Read Online Before Ryan Was Mine (The Remembrance Trilogy - Prequel) by Kahlen Aymes - Free Book Online Page A

thought of my old friends didn’t excite me. Earlier, I’d thought about trying to get together a game of ice hockey at the local rink but reconsidered. No doubt, the ice time would be monopolized by local league tournaments over the holidays.
    “I’m going downtown shopping later. Do you want to come?”
    “Maybe,” I mumbled again, my lack of enthusiasm tangible. I hated shopping. Period. Especially shopping downtown. I hated the traffic; I hated the slushy streets, I hated hauling bags and sweating in stores because I was wearing a coat. I stood up and went to my desk to fire-up the laptop. “I guess I do need to buy a few presents. I’m not good at buying stuff for girls and I need to get Julia something. I could use your help.”
    Mom came into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. My room was pretty much unchanged from the day I left for Stanford. My high school football and basketball jerseys were stuck to the walls with pushpins among posters of Milla Jovovich and Megan Fox, sports trophies, concert tickets and a bunch of pictures.
    “What does she like?”
    “Everything. She’s cool.” I could get her a couple of tickets to the San Francisco 49ers or the Oakland A’s and she’d be happy with it. Jules was unassuming and easy going.
    “Is she the tomboy-type?”
    I huffed in amusement as I looked through my email. “Hardly. Why would you assume that?”
    “I don’t know. She hangs out with my son but she’s not his girlfriend? That’s my first clue. You never spend any time with girls you aren’t dating, that I recall.”
    Something inside me stopped. “Yeah, well, Jules is different. She has a brain, and we can talk about stuff. We relate on many levels. She’s just cool,” I said again, searching for the right words to describe Julia without making it sound like I had a crush on her.
    “Ryan! Are you insinuating that most women are mindless?” Her eyebrow shot up in disapproval.
    “No, it’s just…” I paused, searching for the right words. “Julia doesn’t yap on and on about clothes and make-up and meaningless crap. She isn’t always batting her eyelashes and acting dumb.”
    “Ryan.” My mother cautioned. “Girls bat their eyelashes? Nice exaggeration.”
    “Come on, Mom!” I lamented. “You know what I mean. She’s the first girl who I’ve ever respected like that.” She shot me another reprimanding look. “Besides you, I mean.” I flashed a full-on grin, and she smiled in return.
    “Girls like bath oil, shower gel, and lotions. You could get her a gift basket or gift card.”
    “Ugh! Seriously? That shit’s lame. It’s what you get your kindergarten teacher or old Aunt Hester. Besides, I heard Jenna dissing another guy who gave some girl one of those things for her birthday. There isn’t thought in something like that. It’s too generic.”
    Mom chuckled. “If you like Julia that much, why aren’t you dating her?”
    I stopped playing with my computer as I contemplated the question. I half-assed shrugged and shook my head. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t asked myself the same question. “We’re good friends. It might get weird if we dated.”
    “Is she pretty?”
    “Yeah,” I answered without thinking. “Super hot. Aaron thinks my dick’s broken.”
    “Ryan!”
    Shit! Did I just say that to my mom? I flushed guiltily then grinned. “What?” I asked incredulously. “He’s the one who said it, not me!”
    My mother rolled her eyes and smiled despite her motherly chagrin. “I’ll have to have a talk with your brother. So, she is pretty.”
    “She’s, er… amazing.”
    “Amazing, huh?”
    “Yeah, but amazing goes way beyond looks. She’s smart and funny. She’s fun to hang out with.”
    “Do you think if you spend so much time together, you should get her something a little personal for Christmas?”
    “Probably, but I don’t know what.”
    My computer dinged and an IM came up from Julia. I looked guiltily at my mom, hoping she’d take the