Chapter 6

I didn't see much of Ryan after the day he visited for ice cream; in fact, almost a month went by and I saw very little of him. It wasn't because of the lack of trying though.

As September passed quickly and October came upon us, our schedules just seemed to clash. My school work really started to pile up, Colette and her parents were slowly getting me used to how they ran their cafe, and with midterms rolling up, I didn't have much free time on my hands other than the days I left dedicated to Abbie.

Ryan, on the other hand, had a full schedule for an entirely different reason. The interviews and guest appearances he had scheduled toward the end of September had been crazy, and when we did talk, he'd fill me in on the shenanigans I missed by not tuning into the local media. I was hearing first hand what it meant to be a true Hollywood star, and what I'd learned over the passed few weeks was that he was well acquainted with the fame, but somehow, once a week he'd still find time to stroll into the café and talk with me over my break.

Something about those few cherished minutes made him seem normal to me; like he wasn't the object of millions of girls fantasies across the world, but just a normal guy talking to a normal girl.

Those minutes came and went though, and as I found myself drifting towards the middle of October, I also found myself working more frequent hours at Corner Café.

"Hazelnut cappuccino with two espresso shots and extra vanilla," Colette called out from where she stood, manning the cash register as I stood in as the barista.

"On it," I replied, placing a medium cup under one of the coffee machines, punching in the cappuccino as I added the hazelnut and vanilla flavouring.

It hadn't taken me long, a couple of weeks at most, to get the hang of the different machines that lined the counters, and after a fair few failed attempts, I knew how to make most of the drinks on the menu.

Waiting for the coffee to stop dripping, I quickly added the espresso shots before capping the drink and calling out the order. "Have a nice day," I smiled, handing the drink to the woman that stepped up as I heard Colette call out the next order.

It was just after one in the afternoon on the second weekend of October, and although people could've been at home cozying up to their fireplaces or seeking more than a quick drink for lunch, Corner Café had been going crazy for the past hour, the line looking as though it was never ending.

"Chocolate and vanilla mocha with a shot of peppermint and extra milk," Colette hollered a few orders later, making me crack a smile as I started a drink.

"Hey, that's basically the same as..." I started, turning to talk to Colette before catching the eye of a familiar face that stood on the opposite side of the counter, "Ryan's normal order." I finished, sending him a quick smile as I finished his drink, spraying a little extra whip cream on the top before capping it.

"Thanks," he smiled as I handed him his signature drink.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "I thought you had that thing today."

'That thing' happened to be an interview with some well-known talk show host, but just in case one of the many people in the café overheard me, I expressed my curiosity vaguely as I waited for a reply.

"That thing, as you so eloquently put it, was this morning and I actually finished it about a half an hour ago," he explained, and when I actually took a look at him, I could see what he was talking about. On top of his normal disguise of a baseball cap and sunglasses, he had on a pair of form fitting khakis and a button down shirt, looking more dressy than casual as he stood in the café.

"And what, you decided to come straight here?" I asked raising an eyebrow as I set to work on the next order Colette called out.

"Well I did text you when I was done, but when you didn't reply I remembered you said you were working this morning," he said, "So yea, I decided that a delicious mocha made by a gorgeous barista was just what I needed."

With my hair tied up in a frizzy ponytail on the top of my head, along with my coffee covered apron and slightly sweaty skin, I doubted I looked anything close to gorgeous at that very moment. Nonetheless, his comment still made a slight colour frost across my cheeks.

"Just so you know, I already used my break earlier," I pointed out, "And I'm not off for almost another two hours."

I quickly handed out two coffees to the women waiting patiently beside Ryan, wishing them a good day before listening to Ryan's reply. "And your point being?" he asked.

I sent him a flat look over my shoulder as I mixed a hot chocolate together. "That if you have a point, you better get to it quick."

He rolled his eyes. "The last time I talked to you, I'm pretty sure I remember you mentioning something about your last midterm being yesterday," he specified, "And me being the amazing friend that I am, thought you'd want to celebrate a little."

It was true, that although I had another round of midterms in November, for the next few weeks the only things taking up my time would be piles of assignments with no extra studying required. At the thought of celebration, I was honestly touched that he thought of something so sweet, but knowing that I really couldn't go out and have fun like a normal university student put a slight damper on things.

"That's really sweet Ryan," I trailed, and judging by the lack of conviction I spoke with, Ryan was able to tell right away that something was wrong.

