a highly valuable scientist.
You would tell them that you loved him, and that he was your best friend.
You had found it easy to fall in love with Ryland. From the very beginning, he had hooked you with his shy grins and messy hair. Youâd been charmed by his jokes and his intelligence, lured into a quiet, comfortable trap that youâd never even realized youâd fallen into. You were pretty sure even Ryland didnât know heâd set the trap, but he had, and you found yourself tangled in him.
You had to physically shake your head to get out of your thoughts, an action that made felt stupid to watch yourself do in the mirror. With a soft huff, you finished getting ready, speeding through the last of your routine.
He was wearing a suit, a sight that made you suddenly regret not asking for a real wedding. It was clearly an older suit, the fabric stretched around his shoulders and arms. His button up underneath was crisp, white contrasting the blue of his suit. He was wearing the watch that youâd bought him when the two of you had gotten your masters, a watch heâd wanted for years but could never justify buying. His hair was still a bit of a mess, but it was clear heâd put a lot of effort into his appearance for tonight.
Your hands smoothed down your outfit as you walked closer. âDo you have the rings?â
He held up the boxes, one in each hand.
âRight here, sweetheart.â
He popped them open as you approached, the light glinting off of them. He pulled yours from the box first, holding it up to you. You reached for it, but he pulled his hand back.
âNo. Iâm putting it on.â
âOh,â you said. âOkay.â
His eyes met yours, free hand coming to stabilize your left one. His fingers wrapped around your wrist, pressing against your skin with a gentleness you had only ever felt from him. The ring was cool on your finger, a weight settling over you that felt far heavier than just the metal wrapped around your skin.
âThere we go,â he murmured. He twisted it until it laid perfectly centered on your finger before pulling back.
You did his next, placing the band on his finger with such care that Ryland had to stop himself from tearing up. The rings fit you both perfectly, similarly to the way you fit each other. They were just loose enough that they werenât too restricting â giving room to grow, you could say â while still clinging tightly to your skin.
That was a good metaphor for you and Ryland.
He cleared his throat, letting his hand fall back to his side. âAre you ready to go?â
âYou know, I was thinking about it,â Ryland said, âand I think we need to do this full time. Not just at work. What if we run into Peggy? Sheâd freak out if she saw one of us without our rings on.â
You looked at Ryland over your glasses, eyebrows raising just enough for him to start backtracking.
âI mean, only if you want to. Obviously. We donât have to ââ
âOkay.â
Ryland blinked. âOkay?â
You nodded. âYeah. Okay. I kind of figured that was the plan, to be honest. I figured we were going to tell our family while we were in Florida.â
âOh,â he said. âI mean, yeah. We can do that. I donât know why I didnât think of that.â
You smiled. âYou were too excited at the idea of marrying me for your brain to work properly.â
âRight. That was definitely it.â Ryland twirled his pasta around his fork, watching it wrap around itself. âSpeaking of Florida, I, uh, I got an invite to go to an astrobiology conference in Los Angeles next week.â
Your head shot up at his words, eyes widening. âAre you serious? Ryland! Thatâs incredible!â He nodded, not saying anything else. âWhat does that have to do with Florida?â
âYeah. I mean, yeah, itâs a good thing. Itâs just⊠itâs also scheduled for the weekend we were supposed to go home.â
He was asking you a question without explicitly asking it. You both knew that he was desperate to get back into academia, even if it was only in the smallest of ways. Even if it was just attending one more conference, he would take anything he could get. But⊠you guys had a tradition. Every summer since moving across the country for graduate school and work, you would travel back home to see your families. Colt traveled in, too, and youâd all reunite for a weekend before going your separate ways again.
Nobody had ever missed a year.
âOh,â you said. âI mean, you could probably skip. Itâs probably fine.â
âIâm not skipping,â he said. âI just might have to miss most of Saturday. I can fly in from LA after the conference is over.â
âWe fly back Tuesday morning. Thatâs barely two days.â
âFifty seven hours,â he corrected gently. âBut Iâm not skipping the whole weekend. Itâs fine, really. It gives you the majority of the day to relax before we do everything, anyway.â
âOkay, well, how are we going to tell everyone about the engagement? If I just show up alone wearing a ring, theyâre going to have questions. I donât want to leave you out of it.â
Rylandâs fingers tapped against the tablecloth, his eyes flickering across your face. âWe could just call my mom when we get home, I think. And we can text Colt, since heâs not going to answer.â
You nodded.
The phone call went about as well as youâd expect. It was a clear surprise â how could she have expected this? â but, overwhelmingly, there was joy. She was happy that you two were marrying each other, that you were going to be her in-law, that you were officially going to be a member of the family that had already been yours for your entire life. When your parents died, your grandparents had stepped in to help take care of you. Theyâd learned, quickly, that they werenât fit for the role. Not as much as Rylandâs mom, anyway. Sheâd acted as a stand-in mother for you, keeping you over for dinner multiple nights a week and giving you a getaway from your own home.
Rylandâs family had always been your family. This would just make it a bit more official.
âHello, future in-law.â
You couldnât help but smile at the sound of Rylandâs momâs voice. She was picking you up at the airport like usual, except this time, there was no Ryland with you. The flight had felt empty without Ryland beside you, the six hours dragging until it felt like sixty. It didnât help that the stiff plane seats had your back aching, making it nearly impossible to move without a burst of pain.
âHi, mom,â you said. You got your suitcase into the back of the car before getting into the front, eagerly accepting the hug that was waiting for you.
âLet me see it,â she said when you parted. Her hand lifted yours, eyes inspecting the ring on your finger. âOh, itâs gorgeous, honey. It suits you so well.â
You caught up on the last year of your lives as she drove you back towards the neighborhood youâd spent half of your childhood in.
