Ryker (5 page)

“A date? Is it that high school dude?”

“His name is Bobby.”

“Bobby? A grown man’s name is Bobby?” He chuckled, which annoyed me.

I opened the door to the fresh air I desperately needed. “I’ll see you later.”

“Sorry I laughed. I’ve been saying sorry a lot today.”

I grinned. “See ya, Ryker.”

He walked out the door. “See ya, Dude.”

I closed the door and went to my room to put my new clothes away. Time alone was what I needed. Having the house to myself was the best. I could crank my music as loud as I wanted it. With my Spotify playlist turned up, I started cleaning my room. Putting all my shoes away took the longest.

I had my phone in my pocket and felt it vibrate. My dad’s name flashed across the screen, so I muted my music. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hey, baby, how are you?

“I’m good thank you. Are you and mom having fun?”

“Yes, we are. Although, we feel badly about missing your birthday. Did you have fun? What did you do?”

I gently exhaled, knowing I couldn’t go into great detail. “My birthday was good. I saw Max and a couple of other friends.”

“We will take you out for a dual celebration when we get back on Wednesday. Your mother and I wanted to come back sooner, but the Morrison’s planned a dinner cruise for all of us on Tuesday.”

That sounded wonderful to me. “I’m glad you’re staying. Mom loves those boats.”

“Your mom isn’t here right now or I’d put her on, but I know she’d want me to tell you she loves you.”

I smiled, “Thank you Dad. Tell her I love her too.”

“Okay, baby I will talk to you soon. I’m glad you had a nice night. Love you.”

“I love you too. Bye, Daddy.” I slid the red icon to end the call, unmuted my music, and continued cleaning.

As I cleaned my desk, one of my pictures caught my eye. I had to be about eight, which would make Max eleven or twelve in this picture. We were at the zoo, and he had on a hat with an elephant truck sticking out the top of it. I put the picture down and moved on to my closet. It was that time of year when I had to switch my winter and summer clothes.

Hours must have passed before my room was spotless, and I was exhausted. I made a sandwich for lunch—well, dinner really. The sofa was calling my name. I plopped down and texted Tyf to see if she wanted to ride together to The Pub. She insisted on driving since I wanted to drink. It would be an interesting night. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

I woke up and the red digits on my clock told me I had slept for three and a half hours! Tyf would show up soon. I bolted into the shower. The water felt heavenly. Normally I’d stay in for twenty minutes or longer, but I needed to hustle. I hopped out, dried off, and finished getting ready.

The Pub was packed. What was going on? It usually got busy, but not that busy. I hoped I could find Bobby in the crowd. According to the bouncer, there was a bachelor party going on. It must have been a huge party because even the dance floor was full.

Tyf leaned toward me. “Okay, birthday girl, what will it be? Beer, wine, or a cocktail?”

“A beer sounds great.”

There was a commotion toward the front door and when I looked over, I saw the guys from Raging Urge walk in. Max had his arm around a beautiful brunette. Tim and Jake were flanked by blondes, as was Ryker. I had never seen her before, but he looked as though he didn’t have a care in the world; very different than he was at my house. I just stared and let out a sigh.

Tyf nudged me, “Hey, don’t worry about them.”

I nodded and looked in her eyes as she looked at Max and I felt horrible. She’d had a relationship with him and had a right to feel sad; I’d only fantasized of what I wanted. “I’m sorry Tyf. I didn’t know he’d be here with someone.”

“It’s fine. Let’s get our drinks and mingle. Your guy should be here soon.”

“He’s not my guy, but I think I we should order a pitcher of beer.” I was overcome with the sudden desire to have more than a few; which was a first for me.

We were about to grab our pitcher and a few glasses when my phone buzzed; it was Bobby telling me he had a table near the dance floor. With drinks in hand we made our way through the crowd of rowdy guys. They were starting to file out- apparently they were bar hopping, according to the drunk guy who was yelling they needed to go to the next place.

