I looked up from my homework and peered over the stack of books in front of me on the counter as I heard the bell chime. Indie’s voice rang through the bookstore. “Well? Did you ask him?” I ducked back behind the books in front of me. I’d been avoiding her all weekend so I didn’t have to discuss the date with Ryder. It was a great night, and I’d enjoyed every moment of it. That was the problem. I had enjoyed our fake date more than I should have. Ryder made it too easy to forget that we were only pretending to be together.
“Where are you, Bailey?” she called out again, sounding closer. I couldn’t keep hiding. She’d see me eventually.
“Here.” I sat up straight so she could see me. Her eyes lit up, and an excited smile crossed her face.
“Well?”
“Hi, Indie. How are you? I’m great, thanks. Had a good weekend. You?” I asked sarcastically. She just looked at me, completely unimpressed. “No, I haven’t asked him yet. I haven’t spoken to him since Friday night.” I had been avoiding him all weekend. I was relying too much on him and how he made me feel—feelings I didn’t know what to do with. We were pretending, and it seemed better to keep our distance outside school before the lines blurred completely.
“You haven’t spoken to your boyfriend all weekend? Why? Did something happen?” She hoisted herself up and sat on the counter beside me with her eyebrows raised, waiting for a response. Yes, something had happened. We’d kissed for hours like a pair of horny teenagers in a relationship. Horny teenagers we were, but in a relationship we were not. Then I’d told Chace how I felt and that I was happy because of Ryder. And then I’d clearly freaked out all weekend about it and what it all meant.
I felt as though I’d crossed some fake relationship line or something, and I didn’t know what to say to him. There was no reason for either of us to act like that, even if Chace was there watching our every move. Ryder and I didn’t have to kiss that passionately or for that long. I didn’t know what to make of that comment about what I was doing to him and how he wanted to see me looking all messed up after we’d slept together. He was a flirt. I knew that. But it was still weird. It was too full on for a fake relationship, and it was confusing the hell out of me.
Ryder and I being together was beginning to feel second nature. Like we didn’t have to act anymore. It was like we really were in a relationship but without any of the romantic feelings. Only chemistry.
Lots of chemistry.
I’d never felt that physically attracted to anyone before. Not even Chace. I’d never had the world fade away when a boy looked at me. I’d had never had anyone make me feel so happy and confident. And none of it was real.
“Nothing happened. We’ve just been busy.” I decided not to tell her about it all since I would probably end up having to explain the fake relationship thing sooner or later anyway.
“Well, call him now and ask him,” she insisted.
“What’s the rush?” I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.
“Linc’s a jerk, and I hate him, and I want to move on.”
“What did he do this time?”
I felt sorry for her. I did. Linc was gorgeous, and he knew it. He was two years older than us and lived down the street from Indie. He’d always been Indie’s knight in shining armour and looked out for her. Naturally, she developed an infatuation with him. Something that she’d had since before I moved to town.
“He’s got a date with Vanessa Parker next weekend.” She slumped onto the counter and sniffed. “Why can’t he like me?”
“I’m sorry, Indie. I am. But maybe it’s because he’s known you for so long. You’re his best mate’s little sister—”
“I’m not that little,” she said. “Not really.”
“I know that, but he probably sees you as a sister too. He always looks out for you.” It felt like deja vu. We’d had this exact conversation so many times that I’d lost count. Every time she got her hopes up that Linc had finally fallen in love with her, her dreams were crushed, and Christina and I were left to pick up the pieces.
I did hope that one day Linc would realise Indie had been in front of him the whole time.
“I know, and that’s why I need a date. A boyfriend. Anything. Just introduce me to Jayden. Call Ryder.”
“I think he’s…”
“I don’t care. Call him. If anyone can interrupt him, it’s you.” She glared at me.
I sighed. I wasn’t so sure he’d want me to interrupt him, but I pulled out my phone, searching for Ryder’s number before putting it to my ear.
“Hello, love.” He answered quickly, surprising me. My heart fluttered. He called me love.
“Ah, hi,” I said, caught off guard that he was acting like normal. Maybe I had read too much into things since Friday night. Maybe he didn’t notice his effect on me. Maybe he was even better at this than I thought.
“Miss me already?” I could hear the smirk in his voice. I looked up at Indie to see if she could hear him, but I was pretty sure she couldn’t. Yes, I missed him already.
I ignored his question. “Anyway, Indie is here, and she has been bugging me all weekend about—”
“Meeting Jayden?” Ryder interrupted.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“I mentioned her to him yesterday at practice, which you missed by the way, and he’s been pissing me off all weekend too. Bring her to that party, and I’ll bring him,” he said, reminding me that there was a huge house party at Chace’s that everyone was going to. I hated parties.
“Oh, I wasn’t planning on going.”
“Of course you were. You’re my girlfriend. And it is at Chace’s, after all.”
“But after Friday, I don’t really—”
“It will be fine. A way to piss him off even more.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll bring her. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing. See you tomorrow, yeah?” I asked hopefully. I heard the bell above the door of the bookstore ring. “Ryder?”