"But..."

"But," I continued sheepishly, "I kind of already made plans with a three year old."

"Oh," he responded, sounding somewhat put down.

"Sorry," I apologized. "It's just that with being swamped with midterms and having to work I haven't gotten a lot of time with her, so I promised a proper Disney marathon after I finished work."

"It's fine Zoe, I get that you're a mom above everything else," he replied understandingly, making a small smile appear on my face. That's the one thing that most of my friends hadn't understood back home when they asked me to hang out. I couldn't just drop everything and go out, and with Abbie at home, nine out of ten times I found myself wanting to stay home with her. "However, there wouldn't, by any chance, happen to be room for one more at this Disney party?"

My eyes widened slightly at his question, and when I looked him over in my stunned state, I realized that he looked fidgety and nervous, as though he didn't know how his question would be received.

After spending several seconds looking like a fish out of water, my mouth repeatedly opening and closing with shock, I shook myself out of it. "Why, do you know anybody who's interested?" I asked.

He chuckled lightly, although I could still sense the nervousness emitting off of him as I passed a few more customers their drinks. "I might know somebody."

"Oh will you two stop flirting already," Colette called out before rattling off another order.

I immediately felt my face turn beet red at her comment, but when I noticed a pink tinge to Ryan's cheeks, I felt somewhat better knowing it wasn't only me who had been embarrassed.

Clearing my throat, I started on the next order as I looked up to face Ryan. "Anyways, umm... yeah, you're welcome to come over tonight."

"Really?" he asked, and when I nodded shyly at the small flickers of happiness I saw in his eyes, he smiled widely. "I can just meet you here once you're done your shift if you want," he offered.

"Yeah," I said with a smile, "Sure, that'd be good."

"I guess I'll see you later then."

"See you," I replied, raising my hand in a small wave before he turned, heading through the café door and onto the busy street.

"Well, well, well," Colette started, turning to face me as a customer used the debit machine, "Looks like somebody's in for a good night."

Her wiggling eyebrows and suggestive look was enough to deepen my blush, as it hadn't really faded completely in the first place. "Oh shut up," I mumbled embarrassingly.

"By the way, I need a coffee with a double espresso," she rattled off, amusement still clear in her voice.

"Coming right up," I replied brightly, mocking her amusement as I placed a medium cup under the machine and waited for the espresso shots to pour.

Taking a quick glance at the clock on the wall, as well as the ever-growing line on the other side of the counter, I sighed, knowing that the next hour and a half would be a torturous wait.

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Although the minutes didn't breeze by, I didn't find the remainder of my shift as bad as I thought it'd be. Colette, who was quite intrigued by the nature of my relationship with Ryan, kept her teasing comments to a minimum, and with the multitude of customers, I was left with little time to spare Ryan a second thought.

The line of customers only started to thin around quarter to three, so when I finally got around to clearing the tables and wiping down the dining areas, my shift was nearing its end.

Leaning over the one of the last tables to be cleared, I sprayed the top before running a cloth over the top.

"You missed a spot."

Rolling my eyes at the remark, I looked over my shoulder to see Ryan adorned with a new set of clothes, sunglasses, his baseball cap, and a grin on his face. "Funny," I replied, finishing off the table before turning around to face him.

"I thought so."

Smiling, I shook my head in amusement before gesturing to the few tables I had left to clean. "Anyways, I have a couple tables left to clean before I clock out," I said, "I shouldn't be too long."

"Take your time," he grinned, "I was enjoying the view anyways."

"Hey!" I laughed, hitting his arm with the dirty cloth before going back to work. "You're a complete dork."

He shrugged, clearly amused by my reaction, but he didn't comment. Instead, he took a seat at one of the tables I had already cleaned and pulled out his phone, waiting patiently as I finished work.

Fifteen minutes later I was grabbing my bag from my locker, done for the day, only to jump as I noticed Colette waiting behind me. "Oh god," I said startled, "Next time make a noise or something."

"So, what's with you and Ryan?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows with a smile on her face. "He's been coming here a lot more since you started working here."

Narrowing my eyes at her jokingly, I replied. "Nothing's going on," I shrugged. "We get along and we're friends... that's it."

"Okay, okay, I believe you," she said, putting her hands up in mock surrender, "For now."

Rolling my eyes, I headed towards the door. "Bye Colette," I called out, waving my hand above my head as I made my way back into the front of the store, vaguely acknowledging her goodbye as the door closed behind me.

