Raising Ryann

by Alyssa Rae Taylor

  “Really, I’m okay.” I give a small smile.

  The corner of his mouth tips. “Okay.” He turns and faces the class. “When I’m confident it’s secure, I’m going to rotate my hips and slide out from underneath her. I want you all to watch me, so pay attention.”

  My pulse quickens. What? Rotate his hips? Good Lord. Then, before I can blink, Luke flips me over, pinning me down, so he’s on top of me.

  “Wow,” I hear some of the girls say.

  Yeah ... wow. I pant underneath him. I don’t know if I’m supposed to move or just lay here and enjoy this. Right now I’ll take the latter. I gaze into his handsome face as he continues to explain how he got me here. Right now, I don’t even care. I’m not listening to a single word that leaves his mouth. I’m just trying to get my breathing back to normal and my heart rate to slow down.

  “Do you girls want to try it?” he asks. Not once has he looked at me since we flipped. Because this doesn’t affect him! Because he thinks I’m just a kid! ”It’s called a jailbreak.” He smiles.

  The girls happily say, “Yes.” He stands up and holds out his hand, relieving me from the weight of his body. His eyes linger, and I take it, before he looks away. The girls team up and practice the rest of the class period, and everything runs smoothly.

  “Thank you,” I say after the kids leave, but I’m thankful for much more than I let on.

  Eyeing me curiously, his mouth stretches in a wry grin. “I’m sorry I took over your class.” He runs a hand through his hair and adds, “I kind of have a thing with control.”

  You don’t say? “It’s fine. I mean ... don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind.”

  He cocks a brow and takes a step closer. “What was that?” His tone is playful. He dips his face lower to look into my eyes.

  “You heard me.” I bite back a smile, feeling myself blush.

  “No. I don’t think I did.” He lifts my chin with his finger and says, “Could you repeat that, please?” Then he smiles. He’s so close, his minty breath falls against my face.

  “Wh ...what would you like me to repeat?” I stutter softly, feeling like my insides are on fire.

  His eyes sparkle. “You said you love it when I take control of your class.”

  My mouth drops open, and I glare. “I did not!”

  He roars in laughter, and I swat him. “Ow!” He flinches.

  “Take it back, Ryann!” I swing at him again.

  “Okay, okay, I take it back.” He holds up his hands. “You like to have the control.” He flashes his dimples, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him.

  “That’s better,” I say, pointing, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “But in all seriousness … the class went well.” I shrug.

  “The girls enjoyed working with you.” We start walking toward the entrance to get our stuff.

  “You think?” He looks surprised that I would say such a thing.

  “Yeah, I think.” Reaching behind the desk to grab my purse, I turn to him and add, “You’re good with them.”

  “Thanks.” The corner of his mouth curls. “I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard you say to me.”

  I frown and start walking to the door, but he stops me when he reaches out and gently touches my hair. “You missed one,” His voice is soft—sweet.

  “Oh.” My pulse races again. “Thanks.” My goodness, what the hell is wrong with me? I feel an involuntary shiver and silently pray he doesn’t notice.

  He clears his throat.

  Oh God, he probably did notice.

  “Did I hurt you earlier?” We push through the exit, and he watches me intently.

  I tilt my head, confused. “No, when?”

  “Earlier, on the mat.” He licks his lips, and my eyes follow. “I could feel your heartbeat. It was going pretty fast.”

  My cheeks must have been blood red. How in the world am I going to be able to train with this man? PRIVATELY? “No, you didn’t hurt me.” My eyes drop to the ground. “Not at all.”

  “Good.” He runs a hand over the back of his neck. “Oh, and just so you know, when we train together ...” He smirks, then leaning in, he whispers against my ear, “I’m the one in control.”

  I blink a couple times, opening my mouth to argue, but decide against it.

  Pulling away, he gazes into my eyes. “Can you handle that?” He’s still whispering.

  I feel my cheeks heat. I want to say, Actually, I don’t know if I can. Instead I answer, “Yeah, I think I can handle it,” in a funny voice that I don’t recognize. The cocky son of a bitch can probably do anything he wants talking to me like that!

