Page 36 of Battered Moves

“Really? That’s awesome!” I exclaim. “Are you guys going out?”

“I haven’t asked her yet,” Chris mumbles, and Ryder makes chicken noises before I elbow him in the ribs.

“Ouch,” he mutters, rubbing his side.

“I think you should ask her out, Chris,” I say, trying to encourage her. “You’re amazing, and any girl would be lucky to go out with you.” She looks at me and smiles, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

“Thanks. I’ll try to work up the courage to ask her.”

The waitress comes back to take our orders, and we all get a burger and fries. The conversation flows easily between us, with jokes and laughter filling the air. It feels good to be with them, to forget everything else and just enjoy the moment for a while. I take a bite of a fry, relishing in the pure potato goodness, before turning to Ryder.

“When is your band’s next gig?” I ask him, buthe shrugs in response.

“We don’t have one scheduled,” he replies. I glance over at River and see him make a face before Ryder continues. “It’s not easy to get gigs here. There’s a lot of competition.” I nod.

“You guys should make a YouTube channel and upload some videos. That could get you more exposure and help with getting booked,” I suggest, grabbing another fry, and Ryder smiles.

“You think it’s that easy to get famous on YouTube?” he asks, a hint of humor in his eyes.

“I don’t know, but I’ve heard if you do it right, you can get millions of subscribers,” I tease back.

“As if one of you could get millions of subs on that platform,” Chris mutters, causing River to nearly choke on his fry before bursting out in laughter. She shoots me a smile.

“Ryder, why don’t you give it a try? What do you have to lose?” I offer, feeding him one of my fries. He bites it off near my finger and licks my fingertip before leaning back.

“I don’t know how to film or do any of that social media stuff,” he admits.

“Yeah, I don’t think Ryder even has any social media,” Chris says with a chuckle, and I raise a brow.

“You know, you’ve got a girlfriend who’s not too bad with those things,” I say, smiling at him.

“Right, I do,” he says, pulling me closer, putting our foreheads together. “Would you help us make a video and upload it to YouTube for us, pretty please?” he asks, his hand in my hair massaging my scalp.

“I’d love to,” I whisper, and he finally kisses me until I hear a fake puking sound from across the table.

“Seriously, guys, stop it,” Chris says, and River squeezes my knee. I laugh and push Ryder away, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

“All right, all right, we’ll save the PDA for later,” I say and turn back to my food, taking a big bite of my burger, my head already feeling so much better. “So, when do we start?” I ask Ryder with a smile.

“We’re meeting tomorrow after classes in our band room. I can text them and ask if they’re up for it,” he says.

“Perfect, please do and let me know the location if they’re down,” I reply before taking another bite of my food.

After we finish our meal, we head back to the cars. Since it’s on the way, we drive to Chris’ apartment complex, where she gives me a hug before getting out of the car, promising to text me later about her potential date.Before I can start the car again, River jogs over to the driver side, and since my top is open and windows down, he leans into the car.

“You doing okay, beautiful?” he asks pushing a lock of my hair behind my ear, concern etched on his face.

I nod, but the truth is I’m not sure. I’m still grieving, still hurting, and I don’t know how to move forward, but I force a smile and answer.

“I will be,” I say, trying to convince myself as much as him. “Thanks for the food and company.”

“Should we come over?” he asks, trying to read my face.

“I think I need some time alone, if that’s all right with you guys,” I reply, and he caresses my cheek.

“Sure, text me if you change your mind, okay?” he asks before leaning in to kiss me gently and whispering, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I whisper back before he steps away from the car and I drive off.

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