CHAPTER SEVEN

RYDER

I look down at my phone as Milton drives me home from another long day of work.

 

Me: Please call me.

 

I had sent that to Ashlyn twenty minutes ago and no response. I’ve been calling and texting her all day and nothing. She has officially written me off.

I decide to call Jaycent. He’s the only one I haven’t apologized to.

“What’s up, man?” he asks, sounding tired.

“You sound like your day is going about as good as mine,” I say with a sigh.

“Is yours going like shit?” he asks flatly.

Shit would be a good day. I haven’t had one of those in over a week. “Is it Monday?”

That gets him to chuckle. “Yes.”

I sigh again and lean back in my seat. “I saw Ashlyn today,” I decide to tell him.

“How did that go?” he asks.

“I’m calling you, aren’t I?” I growl.

He laughs, but I don’t find this situation funny. “And I’m guessing it’s because you got something to get off your chest, so let’s hear it.”

I don’t waste another second. “She came crashing into my meeting this morning, told me off, and then stormed right out with this ‘fuck you’ look on her face,” I growl.

“And?” he urges.

“And after she left, I felt bad. I’ve treated her and Becca like shit for the last week, so I wanted to make it up to them. So I sent them both flowers today.

Becca sent me a thank-you text, but Ashlyn sent me nothing.”

“Did you really think flowers were gonna save the day? Week?”

“No.” I sigh. A long silence stretches over the phone before he speaks again.

“Ryder, I tried to tell you that night we went out that you needed to call her. Talk to her. If you want to save whatever it was that you guys had, you are gonna have to go the extra mile.”

Yes, I know this! But somehow rubbing I told you so in my face doesn’t help. I let out a long breath. “I know. But … fuck, I’ve ignored her for the last seven days, and I’m not sure how to get back to where we were. Or if she even wants to.”

I hear him sigh on the other end as if he’s contemplating telling me something. “Ryder, that night we went out, and I took you back to your office ...”

The night I almost slept with another woman? “What about it?” I ask.

“She had called you. You looked at it and threw the phone to the ground and I know I shouldn’t have, but I answered it. She just started spilling everything. I tried to stop her from talking, but by the time she was done, she hung up.”

I sit up in the back seat. So that’s why I didn’t remember having a conversation with her. He had been the one to talk to her. “What did she say?” I ask slowly.

“She said what you thought you saw and what happened were two very different things.” He pauses. “… and that she loved you.”

“She what—” I demand.

“I told you,” he interrupts me. “After she had hung up, you looked right at me, and I told you, but you didn’t say a word.”

My heart is racing and my head is spinning. “She loves me?” I ask softly.

“That’s what she said.”

I let out a growl that he didn’t tell me this the next morning when I saw him in my office. Or the day after that. Or the one after that. I open my mouth to ask him what the fuck but stop myself. It’s not his fault I was a dick. It’s not his fault I let it go on this long. “That was over a week ago. Of course, flowers aren’t gonna fucking fix that!” I snap. “What am I supposed to do now?” I ask as if he has an answer.

“Fight. If you love her, fight for her. If she loves you as you love her, then she’ll appreciate that more than distance.”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding my head to myself. She came to see me today. That has to mean something. “I … Thanks, man. Thanks for being my best friend.”

Minutes later, the Escalade comes to a stop, and I jump out of it then take the stairs to the building two at a time. I run through the lobby and press the button to the elevator a hundred times before one finally opens. I’ve already got my key out before it even stops on their floor.

I walk in their front door and come to a stop when I see Jaycent in the kitchen wearing just his boxers. “What the …?”

“What are you doing here?” I ask confused. His eyes widen, and he drops his hands to the front of his boxers. “And where the fuck are your clothes?” I demand.

“Ryder.” He raises his hands, but then lowers them again quickly. “It’s not what you think.”

What I think? What I think is he’s in the wrong apartment. Why would he be here in his boxers? But as I look him over, a thought hits me. He never told me that Ashlyn had said she loved me. He never once told me that I had fucked up and pushed me to tell her I was sorry. My eyes narrow on him, and I take a step toward him. “Are you seeing her?” I growl. “So this is what you’ve been doing? Fucking her behind my back?” I demand. I didn’t need to worry about Bradley at all because my best friend was too busy with her.

