Rylee wiped the sweat that was forming off of her brown and let out a sigh.  She was furiously cleaning the apartment because her parents and brother were coming over for dinner.  Christina had promised that she would help, but as usual, she was MIA.  Actually, Rylee knew that she was with Justin, again, and it bothered her even though she didn’t want it to.

She and Trace had been hanging out a lot, they had gotten over the initial awkwardness of “we’ve slept together” and now their friendship was stronger than ever.  Trace had been getting fed up with Justin and Christina too, because he hadn’t been able to spend any time with his best friend either.

Trace had said that he had never seen Justin spend as much time with a girl before, but he was sure that this wasn’t because he was madly in love with Christina.  In fact, he had a strong suspicion that Justin was only spending so much time with Christina so he could keep Rylee off of his mind.

“Ryles, where you at?”  Speaking of Trace, his head popped around the corner into the kitchen where he spotted Rylee doing the dishes.  “Holy shit, girl.  What’s with all the cleaning?”

“My parents and brother and coming for dinner.  If this place isn’t spotless I’ll be hearing about it for the next year.”  She threw down the dish towel and grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge, offering one to Trace.

“Drinking already?”  He chuckled at her emphatic nod.  “Parents that bad?”

She thought about it for a second before shaking her head.  “No, not really.  My mom just has it in her head that I should be getting married and popping out kids instead of living in the studio.  If I don’t start drinking now, I’ll be tense for the whole evening listening to her preaching.”

“Ah, one of those.”  He took a sip of beer and laughed.  “My mom’s just happy I’m not living at home anymore.”

“Yeah, sometimes I think my dad wishes I were still at home.  I’m such a daddy’s girl, but I don’t think I could stand it.  I need my own space.”

“And you certainly get that, especially with your roommate being gone all the time.”

Rylee scoffed and finished off her beer.  She didn’t want to get started on the whole Christina/Justin thing again.  What was that saying…something about beating a dead horse?

“Let’s not talk about that.”  She grabbed Trace’s empty bottle and her own and tossed them in the trash can.  “Are you staying?”

“I was here to ask if you wanted to grab some lunch.  It’s cool if you’ve got to finish cleaning.”

Rylee glanced at her watch and thought for a second.  Her apartment really wasn’t that bad, she was just being a little paranoid.  Her parents weren’t due for another four hours.

“Yeah, I need a break anyway.  Just gimme ten minutes to change, I smell like sweat and cleaning products.”

She ran into her bedroom and changed her t-shirt and threw on some more deodorant.  The best thing about being friends with Trace was that she really didn’t have to worry about appearances.  He’d seen all she had to offer, so she could care less if she wasn’t dressed to impress.

The two left the apartment and headed out to a small diner downtown.  Rylee was glad that she’d gotten the chance to become close to Trace because she would feel really alone if he weren’t around.  She hadn’t made too many friends since she’d been in LA.  Between school and work, she didn’t have a lot of time to meet people.  Now, with Christina gone all the time, Rylee wouldn’t have anyone to hang out with if it weren’t for Trace.  She was glad they were friends, he was a cool guy and he wasn’t opposed to trashing on Justin every now and then.

~*~

When Rylee returned an hour later, she found both Justin and Christina in the living room.  She was a little pissed to see the mess that was starting to form because of her friend’s disregard for putting things away.  Plates and cups were sitting on the coffee table and pillows were scattered on the floor. 

She felt like all her cleaning had been for nothing.

“Where you been?”  Christina piped up from her spot on Justin’s lap.

“I went out to lunch with Trace.”  The raised eyebrows that came from the couple grated on Rylee’s nerves.

“You two have been spending a lot of time together.”  It was Justin that spoke this time and Rylee couldn’t help herself from commenting back.

“Well, that’s because my best friend has been spending all of her time with you.”  The venom in her words made it obvious that she wasn’t really joking.

“Ry, what’s up?  Why the attitude?”  Christina actually pried herself from Justin’s grip and made her way after Rylee.  They made their way into Rylee’s bedroom and Christina shut the door.