“Yeah?” The phone hung up, but I heard his voice loud and clear. Turning my head, I saw him strutting through the shelves toward us with a grin on his face. He was there.
“Wh…what?” He stopped me from talking by leaning over the counter and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. My hands instantly threaded their way into his hair, causing him to groan and allowing me to deepen the kiss. I needed to show him I was sorry for ignoring him all weekend. I felt him smile into the kiss before he eventually pulled away.
“I missed you too, love.” He winked and turned to Indie, who was staring at us with her mouth open like a fish.
“You can meet him at Chace’s party.” He brushed his hands through his hair, trying to keep it out of his face, but it didn’t help. His curls fell back down across his forehead immediately.
“That’s two weeks away,” she whined. “Wait! You guys are going to Chace’s party? Why?” She sounded shocked.
“It’s the party of the year, so why not?” Ryder leant on the counter, still trying to push his hair out of his face.
“I just thought because of everything that’s happened, you guys would want to avoid it,” she said, looking confused. “And you weren’t invited.”
“No one was invited. It’s an open invitation.” Ryder shrugged, and Indie frowned. “And…that’s why we’re going. No one will expect us to. He needs to see that Bailey’s moved on and is happier with me, right?” He looked at me with a mixture of hopefulness and apology. Happier with him? Did that mean he wasn’t worried that I told Chace I was happier because of him?
“Of course.” I smiled and hoped it didn’t look too forced or real because the truth was, I was happier and better now, and it was because of Ryder and his little plan to get back at Chace for something I was still to understand. I was so confused.
“Good.” He leant over the counter and pecked me on the lips quickly before pulling back and thoughtfully looking at my hair.
“Can I borrow this?” He reached up and slid the elastic out of my hair before grabbing his hair and pulling it back into a small ponytail at the top of his head.
“Uhm…” I cleared my throat. Indie’s eyes went wide as she stared at Ryder before turning to me and mouthing wow behind his back. I stifled a laugh at the expression on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Ryder asked as he ran his fingers through my hair, working out the kinks from my ponytail.
“Uhm, well, nothing. You just stole my hair tie, that’s all,” I replied lamely, trying not to gawk at how incredible he looked with his hair tied up like that. No guy should look that sexy with a ponytail.
“Sorry, it was just driving me crazy. I need to cut it off.”
“No!” Both Indie and I shouted at the same time, making us laugh, and Ryder step back and look at us like we were both crazy. Maybe we were, but I liked his ponytail.
“It’s just, well…you look good with long hair. I like it.” I could feel my cheeks heat up, no doubt reddening too. Indie nodded in agreement, and Ryder’s face split into a huge grin.
“And that ponytail…” Indie trailed off. “No guy should look good with a ponytail, but you manage to make it look hot,” she continued, echoing my exact thoughts. I stared at her hardly, believing she had just admitted that to him.
“Bailey, you like my ponytail too?” He turned to me with a smirk. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I did. I did like it.
“Yes.” I nodded, and he leant in close bringing his lips to my ear, making me shiver when I felt his warm breath on my neck.
“Does it turn you on?” he whispered, his voice sounding deep and husky. I gasped and pulled away from him with wide eyes. He was such a flirt. I couldn’t admit that yeah it did, and if you combined that with the way his voice just sounded in my ear, then yes it definitely did. But I was beginning to think everything that boy did or said or wore was a turn on. What was wrong with me?
“Bailey, I asked you a question.” He straightened up and stood back, trying to hide the smile on his face. He just liked making me feel uncomfortable. He enjoyed it. Well, you know what? I wasn’t going to let him force me to feel like that anymore. Looking at Indie, I saw she was now engrossed in her phone, not paying attention to what Ryder and I were talking about.
I stood up straight and squared my shoulders. Looking him directly in the eyes, I answered as calmly as I could.
“Oh yeah, big time.” I winked at him and walked away from the counter feeling my insides turn to jelly. But at the same time, I felt a rush of adrenaline surge through me from being so bold and honest.
“Bailey.” I heard him hiss. “Bailey, get back here.” He called out as I opened the door to the small kitchen to grab a glass of water. I needed to cool down. I heard footsteps behind me and turned expecting to see Ryder, but it was Indie.
“I’m gonna head out now. Gotta grab a few things for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure.” I waved at her and turned the sink on, filling up my glass with water before draining it in a couple of mouthfuls. I was thirsty. Just as I was about to walk back out into the store, the kitchen door swung open again, revealing Ryder. He was standing there with his bottom lip pulled between his teeth, staring at me. The look on his face and in his eyes stopped me in my tracks immediately.
I took a step back instinctively, trying to get away from him. He crossed the threshold and closed the distance between us in three long strides. I backed up another step, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him, roughly causing me to slam into his chest. I looked up at him in shock and was met by a heated gaze, but before I could figure out whether it was fury or desire burning in his green eyes, his mouth was on mine and his tongue was pushing its way between my lips.
Desire instantly flooded my body, and I found myself clutching at his shirt, trying to pull him closer. One of his hands snaked around my lower back, holding me firmly against his body, while the other cupped my face. His tongue was strong and forceful in my mouth, and I could feel his fingers digging into my back like he was also trying to get me closer. Somehow, I ended up backed against the wall with nowhere to move. Any distance between us was completely removed when Ryder’s hands slid down and gripped my thighs, lifting me up so that I had to wrap my legs tightly around his waist.