“Ryder … I …”

“So this whole time, I’ve been worried about the wrong guy,” I snap.

He frowns at my words as if he’s confused. Then his eyes widen, and he starts shaking his head. “I’m not seeing Ashlyn …”

“Ryder.” I hear my sister yelp as she comes running down the hallway, interrupting him. “What are you doing here?” Her green eyes narrow on me, and she places her hands on her hips. She’s in an all-black lace teddy and a pair of black heels to top it off.

“Becca, what the fuck?” I growl, not wanting to see that. “Go put on some clothes!” I hold up my hand to block the view of her half-dressed.

Wait … I’m not seeing Ashlyn … My eyes widen as I look back at him and then to my sister. “Why are you not dressed?” I shout at her.

“Why do you keep entering my apartment like you own it?” she demands, her voice rising with every word. “Get out!”

“What the fuck is going on, B?” I demand. My eyes go back to Jaycent again, and I point over at her. “You’ve been fucking my sister,” I shout, and he flinches.

“Ryder, I—”

“What and who I do is none of your business,” Becca interrupts him.

I look at her wide-eyed while I point at him. “How long has this been going on?” I demand.

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Again, none of your business.”

“Becca,” I growl.

“What?” She arches a brow. “Don’t like being kept in the dark?”

I take a step toward her. “What does that fucking mean?” I snap.

She smiles at me, and I think she’s enjoying this way too much. I, however, wanna punch my best friend in the face. “Why are you here, Ryder?”

I’m here for Ashlyn … I run a hand through my hair as I look over her again in a fucking teddy and my best friend is only in boxers. I don’t have time for this. I place my eyes on the floor, so I can concentrate. “I came to talk to Ashlyn,” I say through clenched teeth.

“She’s on a date.”

My eyes snap back up to hers. “With Bradley?” I demand. “Because she told me that was over.” Had she been lying? Payback for what I’ve done the last week?

She snorts. “It is. Some new guy she met at the club Saturday night.”

I fist my hand down by my side. “Where did they go?”

She takes a step toward me and holds out her right hand. “I want your key,” she declares. I grind my teeth. “Is she worth the key?” she asks, and I growl.

I take the key out of my pocket and toss it onto the kitchen counter. It slides off and lands down by Jaycent’s feet. “Where is she?” I demand.

“At the Chinese Kitchen,” she says happily.

I spin around and go to open the door but stop and look over my shoulder at them. I look at the guy I’ve called my best friend all my life, and I feel as if he has stabbed me. How could he be seeing my sister behind my back? Had I been so wrapped up in Ashlyn that I never saw it? Or was tonight gonna be their first time? That makes my teeth clench. “I’m going to call you in thirty minutes, and I expect you to answer,” I say and then look back over at Becca. “And you’re going to go along with whatever I say.” I’m gonna need a backup plan. I’ve watched Ashlyn work when it comes to revenge, and I’m gonna use her own moves on her. But I need Jaycent to pull it off. He arches a brow at me, and I add, “You owe me that much.” Then I walk out, slamming the door behind me.

ASHLYN

I sit at the table across from Nick as he sips on his glass of wine. I take a gulp of mine, trying to loosen my tense muscles. This thing with Ryder is taking more of my time than I want to give it. It’s over. Not sure why I can’t stop thinking about him.

“Ashlyn?”

“Hmm?” I ask, placing my wine glass on the table. “I’m sorry.”

“You okay?” he asks as his blue eyes search mine.

I nod. “Yes.”

“You just seem far away tonight,” he observes.

“It’s my parents,” I lie. This man doesn’t know me so I could tell him anything, and he would have no reason not to believe me.

“Are they okay?” he asks with worry in his voice.

“Yes. I just haven’t seen them in forever.”

“Where do they live?” he asks.

“Seattle.”

His brows lift. “That’s a long way away. Are you from there?”

I nod and pick up my glass of wine again. “What about the rest of your family? Do you have brothers and sisters in Seattle or here?”

“I’m an only child,” I tell him.

He frowns. “What brought you here then?”

