Vivian’s POV

Although there was no specific rule against it in the school. Vivian did not keep her phone on her when she was in class. As much as most people, especially teenagers would argue against it, phones were a distraction, and the last thing anyone needed when in a class full of hyperactive kids was to be distracted.

So as she did every other day, Vivian was using her lunch hour to power on her phone and see if she’d missed anything. Normally, while doing that, she would also be having her lunch. But that day, Vivian took one look at the message waiting for her, and her appetite vanished.

***

Recently, Vivian had been of the mind that the only thing that could make her lose her appetite would be Bryce trying to reach out to her again. But she was currently being proven wrong. The text that had her not wanting to eat anything at all was from none other than Ryan Terrell. It was not even a threatening one, or a message that was far too suggestive.

Instead, it held words that almost every individual, either an adult, or a child dreaded to hear.

[We need to talk]. That one sentence had heralded the beginning of so many disasters in people’s lives.

In fact, Vivian had broken up with Bryce a couple of times after saying such words. Now Ryan Terrell had sent them to her and she had no idea how to deal with that. Was he angry that she had left him all alone in the morning?

Surely that could not be it. The man was well aware of the fact that she had a job and she took it seriously. But if it was not her leaving him in the morning, what could it be? Did he wish to change the rules of their arrangement? If so, what could he want to change, and would Vivian agree with him once he told her exactly what it was?

In an attempt to put herself out of her misery, she typed out a quick text to him.

[What do you wish to talk about?]

Lucky for her, she got a swift reply. But the quick response did very little to ease Vivian’s tension, if anything it made matters worse.

[The matter is far too sensitive to be addressed over the phone. I will come by your apartment later this evening and we will deal with it then].

What could be so sensitive that he could not even give her a heads up over the phone? She found herself wondering.

Having to wait until later that evening to discuss whatever it was that was on Ryan’s mind did not help Vivian’s nerves at all. Instead of decreasing her stress, her mind was throwing questions at her that she could not answer. Why had Ryan reached out in the middle of the day if he had no intention of telling her what was bugging him?

Was he angry with her over something? But what could he be angry about? Had she perhaps leaked the arrangement to the press? No, that could not be it. She had not done anything of that nature. The only other person who knew about their friends with benefits situation was Amy, and Vivian trusted her friend. The other woman would not tell anybody.

So what could it possibly be? Maybe there was no issue at all. Perhaps all that Ryan wanted was to tell her that he would be going away for some time and would therefore not be able to meet her. But that made no sense. If that were the case, he would not have said that it is a matter that needed to be discussed in person.

What sort of issue could Ryan possibly have with her? What had she done wrong? The question plagued Vivian not only throughout the day. But also all the way home. But by the time that she walked through her front door, she still did not have an answer.

***

Exactly fifteen minutes after Vivian arrived home, there was a knock on the door and when she went to answer, Ryan Terrell was standing there carrying a paper bag in his hands.

"Hey Vivian, I had the chef make a little something for us so that you do not have to worry about preparing dinner," Thrown off by how nice he was acting, Vivian stepped aside and let him in, watching quietly as Ryan made his way over to the kitchen and put the food down on her little table. Whistling, he grabbed some plates and set them out.

"Go wash your hands and then we will eat," Not quite sure what was going on. Vivian obeyed him and by the time she took a seat, Ryan had a mini feast waiting for her. Despite how good everything looked, her stomach was still tied up in knots, so Vivian could not bring her south to lift up her fork and start spearing her food.

Instead she continued to stare at Ryan as he dug into his own meal.

"Do not prolong this Ryan. You said that we needed to talk. What is it that you wish to discuss with me?" Having come right out and said it, Vivian felt some of her tension ease, but when Ryan rested his fork against his plate, all of that tension came flooding back as she looked into those intense blue eyes?

Wiping at the corners of his mouth with his napkin, Ryan got up and went into her bedroom, leaving Vivian confused.

What was going on?

A few seconds later, he came back with a familiar piece of paper in his hands, a laminated piece of paper that had a drawing of a very specific body part.

After putting it on the table between them, Ryan went back to his food. Picking up his fork, he gestured to her with it.

"As I said, Vivian, let’s eat. After you are full, we will discuss what this is at length," Her face aflame, Vivian found that the only safe place she could look was at her plate. So she picked up her fork and began shoveling food into her mouth. Of all of the things that the man wanted to talk about, it just had to be this.