Page 185 of His Virgin Romance Series

Apparently, when Ryder let his guard down long enough to speak to me like a human being and not just a piece of meat, we actually managed to find some common ground. We actually managed to hold conversations that stuck with me days after. I hadn’t seen him the whole day, and I kind of missed him. For a second, I wondered if he was off with some random woman, and my stomach turned at the thought.

“Dear God,” I whispered to myself. “I hope that’s not true.”

I knew I had no right to hope such a thing. Ryder had every right to see other women. He had every right to fuck other women. Especially since I’d made it very clear to him that I wasn’t about to sleep with him. But still, jealousy burned inside me. Even if he weren’t with anybody right now, he would be one day. Maybe leaving was the best option for me no matter how this thing turned out with Walter.

This experience, living with the crew had changed me. It wasn’t immediately evident, but I knew that the moment I tried to go back to my old life, I would feel its effects. The only thing I really missed was my freedom. Sometimes being in the clubhouse felt like an open cage.

I was just thinking about Ryder and where he might be when I heard a knock on my door. “Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s me,” Ryder replied.

I jumped to my feet and moved quickly to answer the door. Ryder stood there, taking up the entire doorway with his impressive size. He was holding a large bag, and he pushed past me as though he didn’t want anyone else to see what was inside it.

“Where have you been all day?” I asked. “I thought we had training together.”

“We did,” Ryder nodded. “Something came up.”

“Is it about Walter?” I asked.

“Uh… no,” Ryder replied, and I wondered why he looked so awkward. “Actually, this has nothing to do with Walter.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to speak, but he didn’t seem to know where to begin. Finally, he replied by shoving the bag at me. “Here,” he said, by way of explanation.

“Please tell me Walter’s head is not in here?”

He almost smiled. “Just open it.”

Thoroughly confused, I opened the bag and peered inside. There were a couple of dresses hiding inside, and my confusion increased. “These are clothes,” I said.

“Yes.”

“Why are you giving me clothes?” I asked.

“Well, remember when we were talking yesterday by the tree?” Ryder asked.

“Yes?”

“Well I just thought that you might benefit from an evening out,” he said. “You can get dressed up and experience a little freedom.”

“Oh,” I said, shocked and touched by the gesture.

“The thing is… with Walter on the loose, I can’t really let you go out on your own…”

“Ok?”

“So I’ll come with you,” Ryder replied. “Just so that you’re protected.”

I felt a smile come on, but I held it back. It almost sounded like this was his roundabout attempt to ask me out on a date. Given what had happened between us in the training arena, this was the last thing I had expected from him.

“Wow… I… this is a surprise.”

“I just thought you might like it,” Ryder said quickly. “We don’t have to go if you’re not into the idea.”

“No,” I said quickly. “I’m into the idea. You have no idea how nice it will be to get out.”

Ryder nodded. “Ok then… we’ll leave at eight?”

“Sure,” I nodded. “Sounds good.”

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