“Work,” I say although that’s a lie. I came here mainly because of Becca. I wanted to get away and work at Talia’s. Guess that saying about be careful what you wish for is true.

I just set my wine glass down when something hits the table and has my wine glass tipping over, white wine going all over my dress.

I jump up from my seat. “What the …?”

“Sis, come quick,” a man shouts.

I look over to see it’s Ryder. Why is he here? What is he doing? “Ryder?” I growl.

“Come quick, sis. Mom needs us,” he says in a rush.

“Sis?” Nick asks. “I thought you were an only child.”

“I am,” I assure him.

Ryder reaches up and grabs my left hand, yanking me across the table toward him. I let out a huff at his force. “How can you say that, sis?” He looks over his shoulder to Nick. “She’s embarrassed by me,” he says, pouting.

“Ryder,” I snap, yanking my hand from his hold. “What the hell are you doing here?” Even though my voice sounds annoyed of his presence, my body recognizes his touch and begins to heat up. God, I miss him.

“I’ve been calling you.”

Yes, he has, but I haven’t wanted to talk to him. Did he not get that when I sent him to voicemail every time?

“My phone died,” I snap, lying. “Leave. Now.”

“I can’t. Not without you. It’s Nibbles,” he says breathing heavy as if he like he just came. And that thought makes my legs weak.

“Who is Nibbles?” Nick asks with confusion on his face.

“Nibbles is our mother’s pet rabbit,” Ryder answers, sniffing.

“He’s lying,” I say flatly. “Ryder, leave.” I say but not sure it’s believable.

“Sis, how can you say that?” he asks and places his fist in his mouth and pretends to bite down on it. He sniffs again. “How can you speak of Nibbles that way?” he asks, and then I see tears in his eyes.

Enough of this bullshit! I slam my hands down on the table and lean over it.

“Are you drunk?” He leans into me, and a slow smile spreads across his face. He’s fucking playing with me. And I realize this is my payback from barging into his office this morning. “This is not funny,” I hiss, my eyes narrowing on his.

His smile fades, and he sticks his bottom lip out as it quivers. “I’m not laughing, sis. This is serious. Mom is just heartbroken. We have to get home now.”

“Isn’t your mother in Seattle?” Nick asks confused.

I watch Ryder’s jaw clench, and I smile. Yep, I’ve told him quite a bit about myself already. And now I’m glad I did.

Not wanting him to get the best of me, I throw him one last go to hell look and take a deep breath before falling down into my chair. I smile over at Nick. “What’s the rush? Nibbles is already dead.” I shrug carelessly and flip my hair over my shoulder. My dress may be covered in wine, but I’m gonna smile like I don’t give two shits that Ryder is here making a fool of himself. “Where were we, Nick?”

I look up at Ryder, and he glares down at me. I ignore him as he yanks his phone out of his pocket. I’m not going to let him win this battle. He types away at his keys, and I watch Nick look up at him confused. Poor guy. He has no idea he’s in the middle of a war.

I know Ryder is just trying to pay me back from what I pulled earlier. And I’m not even gonna say I don’t deserve it because I do. I was way out of hand to barge into his work like that, but this is different. We both have said what we needed to say. Now, there’s nothing left.

I clear my throat, and Nick looks at me. I lift my eyebrow in question for him to answer my question.

“I, uh … a drink,” he finally answers me nervously and then swallows. “Maybe get you a new drink?” he asks, sounding unsure of what to do.

“I think that’s a great idea,” I say since I’m wearing the other one I had. Nick slowly raises his hand as he looks around the packed restaurant timidly as if he’s one of those students who isn’t sure they know the answer but wanna participate, and I hold in a sigh. The man is not gonna stand a chance up against Ryder. He’s gonna eat him alive.

All of a sudden, Ryder’s phone starts ringing. I lean back in my chair. Oh, this’ll be good. “Hello, Mother,” he says softly.

My head snaps up to look at him. His mother? He doesn’t talk to her. Well, he hadn’t when we broke up a week ago. Could that much change in a week?

I place my elbows on the table, very unladylike, and rest my chin in my hands. Will this end? “Hang on, Momma. I’m gonna place you on speakerphone.”

