“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.