[Addicted 01.0] Addicted to You

by Krista Ritchie

  “There are a lot of other people that can help you.” I will continue to distrust Ryke. Literally, his responses grate on every nerve in my body. It’s impossible to be attracted to someone that shrivels my insides.

  “I don’t want their help. I want yours.”

  Before I make sense of that, my phone buzzes on the table. Ryke glances at the name in the text box. “Lo,” he says. “Maybe you can ask him if it’s okay.”

  “He will say no,” I shoot back.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “You don’t know Lo,” I retort and click into the text.

  Can I watch porn with you tonight? You clock more time with your remote than me. Jealous. – Lo

  I clutch my phone to my chest, hoping Ryke didn’t catch a peek. My elbows blush anyway.

  “You’re turning red.”

  “It’s hot in here,” I mumble and clear my throat. “I don’t know what more to tell you.”

  “Say ‘yes, Ryke, I’ll help you this one time since I stopped Matt from beating the shit out of my boyfriend.’”

  My eyes narrow. “How long are you going to hold that over my head?”

  “Forever.”

  I sigh heavily, realizing this is not going to end like I want it to. “Lo may yell at you. He may call you rude names until you leave.”

  Ryke lets out another short laugh. “Yeah, I think I can handle him.” He tilts his head. “Do you think he can handle me?”

  “You do realize that sounds sexual,” I blurt, my eyes widening in regret. Why did I just say that?!

  “And maybe you have a perverted mind.”

  I can’t argue with that, but I have officially roasted into a new shade of red. To ignore my embarrassment, I go back to the issue at hand. “You’re not allowed to mention alcohol. If you do, you’re gone.”

  He nods. “Fair enough.”

  Maybe Lo will find a way to deter Ryke. If anyone can skillfully kick someone out of our apartment, it’s him.

  I scroll through the calendar in my phone. “What day were you thinking?”

  He stands and stuffs my biology book into his backpack. “Right now.”

  I gape. “I’m studying, Ryke.”

  “Really. That’s what you were doing?” He rubs his jaw. “I could have sworn you were people-watching and eating the end of your pencil.”

  I glare. “You’ve been spying on me?”

  He slings his backpack over his shoulder. “I was observing you. Don’t get so pissy about it. I just needed to make sure you were in a good enough mood to hear my request.” He nods to the exit. “Shall we?”

  I stand up in a huff, gathering my notebooks and shoving them into my backpack. “I don’t understand why we have to do this right now.”

  He scoots his chair into the table. “Because, Lily Calloway, you seem like the type of girl who will never return my calls.” He motions for me to follow with his fingers, as though I’m a pet dog. “Let’s go.”

  I inhale a strained breath, silently throwing darts into Ryke Meadows’ face. His self-confident swagger rubs me wrong. In fact, I’d rather not be rubbed by him at all. At least Lo will know what to do with him. That, I hold onto.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  We agree to meet in the lobby of the Drake since we drove in two separate cars. When I walk in, I’m not surprised to see him waiting by the golden elevators. My bio book rests under his arm, and for the first time I allow myself a good look at Ryke. Without his Green Arrow costume, he appears slightly older, especially with a stubbly jaw and tanned skin. Underneath his white track shirt, I’m sure lies very toned and very lean muscles. He has a face that could force girls to their knees, but so does Lo.

  I can’t imagine the two of them squaring off. Ice vs. Stone. Sharpness vs. Hardness. Cold vs. Hot. They’re different, yet somehow, they’re still alike.

  Ryke presses the button when he sees me approach. “You look like you’re going to vomit.”

  “I’m not,” I mumble a stupid reply, thankful that the elevator doors burst open and slice the awkwardness. I slide in and hit the top floor. When they close, Ryke spins around and faces me, positioning himself in front of the doors, as though hoping I won’t bolt the second they break apart.

  “I lied,” he starts.

  My jaw unhinges. “Wha…” This was a bad idea.

  “I’m not actually going to Comic-Con—”

  “I knew it!” I should have listened to my gut. “Get out.”