  His mouth turns up. “Good.”

  “You ready?” Gia asks. I hear her bracelets clinking together as she waltzes into my room.” I give her a once-over appreciating her striking blue maxi dress, which accentuates her eyes, but then frown at my own outfit, because it pales in comparison.

  “Almost,” I tell her reflection. I lean over the counter to finish putting on my lip-gloss. “By the way, that dress really makes your eyes pop.”

  “Why thank you!” She smiles, batting her eyelashes.

  “You always look good though.” I point to her dress. “I need something like that.”

  “You need everything.” She gazes into the mirror, making a fish face as she fiddles with pieces of her hair. “It’s your own fault. I’ve been trying to get you to go for a while.”

  “I haven’t been able to afford it,” I scoff. “Otherwise I would have.” I walk over to my closet and slip on my shoes as she dismisses my response. Gia always tells me not to give my mother money, and it usually turns into an argument. “You ready to go?”

  “Yeah.” She takes a step back and arches a brow. “What’s up with the lights?”

  I roll my eyes. “I know … they flicker like this place is haunted. You get what you pay for I guess.”

  “Ugh. That would drive me crazy.” She turns around and walks out my bedroom door then looks over her shoulder. “How about I drive, and you finish telling me about Luke?”

  I grab my purse off the bed and dig for my keys. “Okay, sounds good.” We lock up my apartment and make our way out to Gia’s brand new BMW. It’s a five series, white, and it’s my dream car. “I’m so jealous.”

  “You want to drive her?” She reaches out to give me the keys.

  I would love to, but I’m scared I’ll ruin her somehow. “Not yet.” I open the passenger door and get in. “She’s too pretty, I’m afraid I’ll scratch her.”

  “Your loss,” she answers as we buckle ourselves in. “Now tell me about what happened, and I want details.” I flinch before she turns down the blaring stereo after starting the ignition.

  “You were jamming, weren’t you?”

  She grips the steering wheel. “I always turn it up when I’m by myself. Okay, back to Luke.”

  I fidget a little at the thought of him. “Remember how Luke has connections with Jim and Pam, and I wasn’t really sure how?” I glance at her, waiting.

  “Uh huh,” she answers, her eyes focused on the road as she pulls out of the complex.

  “Then I told you how Luke is real protective of me, calling me kid on several different occasions, and how I overheard the conversation he had with Kyle. I arch a brow until she replies, making sure she’s paying attention.

  “Yesss,” she drags out the word then quickly glances at me. “Get on with it.”

  “You are not going to believe this,” I say seriously, because I know she’s going to flip. Closing my eyes I take a deep breath then say it. “It’s him, Gia.”

  She tilts her head to the side. “Who?”

  “Luke is, him,” I reply sternly, holding my hands out, as if he’s standing right in front of the car, but it still doesn’t register. “The boy from my past, the one I dream about, the one that used to live across the street.”

  She slams on the brakes, and I immediately grab the dashboard for support. “Shit! I’m sorry,” s
he shouts, quickly pulling over to the side of the road. Her eyes narrow, “No way.”

  I nod my head. “Yes way.”

  “How do you know? I mean like, how did you find out?”

  “We haven’t talked about it, but it finally clicked when I caught him looking at my scar.”

  She looks at me, confused. “So, you think he knows who you are?”

  “I do.”

  “But why wouldn’t he say anything?”

  “I have no idea, but I’m not saying a word until he does. Two can play that game.”

  We both laugh. Then Gia says, “You’re bad.”

  “I’m careful. There’s got to be a reason he hasn’t said anything.”

  “Do you think it’s a sign?” Her eyes twinkle, and she reaches for my hand excitedly.

  “What do you mean a ‘sign’?”

  Leaning in closer, she says, “I mean, he’s in our class, you’re working together, then he shows up at Chili’s and gives you a ride home.” She shakes her head. “Maybe everything is happening the way it’s supposed to happen.”