My eyes widen at that. Why would I want to hear what the woman has to say? She hates me! The feeling is mutual after what I now know she did to Becca. That woman can go to hell.

He hits a button on his phone and pulls it away from his ear. “I’m here with Ashlyn,” he says and then holds it down to my face. I see Jaycent written across his screen, and I narrow my eyes up at him.

Oh, that son of a … “It’s Mother,” he says loudly probably letting Jaycent know he’s on speakerphone. “Momma, Ashlyn is here.”

I look up at him with pure hatred as he stares down at me with amused eyes, but he manages to contain his smile. “Ashlyn?” I hear Jaycent squeal, and it causes me to jump back in surprise. “Oh God, Ashlyn, Nibbles is dead,” he cries, and I cringe at how badly he sounds like a woman. Nick can’t possibly believe this is real. A quick look over at him tells me I was wrong. The idiot believes it.

“Tell her what happened,” Ryder orders.

“Uh ...” Jaycent pauses. “Your father ran over him … her. Ran over her. She was just hopping along …” The voice breaks, and I roll my eyes as Nick’s widen. “Tire marks … over her back …” Ryder chokes back a sob, and I roll my eyes again.

“Kill me now,” I mumble embarrassed.

“Oh God,” the voice over the phone wails at my words, and I blow some loose blond hairs from my face. I can’t believe I actually took my time to get ready for this.

Nick’s wide eyes finally meet mine. “Ashlyn, you should go. Your mother needs you. We can have dinner another night …”

“Oh, what a sweet boy,” the whiny voice adds. “I need my babies, Ashlyn. Ryder, please. Come home. We must have a … burial.”

I ignore them both and look around the restaurant. How stupid can these two be? I just told Nick that my parents live in Seattle and can’t he tell that’s a man disguising his voice? God, this guy is an idiot. And Ryder is just an ass!

I can feel Ryder’s eyes on me, and when I look back at Nick, he nods encouragingly.

I bite the inside of my cheek, push my chair back, and glare up at Ryder. The fucker actually winks at me! God, I want to scream! But I remember I have the best revenge right in front of me. I get up and walk around the table. I grab Nick’s hand and pull him to stand.

“I’m so sorry, Nick,” I say, sounding sincere. Not like this date was going to lead to anything but still, Ryder doesn’t know that. I lean in to give him a kiss on the lips, but I’m yanked away instantly.

“Gotta go sis,” he says tightly, and I give Nick a smile as I allow Ryder to drag me through the restaurant.

As soon we reach outside, I shove him away. “What the fuck was that?” I shout.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he says into his phone and then hangs up.

“You are unbelievable, you know that?” I snap. “I can’t believe …” I fist my hands down by my side.

“I needed to talk to you, and you’ve been ignoring my calls all day.”

“Because I don’t wanna talk to you,” I scream, wide-eyed. I feel they may pop from my anger. “How hard is that for you to understand?”

“Babe …”

“Oh, don’t you dare”—I point at him—“start that shit! You cannot just walk in and call me babe.”

“I’m sorry,” he says in a rush as if I’m going to interrupt again, but I don’t ‘cause I literally have nothing to say.

I can’t help but look him over. He’s wearing the same suit he was wearing this morning, but now his top two buttons are undone and his sleeves are rolled up, sans tie. He looks so good that it makes my heart beat faster and also makes me want to stomp my foot like a child throwing a tantrum and kiss him at the same time. This is so not fair.

I take a deep breath and pull my shoulders back. You can do this, Ashlyn. “I told you everything I wanted to tell you this morning in your office. I have nothing else to say to you.” Then turn around, giving him my back, and walk off down the sidewalk.

“Ashlyn, wait!” he calls out. I don’t stop.

I hear him call out my name a few more times, but I make my way through the busy Manhattan crowds not even sure where I’m going. I think home is the opposite direction, but I’m not about to turn around. I need to get away from him.

I have to slow down as the crowd gets thicker, and I feel a hand wrap around my upper arm and I’m yanked off the sidewalk between two buildings.

“Ryder!” I snap.

He pushes me up against the red brick building and pins my body with his. Before I can move, he places both of his hands on my face, and then his lips are on mine. “Ryder ...” I mumble as I try to shove him away with my hands on his chest.

