by R. Linda
“You seem a little happy about that.”
“Maybe more than I should be. But,” she laughed again. “Now she knows how it feels. The humiliation. The hurt. The betrayal. This is like the ultimate payback, and I had nothing to do with it.”
“You know she’s going to be a complete bitch now, though. I mean, worse than usual.”
Bailey shrugged. “Not like I spend much time there anyway.”
She fell silent.
“You okay?” I placed my hand on the table and waited for her to grab it.
“Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Why.”
“Why what?”
“Why they broke up.”
“Who cares? It’s done. Once Christina gets over her broken heart, it might make her a nicer person.”
Bailey snorted.
“Yeah. I guess that’s probably wishful thinking.”
“I just want to know why he broke up with her. They were perfect for each other.”
“Two narcissists don’t make a right, love. It was bound to happen eventually. He’s probably dating someone else already. Let’s just hope their fallout is minimal.”
Lennon returned then with our food, and I was grateful to end the subject of Chace and Christina’s break-up. I knew Bailey would be happy about it, but I didn’t want her to dwell on it.
“Oh, Lennon, what happened?” Bailey asked, reaching for Lennon’s wrist. But she pulled it back out of her grasp in shock.
“Just burnt myself on the stove,” she said, looking toward the kitchen. She pulled her sleeve down to cover the burn on her forearm and rushed away.
“Was that a little weird to you?”
“Lennon’s always been a little weird. But I did think she was off.” I shrugged and picked up a fry, my gaze following Lennon though. She did appear a little too startled and unsure of her answer.
The burgers at The Coffee Pot weren’t as good as Johnny’s back home, and they sure as hell paled in comparison to mine, but they weren’t bad. Bailey dug into her salad like she hadn’t eaten for days.
“I’m starving,” she moaned, a little bit of dressing stuck to the corner of her lip. I wiped it off, and she rolled her eyes. “I was saving that for later.”
I chuckled. “Of course, you were.”
“Have you spoken to Indie?” Bailey asked through a mouthful of food. So attractive. But I kind of loved that about her. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She didn’t need to.
“Yeah, I saw her this morning. She said to swing by her room when we were ready to go and pick her up.”
“Change your sheets?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You know Jack is going to sleep in your bed, or worse while we’re away.” She pointed her fork at me.
“Which is why I’m changing them when we get home.”
“Good idea.” She lowered her fork and wiped her mouth.
I finished my burger. “Ready?”
“Yes, I can’t wait to get out of here for the weekend.” She stood and grabbed my hand, pulling to me to my feet.
After settling our bill and saying bye to Lennon, we made our way back to Bailey’s room so she could collect a few things for the weekend.
My arm instinctively wrapped around Bailey and pulled her to a crouch position as we walked through the door, narrowly missing the stiletto heel that came flying across the room at hour heads.
“What the hell?” I picked up the shoe from where it landed on the floor after dinting the wall behind us and glared at Christina.
Her Royal Whoreness had a killer throwing arm, I’d give her that much. But she was insane. Worse than ever. Bailey had suffered through so much of her crap. The tantrums. Being locked out of the dorm and forced to sleep in the library, on Indie’s floor, or the sofas in the common room when I was working and my roommate, Jack, was out doing god knew what.
I’d lost count of the number of times I’d finished work only to find her curled up in the corner of the library where she’d fallen asleep while studying, all because Christina wouldn’t let her in the room. I was pretty sure she’d only slept in her bed three times, and that was the weekend Chace took Christina away somewhere, and Bailey had unhindered access to the room.
Tears streamed down Christina’s face. Black smudges covered her red, splotchy cheeks.
“Get out,” she screamed and reached for the lamp on her bedside table.
I lunged across the room and gripped her wrist tightly, removing the lamp from her talon-like clutches, and lowered it to the nightstand again. “Are you crazy?”
“We’re not staying. Don’t worry. I just came to get some things.” Bailey sighed, sounding defeated. She didn’t just sound it, she was defeated. The dark circles and bags under eyes were only a small indication of how much she was suffering, but she would never admit that not having her own space was taking its toll on her. Not just her sleep, but health and study too.
I’d offered her my room key for the nights I had to work late, but she was too stubborn to accept it. She was determined to do this on her own. And if there was one thing I’d learnt about Bailey, it was that once she’d made up her mind, there was no changing it.
She plastered on that fake smile and wouldn’t let anything bring her down. But I knew better, and I’d been wracking my brain trying to come up with a better solution. She’d been waitlisted for a new room, but it had already been four months, and I wasn’t sure she could cope much longer.
A feral growl tore through Christina’s lips. It was a snarl. She snarled at Bailey like a freaking wild dog.
“This is all your fault,” she screamed at Bailey and bent down to pick up another shoe.
Bailey stood ramrod straight and gave Christina a confused stare. I held up my arm to stop her from trying to get to Bailey. She was crazy, and I didn’t know what she was capable of. Actually, that was a lie. I knew exactly what she was capable of.
Anything.
And that was the scariest part.
She had more than a few screws loose and could cause some serious fucking damage if she wanted to.