  I ponder that for a second—how he came to my rescue when my father was drunk and out of control, and another time I’d rather not think about. Today’s supposed to be a good day. I don’t want to mess it up with thoughts of my past. “It’s probably a strange coincidence.” Shrugging my shoulders, I add, “I don’t really believe in fate.”

  “It explains why you are the way you are.”

  I look at her, confused.

  “You know … with guys.”

  “You mean … not interested? Judgmental? Unavailable?” I mumble, moving my gaze to the windshield.

  “What if he’s like … your soulmate?” she murmurs, ignoring my question.

  I flick my eyes in her direction, and the grin she’s holding stretches so wide I wonder if it hurts.

  “Soulmate?”

  “Yeah, soulmate.”

  “We can barely even stand each other.” I chew on my nails, feeling vulnerable. “He doesn’t look at me that way.”

  She snorts. “Sure he doesn’t, and stop biting your nails. That’s gross.” She pulls my hand away from my mouth, and I give her a glare. “Are you interested in him? I mean, now that you know who he is?”

  “I don’t know what I’m feeling,” I growl.

  “So you do feel something for him then?”

  I blow out a nervous breath. “I care about him,” I say softly. “I always have. There’s sort of this connection with him.”

  She grins, moving her eyebrows up and down. “And you’re attracted to him, right? You’d be blind not to be.” I picture the way his eyes pierce into mine, and how I feel when he touches me—his sexy hair, his tattoos, all of him.

  “I’m crazy attracted to him,” I answer, biting on my lip. “I hate it.”

  She laughs. “Why do you hate it?”

  I cover my face with my hands, peeking through my fingers. “Because I’m used to being pursued and uninterested. Being the pursuer is new to me. I’ve never had to fight my attraction to someone. God Gia, when he’s close to me it’s almost unbearable.”

  “So don’t fight it.” She frowns. “Problem solved.”

  I wish it were that easy.

  “I’m not the kind of girl to make the first move.” I sigh. “I wouldn’t even know how, and I don’t deal well with rejection. Honestly, I’d rather be alone.”

  Her eyes narrow. “He cares about you. He’s not your father, Reese. You’re reading him wrong.”

  “I didn’t say he was.” Looking down at my hands, I continue, “I know he cares, but it’s in the way a big brother cares for his kid sister.”

  “You told him you’re twenty, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And how did he react?”

  I think back to the look on his face when I told him my age. “He looked surprised, actually.”

  “Good,” she says, biting back a grin, and I can see the wheels spinning in her eyes, before she looks for other vehicles and steers back onto the road.

  “Seriously, Gia. I’m not going to throw myself at him. That’s not me.”

  She shakes her head. “Of course not! We’ll make him come to you.” The look on her face says she’s up to no good, but I smile anyway.

  “I’m afraid to ask what’s going on in that brain of yours.”

  “Don’t be.” She giggles deviously. “Soon and very soon, you’re going to have Luke Ryann eating out of the palm of your hand.”

  I arch a brow. “Oh really? And what sort of magic tricks are we pulling out of our asses for that to happen?”

  Pursing her lips, she eyes me from head to toe. “First, we’ll start with a new wardrobe. We can work on the rest later. That is—if we need to.”

  I open my mouth to respond then realize I haven’t told her about the private lessons. “Oh my gosh! I completely forgot!” I grab her arm. “Pam asked Luke to train me after hours. He’s going to be teaching me jiu-jitsu for my class.”

  “SHUT … UP.” Her mouth falls wide open.

  “It’s the truth.” I give her my serious face. “We’ll be spending practically every day together.” As soon as the words leave my lips, tiny bumps appear all over my skin, sending a slight shiver all over. Gia twists the dial to the AC, and I decide not to bother telling her the real reason behind my trembling.

  She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean ‘train you’?”

  My hands fidget in my lap. “Exactly what I said,” I pause. “I’ll be the student, and Luke will be my teacher.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  I shake my head no.

  Gia points at me. “You’re saying that you two are going to be wrestling around, hot and sweaty, limbs tangled up in each other, and you’re going to be alone?”