  He tilts his head with a frown at my asinine order. “We’re on a fucking elevator. In fact…” He presses the emergency stop, and it rumbles to a halt. Oh my God. He’s going to murder me! I spring to the buttons to restart the elevator, but he shields my passage by extending his arms and then lightly pushing me back.

  “Let me out!”

  “I need you to listen to me,” Ryke starts. “I am a journalism major. I do write for The Philadelphia Chronicle. But I have no intention of going to Comic-Con.”

  “Then why—”

  “Because I want to help your boyfriend, and I needed you to get me at least this far so I could explain the rest.”

  My defensive barriers start rising tenfold. “We don’t need your help! I can take care of him.” I point to my chest. “I’ve taken care of him my whole life.”

  “Yeah?” Ryke’s eyes narrow heatedly. “How many times have you watched him pass out? Tossing a few aspirins isn’t helping him, Lily. He has a fucking problem.”

  My cheeks burn, and I take in his words very carefully. It hurts to see Lo drink so excessively. It hurts to watch him depend on one drink after the next, and I constantly fear the day where it becomes too much. But I always bury those worries with carnal pleasures and a natural high. My voice softens. “Why do you want to fix him so badly?”

  Ryke stares at me with more empathy than I thought he was capable of. “My father is an alcoholic, and I don’t want Lo to turn out like him. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

  I ask a question that has been plaguing me for some time. “How can you know Lo’s an alcoholic? You don’t know him. You’ve seen him once on his twenty-first birthday, and he was passed out more than he was awake.”

  Ryke shrugs. “I can just tell, especially with the way you became possessive over his flask. He’d be truly pissed if someone wasted his expensive alcohol, wouldn’t he?”

  He would. I bite my nails. “I don’t know what you want me to do.”

  Ryke edges forward. “Let me try to help him.”

  I shake my head. “Lo won’t let you.”

  “I figured as much, and that’s why I can start by hanging around you guys, getting to know him.”

  The pieces start adding together. “Comic-Con. You want to keep up the lie to grow closer to Lo so you can try to influence him. You want me to lie?” I’m not sure this will work. We’ve already allowed Connor into our lives—another person may unsettle an already off-kilter balance.

  “Yeah,” Ryke says. “I want you to lie to your boyfriend so that he has a chance to get better. You think you can do that, Lily? Or are you going to be fucking selfish and let him continue this destructive path? One day, he may never wake up. One day, his body may shut down. And you’re going to think back to this moment and wonder why you didn’t agree to this proposition—why you didn’t try something else to help your boyfriend.”

  I stumble back, punched in the gut. “I don’t want him to die,” I murmur.

  “Then do something about it.”

  I nod out of impulse, but I haven’t processed what this means in the long run. That I’ll have to lie to Lo. Can I do it? My brows scrunch in thought. I think I can. Lo has more to lose if I don’t try. Surviving another debacle like Halloween sounds less and less likely, and I struggle to help Lo because of our relationship and my vice. No second party has ever offered aid before. And if Lo was given the same deal to help me, would he take it?

  I know he would.

  I look back up at Ryke. “I still don’t
like you.”

  “I’m not very fond of you either,” he admits and hands me my bio book.

  “What did I do to you?” I frown. Why doesn’t he like me?

  He presses a button and the elevator groans to a start. We rise. “You’re too skinny. You whine too much. And you enable an alcoholic.”

  I purse my lips. “I’m already regretting this.” But I’ll suffer through Ryke’s mean comments if it gives Lo a chance to get better.

  “I warned you that I’m not easy to get rid of.”

  I thought he was exaggerating. The elevator doors slide open, and I lead him to my apartment even though he knows the way. The thought is as unsettling as the looming situation. The last time he was here, Lo had been unconscious to the world. Moments ago, I hoped Lo would find a way to kick him out, now I have to defend Ryke, who has proved to be an annoying force in my life.

  I unlock the door and toss my jangling keys in the basket.

  Lo calls to me from the bedroom. “Lil, we’re going to watch Blow Hard, and I’m going to fuck you better than…” He trails off to read the label on the back of the DVD while my eyes bug, not willing a peek at Ryke by my side. “…a group of pierced thugs. Huh…”

  “Lo!” I yell.

