Chapter 9
Lexi
I stare around at our new apartment and grin. Tee and I have officially been moved in for five days now, and the place is already starting to feel like home. Luckily it was already furnished, so we didn’t need to do much besides add our personal belongings and stock up on food. We also had to buy bed sheets, towels, cleaning products, and other household items.
Ryder wasn’t too happy when I moved out. In fact, he sulked for a little while, saying there was no rush to leave. I’m not too far away from Ryder’s apartment, maybe about ten minutes, so it’s no big deal. I love the feeling of having a place to call mine, the freedom to do whatever I please.
I started my job at the bar yesterday, and so far, so good. I’m only working every Tuesday, because I got offered another job as a receptionist at law firm. The manager at Steele is a really nice girl named Payton. She's covered in tattoos and has thick jet black hair, the woman could be a pin up model. I love the fact that I’m earning money again, and that I can stop pulling money out from my savings account.
Tee's gone to visit her parents and calm them down after they finally found out she was in town and hadn’t told them. She'll be gone for two nights, so I thought I’d invite Ryder over for dinner. I’ve baked chicken with garlic bread, corn, and salad; everything is ready and waiting.
There's a knock on the door and I quickly glance down and check over my outfit. I had decided on black skinny jeans with a thin yellow belt and a black top that was all covered in front, but very open at the back. I walk to the door and open it, my heart thumping in my chest when my eyes land on Ryder.
“You look beautiful,” he tells me huskily, stepping in and capturing my lips in a searing kiss. Then he walks forward, our lips still connected, and closes the front door with a push of his foot.
“I’ve missed you,” he says against my lips.
“Me, too,” I whisper, pulling back, my gaze still on his sinful mouth.
“It’s been so boring at home, it’s so damn quiet now,” he adds with a crooked grin.
“I’m sure you'll survive,” I say playfully. Ryder grunts, shaking his head. “Something smells amazing,” he says, wandering into the kitchen.
“I’m not sure what I want to eat first,” Ryder muses suggestively, as he glances between the food and me. My face goes a little red, and Ryder chuckles throatily.
“I think that blush answered that question,” he says, walking over to me and lifting me in his arms. He carries me to my room and to my bed, laying me on the red and black skull comforter. He gets down on his knees and pulls me down the bed so my legs are dangling. Then he undoes my belt and the button of my jeans, pulling my pants down. He makes a sound at the back of his throat before he nuzzles the inside of my thigh, slowly heading upwards.
“You smell so good,” he says gruffly, “I’m going to take my time with you.”
And he does.
In fact, we eat dinner four hours later.
*****
I’m home alone, and bored. I pull out my guitar and start to play a few random songs. I play ‘Underneath Your Clothes’ by Shakira. I sing the last line, already thinking about which song I want to practice next, when I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I spin around, and my eyes widen when I see Ryder standing there watching me, his eyes glimmering with emotion. He's leaning against the door, his posture casual, but his eyes are heated and intense.
“You are so f*cking amazing, Lexi,” he rasps. I open my mouth, and close it again, still in shock. I don’t usually let anyone hear me sing, unless I'm extremely comfortable with that person. The only other person I have sung with is my ex, and that once wonderful memory is now tainted.
“Play me another song, please,” he begs quietly, walking into the room and sitting down on the bed next to me. I open my mouth to decline but he says, “Please, Lexi,” once more and I break.
“Okay,” I say, clearing my throat. I think for a moment and decide on ‘Creep’ by Radiohead. When I’m done, my hands are shaking. Ryder shakes his head in awe. “It should be you up there on stage, instead of me.” I blush at his compliment.
“You know, for someone who likes R&B music, I’ve never heard you play or sing it,” he muses with a grin.
I shrug. “Wouldn’t want to get kicked out of your apartment. I do love all different music genres though.”
Ryder laughs. “Who are your favourites?” He seems genuinely interested, so I name a few.
“J. Holiday for one, I love all of his songs,” I tell him.
“Never heard of him,” Ryder says with a sheepish smile.
“Joe?” I ask.
“Oh yes, I’ve been practicing Joe ‘I Believe in You’ for Layla’s wedding. She wants me to sing it."
“You're so damn sweet,” I tell him.
“Yeah, well, it was that or a One Direction song,” he says with a shudder.
I burst out laughing. Layla is a treat, she really is.
“Will you play it for me?” I ask him softly.
“I believe in you?” he asks, and I nod. “Okay, I’ve only learnt the first verse and chorus so far though,” he admits as he takes my guitar.
“That’s okay,” I assure him.
“Don’t laugh. I think this is the first R&B song I’ve ever sung,” he says shyly. I hold my breath as Ryder sings the first verse. Layla is going to be blown away at her wedding, that’s for sure. I won’t be surprised if there are rivers of tears shed. He sounds incredible, and the song is beautiful. When he hits the chorus, I swoon.
