Page 109 of What are the Risks
Brady snickered. “And he calls me a stage-five.”
I adjusted my position to disguise the background before answering. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise now.
“Hey, Wheels. What’s up?”
Ryker yawned, rubbing at his eyes. “Not much. I just woke up.”
“Really? It’s midday.”
“I stayed out late with Evan, Kyler and Pat.”
Anxiety gnawed at me, but I pushed it down. I’d always assumed Noah’s boys’ nights were harmless, but now that I knew they were really an excuse for him to play the field and pick up, I hated thinking about them.
But Ryker wasn’t NoahI reminded myself. It wasn’t fair to doubt him when he’d never given me a reason to.
Though if his past was anything to go by, he had to be dealing with serious withdrawals. He might have been the one to suggest we didn’t hook up with other people, but I seriously doubted he’d ever gone this long without some action. Ryker Richardson didn’t know the definition of a sex drought when he had girls sliding into his DMs every day.
“What are you doing today?” I asked, shaking off my doubts.
“About to get a feed with the guys. I’m starving.”
Brady cut the ignition as he pulled into the drive, parking behind Ryker’s car.
“I’m starving too,” I said. “What should we get?”
Ryker slowly sat up, his brow furrowed. “We?”
I panned the camera to the front of his house. “Yeah. Remind me what’s good around here.”
He paused for a moment, studying his phone, before a grin stretched across his face. “Are you kidding?” He flung the blankets aside, exposing his bare chest. “Ruby?” He was on his feet now, throwing open his bedroom door as he thundered down the stairs. “Am I dreaming? I’m still asleep, right?”
I barely registered getting out of the car, too distracted by Ryker storming through the house like a madman... or maybe just a very desperate one. It was fair to say he was excited. Thank goodness for that.
Swinging open the front door, Ryker sprinted down the porch steps as if his coach had just told him it was go-time. He was only dressed in a pair of sweats, his hair still messy and unruly. I pulled my bottom lip between my lip, appreciating his delicious torso.
He crossed the grass in just a few strides, bypassing his signature rib-crushing hug and kissing me instead – the kind that told me he’d missed me as much as I’d missed him.
“Um,” Brady murmured from somewhere close by. “What the fuck is happening?”
“I knew it!” Tori squealed, clapping manically. “I fuckingknewit!”
I smiled against Ryker’s lips, but he wasn’t letting me go just yet. His hand snaked around the back of my neck, keeping me steady, while his mouth hungrily moved over mine, greedy and demanding.
I melted, my knees buckling, just like in the movies. It was impossible fathoming how I’d gone two weeks without kissing him – let alone the twenty-one years before that.
With one last brush of his lips, he pulled back, but not without draping his arm over my shoulder and tucking me against his side. The support was welcome, since my legs were like jelly.
Tori shoved Brady, a playful glint in her eyes. “Why the hell don’t you kiss me like that, babe?”
Brady was too speechless to answer. His confused gaze danced between Ryker and me, trying to make sense of this. He was the person who’d known us the longest, and because of that, he was the only one who’d never hassled us about getting together.
Oops. I guess we’d just ruined that.
“Don’t read into it,” Ryker told him. “And don’t even think about telling your mum. She’ll blab to mine, who’ll run straight to Cherie, and then all hell will break loose.”
Ryker was spot on about that. I guess the less people who knew, the better – especially our relentless mothers. I was already worried about the fallout for Ryker and me. Adding our parents and their feelings into the mix wouldn’t end well.
“When?” Tori pressed. “What? How far? Spill! I need all the details.”