  “That’s what I’m saying,” I answer flatly, although the picture that just ran through my mind makes me blush. My head slams against the headrest when she stomps on the brakes again. “Ow!”

  “This is going to be great!” she says, beaming, completely ignoring my outburst. “We’ll get you some hot little workout outfits.” She places her hand on my knee. “We’ll make sure they’re classy, not trashy. Do you still wear those frumpy sweats and oversized t-shirts?” She glances at me, raising her eyebrows.

  “Yes.” I frown.

  Shaking her head back and forth, she replies, “Never again. You have an amazing figure. Time to show it off.”

  “You sound like my mother,” I snort, but maybe she has a point. I’ve never been one that dresses to impress.

  “You have no idea how excited I am,” she says, pulling into the mall parking lot. We climb out of the car and make our way toward the entrance.

  “I’m beginning to have an idea.”

  I had already purchased several workout outfits, a handful of form-fitting tops, four dresses, and three pairs of stilettos. Gia’s desperate to find a certain brand of workout shorts. She tells me they’ll do wonders for my big, curvy butt. Okay, maybe she didn’t use those words, but that’s the way I heard them.

  “This is cute.” She holds up a piece of fabric resembling either a tube top or maybe even a skirt.

  “I teach children Gia,” I remind her.

  She frowns and says, “Oh yeah, I forgot.” Then her eyes light up. “You could always change before for class.”

  I picture myself muttering excuses for my wardrobe changes. “Don’t you think that’s a little too obvious?”

  She examines the material she’s holding. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  “His head is big enough as it is.” I picture his cocky grin as he figures out I’m dressing for him. “I want him to notice me, without knowing that it was my intention.” I point at the fabric. “How would I even wear that?”

  She giggles, setting down the questionable item before we make our way over to the sale rack. “Here they are,” she shouts then grabs a pair of black stretchy shorts that look like they’re made of spandex.<
br />
  I drop my gaze to my hips and thighs. “I don’t know.”

  “Stop it!” She swats me. “They’re going to look great. You’ll see.”

  I feel the stretchy material. “They feel comfortable.”

  She nods her head in agreement. “They come in several different colors, too.” Grabbing a couple pairs, she hands them to me. “Trust me, they’re hot. Now hurry and try them on. I’m getting hungry,” she says, as she shoos me towards the fitting room. I hurry along and do what she tells me.

  “You look exactly how I pictured,” Gia squeals. “Woman! You are rockin’ those shorts!”

  I place my hands on my hips then look over my shoulder, checking my reflection from the back. “Huh.” I’m surprised that I like what I see. “They’re not too bad, are they?” I mumble to myself, although Gia can hear me.

  A smile crawls across her face. “They’re perfect,” she replies. She buys me a pair in every color and refuses to take my money.

  As soon as I’m back at my apartment I decide to try Pam. I’ve been hoping I’d get a chance to talk to her before I see Luke again. There are a lot of things I want to say, and many questions I need to ask. So I punch in her number, surprised when she answers on the first ring.

  “Reese?” I can tell she’s excited. She may even be a little tipsy.

  “Hey.” I smile—glad she’s happy. Jim had said that the last trip he dragged her on, she complained and had a miserable time. “Are you having fun?”

  “I am,” she giggles. “Can you tell?”

  I laugh along with her, picturing her sitting by the pool with an apple martini, wearing one of those big hats. “Maybe just a little. Are you hanging around a more entertaining crowd or what?” I kick off my shoes and swing my legs over the arm of my couch.

  “Definitely. Do you remember Kellie Nichole? She’s been in the gym a few times. She’s brunette, has shoulder-length hair, and always wears those funky black-rimmed glasses?”

  I search my brain for someone with that description. “No, the name doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Hmm, well anyway, she’s a riot. We’ve kept each other busy while the hubbies do their thing. We’ve been window-shopping, enjoying drinks by the pool, and we’re scheduled to get facials in about an hour. It’s definitely made my trip, having her with me. I usually stay cooped up in the hotel,” she scoffs. “Jim couldn’t pay me to go to one of those meetings.”