A gentle shake to my shoulder, followed by an equally tender voice woke me up.

"Hey Vivian..."

I blinked a few times before realizing I was still on my couch, having fallen asleep while watching another one of Ryan's sports movie.

"...you don't have to stay out here with me. Go to bed where you'll be more comfortable."

His breath smelled like toothpaste. A signal that he was ready to go to sleep himself, and I was in his spot.

I tried to stifle a huge yawn, and failed. Speaking through both my fingers and my gaping maw I asked, "How is it possible to be this tired from doing nothing all day long?"

Ryan got off his knee with a smile. "We didn't do 'nothing' all day long. We had a very productive day of bonding over movies."

The thought that he considered spending today with me as time well spent made me feel like I had accomplished something; something that I hadn't done in very long time. Breaking down some of my defenses when it came to a guy was huge. But I wasn't ready to tell him that this was the thing that really counted for me today, because I didn't want to make the ease we'd achieved between us disappear.

So instead I said, "Plus I guess we can also count cooking dinner together as something."

"That was definitely something." He chuckled. "Have you recovered yet from my description of Filipino spaghetti?" He sat down, just as I stood up.

Obviously we still needed to work on our timing.

I rubbed some sleep from the corner of my eye. "Honestly, spaghetti sauce made with banana ketchup and hot dog slices in it, is not something I even knew existed before today. I'm still in awe that they sell it at McDonald's in the Philippines."

"I loved it so much as a kid that I asked for it as my birthday dinner every year, so don't knock it until you've tried it."

"I'm not knocking it. Based on the lugaw you made this morning, I trust that you have good taste. But I think my Mom might be horrified if you tell her you love sweet spaghetti. So you probably shouldn't mention it to her the next time... I... I mean... If we... Or if you... You know..."

I don't know what was wrong with me other than the fact that apparently my mouth wanted to fast forward us through all of the preliminary dating stages straight into the "meet the parents" zone.

Ryan seemed unfazed by my stammering though as he crossed his heart with a finger. "I promise that if I ever happen to have a conversation with your mother about spaghetti I won't shock her too much with such a confession of love."

My mind and stomach danced around imagining him confessing about another type of love.

"Thanks for that. And thanks again for doing the dinner dishes." I picked up my water glass from the coffee table.

"Fair is fair. I believe in pulling my weight. If someone cooks for me, the least I can do is clean up afterwards."

"The things you've accomplished today are adding up. You can even include learning how to make meatballs to your list. They were pretty good for your first time."

I turned towards the hallway, feeling his eyes on my back as I moved towards my bedroom.

His voice made me stop. "They only came out as well as they did because you're an excellent teacher."

Never one to be comfortable with compliments I was glad I wasn't looking at him. My cheeks felt hot.

"Well, it's not that hard to cook Italian food when you're Italian." I shrugged and peeked back over my shoulder at him.

He shook his head. "I'm not just talking about with me today. I mean... I see how you are with the kids at school. And I hear what they say. All of the athletes..."

With a wave of my hand I stopped him. "I really don't want to hear anything discussed in the boys' locker rooms! I'm gonna get you a proper pillow and a blanket for tonight."

But before I moved toward my bedroom, I noticed Ryan was attempting to arrange his limbs on my couch in a way that would allow him some measure of comfort. His body curled awkwardly and his knees hovered off the edge of the cushions. As he rolled onto his back, his legs stretched out so that his calves rested on the arm of the sofa and his feet dangled over my end table, nearly knocking into the lamp.

There was no way he was going to get any sleep, even with a nice pillow and blanket.

It was my turn to shake my head. "This is crazy. You don't fit on my tiny sofa. I'll set you up in my bedroom and I'll sleep out here tonight."

He stopped fidgeting. "There is no way I am going to take your bed."

"Then we'll both sleep in my bed. It's a queen size and we're grown adults who are capable of occupying the same space without any funny business." I held out my hand towards him.

He still didn't move, and actually closed his eyes.

I leaned down, grabbing his hand. "Don't make this weird Ryan. I don't want to feel like a creep. If I know you're out here uncomfortable I'm not going to sleep well. The only way I'm going get any rest is if you come along now and fall asleep while I brush and floss." I tugged him forward, and his body started to slide off the cushions.

He opened his eyes and chuckled. "Okay, okay! You're surprisingly strong for such a petite person."

I released his hand so he could catch himself before he landed on the floor.

Then I said, "Just so you know, I prefer the right side of the bed," as I headed toward the bathroom with every intention of taking as long as possible as I could in there.

Hell, maybe I'd even take a cold shower.