He releases my face, and I think for a second he’s gonna back away.

Instead, he grabs my hands and pins them above my head against the brick wall. Desire pulls between my legs. “Kiss me,” he says breathlessly as those dark green eyes look down into mine. “Kiss me, baby. Please,” he begs, and I growl in frustration. He can’t do this! I won’t let him! “I’m …”

“Shut up, Ryder,” I growl against his lips. He presses his lips to mine again, and I struggle with the decision to kiss him back or shove my knee into his groin.

“Ashlyn?”

Hearing my name makes me panic. I lift my knee and Ryder lets go of me, stumbling away and bending at the waist. He coughs from the unexpected turn of events.

“Ashlyn?”

We both look at where my name was called, and I see Nick standing over on

the sidewalk, staring at us wide-eyed.

“Nick.” I say embarrassed of what he just saw.

He stands there with a to-go bag in his hand, and his eyes dash back and forth between us. I let out a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I didn’t mean for tonight to go like this,” I tell him.

He drops the bag, and it hits the ground as he takes a step back. “You kissed your brother,” he says horrified.

Ryder snorts, and I glare at him before I look back at Nick. “I can see it looked that way, but that’s not what happened.”

Nick looks at Ryder for confirmation, but he just licks his lips and then gives him a wink.

“Really?” I snap, turning to face Ryder. He just smiles at me, and I turn away from him. “Nick.” He starts shaking his head real quickly and then wipes his lips with the back of his hand.

“You kissed your brother,” he says with disgust.

“We do more than just kiss,” Ryder says with a cocky smile on his face.

He gasps at his words. “Nick, he’s joking …” I say, taking a step toward him, and he takes a step back with his hands raised.

“I know what I saw,” he argues.

“Nick, don’t …”

“Goodbye, Nick,” Ryder says, interrupting me and raising his right hand to wave. Without another word, he turns and runs off into the crowd.

I spin around to face him. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I demand. He just laughs as he walks over to the bag of food Nick dropped. “I’m serious, Ryder.”

He picks it up. “Hungry?” he asks with a smile.

I narrow my eyes at him and place my hands on my hips. “I’m no longer hungry,” I respond flatly.

His eyes drop to my legs, and he licks his lips. “I’m all of a sudden starving.”

“Well, you’re going to starve to death,” I spit out and then walk out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk. I look him up and down with disgust as I pass him, and he smirks at me.

“I’m not gonna play fair,” he warns me.

I come to a stop and slowly turn to face him. My eyes catch sight of the bracelet in his hand and then go back to his eyes. “I’m not going to play at all,” I say and give him my back once again.

“Did you know that my sister is dating my best friend?” he demands over the crowd.

I come to another stop and sigh. I turn back around once again and face him. “Yes,” I say, simply refusing to lie to him.

He takes a step back and runs a hand through his spiked hair. “How could you …?” He stops himself then takes a deep breath and lets it out. “How could you not tell me?”

I take a step toward him and narrow my eyes. “How could I not tell you?” I repeat. “You haven’t spoken to me for a week. When would I have had the chance to tell you?” I demand.

“So you’re saying you’ve only known for a week?” he asks, eyeing me skeptically.

I look away from him and bite my lower lip. “Thought so,” he says with a snort. “Everyone is keeping secrets from me,” he adds.

My head snaps back to look at him. “Maybe if you hadn’t shut everyone out—”

“You wanna know why I shut everyone out?” he demands. “It’s ‘cause all they ever wanted to do was discuss you. And I couldn’t stand it anymore,” he shouts.

“Then why are you here?” I shout back. “If you can’t stand the thought of me, why the hell did you ruin my date …?”

“Because I love you!” he shouts, fisting his hands down by his side.

I hate the way my body instantly hums at those words. And my chest tightens at the lie. I want it to be true so badly, but he’s trying to manipulate me. He doesn’t love me; if he did, he would have told me that when I called him the other night. But I hate the way my heart beats faster, wishing it was true.

I take a step back, shaking my head. “I don’t need to hear this.” This time when I walk off, he doesn’t try to stop me.