Ryker (20 page)

“Go. I’m timing you.”

I laughed and hurried into my room.

I grabbed my clothes and rushed into the bathroom that was connected to my room and the hallway. I made sure the hallway door was locked. Max had already embarrassed me enough for one day. The last thing I needed was for him to see me in the shower.

The hot water against my over-sensitized skin was just what the doctor ordered. I washed up, ran the razor over my legs and my underarms, stepped out of the shower, and grabbed my fluffy white robe. I towel-dried my hair and put it in a low ponytail before I applied moisturizer, mascara, and a little bronzer. I put my clothes on, glanced in the mirror, and went back into the living room.

The guys stopped talking and looked at me, making me self-conscious. I looked at my feet and made sure I didn’t have something hanging out where it shouldn’t be or two different color shoes.

I lowered my brow. “What? Why are you both looking at me like that?”

Ryker walked up with his phone. “I just won a bet.”

“What?”

He flipped his iPhone around and showed me the stopwatch displaying 19:58:02.

“I don’t get it.”

Ryker laughed.

Max said, “You couldn’t have taken two more seconds?” He handed Ryker a twenty-dollar bill, which Ryker held up and kissed before slipping it into his pocket. Shaking his head at Ryker, Max said, “You’re a dick.” Then his attention was directed at me. “Thanks. Some friend you are.”

“Me? What about you? You bet against me! I’m glad you lost.” I laughed and walked into Ryker’s arms.

“What the hell is going on, and why is Ryker here?” Tyf came out of her room in a short pajama set. She rubbed her eyes and looked at me. “Why is he holding you? What happened? Damn it, did I miss something good?” Her bare feet shuffled across the carpet to Max. She smacked his arm. “Really? You couldn’t have woken me?” She yawned. “I need coffee.” Then she looked at the clock. “Holy shit! It’s only six-thirty?”

Max rubbed his arm. “Damn, that hurt.”

Tyf kissed the spot on his arm that she’d just smacked. She smirked and walked away.

“Thank you, baby, it feels much better now.”

We all laughed—well, except for Tyf. She really needed her coffee in the morning.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist. “Ready?”

“Always.” His arms loosened, and I turned to face him. “Thank you.”

He tilted his head. “For what?”

“Not betting against me.”

He leaned down and kissed me. “Never.”

My heart raced when I saw Faith wearing a form-fitting black skirt. Her gray blouse was unbuttoned just enough to make my dick stir. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time with her before she needed to go to work, but I’d take what I could get.

“I love your car.” Faith smiled as I opened the door for her.

“I’m glad to hear it. I do too. She’s my baby.” I closed her door and jogged around to my side. Once I slid onto the black leather seat, I turned to look at her. She was so innocent—well, not
that
innocent anymore. The engine roared to life, and we were on our way.

The streets were quiet, and so were we. Kids were waiting for the bus at the corner, and one of the moms waved to me. She lived a block from my house, so I’d seen her around. I raised my hand in a brief wave. Faith’s expression didn’t sit well with me.

I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips. “Thank you for coming with me, even if it is only for a little while.”

She smiled the smile I loved to see. “Thanks for coming over last night, and for staying.” Her smile fell, and she fiddled with the strap on her purse.

“What’s wrong?”

Her head was down, and her eyes didn’t meet mine when she said, “Why me?”

My heart felt a little heavy after hearing that question. Didn’t she realize why? I pulled up in front of my house, and she got out of the car before I could open her door. I took her hand and walked her in. My place wasn’t like hers. I didn’t have artwork or fancy furniture. My apartment was just a place to sleep, but with Faith there, I could see it becoming a home.

I still needed to address her question. I guided her to my couch and looked in her eyes. “You don’t know why?”

She fidgeted her hands. “What I meant to say is, why me now?” She looked at her body and then back at me. “You could have anyone you want. That woman at the corner, did you see the way she looked at you?”

I grabbed her hand. “You’re who I want, and you are my type. I couldn’t care less how other women look at me. Do you know the way you look at me?”

Her face flushed. “No.”

“No? Well, that’s the only look I care about. I told you, last night I got scared. I haven’t been that scared in years. So after I talked to Max, I knew I needed to see you. When your baby blues look at me, I feel a warmth in my soul and in my heart.”

“Why haven’t you told Max about Jimmy? He’s a great guy and an even better friend. He would understand and want to help you.”

She was right, and I knew it. “I don’t know. He’s the closest thing I have to family. I don’t want to risk losing him.” I realized how that sounded by the look on her face. “I needed to tell you. I don’t want Max to be my girlfriend; I want you to.”

“Did you just say you want me to you be your girlfriend?” she asked.

“I did. I thought I made that clear last night, and this morning.” I faced her. “Faith Bishop, will you be my girlfriend?”

She nodded.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes. It’s most definitely a yes.”

She kissed me, and then there was a knock on my door. I looked at my watch. It was almost time for me to take Faith to work. I opened the door.

Mrs. Bowers was there with a plate of blueberry muffins. “I’m sorry to disturb you.” She looked around me to see Faith getting up from the couch. “These are for you, Ryker. I thought you might want something to eat before we start packing.”

Mrs. Bowers was such a sweet woman. I would want someone like her as a grandmother. Her apron said “Kiss the Cook,” so I did. I took the plate and invited her in.

I set the muffins on the table and put my arm around Faith. “This is my girlfriend, Faith. Faith, this is Mrs. Bowers.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Bowers.” Faith shook her hand. “I hear that you’re moving.”

