Ryder (Resisting Love #2.5)(13)

About an hour later, Ryder pulls out his guitar, and I watch as he sings different songs with different family members. There is so much talent in his family, it’s insane. I love the fact that music brings them together, makes them closer. When I see Ryder staring at me, a question in his eyes, I quickly shake my head no. I’m not going to sing in front of all these people. Ryder nods back at me, respecting my choice.

I sit back and enjoy the music.

*****

“This is the perfect apartment!” I all but squeal at Tee. I love it. It’s modern, in a great neighbourhood, and fully furnished. The rent is a little steep, but considering all the other places we've seen, we could care less. The apartment has all white walls with one red feature wall, and all the tabletops are black marble. I love my bathroom, with its bright yellow walls and a huge bathtub. The lounge room has plush black carpet, and a comfy looking red leather couch. It’s just... us.

They tell us the apartment will be ours in three days, and we can’t wait. We head out to a bar for a few drinks to celebrate. The closest bar happens to be, from the looks of things, a biker bar. We walk in and eye the battered red leather stools and the old pool tables. We both glance at each other and shrug, hell, we’ve been to worse places. We take a seat and Tee orders two tequila shots and two vodka sunrises. What can I say, the girl knows what I like. I see Tee eyeing a cute guy, who kind of looks like Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. I can’t blame her, the man is fine. No way near as sexy as Ryder, but sexy enough. I nudge Tee when she stares at him without blinking for a few moments.

“Woman! We are not here for that!” I mock chastise. She shakes her head and downs her shot, not bothering with the salt or the lime.

“I know, but come on. That is grade-A ass right there,” she says, giggling. I shake my head at her, downing my own shot. I stick the lime in my mouth, sucking out the bitter goodness. Tee nudges me with her elbow, and I glance over to see why. Jax Teller is walking over to us; a grin on his masculine, perfect face, his blue eyes twinkling. He takes a seat next to Tee and gives us both a smile. Tee turns on her charm, giving him a flirty smile.

“What are you two doing at a bar like this?” he asks, signalling the bartender for another drink. The bartender walks over and pours him what looks like a scotch.

Tee frowns. “What the hell kind of a pick-up line is that?” she blurts out. Jax Teller laughs, his whole body shaking with the effort.

“I heard you were feisty,” he says, approval in his tone. He looks over at me.

“And you must be the lovely Lexi,” he says, nodding his head in greeting.

“I’m afraid you have us at a disadvantage,” I reply, earning me another laugh.

“I’m Kade. It’s funny you picked this bar, this is my bar. I’m here all the time,” he states.

“Wait,” Tee says, frowning. “Kade, as in…”

“Your new brother in law,” he says, interrupting her sentence. He looks pretty pleased with himself, too.

“How did you know who we were? Stalker much?” Tee huffs at him, turning off her charm, since he's both Chase’s brother, and taken by Nikki.

“You kind of look like Layla, if you squint your eyes and turn your head sideways,” he says to Tee. “Minus the tattoos and piercings, of course, and Layla told me about you, Lexi. Honey colored hair, amber eyes and those lips, wow,” he says to me. I blush, clearing my throat.

“And she's shy! That’s just f*cking adorable,” he says with a deep chuckle. I take a sip of my vodka sunrise. “Can I get you two a drink?” he asks.

“Sure, tequila please,” Tee tells him. Kade orders us two tequila shots.

“How’s Nikki?” Tee asks him. Kade’s eyes brighten. “She’s good. You’ll have to come by and visit us.” The bartender places the shots in front of us, and we both gulp them down.

“We shall,” Tee says, slamming down the shot glass. Kade stands up. “Wanna play some pool? Don’t expect any family treatment, though,” he says, laughing at his own joke.

“You know, Kade, you were so hot until you opened your mouth,” Tee says, rolling her eyes.

“I’ll play a game of pool with you!” I say, standing up. Kade takes in my outfit and frowns.

“Looks like I’m gonna be getting into a couple of fights,” he says under his breath. I glance down at what I’m wearing, denim frayed shorts and a checkered buttoned shirt. Not too slutty, I don’t think. Kade leads us to the table and racks up the balls. It’s not long before the men start to circle.

“Hey, Kade, who are these gorgeous ladies?” a rough looking man asks.

“They’re family,” Kade snaps, the look in his eyes sending a clear message.

“More? Fucking hell. Can I come to your next family function?” the dude says.

Kade ignores him and turns to me. “You wanna break, Lexi?”

“No, you go ahead,” I tell him, standing up and choosing a cue. After Kade breaks I lean over the table to play my shot. When I hear Kade curse, I glance up from my shot. There are a couple of more men staring, watching Tee and me.

“You girls are gonna be the death of me, I swear,” Kade says to himself.

“Why, you scared of a few bikers, bro?” Tee challenges.

Kade smirks. “If I was, I wouldn’t come to this bar, sweetheart. I do have a pool table at home, and I co-own Steele, I could always drink there.”