"I still can't believe you agreed to this," I told Ryan as we made our way through the streets of LA, "Actually, I can't believe you volunteered for this."

"What?" he rebutted, "You don't think I'm excited for a Disney marathon?"

"Are you?"

"I'll have you know that I loved Disney movies when I was a kid."

"Let me guess, Snow White was your favourite right?" I asked jokingly.

"I mean the dwarfs were definitely amusing," he continued teasingly, but shook his head seconds later. "But no, it was actually Peter Pan. I used to pretend I was one of the lost boys, never having to grow up and just have a lifetime worth of fun."

I smiled at his honesty, picturing a five year old Ryan running around with neighbourhood kids. "I can totally see that," I commented, "But just so you're aware, Abbie's more fond of the Disney princesses then a boy flying around in tights."

"I figured, but she's cute, so I can deal with it," he cracked a smile. "Plus, I still get to spend time with you, which was what I was planning to do today anyways."

He spoke calmly, as if his words weren't sweet and unexpected, and although I let my mouth turn up into a smile, I managed to keep an impending blush down as I continued the conversation. The rest of the walk went without a lull or awkward moment, which I was glad of, and without even realizing it over twenty minutes had passed and we were approaching my front door.

"I'm home," I announced as I stepped through into the entryway, holding the door open for Ryan to step in before closing it behind me. Taking off my shoes, I heard a pitter patter of footsteps growing louder, and before long, Abbie's excited face came into eyesight.

"Momma!" she cheered happily, running up to me with her arms wide, wrapping them gently around my legs in a hug.

"Hey sweetie, did you have fun today with Emily and Dustin?" I asked, bending down to kiss her forehead.

She nodded. "They coloured with me, let me watch TV and made me gwilled cheese." she explained happily, slurring some words together as she did. Before I could reply however, she turned her attention to Ryan, her eyes widening as she realized somebody else was here. "Ryan!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Already having ditched his 'disguise', Ryan smiled down at Abbie. "Well, your mom invited me over. She mentioned something about watching Disney movies after supper and I couldn't pass that up," he replied. "Plus, I missed seeing your cute face."

Abbie's eyes grew excited when Ryan mentioned the Disney movies I had promised her early this morning. "Did you bwing Wocky with you?"

"Rocky?" he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly at her pronunciation, and when she nodded in anticipation, he shook his head slowly. "Sorry Abbie, Rocky's actually back at my house relaxing," he started, continuing quickly when he saw her smile disappear, "But he told me to tell you he misses you."

"He does?" she asked skeptically.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, and I promise that I'll bring him over soon to see you."

"Okay," she nodded, taking the explanation without a second thought before she grabbed my hand, pulling me into the house.

"Hey Zoe?" I heard Emily's voice strain from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

Heading towards the kitchen, I waited for her reply. "I know you said that you'd cook dinner tonight, but Dustin and I were thinking about going out with some friends." she explained, her back turned to me as I entered the kitchen. My footsteps must have registered in her ears as she turned around about to continue. She stopped short though, obviously noticing that I wasn't alone as Ryan entered the room right behind me. "Well, I was going to ask you if you'd be okay with just Abbie tonight, but I see you already have another guest."

Her tone was teasing and light as she nodded to Ryan, who smiled at her in response. "Hey Emily," he greeted, before turning to Dustin, who had been standing by the fridge watching the exchange. "And Dustin, right?"

Dustin, who had somewhat mellowed out to the idea of me being friends with Ryan, simply nodded, offering him a smile before I spoke.

"You don't have to ask me if you want to go out on a Saturday night Emily, I'm not mom remember," I replied, sticking my tongue out childishly before continuing. "I'll be fine with just Abbie and Ryan tonight, go have fun."

"You're the best Zoe," she said, coming around the table to give me a hug, "And hopefully you'll have a fun night too," she continued teasingly, whispering her last words into my ear as she let go and headed upstairs, Dustin not far behind.

Her words caused a soft blush appear across my face, and when I looked to Ryan, who was standing not that far away from me, I saw the vague outline of a smirk dancing across his lips, telling me that he'd definitely heard what my sister had said.

"Sorry about my sister," I said quickly, nervously running my hand through my hair.

He shook his head in amusement. "It's fine," he replied. "But what was that she said about you making dinner?"

"Well I was planning on making a pasta bake tonight," I started before Ryan cut me off.