As soon as he finishes the last note, I pull my guitar away from him and jump on his lap, practically attacking him, my mouth attached to his. Ryder chuckles huskily when my hands start to roam his body.
“I should sing for you more often,” he says, as he pulls off my tank top, his eyes heatedly raking over my body.
*****
The next night Ryder and I are staying in watching movies. I picked up three movies on my way home from work, and I’m sitting comfortably on Ryder’s couch waiting for him to bring the popcorn from the kitchen.
“So what are we watching, darlin’?” Ryder asks as he walks in with a huge bowl of popcorn and two wineglasses.
“We have three choices. Pitch Perfect, Hotel Transylvania or Ten Inch Hero,” I tell him as I take the wineglasses from him and place them on the coffee table.
“Ten Inch… you got us porn?” he asks me, his eyebrows almost hitting his hairline.
“Porn? What?” I sputter.
“Ten inch!” Is all he says, like it’s an obvious conclusion.
“Yeah! It’s about a sandwich shop! You perve!” I say through fits of laughter. Ryder rolls his eyes, and heads back into the kitchen reappearing seconds later with a bottle of red wine.
“Alright then, Lexi, lets watch this non-porn. I like sandwiches, too,” he adds.
He pours the wine, and I press play.
*****
“Happy birthday!” everyone yells the second I open the front door to my apartment, scaring me shitless. ‘Everyone’ consists of Ryder, Tee, Layla, Sasha and Jet. I put my skull handbag down on the bench and walk over to them, a timid smile on my face.
“What’s all this?” I ask, looking over the huge skull chocolate cake, and table full of gifts.
“We wanted to surprise you,” Tee says cheerfully.
“Yeah, since you forgot to mention it was your birthday,” Ryder says, his eyes narrowed.
“That’s cos it’s not a big deal,” I tell him, eyeing the snacks I only just noticed.
“Thank you all so much, this is lovely,” I tell everyone, giving each of them a grateful hug. When Jet’s hug lingers a little too long, Ryder growls and calls out an indignant “Hey!”
“Calm your farm, Ry,” Tee calls out.
“Layla, I assume you baked all of these,” I say gesturing to the cake, cookies and cupcakes.
“Yeah, I hope you like them. We argued between a skull or a guitar cake, and skull won out,” she says with a grin. She looks stunning as always in high waisted jeans and a peach colored blouse.
“It was actually Ryder’s idea,” she whispers to me, giving me a wink. I thank her and give her another hug.
“Where’s Cole?” I ask her.
“Chase is watching him tonight, so I can have some fun!” she says. Tee cheers from somewhere around the apartment.
“Are you going to open your presents?” Ryder asks me. I can’t help but check him out in his distressed jeans and tight black shirt. The man is magnificent.
“I can’t wait to unwrap you, that’s for sure,” I murmur to myself.
“Careful what you wish for, darlin’,” he says in response.
I’m about to respond when I see Tee walking out, carrying a carton of beer. “Tee!” I gape.
“What?” she asks, confused. I gesture to the beer.
“What? It’s a party!” she calls out loudly. Layla cheers.
“I just realized that we mustn’t have any friends, Tee, because the only people here are your family,” I say with a chuckle. Tee glances around, only now noticing. She shrugs and pulls out a funnel.
“Tee! You are not funnelling beer!” I tell her.
“No, I’m not, but you are!” she says with that evil smirk of hers. “Oh, who am I kidding, I am too!” she says. I palm my face, and look over at Layla, who is pouring tequila shots. Innocent Layla! There’s a knock on the door so I walk over quickly to answer it, my mouth opening in shock at the person standing on the other side.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him.
“Happy birthday, Lexi!” Kade booms, pulling me in for a hug. He moves past me, and walks into the apartment, acting like he’s been here before. I follow him into the kitchen, and curse when I see what’s been going on while I was answering the door. Tee is funnelling beer, and Sasha is pouring it down for her.
“What do we have here?” Kade asks, walking over and grabbing the funnel.
“Kade, what are you doing here?” Layla asks him, frowning.
“Chase sent me to babysit you,” he smirks.
“He's so ridiculous,” Layla says.
“Oh come on, I’m the life of the party! Come pour the beer down for me!” Kade calls out to her.
Layla hesitates, and then grins as she walks over and starts pouring the beer, as Kade gulps it down. Ryder comes up behind me, and wraps his arms around me.
“You smell good,” he whispers into my ear, causing the hairs on my nape to stand on end.
“Do you think they'll notice if we sneak away for a few moments?” I ask him.
“Lexi girl, I think you and I both know I can last longer than that,” Ryder teases. I tickle him on his ribs, giggling as he slowly walks with me, steering me towards the bedroom. I wince when Kade points out our departure and starts to sing ‘Birthday Sex’ by Jeremih.
“Leave them alone, Kade! It’s her birthday and she deserves some good lovin'!” Tee adds with an encouraging nod. I hide my face into Ryder’s chest. I know he's silently laughing, because I can feel his chest rumbling.
