Page 53 of Play It Off

Me: Yay! I’m so glad.

Destiny: Don’t wait up for me though. I’m thinking I’ll be staying the night.

Me: Good. Have fun.

I send her a couple of winky-face emojis and a fire emoji. At least someone is having fun tonight.

“I’m so relieved.” I shove my phone back into my bag. “I was worrying about them all night.”

“You did seem a little distracted. I thought maybe it was because of your brother making an appearance at Hector’s.” Ryland smiles at me, but I don’t smile back.

I wish it was Coop who was the distraction, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Right. Coop. He can be extremely overprotective of me.” I sound dreadfully serious.

“Oh yeah?” Ryland’s smile fades. “He won’t mind me going out with you, will he? We go way back.”

Come on. They weren’t that close.

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. He’s still protective of me. I’m his baby sister and we’re close. It’s like no man could ever measure up in Coop’s eyes.”

“That’s crazy. You’re an adult. You can make your own choices.” Ryland actually scoffs, and I wonder if he’s a little offended.

How am I going to let this guy down easy? I don’t know. I also find it interesting that not a single one of those men mentioned anything about their party tomorrow night, not even Nico. And he’s a giant shit-stirrer who probably would’ve loved seeing me bring Ryland as my date to the party.

I’m glad they didn’t mention it. I don’t want to bring Ryland. I want to talk to Gavin and have it out with him because he’s acting ridiculous. And so am I. We’re playing games with each other, and that’s not fair to Ryland or ourselves.

“I can definitely make my own choices, but I value my brother’s opinion.” I offer Ryland a soft smile. “Thank you for dinner. It was great.”

“It wasn’t anything special. Just Hector’s.” Ryland shrugs. I notice he downplays practically everything he does. He’s hard on himself. “We should’ve gone somewhere nicer for our first date.”

It’s the wordsfirst datethat move me into action. I have to end this now. I can’t keep stringing this guy along. That would be downright cruel.

“Um, about that.” I shuffle my feet and avert my gaze, though I can feel him watching me. “I think we might be better off as friends.”

He goes silent, and I return my attention to him just in time to see the disappointment wash over his face. “Was it something I said?”

I slowly shake my head, unsure of how to say this without revealing I’m interested in someone else. “You’re a great guy, Ryland. Really. I just—”

“You don’t like me like that,” he finishes for me, sounding upset. “It’s cool. I get it. I can’t compete when you hang around football players all the time. Is that what you’re saying?”

“What? No. Not at all,” I start, but he takes a couple of steps backward, talking right over me.

“Whatever. I think it sucks that you won’t even give me another chance, but I guess your mind is already made up.” He glares at me. “I thought we had something.”

I don’t like how angry he is. I fully expected him to be disappointed by my gentle rejection, but his behavior is a bit extreme. I decide to not acknowledge what he said. “Thank you for taking me to dinner, Ryland. I had a nice time.”

“Thanks for ruining my night,” he retorts before he storms off, never once looking back at me. I watch until he disappears before I hurriedly unlock my door and rush inside the apartment, turning the locks into place immediately.

It’s quiet inside. And dark. I turn on the single table lamp we have in the living room, wishing Destiny was home. Then I wouldn’t feel so alone.

Ryland’s over-the-top reaction has completely freaked me out.

I’m awoken by a steady pounding sound, and at first, I think it’s my head. But no. I didn’t drink a single drop of alcohol tonight. There is no reason I should feel hungover.

The pounding stops, and I lie in my bed flat on my back, my heart racing, my imagination kicking into overdrive. I’ve gotten used to being here alone, but Ryland’s behavior earlier was unnerving. I had a difficult time falling asleep, but I was sleeping pretty hard before the loud noise woke me. Grabbing my phone, I check the time to see it’s a little after one o’clock in the morning.

The pounding starts again, startling me, and it’s louder this time. Someone is knocking on my door. Aggressively. Panic flares. What if it’s Ryland? Oh God.

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