“What are you talking about? What’s my fault? I haven’t done anything,” Bailey said, folding her arms across her chest.
I pushed Christina back gently until she fell onto her bed and moved over to Bailey’s side of the room to help her pack some clothes for the weekend.
We were heading home. Back to Blackhill for my nephew Cole’s fourth birthday, and she wasn’t going to ruin this weekend for us.
“You haven’t done anything?” Christina scoffed and bared her teeth. What was she? A goddamn wolf? “You’ve ruined everything. You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?”
Bailey took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Rubbing her shaking hands together, she sighed and looked at Christina. “Leave well enough alone. Oh, my God, Christina. I barely sleep in my own damn room. I only come here to grab books and a change of clothes. If I see you on campus, I walk the other way. I changed my timetable so none of our classes clash. I do everything humanly possible to avoid you.”
“But not Chace,” Christina hissed.
I stared at Bailey with a raised eyebrow. What did Chace have to do with anything? I knew for a fact Bailey avoided Chace just as much as Christina.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, holding up a hand to Christina to stop her from charging Bailey like a raging bull.
“Are you that stupid?” Christina snapped. “Or just blind?”
I shook my head, already over her drama, and helped Bailey pack some clothes and anything important that she didn’t want Christina to destroy. Never could be too careful with her.
“He broke up with me for her.”
I froze, my hand hovering over Bailey’s jacket. I looked at her, and she shook her head.
He broke up with Christina for Bailey.
Over my dead body.
Chapter Two
Bailey
Her words rang in my ears. For me. What on earth gave her that idea? I was about to respond when I caught the look on Ryder’s face.
Confusion.
Anger.
Hurt?
He couldn’t believe her. Surely not. After all we’d been through with them, he’d have to know she was lying. She just wanted me to suffer because she was.
I shook my head, but he just frowned. She was not going to ruin this for me because she got what she deserved. Placing my hands on his face, I forced him to look at me. His beautiful green eyes flickered between mine. “Jones…No. You know she’s full of it, right?”
“Am I?” Christina clicked her tongue. I snapped my head in her direction, and she smiled, looking all too pleased with herself.
“I don’t know what Chace told you, but you’d have to know by now that he’s not exactly the most reliable source. Is he? He lies about everything, to everyone, and everything he touches turns to crap,” I said.
“Yet here we are.” Christina raised her arms out to the side. “Me single, so Chace can win you back. And lover boy right there looking more confused and unsure of himself than I’ve ever seen him.”
Ryder’s jaw clenched, and that vein in his neck popped. “Jones, baby,” I whispered and pressed my forehead to his. He closed his eyes and placed a hand on my lower back, pulling me closer. He breathed me in. It was then I realised he wasn’t questioning me, or our relationship. He knew that was as solid as could be. He was controlling his temper. His urge to throw Christina into a wall or something. He’d never hit a woman, I was sure of that, but it didn’t mean she didn’t piss him off enough to want to.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet. You’re trying to convince him there’s nothing going on with you and Chace.”
Ryder’s fingers tightened around my back, gripping my shirt, as his other hand cupped my jaw. I tried to ignore Christina, but it was hard. I wanted to throw her across the room.
“It’s only a matter of time until she goes crawling back to him. You know that, right? He was her first love, after all.” Christina wouldn’t shut up.
Ryder growled and slammed his mouth against mine. My body melted into him, unable to get close enough. I could never get close enough. My fingers were in his hair, tugging on the ends, and Christina was still talking, but it was almost inaudible. I was consumed by Ryder. His tongue swept into my mouth, exploring every inch as he pushed me back against the wall next to my closet.
All thoughts of Chace and Christina, of our weekend away, were wiped from my mind. I only saw, only felt Ryder and the calmness he brought me. His fingers slipped under my shirt and danced along my back, leaving goose bumps on my skin. The tension in his body, the anger that had been radiating off him ebbed away with every touch of my fingers on his skin, with each stroke of his tongue in my mouth.
Until my phone rang and interrupted.
He pulled away slightly, breathing heavily as he slipped his hand into my pocket and pulled out my phone and handed it to me just as it stopped ringing.
“That’s messed up,” Christina said as my phone started again. “You get off on the idea of losing her?”
Ryder ignored her because she couldn’t be further from the truth and just kissed the top of my head while I answered Indie’s call. He was calm and the image of self-control once again.
“Hey,” I said.
“Where are you? Wait, don’t tell me I interrupted something. Just hurry up. I’m bored and want to go.”
I smiled. “Any reason you’re in such a hurry to go home, In?”
“Shut up.”
I laughed. I knew she was dying to get home to see Linc. It was likely the only reason she agreed to come home. “Pack your picture?” I asked, referring to the photo she kept of him under her pillow like a creeper.
“I don’t need it. Not if I have the real thing so close by.”
“Really?”
“Okay, fine. I packed it. Will you just hurry up and tell Ryder to put his pants back on?”
“They are on.”
“Well, then, why am I still waiting for you guys? Geez. Let’s go.”
“Okay, meet us at Ryder’s dorm in fifteen minutes.”
“Okay.” She hung up, and I turned to Ryder, who was just zipping up my bag.
