Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
He mumbled, “Is this a pity thing? Did they fuck up the surgery? Am I minutes from bleeding out?”
“No, it all went perfectly. There’s some cool new hardware in your hip, which will probably set off every metal detector you come across from now on. And it’s definitely not a pity thing. It’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a while now.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because I was a coward, and I wanted to hear you say it first.”
“Sorry it took being stoned off my ass to finally tell you how I feel.” I leaned in and kissed him, and he muttered, “I’m probably so gross right now. The last time I brushed my teeth was Saturday morning. What day is it?”
“It’s Sunday. Your surgery was this morning.”
“Sunday…” He thought about that for a few moments. When the lightbulb went off, it woke him up a bit and he blurted, “You can’t be here!”
“Why not?”
“Because your fashion show is tomorrow. You need to get back to San Francisco! If you leave now, maybe you can find a flight and make it back in time.”
I sat down and held his hand between both of mine. “I’m not going anywhere, Ryder.”
“But the show—”
“Isn’t even sort of as important as you are.”
“You have to show your collection. You worked really hard on it, and it’s so good.”
“Don’t worry. I talked to Vee and Kit during one of my layovers, and they offered to stand in for me. I also emailed my instructor and told him I was called out of town on an emergency. He’s fine with them showing the collection in my absence. The clothes are ready, and my models know what to do, because we rehearsed it. Vee and Kit are perfectly capable of taking it from here. All the rest of my schoolwork is done too, by the way. I turned in the last of my assignments on Friday.”
“But if you’re not at the fashion show in person, you won’t get to talk to the recruiters, or scouts, or whatever they are. If you miss out on a great job offer because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“I won’t miss a thing,” I assured him. “If someone wanted to reach me, they could get my contact information from my friends and schedule a call to interview me. But I already know I wouldn’t want whatever they were offering.”
“Why not?”
“Let’s just say I’ve done a lot of soul searching lately, and I’ve realized what I want from my career.”
“What do you want?”
“I’ll tell you later, when you’re not a few hours out of surgery and probably getting exhausted by all of this.” He still looked concerned, but I left it at, “Please don’t worry, Ryder. It’s all going to work out. I promise.”
The nurses were nice enough to let me sleep on a cot in Ryder’s room that night. By the next day, he seemed more like his old self. I knew he had to be in pain, even with the meds. He downplayed it though, probably because he didn’t want to worry me.
He’d broken his phone when he dropped it, so he used mine to check in with Dwight, who assured him everything at the ranch was under control. Dwight had moved his travel trailer onto the property, so he could stay there and keep an eye on things around the clock. He’d also brought in his cousin to lend a hand, and he’d gotten calls from several of Ryder’s teammates, who were willing to come and help as needed.
“See? You have nothing to worry about,” I said, once he ended the call.
“You’re right, but I’m going to worry anyway.”
His teammates filtered in throughout the day. Ryder borrowed a laptop from one of them, so he and I could watch a live feed of the fashion show. JoJo was in the front row, filming the whole thing for me, and Vee and Kit were backstage, getting everything ready.
Kit was the third student to show his collection. His gorgeous drag queens strutted the runway to RuPaul’s “Sissy That Walk.” It was pure joy, and both the clothes and the models were a big hit.
At the end of every collection, it was customary for the designer to come out and take a bow. Kit looked shy and self-conscious as he rushed onto the stage, bowed quickly, and darted off again.
Six more students showed their stuff, and then it was my turn. The announcer said, “Next up is Hal Nakamura. This collection is entitled ‘Bloom,’ and it’s dedicated to Ryder Woods.”
“If I Had You” by Adam Lambert started to play. I’d selected it both because I loved Adam, and because it had a slamming beat that was great to walk to.
Then the first of my models appeared. I’d taught all of them how to hold their heads high, walk with attitude, and own the runway, and they delivered like seasoned pros.