My eyes landed on Bobby and relief washed over me. He was a really nice guy as far as guys go. I never really thought of him as any more than just a friend since my heart was possessed by someone who didn’t care about me. He stood and smiled wide when he saw me.

His shoulders were broader than I remembered, and he appeared taller than he had in high school; he aged nicely. “Hey there, stranger.” I set the drinks down and he gave me a quick hug.

“Hey there yourself. This is my friend, Tyf.”

Bobby extended his hand, “Hi Tyf, I’m Bobby. It’s nice to meet you.”

Tyf shook his hand and we all sat. I felt a tap on my shoulder and Max was behind me, alone. “Hey there.” I stood and hugged him. I introduced him to Bobby and they exchanged pleasantries.

“Hey, Tyf. How are you?” Max’s voice was so deep that if he wasn’t my closest friend I would be weak in the knees.

Tyf smiled, though I knew she was still disappointed when she saw Max walk in with someone else. “I’m great. Thank you. Where are your buddies?” Tyf started looking around which made me turn my head to see they were at a table not far from ours. Tim and Jake were talking to their dates or whatever they were and Ryker’s woman was sitting on his lap drinking a beer. I also noticed the girl that was with Max wasn’t there anymore.

“They’re over there. We go on in about an hour.” Max was acting jittery which made me uncomfortable.

I moved the empty chair out with my foot. “Sit down. You’re making me dizzy.”

Max laughed and looked at Tyf, who nodded. The four of us sat together, not saying a word. I took a sip of my beer and savored the tart liquid sliding down my throat.

“I’m surprised you’re drinking beer tonight,” Max said. “I figured you for wine or something fruity.”

I shrugged. “Tonight seemed like a good night for beer. Plus Tyf and I wanted to celebrate, and I can handle beer.” I raised my glass to her.

Ignoring Max, she looked at me. “Hey, Faith, I wanted to ask you something. My roommate is moving out next weekend, and I need a new one. What would you think about moving in with me? All you need is your clothes. My place is furnished.” Tyf seemed excited and anxious.

“Wow. I hadn’t thought about moving.” I’d lived at home with my parents my whole life. I had a job lined up at an accounting firm, so I could afford the rent. I decided tonight would be a night of firsts. “You know what? Sure, I’d love to!”

Tyf jumped out of her chair and hugged me. Max just looked at me with a blank expression.

“What?” I asked him.

“You won’t be my neighbor anymore.” Max sounded really disappointed, which made me feel bad about my impulsive decision.

“You’re hardly there anyways,” I said. “You have it easier. Your parents are always at their lake house or traveling, so you’re practically on your own. I’m not, and now that I’m a college graduate, I need to do this.” Pride and confidence washed over me.

Max nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll just miss you.”

Tyf shoved his shoulder. “Seriously, you can come visit anytime you want. Just because we aren’t together doesn’t mean you can’t come over.”

“You guys dated?” Bobby chimed in.

I’d almost forgotten he was there.

“Yeah, for almost two years.” Tyf sat back down and looked into her drink.

“Come on, let’s dance.” Max stood and took Tyf’s hand.

The Pub had a DJ when bands weren’t playing. I watched Tyf and Max walk to the dance floor, as did several other women.

“So, Bobby, what’s new with you?” I asked.

He stood and took the seat next to me. “I work in international finance now for the firm I interned for when I was in college. I leave for France at the end of the month for a week or so.”

“Wow! That’s great! I majored in accounting. I thought about doing the international thing, but I only know English and Spanish. I may study more languages when I go for my master’s though. How many languages do you speak?”

“Six.”

“Six? Wow, that’s amazing! Which ones?” The conversation may have seemed dull, but I was genuinely interested.

“French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and German. Oh, and English, so I guess seven languages.” Bobby chuckled, then took a sip of his beer.

“Holy crap, that’s amazing!”

“It’s fun.” He looked toward the dance floor. “Want to dance?”

I saw Ryker dancing—no, grinding—with the woman he’d walked in with. “Sure.”

Bobby took my hand as we stepped on the dance floor. I put my arms around his neck and his went to my waist.

