Ryder (Resisting Love #2.5)(18)

“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.