“Ready?” he said, shooting a glance over his shoulder at Christina as she sat on her bed tearing up photos of her and Chace and throwing them into the bin which was…smoking?
Oh, my gosh, she was going to burn the whole damn building down if she wasn’t careful.
I nodded and picked up my jacket, following Ryder out the door before Christina could throw anything else at my head. Threading his fingers through mine, he carried my bag as we walked to his room.
“You okay?” I asked, stepping aside so he could unlock the door to the room he shared with Jack.
“Yeah.”
“You’re very quiet.”
Ryder dropped my bag on his bed and pulled his out from underneath and began throwing a few t-shirts and couple pairs of jeans inside.
“Jones?”
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” He yanked the zip on his bag closed and stood straight. Running his hands through his hair, he levelled me with a stare. “Come here.”
I went to him gladly and wrapped my arms around his waist.
He sighed.
“What’s going on?” I asked again.
“Just thinking.”
“About? You didn’t believe Christina, did you?” Fear settled in the bottom of my stomach. I dreaded the thought that he could be second-guessing our relationship.
“Of course not, love.” His fingers twisted the ends of my hair. “Just thinking about what’s going to happen next.”
“Next? We’re going home to see Cole for his birthday. We’re going to relax with our friends and family and not think about Chace or Christina or school for a few days. All our problems will be here when we get back,” I said, doing my best to convince him not to worry.
“I know. I just have this feeling in my gut. It’s bad, love.”
“Well, whatever it is can wait, and we’ll tackle it together.”
“You’ll avoid Chace?”
“Obviously.”
“And move in with me?”
“What?” I gasped and stepped back to get a better look at him. Was he serious?
“Move in with me?”
“Seriously?”
He chewed on his lip ring and nodded. “I hate the idea of you sharing a room with Christina, and that damn waiting list to change rooms doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter. You spend most nights in my bed, so why not get our own place? Our own bed?”
I didn’t know what to say. Of course, I wanted to move in with him. I just wasn’t expecting him to ask. Was it too soon? Were we too young?
“Bailey?”
He looked so hopeful and almost nervous. It wasn’t a look I was used to seeing on him.
“Yes. Okay. Let’s do it,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck, and his smile took my breath away. It was so wide, the dimples in his cheeks on full display.
“Yeah?”
I nodded. He lifted me up and spun me around, kissing me deeply as he lowered me to the bed. I laughed at his sudden enthusiasm. I dragged my hands down his back and gripped his shirt, pulling it over his head and throwing it on the floor. My feet connected with our bags at the end of the bed, so I kicked them off to give us room.
My shirt followed Ryder’s to the floor. He lowered his body to mine, the heat from his skin searing my flesh. I pulled him to me, tilting my face up to bring his mouth to mine. I tugged his lip ring between my teeth, and he groaned.
“Bailey,” he whispered against my lips before dragging kisses down my neck, over my collarbone, chest, and stomach. I wriggled beneath his touch, a spark igniting under my skin. I arched my body into his while his fingers found the button on my jeans, and then the door opened.
“Oh, just in time,” Jack said.
Ry
der groaned and dropped his head to my stomach and whispered, “Privacy.”
I chuckled and ran my fingers through his hair. It was probably a good thing Jack walked in when he did. I’d almost forgotten Indie was on her way over too.
“Don’t let me stop you,” Jack said, pulling his shirt over his head. “In fact, let me join in.”
“Piss off,” Ryder grumbled, dropping a kiss to my stomach before he pushed himself up to a sitting position.
“Party pooper,” Jack said and threw his shirt at Ryder just as Indie walked in the door.
“Am I interrupting something?” Indie asked, looking from us to Jack standing bare-chested in the centre of the room.
“Yes! Both of you leave,” Ryder said.
“Baby cakes! Quick, strip, and we can make this a real party.”
Indie slapped Jack on the chest. “Stop it.”
“Jones, it’s okay. We got carried away, anyway.” I sat up, and Indie leaned down to pick our shirts up from the floor and threw them on the bed.
“Do you know what I’m most looking forward to?” Ryder handed me my shirt.
“Privacy?” I said at the same time he did.
“Yes,” he whispered and pulled his shirt on before standing and collecting our bags. He turned to Jack. “Thought you were watching Jayden and Cohen kick a ball.”
“I did, but they finished.” He frowned. “So here I am. Are you staying with me this weekend, baby cakes?” He turned to Indie, who shook her head.
“I’m going home too.” She pointed to her bag by the door.
Jack sighed and dramatically threw himself down on Ryder’s bed. “I’ll be all alone.”
“Go to a party and get the hell off my bed.” Ryder kicked Jack’s foot with his boot. “See you in a few days.”
Grabbing our bags, we left Jack to mope alone on the bed and walked to the car.
Indie climbed in the back seat and stretched. “I’m so looking forward to this weekend. It’s been ages since we’ve been home.”
“You’re only looking forward to it because you get to see Linc.”
“Correction.” She held up her finger as Ryder started the car and backed out of the parking spot. “I get to spend the weekend at Linc’s house.” She grinned and squealed into her hands. “Three nights. Alone. With Linc.”