Page 48 of Rival to the Billionaire

Between bites of cheese bread, Ryder sighs, one hand on his laptop, the other over his rock-hard abs that haven't budged a single inch.

"You've gotta be stuffed," he comments. "That was a big meal."

"For whom?" I shoot from my overly comfy sofa. "I'm still hungry."

He shakes his head and looks surprised. "You can't just eat and drink that much and still be hungry."

I laugh. "No, you couldn't. Me on the other hand…"

"Have got the appetite of ten men." He chuckles, shaking his head from the other couch on which he spreads. "I guess you've gotta consume the proper amount of calories if you're still trying to have the strength of Buffy after all these years."

I pause, marinara sauce from my cheese bread dripping on my fingers. I wipe my fingers on a paper napkin. "Wait, what did you say?"

Ryder's blue eyes glance over. "I said you're still trying to have the strength of Buffy after all these years."

My lips part. "Whoa. You remember that?"

He scoffs. "Of course." He rotates towards me, his eyes amused. "How the hell could I forget? You did everything your older sister did. Including watching BTVS episodes until all hours of the night."

I fold my arms across my chest. "You used to watch them with me, too, remember?"

"Hell yeah." He tilts his head and leans in my direction. "I didn't dare say no. You used to chase me through the tall grass in the field up the street, pretending that I was a vamp. I was scared you'd stake me on the spot."

"What?" I giggle. "You were actually scared of me?"

"Yes!" He chuckles, and we exchange a warm smile that seems to say a lot of things. "You were so hyped up off Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Spice Girls 'girl power' that I was afraid to say no. What would have happened if you'd discovered I was too afraid to play? I could have been turned to dust." His eyebrows lift, and he leans back again, looking reflectively into space. "Your sister Abby would have taken care of my remains. I'd be left as nothing but a swirl of body dust and sparkles that would teleport straight to hell."

I burst out laughing, pushing papers aside. "I don't remember ever actually staking anyone. I was just protecting the earth from monsters."

“Oh yes, you did." He grins. "If I remember right, you actually did sorta stake that mean neighborhood kid Charlie. You put a stick right through that fucker's hand."

I gasp, scoffing out loud. “Oh wow! I do remember. And it was not all the way through his hand, by the way! And he deserved it. He was a thief. He was always stealing my snacks."

"Technically, they always looked up for grabs. You were always leaving things around."

I laugh. "Doesn't mean you could take them all. I was trusting."

"Too trusting, maybe. You could never go out without leaving a trail of Oreos or whatever in your wake."

We both laugh. It's true. I used to let my guard down a lot.

Not anymore.

I shudder. Allowing myself to be vulnerable to someone else is…dangerous.

"I guess, for a time at least, I was lucky to have someone like you growing up to watch over me," I admit. "Thank you for indulging me."

"It was worth it." He nods, leaning back again on the couch, his muscles accentuating his body. Muscles I know firsthand are ridiculously hard.

"I guess you're right," I muse out loud. "Maybe I am still trying to be like Buffy."

He looks curiously over. "Why?"

I pause, debating if I should tell him. "Maybe…I hope to be like her so that one day, maybe the minute I'm successful, I'll become a hero." I sigh. "I guess I'm trying to build myself up so that I can be strong enough to save my sister. Save my mother. They're always struggling. Financially. Emotionally. And it kills me at times."

Ryder slowly turns his head towards me.

"That doesn't surprise me. I know your goals. They're in line with Buffy's. You want to slay everyone else's demons. You want to make a difference in the world. That's admirable, Jen."

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