“You are a dear, aren’t you? Yes, I’m moving, and I’m going to miss this handsome young man. You two enjoy those muffins.” She patted my arm. “I’ll be upstairs with my tea. Come on up when you’re ready.”

“I’m going to drive Faith to her office, and then I’ll be up.”

After she left, Faith looked at me with an expression that was so sweet, I was glad I wasn’t a diabetic.

“What?”

“She’s a very nice woman, and you’re a wonderful person for helping her. I do need to get going, though. Can you drive me to work now?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

On the way, we hit a little bit of traffic.

“I hope you aren’t late.” I sped up a little to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

Faith tilted her body to look at my speedometer and gasped. I realized that she’d seen the picture. I looked at her.

Her eyes were shiny with tears. “That’s Jimmy, isn’t it?”

I looked at the picture, then back at the road. “Yeah.”

“He’s cute, like you.”

“Nah, he was cuter, and a great kid. He always wanted to be with me, which tore at my mom. She never wanted to be with me. I don’t know why really. Some people said I looked exactly like my dad, so maybe that made it too hard for her to be around me. I just think she didn’t like me much. She never came to my band concerts, even if I had a solo. Jimmy always wanted to go, and she wouldn’t take him. I was going to start teaching him how to play the drums. He started asking me when he was about eight, but I was a cocky teenager and didn’t want anyone playing my drums.”

“All kids are like that. Max never let me play his guitar.”

“Yeah, maybe.” We were at her office, but I didn’t want to let her go. “Will you have dinner with me? I’ll order in, and we can eat at my place. I’d offer to cook, but I need to help Mrs. Bowers, and I won’t have time.”

“Dinner sounds great.”

I told her I’d pick her up at five thirty. She looked so happy as she got out, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of me. Whatever the reason, her happiness made me smile.

The day was going to drag, I just knew it. I took Sycamore Street back to my place. Mrs. Bowers was waiting for me, and after all she had given me, I needed to be there. I also had practice at three p.m., so I needed to get moving.

The guys were all at Max’s when I pulled up. Mrs. Bishop was taking groceries out of her trunk. She looked like Faith, or maybe Faith looked like her. Either way, she was a beautiful woman, and I figured Faith would age the same way. I jogged across her freshly cut lawn to see if I could help her. I didn’t know if she liked me or not, but I needed her to if I wanted a relationship with her daughter.

“Hi, Mrs. Bishop, need a hand?”

She turned as she grabbed another reusable bag of groceries out of her car. “Hi, Ryker.”

I took the bag from her.
Shit!
What was in there? It was so heavy. “I’ll carry this for you.”

That was the last of the bags, so she closed the trunk and led me into her house. “Just set it on the counter.”

There had to be over eight bags full of stuff.

She must have seen my expression. “I’m having friends over for dinner. I need to remember to talk to Faith about that.” She started emptying the bags.

Just hearing Faith’s name made me smile. “I’m going to head out. It was good seeing you Mrs. Bishop.”

“Thank you for the help.”

“You’re welcome. Have a nice party.”

I jogged across the yard to Max’s place. The guys were all set up and waiting for me.

“Hey, guys, sorry I’m late.” I sat at my set and grabbed my sticks.

Jake looked back at me. “Long night? It’s hard when you can have any piece of ass you want.”

Max glared at Jake. “He only wants one piece of ass.”

Tim stopped the riff he was playing. “Whose ass?”

Should I tell them? Would she want me to? “Faith’s, and she isn’t a piece of ass. She’s my girlfriend.”

Jake laughed. I was ready to kick his ass until he said, “’Bout time!”

“Yeah, took you long enough to figure out that she’s the best.” Tim sounded genuine, and he couldn’t be more right. “I would have asked her out this past weekend if I didn’t know she was hung up on you. She’s a blast, but she’s not your typical chick.”

“Well, she’s mine now. So since we’re all square with my love life, can we practice? I need to pick her up in a couple hours.” I twirled my stick and started our first tune.

We sounded great. In a few days, we were going to play with Blanco Diablo. We were so stoked, and it would be even better if I could get Faith to go with me. I needed to ask her when I saw her later.

After practice, the guys left, and I plopped down on Max’s couch. I was beat. I told Max that Mrs. Bowers was packed up and leaving soon. He decided to bring his things over on Thursday. The house was furnished, but I needed to bachelorize the place a little.

Max handed me a beer and sat in the chair adjacent to me. “So, girlfriend, huh?”

I twisted the cap off the bottle and tossed the cap on the coffee table. “Yeah. You okay with that?”

Max leaned forward. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. His face was very impassive.

“Treat her right, that’s all I ask, okay?” he said. “She hasn’t dated a lot, and she’s wanted you for years. I love you both like family, and I pray it works out for you two. The thought of either of you not being in my life isn’t something that sits well with me. I know you have demons and things you need to work out, but I’m here for you.”

Faith’s words about telling Max about Jimmy played in my mind. Maybe he would understand. Should I tell him? My thoughts were interrupted by Max snapping his fingers in front of me.

“Earth to Ryker. Did you hear me, man?” He laughed. “Where did you go?”

I shook my head to get out of my thoughts. “I’m here. What did you say?”

“I asked if you were taking Faith to North Carolina.”

“Oh. Yeah, I am. I need her with me; that’s if she can get the time off.” I took another draw off the longneck. “She’s different, ya know? I can talk to her. The other chicks… well, we didn’t talk.” I shrugged.