“First of August.”
“So a little over a week?” Her voice is incredulous.
Deklan nods.
The hand that had been on Deklan’s thigh is now back on her lap.
He puts his hand on her thigh and she straightens her shoulders. At least she doesn’t remove his hand from her leg.
Personally, I think she’s been a complete saint, especially since she still hangs around the guy who was originally her boyfriend but cheated on her. In this case, she didn’t have a choice. Deklan wasn’t going to leave his friend high and dry, period. She needed to get onboard and fast, because I was pretty certain he wouldn’t be changing his mind.
“Is he going to actually work?” she asks, obviously looking for anything to justify her anger. “As in a real job?”
The nerve in Deklan’s jaw tics. “He’s been helping me around the shop, and Uncle Steve said Ryder can work the front desk.”
“What about Phyllis?” Kenzie crosses her arms over her chest. “I thought she worked the front desk?”
“She works part-time, and Ryder will work part-time. Maybe he’ll start school in September. I’d love to see him go to Clark. Maybe he could get his Associates, and then he can move to WSU. Who knows, maybe you’ll be going to college together.”
“Are you paying for that, too?” Kenzie says, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.
I looked out the window, feeling a huge fight coming on. I knew better than to try and help ease the tension. When Kenzie got something on her mind, it took a while for her to work through it. Hopefully Deklan knew that by now.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Deklan removes his hand from her thigh and puts it on the stick shift.
“He’s my brother, Kenzie. I won’t leave him to fend for himself. I’m sorry, but I can’t do it.”
“But you’ll uproot your entire life for him. You told me not that long ago that you were saving for a house that you’ve been eyeing since you were a kid.”
“And I’ll get that house…one day.”
I roll down the window and both of them go quiet on me.
The second he pulls into the driveway and comes to a stop, I open the door and get out.
Kenzie is right behind me.
“Babe…” Deklan sounds exasperated.
“Talk to him,” I say, stopping short, causing her to run into my back.
I’m relieved when she turns back to him.
I climb the stairs to the apartment and thankfully the door is unlocked. Cole is sitting on his hide-a-bed wearing pajama bottoms and nothing else.
My breath catches in my throat.
“You barely made curfew,” Cole says, lifting a soda to his lips.
I try not to stare at his six-pack but fail miserably. “Yeah, barely. Is your mom up?”
“I’m not sure. She went to bed about an hour ago.”
I hesitate, hoping Kenzie would walk in. “Kenzie is saying good night to Deklan.”
He nods. “That could take a while.”
“Yeah.” I smile, wishing I didn’t feel so awkward around him. “Well, good night.”
Cole frowns at me. “Not so fast.” He pats the space beside him. “Come on, watch a movie with me.”
“Okay.”
My voice comes out a little strangled.
“You want to get your pajamas on first?” The interest I see in his eyes is unmistakable.
I glance at the door, expecting Kenzie to walk in any second.
“Yeah,” I say, and head toward Kenzie’s room.
EIGHT
Ange
Oh my God!
My stomach tightens with excitement. Cole wants to hang out with me. Melissa’s door is closed and the light is off. I’m trying not to get too excited, but as I take off my clothes and put them in the hamper beside the door, I remember every night I had lain awake wondering what it would be like to be with Cole.
I put on a cute cami and boxers combo and apply lip gloss before I walk back to the living room. For a second I consider taking down the braid but decide at the last minute to leave it.
Cole gives me a sidelong glance.
“What did you guys do today?” he asks, and I take a seat beside him on the hide-a-bed. I want to go back and put my sweater on as the blast of cool air from the window air-conditioner hits my skin. My nipples pebble against my bra and I know the headlights are on because Cole’s gaze abruptly shifts to my chest. He stares so long, I am half tempted to cross my arms.
So embarrassing…
“The Frozen had a concert,” I say, relieved when his gaze meets mine.
“Are they any good?” he asks, sounding kind of bored.
“They’re amazing. Your cousin has an incredible voice. You should come hear them sometime.”
I wonder if he’s heard anything I said. His gaze is shifting slowly over my body. “Maybe I will.”
Okay then, I guess he is listening.
Kenzie walks in a second later and the door slams shut behind her. Oh no. She barely glances at us as she marches by.
“I better go check to make sure she’s okay.” I’m a bit surprised she’s so mad that Ryder is moving in with Deklan. She has a year of high school to finish, so it’s not like she’d be moving in with him. That, or she just really wanted him to save for his dream house. Either way, I empathized with her. It couldn’t be easy to have to share your boyfriend with his best friend.
Or had she hoped he would ask her to move in? It’s not like she’s the first high school girl to move in with her boyfriend before graduation. My mother would never allow it, and the old Melissa wouldn’t have gone for it…but the new Melissa might feel differently.
Before I can take a step, Cole reaches out and grabs my hand. “Trouble in paradise?”
His hand is warm, and strangely, I find myself comparing those long fingers to Ryder’s. Ryder’s fingers were also long, like Cole’s. For some reason, I couldn’t imagine Cole braiding my hair.