"That sounds pretty good."

"Really?" I asked nervously, not used to cooking for people other than Abbie and Emily. "Because if it'd be easier we could just order a takeout."

"If it was my choice, I'm actually quite interested to see what you can cook," he stated. "Plus, I have take-out way too often."

"What, do you not have a fancy home chef or something?" I asked jokingly.

"Surprisingly no," he replied in mock shock. "I mean I can cook, but it's not always the best option when you're cooking for one, so takeout is usually easier."

I nodded in understanding. "So is chicken penne alfredo good with you, or?"

Ryan smiled down at me. "Sounds good to me."

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Dinner didn't end up taking as long to prepare as I expected.

The pasta and chicken took less than twenty minutes to cook, and once the sauce was mixed and heated, I tossed everything together before sprinkling a thin layer of cheese over the top, sticking it into the oven. I had a good ten minutes before the cheese was fully melted, so after putting the dirty dishes in the sink and going over the counter tops with a damp rag, I headed into the living room to see what Ryan and Abbie had gotten up to.

I thought that maybe Abbie would've conned him into playing with her dolls or watching a television show, but what I saw when I stepped into the next room surprised me.

"Umm... what's going on here?" I asked.

Ryan was seated on the floor in front of the couch with Abbie on his lap, and they were discussing the best Disney films while my entire Disney collection was laid out in front of them.

At the sound of my voice, Ryan turned his head to look over his shoulder, a sheepish smile growing on his face. "Sorry," he apologized, "Abbie wanted to look at all the Disney films, and before I knew it, they were all over the ground."

"Momma, I wanna watch Lion King and Awiel," Abbie stated before leaning over and holding up cases for both DVDs.

"You want to watch both eh?" I asked, walking over to her and grabbing both cases while she nodded. "Well if you head into the kitchen and get ready for dinner, maybe we'll have enough time for both."

Her eyes sparkled at my words as she quickly stumbled off of Ryan's lap. "Okay," she smiled excitedly, heading rather fast into the kitchen.

"I can clean all this up," Ryan offered guiltily as he stood up, gesturing to the remaining twenty or so DVDs that covered my living room floor.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it," I said. "Dinner's pretty much ready and we can deal with this mess after we're done eating."

"Oh yeah," he stated, his eyes lighting up in amusement, "It's time for me to find out if you're cooking abilities are any good."

"Well hopefully you find them up to par, because that's the only thing we have to eat," I replied teasingly as he followed me into the kitchen.

And it turned out that my cooking was good enough. After making sure that both Abbie and I had had enough to eat, Ryan happily took seconds and thirds, finishing off the remaining food without a complaint.

Once dinner was finished I quickly cleaned up, refusing Ryan's adamant pleas to help, instead asking him to take Abbie into the living room and set up one of the movies, trusting him not to break the DVD player like Abbie had in the past.

Telling myself that I'd do the dishes later tonight, I let them soak in a bit of water as I cleaned the table off before heading into the living room.

"So, what movie is up first?" I asked, rubbing my hands together in anticipation as I walked into the living room, only to see that, along with the Little Mermaid playing on the television screen, all the DVDs had been put back in stacks on the TV stand. "You know you could've just shoved them all to the side for now."

Ryan shrugged, picking up the remote to pause the movie at the beginning as the three of us got settled on the couch. "It wasn't that big a deal," he replied, "And I got that little cutie to help, right Abbie?"

Abbie, who had plopped herself onto my lap after I settled myself on the couch, nodded enthusiastically. "I cleaned momma!"

"Good for you sweetie," I replied, tickling her sides gently as she squirmed on top of me before looking over to Ryan, "And thanks."

"No problem," he replied simply, nodding to the lamp beside him that was currently lighting up the entirety of the room. "Off or on?"

"Off," Abbie replied hurriedly, and when I nodded as well, the lights went down and the movie started up.

"Let's get this movie night started."

And started it got.

For the hour and a half that followed the three of us watched intently as Ariel was given legs, lost her voice, met and fell in love with Prince Eric, and finally defeated Ursula. As the movie played Abbie looked completely entranced, and even though I knew for a fact that she'd seen this movie many times, it seemed like she was watching it for the first time.

"So, the Lion King is next?" I asked as the credits started to roll and I tapped Abbie's leg, gently pushing her to the side as I got up and switched the disks.

"Yeah!" Abbie exclaimed before she scampered off the couch and headed up the stairs.

