Because You Reject Other People's Pursuit? Never!

I caught my fiancé, Ryan Stede, and the junior from the same program, Emily Galley, goofing around as they walked by.

I shouted, "Ryan!"

Ryan turned, cool as ever, and shot me a grin. "What's up?"

Emily looked all defensive, like she thought I was trying to snag her guy, which just made me chuckle.

Feeling mischievous, I demanded, "I'm craving chocolate ice cream. Go get me some, now."

Ryan's grin vanished; he wasn't playing along today.

"Got things to do. Hit me up with a text if it's important."

Emily looked hurt and asked, a bit sulkily, "You guys text? Since when?"

Oh, like, forever.

I stayed put while Ryan, clearly annoyed, turned and headed toward the grad school building.

"Ryan, if you don't fetch that ice cream, you can forget calling me later!"

Ryan kept walking, and Emily couldn't resist a victorious glance back at me.

Whatever, let her have her little victory.

I stood there, counting down silently.

Three, two, one...

Zip.

I sneaked a peek.

Ryan had already disappeared into the building, just leaving me staring at his retreating figure.

I crouched in the tiny garden by the dorm, tore open my ice cream wrapper, and snapped a pic for Snapchat.

Those special alerts are set for a reason.

Barely a minute passed before Ryan rang me up.

I couldn't help but beam, thrilled.

"Kayla, you know better than to eat ice cream on your period. You trying to make yourself sick?"

Smug with my little victory, I teased, "Better keep it down, or Emily might overhear. Wouldn't want to start rumors. Wouldn't wanna cramp your style with the ladies."

Ryan let out a scoff, "As if you haven't done enough of that already."

My smile dropped.

Was he joking, or was there a hint of real annoyance there?

I mean, over the years, I've been the only girl he really hangs out with.

Everyone knows Ryan has this childhood friend — that's me.

But they don't know that we're actually meant to be more than just friends.

This semester, the grad school welcomed new faces, including Emily, who seems a little too keen on Ryan.

"So you're on the prowl now? Keeping things cool in front of other girls, huh?"

He cut me off, "Advisor's calling me in, gotta go."

Right, it's Friday. He had a group meeting.

That settled my nerves.

I knew it; he wouldn't just hang out with her for no reason. They're on the same team, so of course, they have to stick together for meetings.

The saga of Ryan and me begins with our moms' epic friendship.

My mom's kind of a wildcard, and her BFF is just as unpredictable.

They're so tight, that collateral damage doesn't even register with them.

And by "collateral", I mean me, my dad, Ryan, and his dad.

Ryan's my mom's BFF's son, three years my senior.

When Mom was expecting me, they decided that if I was a boy, Ryan and I would become brothers; but a girl meant a future bride for Ryan.

The dads didn't get a say, so I was dubbed "Ryan's future Mrs. Stede" the minute I was born.

As for this old-timey, arranged engagement...

I'm all in.

Ryan's been the smartest guy around since day one. Always the center of attention, always surrounded by girls.

But he only hangs with me, only drinks from my glass, only does my hair, only tutors me.

And while he's usually tight-lipped with others...

He never holds back with me.

He's forever telling me, "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

I've been crushing on him for as long as I can remember.

From the jump, I've been all about Ryan.

I mean, the guy's a catch — tall, dark, and handsome, with a killer smile. In a sea of average Joes, he's a bona fide heartbreaker.

He's been doing chores since he was a toddler — his mom says it's all part of grooming him to be the perfect husband.

But I'm not sure if it's real affection or just him playing along with our parents' joke. He's never actually said the words.