“Are we hitting a club?” Jet asks us all.
“After we do the tequila shots,” Kade suggests, causing Sasha to do a little booty dance.
“Where’s Nikki, by the way?” Layla asks Kade as she downs a shot. I giggle when I see the graphic shot glass she's using. It has a naked man on it with a 3D penis.
“She’s visiting her parents,” Kade tells Layla.
“Why does she even let you out alone? Or doesn’t she know you’re out tonight?” Tee taunts. Kade maturely sticks his tongue out at her. I glance up at Ryder, and nod at him when he slyly motions to the door. He locks it behind him after we both enter.
“Those sneaky sex fiends!” I hear Kade call out.
“Don’t be a cock block, Kade!” Layla calls out in return.
I can’t contain it anymore, I burst out laughing. Kade is such a character. Ryder pushes me against the wall and fuses his lips to mine. I forget about anything but him for the next hour.
I tip toe outside of the room, and head into the kitchen. Everyone headed out to the club after banging on my door and telling us to meet them there. I sit at the table and open all of my gifts. I feel a little overwhelmed; I've never really had anything like this done for me before. I slowly open each and every card and gift, loving and appreciating everything I was given. I'll definitely treasure it all.
I open Ryder’s gift last and my mouth opens in a gasp when I see the stunning gold chain with the word ‘LEXI’ written in the middle. It’s beautiful. There are two small gold skulls on each side, with diamonds in each pair of eyes. It’s so me, and I love it that Ryder knew how much I’d adore it. Ryder walks out just as I’m trying to put it on, and he silently takes the chain out of my fingers to clasp it for me.
“Thank you, Ryder, it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever received,” I tell him honestly.“Well, besides my guitar,” I quickly amend with a grin. Ryder chuckles, pushing back a honey blonde strand before kissing me sweetly on the temple. I breath in his scent, that masculine cologne I adore, and just Ryder.
“Are we heading to the club?” I ask him.
“Yeah, we should probably go keep an eye on them all,” Ryder says in mock exasperation. We both jump in the shower and get dressed to head out to Steele. I put my hair up in a high ponytail, teasing the front up. I choose an emerald green mini dress, it's strapless and shows off my new chain. Some mascara, and a little contouring on my face and I’m good to go.
We walk into Steele and I burst out laughing at the scene we come upon. Kade and Tee are engaged in some sort of dance battle, Sasha is chatting up some sexy looking man at the bar, Layla is sitting on the bar and Jet is missing in action. I can’t help but notice that even fooling around and probably drunk, Kade is keeping an eye on both Sasha and Layla, checking on both of them every few minutes.
They all beam when they catch sight of Ryder and me. Ryder tells me he’s the designated driver, if I want to have a few drinks. I don’t really want to drink tonight, so I decline. I want to remember this night, everything about it, in vivid detail. These crazy people have somehow become my family, and I appreciate them being here to celebrate with me. I lean my back against Ryder’s chest and grind my hips in a circular movement. Ryder instantly grips my hips with his fingers, bringing my body even closer to his. We are pressed so closely together not even a piece of paper could fit between us. I rotate my hips sensually, and hear Ryder growl into my ear, “I had no idea you could move like this.” I smirk, even though he can’t see my expression, and grip the back of his neck with my right hand, my body rolling backwards into him as I do so. I can feel his arousal pressing into my behind, and the fact that he wants me again after just having me thrills me. We dance for a little while longer, and after Ryder calms down a little, I go and dance with the girls.
When Ryder walks out with another birthday cake for me, lit candles and everything, my eyes start to tear up. This is the best birthday I have ever had in my life, usually it was just me and my mum. Ryder places the cake down on the bar and sits me down on the stool. He runs and jumps on the stage, and the DJ stops playing the music, the club is momentarily silent.
“It’s my girl Lexi’s birthday today, so we're all gonna sing to her!” Ryder calls out. The club cheers.
“Happy birthday to you…” Ryder sings to me, along with everyone else. At the end I blow out my candles, and for once in my life I have to try hard to think of a wish. I have everything a girl could want. I wish for health for myself and my friends, blow out my candles, and sigh in contentment. The DJ starts to play dance music again, and I giggle as Ryder walks over and cuts me a small slice of cake, holding it up for me to take a bite. I moan as the chocolate hits my tongue, and watch as Ryder licks the remains off his fingers.
“My first time organizing anything for you, how did I do?” he asks into my ear. He says it like there are going to be many more times to come. I love that.
“It was perfect, Ryder,” I say sincerely. I don’t even need all this, but the fact that everyone put in such an effort for me makes me feel really special. Loved. Ryder throws a devastating smile my way, obviously pleased with himself, as he should be. We all party the night away, dancing, laughing and just enjoying life. We make it home in the wee hours of the morning, Ryder and Sasha crashing at our apartment. Jet and Kade take a cab home.
Best. Birthday. Ever.
The next morning Ryder makes me breakfast in bed, and we celebrate all over again.
*****