Ryder ripped his mouth away from mine and began sucking and kissing along my jaw to my ear. “Ryder.” His name came out sounding like a moan when I felt his teeth tug on my earlobe. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. His soft lips made their way down my neck as I threw my head back. My insides once again turned to jelly, and my heart beat out of my chest, but in the best way. In an excellent way.
“Bailey.” He breathed my name when he placed a kiss in the hollow at the bottom of my throat. My heart beat faster, and heat began to pool in the bottom of my stomach.
“You can’t say that to me and just walk off.” His voice was deep and husky again. I nodded my head so he knew I understood what he was saying. He took a step back, and I had to wrap my arms around his neck so I didn’t fall backwards. Suddenly I felt the soft cushions from the small sofa in the corner of the kitchen at my back with Ryder hovering above me waiting for my reaction.
I didn’t even know how I felt about it. I couldn’t think when he was that close to me. He clouded my judgement. My brain stopped working, and he just seemed to take over my senses completely. When he was around, he was all I felt and saw. His touch had a power over me that I would never understand. He made me feel calm when I was scared or nervous. He made me feel safe and wanted. He made me want. Want him. And I didn’t know what to do about that. I shouldn’t want him. It was all pretend. But there was this pull towards him that I couldn’t explain. I’d never felt it before. Certainly not with Chace.
Ah hell, you only live once. I reached up and dragged my nails through his hair, pulling the elastic out and letting the curls fall around his face. Tugging on his hair, I pulled his face down to mine again, but this time I did what I’d wanted to do for weeks. I gently bit his bottom lip into my mouth, letting my teeth graze and tug at it slightly, making Ryder moan.
He lowered his weight onto me and kissed me in a way that had me gasping for breath as I continued running my fingers through his hair, pulling gently on the ends. My legs were wrapped around his hips, pushing him down to me further. One of his hands supported his weight above me while the other slid under my shirt, tickling along my hips and up to my ribs before brushing along the bottom of my bra.
He’d never ventured under my clothes before, and I didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, I was quite ready to sit up and strip the damn shirt off if he didn’t do it himself soon enough. That was just the effect he had on me. More and more.
Before his hand could creep any higher, I heard it. The sound of the bell above the front door. Crap! I had completely forgotten where we were. Ryder reluctantly pulled away, both of us breathing heavily as I heard Mr. Romanov call out.
“This is not over,” Ryder growled, sitting up and pulling me with him. I quickly climbed off the couch, straightened my hair and shirt, and was just putting the kettle on to make a cup of tea when Mr. Romanov walked in. I was sure I looked all flustered and bothered, but Mr. Romanov didn’t seem to notice.
“Bailey, my dear. Here you are.” Mr. Romanov greeted me when he walked in. “Hello, son,” he said, turning towards Ryder.
“Afternoon, Mr. R,” Ryder replied. I turned to find him looking as relaxed as possible, lying back on the sofa. I shook my head because I was barely in control of my breathing, but Ryder looked unfazed that we were almost caught doing whatever it was we were doing. What was that anyway? Why wasn’t he as affected by the moment at me?
“Would you like a cup of tea?” I offered Mr. Romanov, trying to clear my thoughts. “We were just having a break. It’s been a slow day.”
“That would be lovely.” He smiled at me and sat down at the small round table. I placed some biscuits on the table for everyone to share and set about making the tea.
“This is delicious tea, Bailey. From your mother?” Mr. Romanov smiled as he took a sip.
“Yes, one of her creations.”
“Creations?” Ryder sat up and picked up his teacup.
“She likes to make things.” I cringed at the thought of how long it took her to get something right. She was quite creative and imaginative, but she sometimes lacked the skills required to make a working windmill. Yep, she tried that once. “Anything really, including her own tea. And clothes. And jewellery. And furniture. And, well, she will try everything at least once.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.” Ryder looked surprised.
“It’s—” I was cut off by the sound of the bell over the front door and stood up from my seat. “Break’s over.”
I walked out into the shop and immediately wished that Mr. Romanov had gone out instead. Standing there in the middle of the store was Christina. I didn’t say anything to her. I had nothing to say. I just crossed my arms over my chest and waited.
“I know what you’re doing.” She sneered, taking a step toward me. I lifted my eyebrow and waited for her to continue. She knew nothing.
“You are only with Ryder to make Chace jealous. And it won’t work, you know. It’s really kind of pathetic. Chace doesn’t want you. He loves me. So back off or…” She was trying to sound threatening. I couldn’t help but laugh. She was trying to scare me because she was insecure about Chace.
“I’m happy with Ryder.” I stepped toward her and smiled when she faltered. “I don’t want Chace, and I am not trying to make him jealous. If he’s having second thoughts about dumping me for you, then that’s something you have to work out. Not my problem. Like I told him the other night, go screw yourself, Christina, or him. Whatever. I don’t care.” I turned and walked back out into the kitchen, leaving her standing there in shock.