Page 121 of What are the Risks
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Ass stuff
Ruby
I shouldn’t have let Daisy talk me into wearing this dress. It was more like a top. I was constantly alternating between tugging it up over my bra, and pulling it down to cover my ass. I couldn’t win.
Ryker had patiently sat on my bed earlier, amusedly taking in the chaos of four girls getting ready for a night out. Daisy had come into my room to borrow a pair of shoes, Jaz had ransacked my makeup stash for eyelash glue, and Bri had sprayed her hair in front of my full-length mirror – almost gassing Ryker in the process. Despite the coughing fit, he’d remained a good sport, just like he always did.
Now, I rested against his solid chest in the overly loud night club. One of his arms was casually draped over my shoulder, and his other hand rested on my thigh, endlessly stroking the bare skin beneath the hem of the way-too-short dress.
He was chatting to the guy Daisy was seeing – or at leastoneof them. The other was around here somewhere.
I couldn’t watch the three of them interact without heat settling in my cheeks. Just imagining Daisy wedged between them was enough to make me feel exhausted. She was way more courageous than me. Or was she like most girls and I was the boring one?
“I gave up after high school,” the guy told Ryker. “I would’ve loved playing in college, but it didn’t happen.”
It hadn’t taken long for Ryker and this guy to realise they had a very big common ground – football. They’d been chatting about it non-stop since meeting.
Ryker was the type of guy who could hold a conversation with anyone. When I’d mentioned earlier in the week that Jaz had invited us out, he’d said he was down for anything – so long as I was there.
I was starting to think he was a little too close to perfect. As far as college quarterbacks went, he was one of the best in the country. As for looks, he could pass for Victoria and David Beckham’s fourth son. As a friend, he was the best. And in between a woman’s legs... off the charts. Surely a flaw had to reveal itself soon.
I’d almost been ashamed that I’d come simply from rubbing against him, but his hooded expression had eased any embarrassment. The raw hunger in his eyes had both turned me on and terrified me.
I’d been in my head about sleeping with him ever since he’d booked his flights, and the anxiety had only worsened when he landed.
He’d gone down on me, I’d given him a hand job and sucked him off, and he’d just let me grind against him until I came. We were getting closer to the finish line, but the final hurdle – aka sex – was the most daunting milestone yet.
I wished I had the confidence to just rip my clothes off the way he probably expected, just like the assured girls from his past. But for me, it was such a significant step.
I caught sight of Bri manoeuvring her way to the bar alone. She’d picked up some tattooed guy and they’d been grinding against each other on the dance floor all night.
“I’m going to grab a drink,” I told Ryker. “Do either of you want anything?”
For every two drinks I’d had, Ryker had only drunk one beer. With the Draft looming, I knew he was still trying to keep the reins relatively tight.
“I’m fine,” he said, his thumb stilling on my knee. “But I’ll come with you.”
“It’s all good. Bri is right there.”
I missed the warmth from his body the moment I pulled away, but I’d finished my drink over twenty minutes ago and I needed to keep my liquid courage flowing.
Bri did a double take when I reached the bar. “Girl, where have you been? The dance floor is going off.”
“I was with Ryker and one of Daisy’s no-label guys.”
Bri’s wild eyes widened. “I can totally see why she slept with both of them. They’re insanely hot.”
Were they? Couldn’t say I’d noticed.
When I’d been dating Noah, I’d done my best not to check out other guys. And even though Ryker and I had a much more casual arrangement, I was still treating him with that same respect.
Besides, there was no competition about who the hottest guy in the bar was – and I could smell him on my skin as I reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Speaking of irresistible men,” Bri said, waggling her brows. “Did Ryker retake your virginity before we left?”
I arched a brow. “Virginity?”