  “I don’t like that one either,” he says. I hear the sound of DVD cases clattering together.

  Ryke clears his throat beside me, and I glimpse at him for a millisecond, catching sight of his raised brows at me. Can this get more awkward?

  “Or would you rather I sucked every part of you, love?”

  Oh my God.

  If Ryke’s uncomfortable, he doesn’t let on. Between the two of us, I’m the one shrinking back. After only a second, Lo emerges from the bedroom. He wears nothing but a pair of jeans, the band of his boxer-briefs peeking from the hem. On a normal day, I’d take in the ridges of his abs, the curve of his muscles that seem to lead towards something much lower and much more sinful. He would flash those bedroom eyes and tease me for thirty minutes. Then he’d lift me in his arms and carry me to his mattress. He’d draw out every movement, every look, everything to excite my body and electrify my nerves.

  Instead, he freezes in the space between the hallway and the kitchen. His face sharpens, and his muscles cut into rigid lines.

  I open my mouth to introduce Ryke, but Lo ignores me and sets an ice-cold glare on him. “Who the fuck are you?”

  Ryke takes the words with ease. “Green Arrow.”

  Lo’s face contorts in confusion.

  He doesn’t remember what happened. I step forward and come to his side. “He’s from the Halloween party,” I say. “He helped stop the fight.” And he carried you home.

  Lo nods. “Thanks then.” He shifts to me, keeping his back to Ryke. His voice lowers so Ryke can’t hear. “We’re on a schedule, Lil. You shouldn’t have brought him to the apartment.”

  I frown. “You’re not going to ask me why he’s here?”

  His eyes flicker hesitantly to Ryke. “Right now,” he whispers, “I’m more concerned with satisfying you.”

  “I’m okay,” I tell him. “This morning was good enough.”

  “Are you sure?” His brows furrow. “I only came inside you twice.”

  I swallow, sensitive spots throbbing. Well now I’m not so sure. But I have to try to wait. “I can hold out.”

  He puts two fingers underneath my chin and tilts my head up. “I don’t know if I believe you.” He takes a step forward, causing me to take one back, repeating the movements until my spine hits a bar stool. I grip it behind me, and he pins me against it with two hands on the counter.

  “We have company,” I remind him.

  “Like I give a shit,” Lo whispers. He kisses me hard, stealing my breath, and my back arches to meet his pelvis. His hand slips into my jeans pocket.

  Ryke says, “Lily.”

  I immediately separate my lips from Lo’s, and I lean back into the stool to try to avoid his touch.

  Lo clenches his teeth, and his head whips to Ryke. “Clearly, I’m trying to fuck my girlfriend. So leave.”

  “Look, you can do whatever you want to her later.” He sets his hard gaze on me for extra reinforcement. This is where I should agree and peel away from Lo, but his fingers slip into the band of my jeans, sliding underneath my panties in the back. He has a hand planted firmly on my ass.

  “Lo,” I warn. “He asked us for help, and we owe him a favor…”

  He squeezes, and my knees nearly buckle. He keeps me standing by pinning his weight against me. “You really want to entertain this guy?”

  Obviously not, but it’s the right thing to do. Before, we would have shooed him out of the door, distancing ourselves from everyone in sight. Being alone, together, that’s our thing. Adding a new person into the mix—that’s something we haven’t quite figured out yet.

  With his other hand, he unbuttons my jeans.

  “Lo!” I shriek. He’s trying to make Ryke so uncomfortable that he flees, but what I’ve come to understand about the guy, he’s impenetrable among all offenses. Somehow, I disentangle Lo from my body and button my jeans, my neck heating as I create distance from him.

  I stand between Lo by the kitchen and Ryke by the foyer, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do now.

  Lo angles his body so he has a good view of Ryke. “You’re still here.”

  Ryke scrutinizes Lo, trying to figure him out from afar. “Lily said you both would help me with research on Comic-Con.”

  Lo takes this in. “She agreed to this?” He looks down at me. “That’s unlike you.”

