Because of you (15 page)

“
Wait, I’ll drive you, you can’t walk like this.”

Chapter 12

Ryder

Wow
, is everything I can say after our kiss. I’ve longed for it for so long I couldn’t allow the opportunity to slip through my fingers. And that jerk Jayden chose the wrong moment to barge in, and asking for condoms, no less. God knows what Aaliyah thought when he asked me that. She probably thinks I’m banging a different chick every weekend. In reality, I don’t want anyone other than her. Yes, I have girls throwing themselves at me all the time, and I gladly took some of them home with me sometimes, but now that all of them only see my money and influence, I am careful so I don’t get burned. Shaking my head, I laugh at the memory of her blushing at his question. She looked adorable. She’s sitting beside me, playing with the hem of her shirt. She’s quiet, looking through the car window, and I’m watching her face and her lips that she seductively licks every now and then. I instantly get hard and I discreetly fix the bulge that’s bothering me. Shit, I’m so turned on every time I’m around her. I only need to
look at
her and I’m already thinking about lifting her up on a counter and …

“…
to Mirage?” I turn to her and realize she’s asking me something. She’s watching me expectantly, waiting for my response.

“
I’m sorry, did you ask me something? I was just thinking about something and didn’t hear you.” She frees her hair from the ponytail and it falls to her shoulders. She combs through it with her fingers, head tilted slightly backwards. Shit, that was sexy as hell.

“
I asked you if you’re planning to go to Mirage tonight. Addison mentioned you’re all going.” I nod, drooling a little from the daydream about her. We say goodbye and I hurry home to take a cold shower.

We’ve just finished our practice and Noah is still giving me nasty looks, more or less avoiding me. He’ll just have to get used to it. I understand how difficult this must be for him—he liked Aaliyah very much—and I know I’d feel terrible if she told me she only wants us to be friends.
What if she only sees me as a friend, too?
I shake my head.
No, I’m sure that’s not the case. Her kiss assured me she wants me as badly I want her.
I still have a couple of hours before we go to Mirage, so I go home and take a nap. It’ll be good for me because it’s going to be a long night.

Aaliyah

I run my fingers over my lips that have been firmly pressed against Ryder’s only a few hours ago. It really was a perfect kiss, even though we were abruptly interrupted after a couple of seconds. I can’t wait to see him tonight. Content, I throw myself on the bed, making
it
squeak.
What if he didn’t like my kiss? And he never wants to kiss me again?
I shake my head,
no, I mustn’t think like that.
I quickly try to find another topic to ponder about. I think of Hope again, and the footage she left me, even though I failed her when Caden stole it. But I managed to watch the whole footage, everything she said about Caden… I’m slowly starting to realize how dangerous he is, that my life is truly in danger. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to continue without somebody’s help. She told me she followed him one day, she wanted to gather hard evidence before going to the police station, otherwise nobody would believe her. At least
not
about Caden, whom everybody likes and protects. She took the camera and secretly filmed him. I saw that footage, too. He sold a couple of drug packets to three teenagers, aged around 15. He stuffed the money they gave him into his jacket pocket, and a man, around 40 years old, approached him. The kids fled
,
and Caden and the man drove off. The next footage broke my heart. It was filmed on the day I lost Hope forever. We were filming another song and we must have forgotten to turn off the camera because we started fighting. I accused her of smothering me, of constantly being with me, that I also want to go out with my friends, not just being stuck hanging out with her. Obviously, our fight has distracted us and the camera kept recording. I said on the footage that I need to go to the bathroom and grab something to eat, because I was starving. When I left, Hope was moving things around and preparing everything for our later sessions. Not long after I left, Caden entered the room and approached her.

“
Stay away from me, I finally have evidence that will put you to jail for a very long time. I’ve had enough!”

“
Oooh, you’re feistier than usual today,” he said before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her to the table. From my perspective, I couldn’t see what they were doing, but I assumed, from the noise, that they were jostling and pushing each other.

“
I hate you! I can’t wait to see you in court, when they drag your ass away in handcuffs,” she said with hatred, and spit in his face when they appeared in front of the camera again. He wiped at his eyes and cheeks, looking at her in surprise.

“
What are you talking about?”

“
Ha,” she said, shaking her head, “you’d like to know, huh? I filmed you selling drugs to kids, I have proof and I’ll send it to the police. I wonder if they’re going to trust you and protect you then.” Caden clenched his hands into fists.

“
You little bitch,” he snorted, hitting her so hard on the head she fell to the floor. He sat on top of her and asked about the footage. He was squeezing her neck so hard he didn’t even notice she stopped fighting and was just lying on the floor, motionless. He looked around him in surprise, got off her and left the room. About two minutes later, I came back and found her. I knew what happened next, so I turned off the computer and lay in my bed, crying the whole night.

I wipe the stray tear, full of memories on that day, pull myself together and get ready for work. I awkwardly limp to the closet, dress in a jean skirt, a black T-shirt and a shirt with long sleeves that I’ll take off later. I put on ballet flats—no way would I be able to walk in high heels with a swollen ankle. Noah is still mad at me, so he’s no longer driving me to work. Not that I blame him. We haven’t worked together in ages, ever since I broke his heart. Today, we’ll be working side by side behind the
counter
again, and I hope we can manage to clear things up. I quickly call a cab, and in the
meantime,
I brush my hair and put on some eyeshadow and mascara. I grab my keys and go outside to wait for my ride. If my ankle wasn’t hurt, I’d walk, like I always did.

