But he pulled me back to bed. “You can’t.” He said.
“Why?”
“Because the fridge is practically empty.” I raised my brow at him. He chuckled. “You left a few weeks ago. It’s your duty to restock our fridge, love.”
Our fridge?
“Your fridge, Ryder.” I corrected him.
He shook his head. “Didn’t you hear me say to Adam that you’re staying here for good?”
My eyes widened. “I was only half-listening then. I was more afraid of the warning looks you two have been exchanging.”
“He was giving me the warning looks. I was just merely accepting them.”
I stared at him. “So you told Adam I’m staying here for good, but we haven’t discussed this.”
He pulled me by the neck and kissed my lips gently. “Okay, so let’s discuss this. We’re only picking up where we left off five months ago.” He replied. “This was my plan then, Ash. To ask you to move in with me here. No wonder I was so pissed when I found out you were staying with John.” He cringed at the memory. “I’m sorry I got delayed a couple of months, but Astrid… it would really make me happy if you agree to live here with me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I can’t believe that he was actually asking me to move in with him… to start making a life together…
“I want to call my landline, and know that you will be picking it up. I want to come home here, knowing that it’s you who will be greeting me at the door. I want to open my fridge and know that you’ve done our groceries… that you’re taking care of me, as much as I am taking care of you.”
My heart swelled at his words. When I woke up this morning, I never thought this day was going to end like this. That Ryder would come home to me and will try to make everything right. That he will try to undo what he did when he has no memories of me.
He reached up and wiped my tears with his thumb. “Is that a yes?” He asked.
I giggled and I leaned forward and kissed his lips. I sighed contentedly. “Yes.”
“Thank you!” He said in happy voice. Then he gently pushed me towards the bed and in a minute, he was on top of me again, pinning me between the mattress and his body. He has a mischievous look on this face. “Now… Manhattan…” He started saying.
“Ryder!” I laughed. But my laughter died when his lips descended towards mine.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
RING:
A ring is round because it represents eternity… like a love that will last forever. It is a symbol of never-ending commitment. It is usually worn on the fourth finger, as “myth” states that this finger contains the “vena amoris” or the “vein of love”, which is connected to the heart.
We were sitting on the deck, Ryder was strumming his guitar, serenading me with his smooth, soulful voice.
I couldn’t help but be drawn to him and the world he is bringing me to when he sings. If I wasn’t in love with him already, hearing him sing to me will probably do the job.
“How come you sing so well?” I asked him.
“Genes, I guess.” He smiled.
“Did you always know how to play the guitar?”
He nodded. “Ever since I was a kid. I play the piano too.”
“So why didn’t you make a career as a musician?” I teased.
“Well, it’s not too late, right? If the band in one of my bars walk out, I can always fill in.” He grinned.
I laughed. “You’re right. But I don’t think I would like that.” I said.
“Why not?”
“Girls always fall for the frontman, especially if he’s hot!” I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss against his lips. “I’m very jealous and possessive.” I kissed him again.
I can feel Ryder’s smile against my lips. “Hmmm… if you’re possessive, then does that mean you want to be with your man all the time?”
I felt him shift and put his guitar aside. Then he pulled me to him and deepened the kiss.
“Yes.” I replied. “I want to be with you all the time.” I moaned when he nuzzled my neck.
“Hmmm… then you should really consider branching out in Manhattan.” He whispered against my skin.
I giggled.
“You’re not going to stop, are you?” I asked.
“Nope.” He replied. “I’ll get you to say yes… eventually.”
“You realize that might take a long time, right?” I pulled away from him so I could look into his eyes.
He smiled at me wistfully. “I guess. But I won’t give up.” He said. “Astrid, I live in Malibu too. But I live in Manhattan more. And when I take over my parents’ company, I will be there eighty percent of the time. And… by then, I hope you have decided to make the move.” His voice was sober. There was a hint of frustration and sadness there.
It’s been three days since he found his way back to me. During these days, we mostly stayed in the house. Ryder was making plenty of calls to New York to give instructions and conduct conference calls. But he never booked a flight back.
“Ryder… how long have you been in Malibu?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Probably the longest time I have been here.”
“When are you coming back to New York?”
“I don’t know.” He leaned forward and kissed me again.
I kissed him back but something was bothering me.
“Ryder… why aren’t you going back to New York yet? Are you not needed there anymore?”
He sighed. “I’m always needed there.”
“Then why are you still here?”
