Page 57 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
“You’re going to die of multiple STDs.”
“Nah. I might sleep around, but I’m not stupid. Condoms, my man, condoms. The last thing I want is a virus or a little Ryder Junior.”
“Ryder Junior sounds…cute.” If the son is half as pretty as his daddy, a whole new generation of women will get their hearts broken.
Ryder shudders. “My mom would kill the girl…if my grandma didn’t do it first. My family doesn’t mess around with that kind of thing.”
Most likely true. His mother’s side of the family can be a bit…old-fashioned about certain things. His grandmother in particular sounds like a real piece of work from what I’ve heard.
Ryder polishes off the rest of his drink and claps me on the shoulder. “You know what? Whatever happened between you and Ivy is going to work itself out. If not, you’ll just find somebody else.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Oh come on. ‘She’s sick.’ Seriously? We’ve been friends for how many years now, and you think I’m not going to know if you have a girl problem? If she really was sick, you wouldn’t be here. Not when you’re so obsessed, you can’t even sleep with another girl.”
Touché.“Fine. We had an argument.” I tell him about the tattoo.
Ryder listens, then shakes his head. “Why get hung up about a tattoo? Let the girl deface her skin if that’s what she wants.”
“It isn’t a defacement, for fuck’s sake! The tattoo’s really beautiful.”
“Okay, okay, fine. But like you said, when it’s over, it’s over. Then what?”
The idea of Ivy and me not being together dries all the moisture out of my mouth. If it were anybody but Ryder saying this, I’d break the bastard’s face.
“True love doesn’t exist, man. It’s like…this action movie script I looked at, you know? In it, the hero takes a bullet for the girl. Then he says, ‘I’m just glad it wasn’t you.’” Ryder laughs. “As if! Who the hell takes a bullet for somebody like that, when it isn’t their job? I never will, and I don’t know anybody else who would, either. But that’s supposed to be true love.”
I stare at Ryder. Of course… How could I have not seen it, not realized it all this time? Laid out so starkly, it’s crystal clear. “You’re wrong,” I say.
“Huh?” He stops in the middle of pouring himself another glass of scotch. “About what?”
“About true love and taking a bullet for another person. I would. For Ivy. I’d rather die than have anything happen to her.”
And I know exactly what I need to do: tell her everything—and pray she won’t judge me too harshly. Not being fully honest with her—not “letting her in,” as she put it—will only hurt her, and I’d rather skin myself alive than see the light in her eyes grow dim again.
I jump to my feet. “I gotta go.”
“What, now? Where?”
“Home. I have to see Ivy.” I look at Ryder. “You’re a genius. And an awesome friend.”
He seems confused for a moment, but then slowly grins. “I know I’m awesome,” he says. “Whatever I did, you’re welcome. Let me see when we can get a helicopter to take you back to LAX.”