“Sorry, I’m just stressed.”  She wasn’t really sorry, but it would make things easier if she pretended to be.

“About what?”  Rylee turned to glace and Christina and she wondered if the girl had any brain cells.

“About what?  You’ve know for weeks that this is the weekend my parents and brother are coming to visit.”

“Oh shit, I totally forgot that that was tonight.”  Christina looked genuinely sorry that she’d forgotten.

“I’ve been cleaning all day and stressing about them coming.  You are planning on staying for dinner, right?  My mom’s been telling me how much she wants to see you.”

“Well…Justin and I were planning on going out tonight, but I’ll make him stay here.  He’ll get over it.”

“Justin’s staying too?”  Rylee didn’t like that idea at all.

“Is that OK with you?  I promised him dinner.”  She thought for a second before adding, “Hey! You can invite Trace, I know your mom would love to meet him.”  The roll of Rylee’s eyes was so violent, Christina wondered if they were actually attached to her head.

“No.  I do not need my parents thinking that I’ve got a boyfriend.  I’ll never hear the end of it and I don’t want to deal with all of that drama.”

“But…aren’t you together?”  Christina was getting really confused.

“No, Tina, we’re not.  We had sex one night because we were shitfaced beyond comprehension.  That doesn’t mean we’re together.”

“Oh.”  She looked hurt and Rylee let out a loud sigh.

“Let’s not talk about this, OK?  I’ve got to finish cleaning up the apartment and then start making dinner.  Just make sure you two are here and ready for my parent’s by five thirty.”

The conversation ended and Rylee was left to her thoughts.  She really wasn’t excited about Justin being at dinner with her parent’s.  She was upset with him to begin with, and she wasn’t looking forward to watching him paw all over Christina.  That, and she knew that her mother would start hounding her about not having a boyfriend when Christina was in such a serious relationship.

It was going to be a stressful weekend and Justin being around was only adding to that stress.  Despite the fact that Rylee was pissed at him for being an ass, she was still completely attracted to him.  He held a lot of the qualities that she looked for in guys and she was physically attracted to him as well, something that didn’t happen too often.

It sucked that Christina had gotten there first, and there were a lot of times where Rylee found herself wondering if things would be different if she’d met Justin first.  Trace was convinced that Justin had a thing for her but he was too stubborn to admit that he was with the wrong girl.  Thinking that didn’t really help Rylee at all, it just made her question things even more.

Shaking her head as if her thoughts were physical things weighing on her shoulders, Rylee focused on the night ahead of her.  She still needed to shower and changed before she started dinner, and now she had to clean up the living room again.

It was going to be a long night.

~*~

Silverware clinked on plated and mouths noisily chewed at the chicken parmesan that Rylee had cooked.

Her parents, Patty and Walter Anderson, sat to Rylee’s right, her brother, Ben, sat to her left, and Justin and Christina were directly across from her.

“So, Christina, how long have you and Justin been together?”  Patty spoke over the din of eating and Rylee inwardly groaned.  It was a good thing she’d eaten quickly, because she had the feeling that she was about to lose her appetite any moment.

“Uhm, we’ve been together about two months now, a little more.”  Patty sent a glance in her daughter’s direction.

“Maybe you could give my Rylee-Jean a few tips on finding a nice gentleman like Justin.  She needs a good man in her life.”  At this, Rylee really did groan.

“Mom, please…”  Her protests were cut off by an interjection from Justin.

“She is dating someone, didn’t she tell you?”  This comment earned a very pointed glare and Justin almost felt guilty for opening his mouth.

“Rylee-Jean!  Is this true?  Who is he?”  The questions were rapid fire and Rylee’s head was spinning.

“No, it’s not true.  Justin must have his information wrong.”  She sent him another nasty look and almost strangled him when he opened his mouth again.

“She’s been seeing my friend, Trace.  I was under the impression that they were pretty cozy.”  He looked smug and Rylee really couldn’t figure out why he was doing this to her.

“Justin…”  Christina’s tentative warning was ignored by the man next to her.  He was fueled by his jealousy and for some reason he couldn’t get his mouth to stop moving.