He kissed me again and leaned his forehead against mine. Then he looked back at me. “Because… I keep remembering the last time… the last time I left you. We were making love. Then I went back to New York… and then it took me five months to come home to you.” The look on his face was sad. “I don’t want to be away from you for that long again, Ash. I get scared that the minute I board that plane, I may not keep my promises to you again.”
“Ryder…” I whispered. God! I’m so insensitive. He was right. He boarded the plane to Manhattan the last time we were this happy. Then… it took him a long time to come back. And he did a lot of things he wouldn’t have done if he were himself.
He shifted on the chair and pulled me so I was sitting on his lap. “I meant what I said, Ash. I will make up for everything that I did to you these past few months. And I have a better chance of doing that if you were with me all the time.”
“Geography will always be our problem.” I whispered.
“You know my solution to that.” He said, planting a kiss on my neck. “And nothing will make me happier.”
I sighed. “Can I… think about it?” I asked.
He took a deep breath. “Sure, love. Take all the time you need.”
We sat there for a long time, lost in our own thoughts, enclosed in each other’s embrace, enveloped in each other’s warmth.
I was scared of Ryder going away too. We’ve been through a lot in the past few months. I don’t want to go through another nightmare again.
Please God! I’ve had enough! I silently prayed. Please let me keep him!
I planned to return Adam’s money. With Ryder’s money still in my company, I have more than enough to start something in Manhattan. I could start small. Get a small office, renovate it to make it cute and cozy. Hire a fresh graduate to do my telemarketing for me.
I think I can let go of my monthly salary and give it to Nicole. She will do a great job managing the Malibu office. I will just oversee it from Manhattan. I can even come with Ryder once a week for a visit.
I could let go of the little luxuries in life, until the branch in New York takes off. I have some money saved up. Enough for me to fend for myself for the next three to six months, I guess.
Three to six months?
Can I really make it in such a short span of time? Plus, it’s New York. Competition will be much stiffer there. To be honest, I’m dead scared. Ever After Malibu
is doing fine but it’s not yet big enough to save another branch that is losing out. I’ve been so proud of myself, when I almost raised Ryder’s investment in such a short span of time. I wish I could do that again. In Manhattan.
Honestly, I cannot bear losing Ryder again. When he forgot about me, I desperately wanted him to remember me again. I wanted to spend every minute of everyday with him… but I can’t because he didn’t even know he was in love me.
Now… we’re past all that. I was thankful I was given a second chance with him. And I want to make it count. I don’t want to live in fear that every time we kiss each other goodbye when he goes back to New York, might be the last kiss we will ever share. We’ve come too close to that. I came too close to losing him forever.
I felt Ryder’s lips on my neck, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine. I giggled and turned to face him. He kissed my lips gently.
“Ryder…” I have to make a decision now. There’s no point denying him this. Both of us have suffered too much already.
“Yes, love?”
I took a deep breath. “Okay.” I said.
He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes.
“What are you saying?”
I smiled. “If… if you are not pulling out your investment from Ever After Malibu… I think I will use the money to… venture in Manhattan.”
He stared back at me, his eyes glittering. “Really?” He smiled.
I nodded.
He leaned forward and gave me a deep kiss on the lips. Then he said to me, “You know when I said move to New York, I didn’t just mean move to the city, right?”
I raised a brow. I know what he meant, but still, it would feel nice to hear him say it out loud. “Just exactly what do you mean?” I asked him.
“I meant… move in with me to New York, love.” He replied. “As in the whole package. I don’t just want you in my city. I want you in my apartment too. And besides, what’s the point in living separately there, when we live together here?”
I smiled at him. I felt warm and giddy. A year ago, I was bent on waiting for marriage before I share myself with a man. And I was so much against men with power, fame and money. Now, I’ve broken all the rules and put all my bets on a man who is… the epitome of what I didn’t believe in when I was younger.
But I believe in him, the way that he believes in me. I believe in our love. After all, it has gone through a lot… but still… it stands strong and it burns bright.
“You really want this, don’t you?”
He nodded. “I promised you I will make up for the past months that I behaved like an asshole. And it will be easier to do that if you live with me. So I can show you every day, every night... just how sorry I really am… and how desperately I want you to forget how much I’ve hurt you.” His words touched my heart.
New York is a huge and scary city but I know I’m making the right decision. “I’m scared, Ryder. Manhattan is huge! What if I fail?”
Ryder chuckled. “For a woman who doesn’t have to work a day in her life anymore, you worry too much.”
I raised a brow at him. “I’m not rich like you, Ryder. I need to stretch my legs if I want to eat.”
He pulled me towards him and kissed my forehead. “Ahh! Are you forgetting who’s taking care of you now, love?”