“This is nice,” he said. “I’m glad you agreed to meet me here tonight.”

I nodded and brought my mouth to his ear. “Thank you for asking me.”

As I was about to pull away, I saw Ryker staring at me from over Bobby’s shoulder. I became uncomfortable but didn’t want it to show, so I moved my body closer to Bobby’s as we danced. Ryker had his eyes on me the entire time. The song ended, and we went back to our table with Tyf and Max. Bobby called the waitress over and ordered another pitcher of beer.

A shadow fell over me. I could feel him. I knew who it was. I prayed he didn’t speak because I didn’t know how I would react to him and his woman of the night.
Please go away
.

Naturally, he didn’t. “Hey, guys.”

I looked up and saw him looking at Bobby.

“You must be Robby. I’m Ryker, a friend of Max’s.”

Bobby stood to shake his hand. “It’s good to meet you, but my name is Bobby.”

Ryker chortled. “Okay, sorry about that. Max, we need to get ready.” He met my eyes. “Dude.”

That earned him an eye roll. “Hi, Ryker. Have a good set tonight.”

“Baby, my set is always good.”

I crinkled my nose. “Whatever.”

Max got up to leave. He kissed me on the cheek and whispered, “Ignore him.”

I kissed Max’s cheek and nodded.

Max extended his hand to Bobby. “Good to meet you.” He looked at Tyf. “You’re going to be around after the set, right?”

Tyf said, “Yes,” with a huge smile.

I wondered what that was about, but I’d wait until we were in the car to ask. The waitress brought the beer Bobby ordered and four fresh glasses.

Tyf filled three and raised hers for a toast. “Here’s to the birthday girl and graduate, to new friends and to old ones.”

We clinked glasses and sipped our beer. I was getting used to the tartness and was actually enjoying it. It was helping me relax. For the next several minutes, we laughed together and talked about our future plans. Tyf was intrigued when she found out that Bobby was going to Europe and that he spoke so many languages.

“Say something to me in Italian,” she said.

“Okay. Hmm… let’s see.
Lo sono con due belle donne stasera
.”

Tyf beamed at Bobby. “Holy shit, that was hot! What did you say?”

He laughed. “I said I’m with two beautiful women tonight.”

I felt myself blush.

Tyf said, “Damn straight you are! Okay, say something that would sound horrible in English but beautiful in Italian.”

Bobby looked as if he was concentrating. “
Ho bisogno di cambiare il mio biancheria intima”.
Tyf clapped and I laughed.

“Okay, what did you say?” I asked.

Bobby shook his head. “I said I need to change my underwear.”

We all burst out in hysterics. Tyf and I had tears coming down our faces, and I couldn’t catch my breath. The more we laughed, the worse we got. I felt the urge to pee, so I got up and excused myself. I walked to the ladies’ room and saw Ryker walking toward me. My smile fell as I swiped my tears away.

Ryker put his hands on my shoulders. “What’s wrong? Did that dickhead do something?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Why are you crying? If he hurt you, I swear I’ll—”

“Are you serious? I was laughing, and now I need to go to the ladies’ room if you must know. God, Ryker, what is your deal?”

“What’s my deal? I thought you were hurt or something, and I wanted to help you. Excuse me for giving a shit. I’ll make sure not to let that happen again.” He walked away.

I stood there in disbelief until my bladder reminded me where I had been headed. I pushed the door open and was greeted by a giant mirror. No wonder he thought I was hurt! Mascara lined my face. After I took care of business and fixed my face, I walked out.

I heard the familiar beat of drums. I looked toward the stage and was met with a death glare. Between last night’s debacle, this morning’s surprise apology, and his strange over-protectiveness, I was done with the multiple sides of Ryker Jeffries. No way would I allow him to ruin another night for me. I walked back to my table and noticed Bobby was gone. Tyf had moved our chairs to face the band.

“Where’s Bobby?” I asked.

“He had to take a call. He’s a really nice guy, and wickedly sexy.” Tyf winked.

“Yeah, he’s nice.” My mood was broken, and I wanted to leave.