“I thought that it was starting to get serious.”  Rylee didn’t need to hear anymore.  She stood abruptly and pointed a finger in Justin’s direction.

“If I’m not mistaken, you weren’t really invited to this dinner, so it would be very much appreciated if you would stop trying to inform my parents of something you know nothing about.  I’m not dating Trace, he’s a good friend, something you wouldn’t know much about from what I hear.  I don’t enjoy having my night ruined by someone that’s got their head up their ass, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some air before I tell you how I really feel.”

She stormed out of the room in a sort of calm fury and left everyone in her wake in an awkward silence.  Patty and Walter were completely unsure of what just happened, and Christina was glaring at an uncomfortable looking Justin.

“I’ll go check on her.”  Ben stood from the table and followed the direction his younger sister had taken.  He found her on the balcony connect to her bedroom starting stonily out at the city.

“He’s a fucking asshole,” She ground out through clenched teeth and Ben chuckled.

“He’s got a thing for you.”  Rylee’s head whipped around to stare incredulously at her brother.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Language, Sis, you are a lady.”  She responded by flipping him off and he laughed again.  “Justin, he’s been watching you all night, and I know that look.  Believe me, I’m a guy, I’ve seen that stare before.”

Rylee slumped into the chair next to the one her brother had taken and she let out a huff of air. 

“He’s pissing me off, Benji,”  The old nickname slipped off her tongue and it was her brother’s turn to cringe.

“I hate that name.”  She gave him a slight grin.  “He’s pissing you off because he doesn’t know how else to channel his feelings.  It’s obvious.”

“OK, Dr. Phil, thanks for the psychobabble, but it really doesn’t help my situation any.  You did notice that my best friend is dating him, right?”

“Yeah, I did.  I don’t know what to tell you, Ryles, I just call what I see.  And I see that the dude has got the hots for you.  Should I pull the big, protective brother card and kick his ass?”  She let out a chuckle and shook her head.

“No, he’s my boss; it would be bad for my career if it got out that my brother kicked my boss’s ass.”

“You’ve got a thing for him too.”  It wasn’t an accusation as much as it was a statement of fact.  Ben had always been able to read his little sister, especially when it came to things like boys.  She was an open book to him, and now was no different.

“I can’t deny it.”  She sounded disappointed to admit it.  “I don’t want to, because I know it’s futile to have feelings for him, but I can’t seem to make them go away.”

Ben sat there for a while and pondered what to say next.  He wasn’t sure of all the facts in this situation, but from what he saw tonight, there was a thick tension between his sister and this Justin character.

“I don’t really know what to tell you, other than to be careful.  I have a feeling that something’s going to snap soon, and I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or not.”  Rylee’s eyes stayed focused on the skyline for a long while as she mulled over her brother’s words in her head.

“I just want to get through tonight without hearing a bunch of crap from mom about my love life.”  Ben let out a laugh at that comment and stood up from his seat.

“Well then, we should get back in there before Justin can spread any more vicious rumors about you.”

The pair headed back into the kitchen where a conversation about the Red Sox was going on between Justin and Walter, and Patty and Christina were discussing a new recipe. 

“Who’s ready for dessert?”  Rylee cleared some of the dinner dishes from the table and brought over a plate of cookies she had made earlier.

There was a slight tension in the room that no one seemed to want to acknowledge, so everyone just pretended that nothing had happened.  At one point, Christina sent a ‘sorry’ over the table at her friend and offered her an apologetic smile.  Rylee shrugged it off and smiled back.  It wasn’t Christina’s fault that Justin was being a jackass.

Justin stayed relatively silent for the rest of the meal, and he quickly exited to Christina’s room when dinner was over.  He felt bad for being an ass, but he couldn’t help himself.  He figured it was safer to hide away, especially with the dark glares that Walter had been sending his way after Rylee’s little outburst.  The man was quite intimidating and Justin was a little afraid.  It didn’t help that Ben was there too, giving dirty looks and making snide comments that could only be directed at Justin.

He had really hoped that he would be able to get over this thing for Rylee and work on making a friendship with her, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen anytime soon, especially if he kept doing stupid things like open his mouth.