I laughed. “Ryder… I don’t want to have this argument anymore.”
“Luckily, neither did I.” He said. I pulled away from him so I can stare into his eyes. “I love you, Ash. And I will take care of you. Let me. You can work on your company as a hobby if you want. But everything that you will ever need… I will take care of it. You don’t have to worry. All I ask in return… is for you to stay with me.”
Tears welled up in my eyes, as I hear him pledge those words to me. I may have a lot of stubborn beliefs in the past, but now, I know that none of them matters anymore. I will do everything to make Ryder happy too. And he was right. We have to find a balance in our relationship. So I nodded. “I love you, Ryder.”
He smiled at me. “I love you, Astrid. And I mean it. Your ever after has just begun.”
The next afternoon, I met with my friends at Oil Rig. I haven’t seen them since Ryder came back. They were actually worried when I moved out of Adam’s house.
“Are you sure you are okay?” Nicole asked.
“I’m perfect!” I said, smiling. “He’s back you know.”
They sighed in relief.
“We actually kind of know. We just weren’t sure and we didn’t want to give you false hopes… just in case it was… false alarm.” John said.
I smiled at them. “Thank you, guys! Thanks for sticking with me all throughout these years. I must have been a lot to handle.”
Dannie laughed. “Yeah, you are! But it would have been very boring without you! You give our lives a whole different level!”
I laughed too. Then tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered that I will leave them soon. I surely will miss them.
I looked at Nicole. “Are you still interested to work for me?” I asked.
“Is the sky blue?” She asked. “Of course! I can start like yesterday! Fiona is about to fire my ass because I’m best friends with you!”
“Good! Coz I need you to start this week.” I said to her.
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right?”
I shook my head. “I want you to manage this branch, Nic.”
She was excited at first but then her smile faded. “Wh… what are you going to do?”
I smiled at them. “I’m moving to Manhattan, guys.” I croaked. It makes me sad that I will be away from them, but I know I cannot live without Ryder too.
“Are you breaking up with us?” Asked Dannie crossly.
I laughed. “Of course not! But… it’s gonna be a long-distance relationship for us.” I sighed. “Ryder asked me to live with him. And… he insisted on not pulling out his investment in my company, so I decided to use that to branch out in Manhattan.”
“Wow! A year ago, you refused to even sleep with Bryan, until you are married. And now... you’re going to live with a man! Talk about moral slip.” Dannie teased.
I laughed. “I know. I found it ironic too. But somehow, I realized that this is not a question of moral values. Love does get in the way of our principles and beliefs. I guess what I had with Bryan wasn’t strong enough to break through my pedantic beliefs. But with Ryder… I gave in the first night we were together. We have this passion that is stronger than both of us. He tried to stop it too… because he didn’t want to take advantage of my weakness then. But somehow, we both just fall through. But you know, Ryder and I have more than passion too. We believe in each other. We also have faith, trust and friendship.”
Nicole was already crying and Dannie’s eyes were brimming with tears too.
“Sweetheart… we will miss you. But I know… after all you and Ryder have been through… you deserve this.” Dannie said.
“I will take care of your company here, Ash.” Nicole said. “You’ll be so proud of me!” She giggled in spite of her tears.
John ruffled my hair. “How often are you going to visit?”
I laughed. “Once a week or at least once every two weeks. Ryder owns two bars here, remember?”
We were all sad, but I know my friends are not holding me back. After all that’s happened to me since I dumped Bryan, I deserve this. I deserve to go after my happily ever after.
After meeting with my friends, I asked Dannie to drop me off at Adam’s house. I called up Ryder and told him where I will be. He promised to pick me up after he’s done with what he needed to do at Oil Rig.
Adam was startled when I appeared on his deck again.
“Jesus Christ, Astrid!” He breathed.
I laughed and then I reached up and kissed his cheek. Then I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest. I couldn’t help crying. I will sure miss Adam a lot.
“Are you happy, Ash?” He asked, wrap
ping an arm around my shoulders.
I nodded. “Very.”
“You will shine in Manhattan too, Ash. You can do this.” He said.
I looked up at him. “How did you know I was moving to Manhattan?”
He raised a brow. “I’m Van Woodsen’s lawyer in Malibu, remember?” He replied. “I’m required to know everything that goes on in his life here.” He smiled. “Plus, he called and told me already. He promised me that you will be taken care of, and I need not worry. Plus, I was assured you will come to Malibu once a week anyway, so this is not really goodbye.”
Knight in Shining Suit: Get Up. Get Even. Get a better man. Page 49