Page 20 of Awaited Love with You
“Why are you here, Ryder?” is all I can say.
“I came to pick up something—well, someone—who belongs with me in Seattle.”
“You can’t give that someone what she wants, so you should probably just leave her here.” I pause. “She’s moved on.”
“She better not have…” He clenches his jaw. “Doesn’t sound like something she’d do.”
“She’s not yours anymore.”
“She always will be.” He narrows his eyes. “You’re seeing someone?”
“No.”
“Good.” He leans back. “Would you like to go for one more ride with me before I bring you back here?”
“Depends on where…”
“Does it really?”
“No. Not at all.”
“I thought so.”
I should get out. I should tell him to turn around. But his hand is already resting on my thigh—and my heart is begging me to stay.
End of Episode 9
What Matters More
EPISODE 10
Autumn
Ryder’s car idles quietly across the street from my parents’ house, the low hum of the engine vibrating through the silence between us. My hands rest in my lap, but my fingers won’t stop moving.
Outside, my dad is fiddling with the bungee cords that secure our fishing boats to the back of his truck while my mom tosses gear into the cab. I know this scene by heart. I’ve lived it a hundred times. But it feels different now—like I’m watching my old life from the wrong side of the glass.
“Are you going to do it?” Ryder asks.
“Do what?”
“Introduce me to your parents.”
My pulse skips, and the air catches in my throat.
That is not what I expected him to say…
I glance out at the driveway again, at the boots my father always wears, at the pink fishing gloves my mom insists are lucky. They’re already halfway packed, about to leave for a weekend conference.
“They’re heading out. They won’t be back until Sunday.”
“Did you tell them you’re recovering from a breakup?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know.”