âYou know, Colt and I were talking earlier, and we didnât even know you and Ryland were dating,â she said.
Fuck. You hadnât really thought through a plan on what youâd say if this question came up. You certainly should have, but it was too late now.
âOh, yeah. We werenât.â Rylandâs mom gave you a look, confusion written all over her face.
âPardon?â
âI mean⊠we werenât explicitly dating, but we kind of talked about it and it just felt right to get married, you know? Like, I canât imagine marrying anyone else. I canât see a world where I donât live out my life with Ryland, I guess. It just took a while to realize that.â
âWell, itâs nice to know that he finally came to his senses,â she said. You waited for her to elaborate â God, please elaborate â but she didnât say anything else.
âYeah,â you said quietly. âIt is.â
You made it about three steps into the house before Colt was swarming you.
âYou are such an asshole. How dare you not tell me â me, your best friend â that you were getting engaged to my brother,â he said. His hands were already taking your bags out of yours, giving you a âstink eyeâ look as he did so. âI canât believe you didnât tell me beforehand.â
âWe told you the night it happened,â you said with a laugh.
âOkay, and you helped plan my proposal. What does that say about you versus me?â
âThat you need more help than Ryland and I do?â
âYou know what, Iâm going to ââ His mom cleared her throat, giving him a pointed look. He took a breath in, still glaring at you. âIâm going to go put your bags in your room for you.â
You smiled, patting his shoulder with fake appreciation. âThank you!â
You see, Ryland Grace was a man of routine. Ever since attending his first scientific conference back in graduate school, heâd had the same routine. He wore the same outfit every time, even now, years later. He had the same step-by-step process every morning.
He was also a bit of a forgetful man.
It wasnât on purpose that heâd left his ring on his bedside table. Heâd taken it off last night after cleaning it and had set it next to his phone with the explicit reasoning of not forgetting it. He didnât notice it wasnât there until after the conference was over, when he was already 30,000 feet in the air. He had started thinking of excuses, but nothing came to mind. Apology, he decided, would be a far better route to take. At least then he could make it up to you.
âOh,â you said. You shoved aside the feeling in your chest. It wasnât longing, this time, instead something heavier. Something akin to disappointment.
Youâd never been good at hiding your emotions from Ryland. Sure, others wouldnât catch the downward twitch in your lip or the way your eyes dimmed just a fraction, but Ryland would.
âIâm so sorry,â he said, words tumbling out so fast you could barely understand him. âI took it off to clean it, and I put it by my phone so Iâd remember it, but I was rushing so much that I just⊠I forgot it. Iâm so sorry, sweetheart.â
âItâs okay,â you said. It wasnât. âItâs only two days. You can put it back on when we get home.â
Rylandâs eyes met yours, that stupid trademark look in them. He looked devastated at his own mistake, and, to make things worse, he didnât know what to say. He knew an apology wouldnât make up for it, but⊠surely it hadnât affected you that badly, right? The engagement was only for looks, but when heâd told you, he couldâve sworn that your face dropped.
âHow was the conference?â you asked.
Thank God, he thought. You saved him before he could start begging for forgiveness.
âIt was good,â he said. âI got to see a couple of the guys we worked with. Did you know Daltonâs a dad now?â
You let out a short laugh. âI canât imagine that. He didnât really seem like the dad type.â
Ryland hummed, a soft sound of agreement. âYeah. Heâs married to an influencer or something. They named the kid Lodge Roan.â
âThey⊠named their kid Lodge?â
âThatâs what I said.â
You laughed, a real laugh this time. The sound made a smile form on Rylandâs face, as if he could forgive himself of his ring-forgetting crimes if he could still make you smile.
A thought entered your head, and, unfortunately, came right out of your mouth, too. âHey, that reminds me actually. Do you⊠like⊠want kids? Iâm kind of your only option now.â
Ryland felt like he got knocked off balance at the question. He hadnât been expecting that, surely. Hell, when you guys had agreed to turn this into a real thing, he hadnât even considered kids. In truth, heâd always wanted to be a dad. Working with his classes had only reinforced that idea, and he knew it had done the same for you, too.
âI mean⊠yeah. I think itâd be nice.â
You nodded, lips parting to speak again.
âGuys! Dinner!â You turned towards the sound of Coltâs voice, finding him leaning out of the kitchen doorway. He gestured at the two of you. âSeriously, hurry up. Mom wonât let me eat until you guys are in here, and Iâm starving.â
You both laughed softly, nodding. Your eyes met Rylandâs again.
âWeâll talk later,â you said.
âYeah,â he said. âLater.â
a/n: I wrote the last half of this fic listening to big time rush songs on loop and had to force myself to not name it after a big time rush song. LMFAO once again i apologize for it being 2 and a half weeks since part 2. i love you all. smooches
p.s. i apologize for the misleading title. confession coming soon have no fear my loves. also i apologize for the lack of colt and jody in this chapter. part 4 will be MUCH better
I FORGOT TO TAG LIST OOPS if you want to be added, let me know and hopefully i'll remember next time!
@cherrybeomm @trixxstrawberry @llovinjoonie @a-quick-request @rakilein @qardasngan @irissilujm @littelrobinette @kaitybvg @not-1to @keigohawks @crowley--aziraphale @imafangirlofeverything @kore2099 @malakh06 @zizimimimi @user0112358132134 special shoutout to the last two of y'all i am so sorry i never replied to ur comments oops
HIII I SAW UR POST ABT U NEEDING SOME TO FORCE YOU TO WRITE PT.3 OF PAPER RINGS AND I WONT FORCE U BUT I'LL BEG
PLEASE PLES PLS PLS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
anon you will be happy to know i am about 75% of the way done with part three!! i will give you a little taste of my favorite part so far as a treat đ«¶