“Hey, Noah,” I greet him as I put the purse on the bar to take off my coat. He just nods, turns around and continues to put the glasses on the shelf. I sigh and take my things to the back
.
I fix my skirt, straighten my shirt and return to Noah, who is still ignoring me. I’m glancing at him, trying to imagine how he feels.

“
What?” he asks indifferently.

“
Nothing, it’s just that I’m really sorry for what happened. I don’t like that we’re not talking and that you’re ignoring me, I miss your friendship.”

“
Ha,” he sneers. “You wouldn’t like it either, if someone led you on like that. I thought you liked me, that that’s why you went out with me.” He raises his arms in the air and drops them back down.

“
I’m sorry,” I say, looking
at
the ground. “I don’t know what else to do. I’m really sorry and I want us to be friends. Will you ever forgive me? Please.” He shakes his head, looking me in the eyes.

“
I don’t know. You really hurt me and I’m going need a lot of time to forget that. I hope you understand.” His lips form a straight line and I nod.

    “
Yes, of course I understand, I just hope. Take your time, but please, don’t ignore me—it truly hurts seeing you act like this.” He nods and our conversation becomes more relaxed.

Mirage is packed full again. I hurry from one side to another to get everyone their drinks, but my ankle is not on the same page with me. It’s swelling up and I can hardly stand, but a long night is still ahead of me. Addison and her group are already here.

“Hey, Al,” Addison greets me as I come to take their orders. Everybody is chatting, Ryder is sitting on the other side, so he hasn’t noticed me yet. Paris is sitting beside him again, her hand on his shoulder. Ugh, I hate this girl so much.

“
Hi, what can I get you?” The music is so loud nobody hears me but Addison,
since she
is standing beside me, and my eyes are still trained on Ryder and Paris. She looks
at
me,
then
Ryder and back to me.

“
What is going on here?” she points her finger at us.

“
Umm…eee… We kissed.” She looks at me, surprised.

“
Who? You and Ryder? Oh, wow, that’s why you’re shooting daggers at Paris. So, how was it? Don’t tell me the details, because he’s my brother and yuck… I don’t even wanna know,” she raises her palm, shaking her head. I laugh at her.

“
It was just for a second, Jayden…um…interrupted us. I don’t even know if it meant anything to Ryder. I mean, I haven’t heard from him since this morning.” I look at Ryder and our eyes meet. We are looking at each other, the world around us disappears. He gives me his beautiful wide grin and starts walking toward me. He puts his hand on the small of my back and looks at my feet.

“
How’s your ankle?”

“
I’ll live, it’s not as bad as it seems,” I respond unconvincingly.

“
You shouldn’t walk.”

“
I know, but I don’t have a choice, I have a shift to
complete.
It’s not that bad, look,” I say and attempt to jump up and down, but I lose my footing and fall into Ryder’s strong arms. His nose grazes my forehead, past my ears to my chin.

“
I can’t stop thinking about you.” He admits. I stare at him with wide eyes, caught off guard by his admission. I don’t know what to say, even though the voice in my head is screaming I should tell him I’m also thinking about him all the time.

“
Aaliyah, come on, it’s crowded, I need your help!” Noah yells as he’s waiting on the table next to mine. Shit.

“
Umm, I have to go,” I tell Ryder and hurry back to the bar.

Karaoke is in full swing, when I hear a familiar voice on the stage. I quickly raise my gaze and there’s Ryder, grinning, but nervous, shifting from one leg to another.

“
Hey everyone, today I chose a special song for a very special girl,
Just The Way You Are
by
Bruno Mars
.” His eyes are inspecting the crowd, searching for me, and when he finds me, he
stops,
gently smiles and starts singing, all the while looking me straight in my eyes. He sings about eyes that shine brighter than the stars, hair that is perfect without even trying. My knees start shaking and I slow down my breathing. He’s still singing confidently about me not believing his compliments, that it’s sad I don’t see what he sees.

I barely notice he’s singing out of tune, I’m watching him, watching how his eyes never leave mine as he is singing. It looks like he’s singing to me, telling me something, and I can hardly comprehend what he’s trying to tell me. I’m standing still, shocked that he’s expressing his feelings toward me in front of everybody. He has me under his spell when he sings the
chorus
, about my smile that makes the whole world stop and stare at me in amazement, because I’m wonderful the way I am. My lips turn upward.

When he finishes his performance, a tear slides down my face. I’m breathing hard and it feels like someone is squeezing
my heart, so I run to the exit as fast as I can with my injured ankle to get some fresh air and collect my thoughts. I sit down on a step and breathe deeply. No one has said anything
this
nice to me. I hear the door open behind me and I find Ryder standing there.

“
Are you okay?” he asks hesitantly. I nod and get to my feet. Without saying anything, I throw myself into his arms and just hold him for a minute.

“
Thank you,” I say, once we break the hug, grateful for his song, his words, which I know he was singing from his heart. He puts his hands on my cheeks.

“
And I meant every single word,” he says, putting his lips on mine. The kiss literally takes my breath away. Slow, sensual, strong, yet soft, even better than described in the books or seen in the movies. So warm and sensitive. He puts his hands on my hips, pulling me to him, while I knot my hands into his hair, messing it up. I feel a tingle between my legs and a swarm of butterflies
flutters
in my belly. After long minutes of kissing, we finally separate. We’re breathing heavily.

“
Wow,” I say, brushing my fingers across my lips.