Ryder (Resisting Love #2.5)(9)

“Well, you can always get a job at Steele. Layla will see to that,” Ryder says with a low chuckle.

The sound gives me goose bumps.

He continues, unaware of my reaction. “Anyway, about tomorrow night, I was wondering if I could take you out. On a date,” he asks, his eyes searching mine.

“Oh, umm… well… Umm...” I'm usually pretty articulate, I swear. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?” I blurt out.

Ryder frowns and shakes his head. “No, I don’t. Why would you think that?”

“That girl, remember?” I say, blushing profusely.

“Oh. Right. No, I am definitely single,” he says awkwardly.

“I’ll need to check with Tee if it’s okay,” I think out loud.

“What? Why?”

“You’re her cousin, if she has an issue with it I'd have to say no,” I tell him frankly.

“I’ll talk to Tee, okay. How about that?”

“Well, then if she is okay with it, I would love to go on a date with you, Ryder,” I say with a smile.

“Good. You had me sweating there for a moment,” he says with a wry smile. “So, around seven? And look, how convenient, I don’t even have to pick you up,” he teases.

I giggle. “No, I guess you don’t.”

“Lexi!” Tee says, calling me to go into our room. She wants to watch some show about Vikings on her laptop with me. I roll my eyes at Ryder.

“So, tomorrow then,” I whisper.

“I can’t wait,” Ryder says, his eyes zooming in on my lips.

“Me neither.”

“Queen of f*cking hearts,” he says under his breath. I'm dying to know why he calls me that. Wasn’t the queen of hearts evil? I’m about to ask him when Tee says my name again, this time louder.

“ LEXI!”

“I better go before she wakes up the neighbours,” I say in between giggles.

“I guess you better. Goodnight, Lexi.”

“Night, Ryder.”

*****





Chapter 6


Lexi

“Where are you going?” Tee asks me as she paints her nails a lime green.

“Out,” I evade.

“Out, where?” she asks, her brown eyes narrowing slightly.

“Ryder asked me out to dinner.” I watch as she puts her nail polish bottle down and stares at me thoughtfully for a while.

“Oh, yeah, he asked me for my permission, wasn’t that cute? You know he’s a bit of a man whore, right?” Tee finally responds.

“He can’t be that bad,” I say defensively.

“No, you’re right. He’s not that bad at all. It’s just that my cousin has never been interested in relationships. So, if you’re looking for that with him, I wouldn’t even bother. But Ryder is an amazing man, in fact, I doubt you'll ever find a better one. Just be careful, alright, Lexi?” she says seriously, her eyes locked with mine.

“It’s just dinner. It'll be fine. You sure you’re okay with this, though?” I ask her.

“Yeah, you’re both adults. I’ll leave that to the both of you. Besides, no one can ever say I’m a cock block,” she adds with a cheeky grin.

I roll my eyes and glance at myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a tight black dress with a sweetheart neckline, tightened in the middle with a thin red belt. Studded black pumps adorn my feet, and my hair is curly and wild, my fringe pinned to the side with a diamond skull clip; black cat eyeliner with a white shimmer in the inner corners of my eye, and bright fire engine red lips. I pick up my black skull bag and I’m ready to go.

“Where is he taking you?” Tee cuts into my musings.

“No idea. He just said dinner,” I say, shrugging. I’m nervous as hell. This is my first date in such a long time, it’s not even funny. I reapply my lipstick, and take a deep breath. I hope I’m not overdressed. A knock on the door startles me, but I recover quickly and pull it open, coming face to face with a gorgeous Ryder. He’s wearing a black shirt, folded up to his wrists, displaying his colorful tattoos. He’s also wearing dark, snug jeans, which are riding low on his hips. I gulp. His stormy gray eyes are sparkling as he takes in my reaction. My eyebrows rise when I see he is holding out a single red rose for me. I smile, taking it.

“There are no words for how stunning you look, Lexi, and I write songs,” he whispers, his gaze raking over me.

“I knew you had game, Ryder!” Tee calls out, laughing. Oh shit, I forgot she was here. Ryder cringes at her voice. Mood killer much?

“Let’s get out of here,” he says, taking me by the hand. I stop him for a moment to put my rose in water, and then we head out, calling out goodbye to Tee. He opens the door of his truck for me, and I hop in, mumbling a thank you. When Ryder stops the truck in front of a lake, I blink in confusion. Ryder takes in my expression and chuckles.

“Don’t move a muscle,” he says, giving me a wink. He walks around the car and opens my door, lifting me out of the truck. I can’t help but bury my face into his neck, inhaling his scent, a hint of spicy cologne, and he smells so good that I can’t help the small sigh that escapes my mouth. He puts me down, and pulls out a blanket and some bags filled with food and drink. I smile and shake my head, the man really has thought of everything. I take the blanket from him so he can carry the rest of the stuff and he leads me down a path to a spot just in front of the lake. The view is stunning, the lake lit up by the moon, and we get a perfect sighting of the stars. Ryder lays the warm blanket on the ground, laughing when I kick off my heels.