Rivals In Love (Love In Montana Book 4)

The next morning, Georgia drove her mom's car to college, reaching forty minutes early. She didn't want to seem overeager to talk to Ryan, so she first went to the placement division of their college for work. There was a part-time job opening at the library and she eagerly signed up for it. At least something was better than nothing. 

She walked into her first class and sat down to wait. There was a good twenty minutes left for the class to start and still there was no sign of Ryan anywhere. "Did he forget about the project?" She thought in her head. Ten minutes later an angry Ryan strode into the classroom but stopped mid-stride and gaped at her looking dumbfounded. 

"You're here? I was waiting for you at the campus gate," he said, looking puzzled with a goofy smile on his face. 

"I came forty minutes back, so I thought of enquiring at the placement cell for a part-time job," said Georgia. She never spoke much about herself to anyone so it was quite surprising that she told him that much. 

"Oh! So did you get a job?" Asked Ryan with interest, coming to sit down beside her. He looked at her angelic face, her long hair which was tied up in a bun but he didn't like it much. He loved it when she left it untied and used it as a veil to shield her face from him. Those times he just stared at the halo of spun gold, hypnotized by it all. 

"Yes, I'll be helping at the library after college for the time being," she told him. Ryan nodded excitedly. Would it be possible for him to meet her after his practice? 

"How long do you need to work?" He asked with interest. 

"Two hours," she answered. 

"Then what about your mom? Who'll feed her?" Asked Ryan curiously. Georgia looked at him with surprise. Was he seriously concerned about her mom? He was so different from her brothers! 

"I'll ask one of our old, trusted workers at the dairy farm to come and feed her. I'll prepare mom's food in the morning. She could just heat it up and feed mom," said Georgia. Ryan nodded. 

"Shall we start discussing the project?" He asked her. So the next few minutes they roughly noted down how to go about it. 

"I'll be going to the farm this weekend. Will you come along?" He asked her hopefully. 

"I can't go with you Ryan but I'll reach the farm whenever you tell me to," she told him. Ryan smiled, his face brightening up with excitement. 

"Can you suggest a convenient time?" he asked instead. 

"Morning 9 o'clock?" She asked. "I'll feed mom her breakfast and then prepare her lunch before leaving," she told him. Ryan nodded. 

"Sure, Saturday at 9 o'clock then," he confirmed. Although he knew that it wasn't a date, yet his heart somersaulted with glee just thinking about Saturday. Although he wanted her to talk to him again, it was strange that she didn't. 

"Are you whipped with your enemy, dude?" Asked Carl, nudging him. 

"No, are you crazy? She's just my project partner, " said Ryan.

"Project partner my a*s," said Carl with a smirk. "You've been staring at her for the past one hour, dude," he remarked. 

Andrew chuckled. "He's become 'Creepy Ryan', " said Andrew, drawing out a boisterous laugh out of Carl. Ryan glared at them. 

"Shut up, Macy's my enemy. Georgia is just our rival's daughter. Oh, you drew the enemy's attention and she on her way here. I wonder what she wants," said Ryan watching Macy walk up to them. He frowned at her. Ever since she had stopped all interactions with Georgia, Ryan had started hating her. Some friend she was! The fight was between Brian and him, how could she judge Georgia so easily? 

"Hey Ryan! I was thinking if you'd want to swap places with my partner. Since we're both in similar situations where we are compelled to work with people we hate, I think this is a win-win situation. My partner doesn't even have any idea about the topic, can you imagine that?" Said Macy with an eye roll. Ryan wanted to scream and tell her that he didn't hate Georgia. 

"I'll stick with my partner. For your information, let me tell you that I'm not compelled to work with Georgia. I chose to be with her," he pointed out in a low voice for Macy's ears alone. He didn't want the whole class to know about it and start jumping to conclusions. Macy's eyes widened with disbelief. 

"How? Don't you hate her already like everyone else at college does?" She asked, giving Georgia a dirty glance.

"No, I don't hate her. Why should I? All big brothers look out for their sister. It's natural. There's nothing to hate Georgia for it. If the whole college is judgemental and weird, I have nothing to say to them," said Ryan. "If you'll excuse me, I have to rush to my next class. " Ryan got up and walked out with the other students leaving a gaping Macy behind. 

Macy felt extremely guilty after hearing Ryan's words. Although she had no brothers other own, she had heard from her friends how protective older brothers could be. She wanted to apologize to Georgia for being such a shitty friend to her. She realized that she shouldn't have listened to the gossip going around on their campus amongst the girls who crushed on Ryan. She rushed out to the next class and walked up to Georgia. "Can I sit with you?" She asked sweetly. Georgia looked at her with surprise but she just nodded which made Macy feel all the more guilty. Any other girl would have given her a piece of their mind but Georgia looked so vulnerable that her heart went out to her. 

"I'm sorry for being such a horrible friend to you, Georgia. I've realized that I shouldn't have judged you like the others. Please can you forgive me? I want to make it up to you," said Macy, with a pleading look in her eyes. 

Georgia looked at her and smiled. She never held a grudge against anyone. It wasn't in her nature. "Okay, forgiven," she said, softly. Macy stared at her with disbelief. 

"Don't you want to hit me, murder me or throttle me?" She asked with her mouth hanging open. Georgia shook her head. 

"You're already half dead with Harry as a project partner," said Georgia with a smile. Harry was always asleep in class and he was just the opposite of what Macy was. He hardly knew what was happening in class and it was a punishment for Macy to make him work. Macy giggled.

"But he has solid muscles and awesome tattoos on his body," she winked. Georgia rolled her eyes. 

"Write that in your project papers and professor Harrisburg will get a heart attack, " she suggested. Macy giggled with mirth. 

Carl nudged Ryan and gestured towards Georgia and Macy. "Your secret crush would soon be out, dude," he whispered. 

"I have no secret crush, okay, " Ryan corrected him but as he glanced towards the two friends who seemed to have reconciled, he felt a little apprehensive. What if Macy spilled his little secret? 

Thankfully the professor walked in and they got busy the next forty-five minutes. After class, as he rushed towards the football field for practice, his eyes fell upon the two girls who seemed busy whispering amongst themselves. He groaned knowing that Macy was surely telling her everything that he had said. He just crossed his fingers that Georgia didn't run in the opposite direction seeing him. 

"What do you mean? Ryan isn't interested in me at all. We're just project partners," shrugged Georgia. 

"But he chose you when everyone was dying to be his partner, " pointed out Macy. Georgia shook her head.

"No, he didn't choose me. We were the only one's left out so he was compelled to be my partner," said Georgia. Macy shook her head. 

"You're too innocent, Georgia. Don't you know that everyone in our class had approached him to be their partners including me?" Macy asked. Georgia looked at her with disbelief. "But he didn't agree. He waited for the last minute when only you were left out. When I asked him to be my partner he told me that he wanted to do the project with you," informed Macy. 

Georgia's eyes went round with surprise. How could that be possible? Surely Macy had misunderstood the whole thing. 

"Why would he want to do that? He hates me," said Georgia. 

Macy shook her head slowly. "No, he told me that he doesn't hate you. He told me that all big brothers are protective of their sisters. There's no big deal in that, " she told Georgia. 

Georgia's eyes darted off towards Ryan who was practicing in the field with his brother and teammates. "If he looks back at you, it means he likes you," said Macy, watching Ryan discreetly. At that moment, Ryan looked at Georgia. Their eyes connected across the vast expanse of the field. 

Macy chuckled. "See? He likes you," she said. Georgia tore her gaze away and walked towards the campus gate, more confused than ever.