But then again, stranger things have happened.
Then I remember where Ryder’s fingers had been earlier tonight, and the look on his face as he’d left the janitor’s closet, still adjusting his clothes after messing around with the slutty brunette.
I really do need to take a shower tonight and wash my hair.
“They’re fine. Just fighting over Ryder.”
Cole snorts. “That guy’s a real winner.” His voice drips with sarcasm.
“Yeah, he’s something alright.”
“I can’t believe Kenzie dated that loser.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to call Ryder a loser. I mean, yes, he did struggle with drugs, but apparently he hadn’t been the only one in the band to do so. I nearly reminded him about his own cousin who had overdosed a few months ago, but refrained.
“They should boot his ass out of the band.”
Ryder did have God-given talent, and the boy could work a crowd. “He’s Deklan’s best friend…so that’s probably not going to happen.”
“They did it once. They can do it again.”
“True,” I say, surprised I’m a bit defensive of Ryder. That, or maybe I was tired of talking about Ryder. Plus, I wanted to know more about Cole’s college life, and since he wasn’t being too forthcoming, I thought I’d ask a few questions. “How about you? Are you dating anyone?”
His brows furrow as though it’s the stupidest question he’s ever heard. “Football doesn’t really give me time to date.”
I’m thrilled by the news. “Football’s not year-round, is it?”
The corners of his mouth twitch. “No, but I train year-round.”
It’s my turn to frown. “Why?”
“Hey, what can I say…I’m an active guy.”
I knew that. Cole has always taken care of his body. I recall the comments about his body being a temple. Kenzie told me about the smoking hot remark about the good-looking girls at UW, too. The handsome quarterback would obviously have his share of women.
“What about you, Ange? You have a boyfriend?”
I rarely blushed. Being the head of the yearbook committee and someone who was always comfortable speaking to groups, I was used to having attention directed at me. I liked having that attention directed at me and I always delivered what I had to say with confidence, and yet I suddenly found it extremely difficult to put two words together. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” I wonder if it’s possible that he doesn’t know I had lusted after him for years before he left for college. I’d been at his house practically every single day. And he’d treated me like his little sister’s best friend. Some days he acknowledged me with a ‘hey, Ange.’ Other days it was a nod. Sometimes there was no acknowledgement at all.
“Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
“What a nice thing to say.”
“I mean it,” he says, rotating his shoulder in a forward motion and wincing. “I was playing catch today and I think I pulled a muscle. Would you mind rubbing it for me?”
Had he just asked me to rub him down? “Of course…but let me talk to your sister first. I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Sure, go ahead. I’ll be here waiting for you.”
I walk down the hallway. The light in the bathroom was on and the door was slightly ajar. I knock once. “Kenz.”
“Yeah.” She opens the door. A washrag hangs from her right hand, and I swear she had tears in her eyes.
“You okay?”
She motions me in and I shut the door behind me.
“I’m so tired of Ryder. I know Deklan loves him and has this weird loyalty toward him. I do…but he just gets under my skin, you know?” She blows out an exasperated breath. “He is so frustrating.”
“Is this more about the new apartment or—”
“I don’t know. I mean, I trust Deklan. I do. But the thought of him having an apartment above the tattoo shop, and then sharing it with Ryder…it’s too much. I thought the whole Ryder thing was temporary. Before, I was used to hanging out with him. Now I’m just sick of his face.”
“Okay, so you trust Deklan…but you don’t trust Ryder.” I didn’t state it as a question. It was common knowledge that Ryder slept with anyone and anything. He’d proven that just this very night.
“I don’t trust him, Ange. Plus, girls already hang out at Branded just to see Deklan. He has groupies, and he’s getting even more now that Ryder is there. What will they do when they realize he lives above the shop with Ryder? He wasn’t even living at Curtis’s before and he already had overnight guests. I’ll have no control over who is there, and what if some random chick ends up spending the night and crawls into bed with Deklan?” Her voice is getting louder by the second.
“Kenz, let’s take Ryder out of the equation for now. Deklan loves you. He’s head over heels crazy about you. He watches you even when you don’t realize it, and it’s like he can’t quite believe you belong to him.”
A brow shoots up. “Really?”
“Really. He’s not going to do anything to ruin your relationship. If he could, he would change this. He’s just torn. He’s in love with you, and he loves Ryder. Think about it—Ryder’s family took him in when he didn’t have anyone. Don’t you think in a way that he’s repaying the favor by taking Ryder in now, especially when Ryder’s parents are pretty much finished with him?”
“True…but still, I had hoped when Deklan moved out that he would be alone. That we would finally have peace.”
I nudge her. “You want your man to yourself, the white picket fence and all that. Yes, I get it. And I know how nice it will be to have your own place without Terry or Curtis. Especially since it must be said that Deklan is currently living in a freaking dungeon.”
Kenzie laughs. “It’s not a dungeon.”