  “I owe him.”

  Lo’s jaw locks as his eyes flicker to Ryke. “And you can’t come back later?”

  “I’m here now. What’s the big deal?”

  Lo scowls at him like he’s a moron. “You’re cock-blocking me, that’s the big fucking deal.”

  I want to disappear. Like right now.

  Ryke glances at me and then tilts his head at Lo without a shadow of insecurity. “Have sex with her later. I’m not stopping you.” He inches closer. “Lily, you want to show me your comics or should I go find them myself?”

  Lo interjects. “Hey, I don’t know you. There’s no way in hell you’re going to be alone with her.”

  “Lo, it’s fine,” I tell him. Really, I have zero desire to do anything sexual with Ryke, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

  Ryke inspects Lo once more and then he nods. “If I was you, I’d probably be the same way. Some strange guy creeping in with your girlfriend—I get it. It’s weird.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Lo says flatly. “I make out with my girlfriend, you stand there. I put my hand down her pants, you stand there. I tell you I’m going to fuck her, you stand there. What am I supposed to make of that?”

  My heart beats wildly, and I’ve lost the ability to breathe. I must be dreaming. Yeah, this is a dream. I’ll wake up soon, but obviously not soon enough.

  “That I’m a self-assured guy that likes to get what he wants, and right now that’s information about Comic-Con. Pretty simple, right?”

  Lo takes this in.

  To nudge his thoughts, I say, “I’ll grab a few New X-Men comics. Stay here.” I don’t give Lo the option of backing out. I disappear into his room, sprinting around to try and gather some issues. After I collect a handful, I rush out of the hallway.

  Lo has crept into the kitchen where he opens a cupboard for a glass. When I pass Ryke by the sink, the guy gives me a look like help me.

  I’m trying, I mouth.

  Try harder, he mouths back.

  I flip him off in a knee-jerk reaction, and he rolls his eyes. I set the comics on the counter beside him and then fill the space in the kitchen between Lo and Ryke.

  Lo closes the fridge, plopping an ice cube into his whiskey. When he leans an elbow on the counter, he eyes me like come here. He’ll probably wrap an arm around my waist and let me sink my body into his.

  No, Lily. I shake my head at
him and wade in the center, unsure and uncomfortable.

  His face sharpens at the rejection, and he directs his hate onto Ryke. “What do you need to know?”

  He shrugs. “Anything.”

  “Ever hear of Google?”

  “You mean that little search engine on that thing called the internet? No, I’ve never heard of it before. Can you explain that to me too?” He flashes a dry smile.

  Lo grits his teeth and looks at me. “Why is he here again?”

  “He’s writing an article on Comic-Con, and we owe him a favor.”

  Lo inhales sharply. “Fine.” He starts rattling off X-Men characters, mutant powers and how they fit into Earth 616, way too quickly for anyone to understand.

  “Wait, wait.” Ryke holds up his hands. “What the hell is Earth 616?”

  Lo already looks frustrated. He downs half his drink, and Ryke’s body tightens, as though each time Lo takes a sip is a bullet to his chest. His reaction actually makes me sidle to Lo and try something else.

  I stand on the tips of my toes and whisper in his ear, “Hold me.”

  Obligingly, Lo sets down his drink and wraps two arms around my hips, leaning my back into his chest. The public display should embarrass me, but Ryke ignores our affection like we’re just standing around.

  I cut in, “Earth 616 is the Marvel universe.”

  “That’s not too hard to understand,” Ryke says.

  One of Lo’s hands creeps beneath my shirt and stays on my stomach. I am a horrible, horrible person. I should push him off and stay focused on the conversation, but if this deters him from drinking, then maybe it’s okay.

  Lo says, “Not all Marvel comics take place in Earth 616.”

  Ryke cocks his head. “Now I’m confused.”

  I try to explain. “It’s used to denote Marvel’s primary continuity. There’s a string of comics that all fit together in sequential time…” I feel something cold on my lower back and stifle a gasp.

  Lo runs an ice cube on my skin, teasing…and probably hoping Ryke will take a hint and leave. Concentrate, Lily.