Ryan glanced to the stairs in confusion before turning to me. "Where'd she go?"

"Oh she'll be back," I replied, "She has a Simba stuffed animal that she likes to play with when she watches this movie."

"And how many times have you watched this movie?" he asked with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Since she was born... too many," I laughed.

Sure enough, not even a minute later the title screen for the movie appeared on the screen and Abbie came barreling into the room with her stuffed Simba in her hands.

As time went on and the movie played out, I found myself tearing up at Mufasa's tragic death scene, enjoying the movie I'd seen one too many times, and laughing as Abbie got Ryan to sing along to Hakuna Matata.

"Do we have time for another movie?" Abbie pleaded as the Lion King finished, but looking at the clock, I knew that her bedtime had already passed.

"It's already passed eight 'o'clock sweetie," I replied, shaking my head slightly. "You still have to take a bath before bed. I promise that we'll watch another movie tomorrow if you still want to."

"Okay momma," she said, hugging her stuffed animal to her chest as I picked her up. "Is Ryan gonna be here tomorrow?"

"Umm... if your mom doesn't mind, I might drop by for a bit." Ryan replied, moving anxiously where he sat.

"We'll see," I told Abbie, not going to force him to come by if he had already made plans. "You're welcome to just hang around here for a bit while I put this little one to bed. I shouldn't be more than twenty minutes," I continued, directing my words towards Ryan.

He nodded, relaxing back into the couch as I headed upstairs to take care of Abbie. After a quick bath, a good brush of her teeth and a change of clothes, I tucked my now warn-out daughter under her covers, kissing her forehead as her head sunk into the pillows.

"You know if you're busy tomorrow you don't actually have to come over," I informed him as I walked back into the living room about twenty minutes later. "I'll just tell Abbie that you couldn't make it."

Ryan, who looked to have stayed pretty chilled on the couch, tucked his phone away and turned to smile at me as I took a seat next to him. "Actually, I don't actually have much to do tomorrow, so if you don't mind, I can pop by for a while," he replied.

"Sounds good, just shoot me a text when you leave," I smiled before changing the subject. "So, was this what you had in mind this morning when you said you wanted to celebrate the end of my midterms?"

"Not exactly," he admitted with amusement, "But hey, I enjoyed myself."

"I could tell, I mean the notes you hit while singing were spot on," I teased.

"Hey, I'm an actor, I never said I was a singer," he replied, finding amusement in the situation as well. "And I actually wanted to hang out with you tonight so I could talk to you about something."

Suddenly confused, I urged him to continue. "Okay, what?"

"Okay, well my cousin, he's about my age, is getting married next weekend," he stated, but I didn't quite catch what he was getting at. "Anyways, I RSVP'd a long time ago, but he called me last week wanting to know if I was bringing anyone before finalizing the seating chart. Obviously I'm not dating anyone, but I thought I'd ask you if you wanted to come before I got back to him."

I was shell-shocked as he finished his explanation. He wanted me to be his plus one to his cousin's wedding? "Me... what?" I asked, my words stumbling as I tried to comprehend the situation.

He smiled nervously at me. "Yeah, I thought it'd be fun," he continued. "I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, it was just a thought."

After a few more seconds of silence, I managed to shake myself out of shock. "Well, umm, is it in town or?"

He shook his head. "It's actually in Bakersfield, so about two hours away," he explained. "I was originally planning on leaving Saturday morning before the wedding and coming home Sunday morning, but if you want to come we'll come back Saturday night."

"Would I be able to get back to you tomorrow?" I asked fidgety. "If I talk to Emily about watching Abbie for the day, then yeah, I think I'd be okay with going."

Ryan's persona suddenly turned from one of nerves to one of happiness. "Really?"

I nodded shyly, biting my lip.

"Great," he chirped a little overexcitedly, making both him and I burst out in a fit of laughter.

The rest of the night was simply the two of us talking, joking around and just getting to know each other better, and without even realizing it; I slipped into bed later that evening with a permanent smile etched across my face.

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More interaction between Ryan, Abbie, and Zoe... hopefully this chapter portrayed how the dynamic between everybody in the story is growing as time goes on, and I hope you guys like it.

Question: in celebration of the next chapter *wink, wink*, can you guys recommend some nice lovey dovey slow songs for a playlist that will be coming out next Friday? I only have like five so I need some suggestions :)

Vote, comment, and follow if you enjoyed this. Until next time xx