“Uh, yes it is. It’s freaking depressing. Just think how great it will be to have a place that’s not a practically windowless, airless basement with zero to little appeal. A downtown apartment on the second floor that overlooks the park. Now that doesn’t suck.”
“You’re right. The apartment would have an insane view of the park.”
I smile. “See, there are positives such as not having to label your food.”
Kenzie had told me about Terry’s obsession with labeling every single food item. She’s caving. I can feel it.
“I bet he’ll love having you help decorate the new place.”
Her brows lift, and I can tell her mind’s already racing. “Maybe tomorrow we can go to IKEA and pick up something for the new place.”
“You mean like a peace offering for being such a whiner?”
She frowns. “I’m not a whiner.”
“Yeah, you are. Just a little. But I think Deklan will love whatever you buy. Plus, he needs definite help in the interior design area. You do have your mother’s good taste.”
Her smile is even brighter now. “You think?”
“Um, I know.”
Her phone rings and she grins. “It’s Deklan.”
I laugh. “He’s probably still in the driveway.”
She hits the answer button. “Hey.”
Happy to have helped my friend, I pump some lotion into my hands. My hands are going to be soft, smooth, and ready to work some magic on Mr. Quarterback’s amazing muscles.
“I know, me too, babe.” Kenzie bites her thumbnail. “I was jealous at the thought of girls coming to your apartment. I know how women gravitate towards Ryder, and how he can’t say no to anyone.”
I can hear Deklan say he doesn’t want anyone but her, and the declaration gives me goose bumps.
The two are so lucky, and I hope to have what my friend has. One day…I will.
“I know. That’s exactly what Ange said.” Kenzie gives me a wink.
I just scored big points with Deklan.
“I know. I love you, too.” She laughs. “Yes, I swear.”
I smile. All is right in the world once again, and now I can get back to my own love life.
“Kenz, I’m going to watch TV with Cole for a bit.”
She gives me a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and whispers, “Thank you, Ange.”
How I’ve missed those hugs, and it’s times like these past few minutes that I hope we have more of before we both return to our respective schools for our senior year.
I give her a wink and walk back into the living room where Cole is now sitting in front of the wingback chair.
“Ready for me, huh?”
“Yep.”
Cole doesn’t move, and I’m forced to climb onto the chair in an unladylike fashion. My spread thighs rest on either side of his broad shoulders…and I’m reminded of how I had been sitting on the floor in front of Ryder earlier tonight.
He rests against me and I inhale. He smells like body spray. I want to bury my face in his hair and wrap my arms around his neck.
Of course I don’t and I won’t.
“My right trap is killing me.” He squeezes the muscle with his hand to emphasize just how much it’s hurting. The motion makes the shredded sinew flex beneath his golden skin and my mouth goes dry.
I’m incredibly motivated to help him be pain free. How many times in the past five years have I wished for a scenario just like this?
I push his hand aside and start working the muscle. He gives a satisfied grunt and I immediately gain confidence as the seconds tick by.
“Maybe a little bit of lotion would work well,” he suggests, and my confidence goes down the toilet.
I wait for him to stand up and get the lotion, but when he doesn
’t make any effort to move, I jump up and rush to the bathroom that is now empty. I hear Kenzie’s laughter coming from her room.
Grabbing the bottle off the bathroom counter, I make my way back to Cole, and I now have a skip in my step.
The lotion makes his skin more pliable and I’m able to feel the knotted muscles beneath my thumbs. Once or twice he even winces. I let up slightly and knead gently, working from the outside in.
I get a moan from him and I can’t help but smile. I am incredibly focused until he winces.
Damn it! “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he says, glancing back at me, his green eyes flashing with an intensity that surprises me. His gaze shifts to my lips.
I swallow hard, and suddenly I feel like I’m completely out of my comfort zone.
“You’ve grown up, Ange.” I hear the appreciative tone of his voice.
“I’ll be eighteen in November.”
“I know,” he says, laughing under his breath. “I have to keep reminding myself that my little sister is a woman.”
“Yep, and we grew up somewhere along the way.”
He places a hand over one of mine and squeezes. “I’m so glad you’re here. Kenzie really needs a friend. Brooke is fine and all, but she did lead her down a dangerous path. She needs someone who runs in a similar circle as you.”
I wasn’t ready to talk shit about anyone, especially a family member, but I am tempted because it’s not like Brooke has been overly nice to me. Still, I’m wary to say anything just in case. “Brooke’s good to Kenzie.”
“No, I know. I’m just saying that she can be a bit intense and doesn’t hang with the best crowd.”
There it was again, the jab about Kenzie’s group of friends.
“They’re not all bad,” I say with forced humor. “Plus, I’m sure you have a few friends that are questionable as well…or wait, are they all gorgeous jocks like you?”
Crap. The second the words came out of my mouth, I wish I could pull them back in.
“You think I’m gorgeous?” His teeth flash white.
Any regret about the outburst flees as he pulls my head down and his lips hover over mine. “You’re so pretty,” he whispers, seconds before he kisses me.
Ryder's Redemption (Badboy Rockers #2) Page 6