Page 48 of No Rhyme or Roughing
“I want every word that goes through your head, Syd.” His voice was quiet now, with the music still playing in the background.
This was too much, too everything. I scrambled to my feet to put distance between us. “Let’s play our game.” It was our out of any awkward conversation.
“Secrets.” He got up and put both hands on his hips, his eyes focused on his feet as he breathed deeply. “Okay.”
“I’ll go first. You were right. Dancing is the only time I’m truly happy because dance steps don’t need guarding like words. They say everything I’m feeling with no one being able to tell me I’m too much, that nobody wants it. When I dance, people do want it. Clients pay me for choreography; they beg for it. It makes me feel powerful.”
“Powerful.” He shook his head, still not looking at me.
“Your turn.”
One breath. Two. “A moment ago, on the ground, I really wanted to kiss you.”
His eyes lifted slowly, gliding up my legs, over my stomach and breasts, settling on my face. Every inch ofmy skin heated. It was the way I’d wanted him to look at me, but now it felt… invasive. I wasn’t ready for it.
He stepped closer. “Ever since that moment in the hall when you fake kissed—no, it was a genuine kiss for a fake reason—when you kissed me, I haven’t stopped thinking about it.”
I had no words, because I hadn’t thought of anything else since either. The way he tasted slightly of sweat and mint. How his large hands gripped me, pressed me into the wall, igniting every inch of me.
His phone ringing saved me from a response. With a groan, he pulled it out. “Teddy.”
Of course. My brother would know when his best friend and I were close to crossing a line we couldn’t uncross.
“You should get it.”
“Really?” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
I nodded.
His mouth formed a grim line as he brought the phone to his ear. “What?”
I turned off the music and gathered the speaker, not taking my eyes off Ryder.
He sighed. “Seriously? Yeah, we’re on our way.” He hung up and looked at me. “Teddy says there’s an emergency. We have to get home.”
My brother’s idea of an emergency was Rowan burning dinner, which rarely happened. But I still used it as a chance to escape. Without a goodbye, I booked it toward the parking lot, where my Prius shone in the sun like a beacon of safety.
Safety from what, I wasn’t yet sure.
CHAPTER TWENTY
RYDER
“What. Did. You. Do?” I stared down at my oldest friend as he sat on the floor of our living room, looking like he hadn’t just brought home a puppy. Not just any puppy—a golden retriever. Probably the neediest, most stubborn breed of dog.
And I loved them. Growing up, my neighbors had two golden retrievers, and I’d begged and pleaded with my mom to get me one. Sullivan and I even gave her a whole lecture about how it would teach us responsibility. But there was never enough money.
Unlike with Teddy. He had more money than sense.
He grinned up at me, cradling the dog in his lap. “Don’t be mad. He’ll hear you.”
“He’s a dog. One currently peeing in your lap.”
“Oh, shit.” Teddy jumped up, holding the puppy out in front of him. “Hold on, baby!”
I would’ve laughed under any other circumstance, seeing Teddy sprint for the front door.
Instead, I rubbed my eyes and glared at Sydney, who was sitting on the couch, laughter rolling through her.
