“Ninja-style?” I laughed again. “I can confirm that...she does not know karate.”
“That’s a relief.” Leaning over, he kissed my cheek. “It’s about that time.”
Unease curled low in my stomach. Party round two. It was going to be a very different party, not nearly as big as Peter’s. It was just hanging out at someone’s house, a guy from school that Hector and Rider played basketball with. Ainsley wouldn’t be with us, but I was still nervous. What if I bailed again, unable to do it? What if I didn’t talk to anyone? What if I was so worried about doing the wrong thing that I didn’t even try?
He tilted his head to the side, eyes searching mine. “We don’t have to go. We can stay here. Or go to the movies.”
Staying here would be nice. Movies would be awesome, but what did that accomplish? I shook my head. “No. I want to go.”
“Mouse...”
“I’m serious.” I ducked my chin as I picked up the sketch of me and closed my notebook. Scooting to the edge of the bed, I stood and walked over to my desk. “I want to go to the party.”
“It’s not really a party,” he said. “It’s just going to be a couple of people hanging out at a house. Not a big deal if we miss it. There will be more.”
Opening a drawer in my desk, I rooted around until I found the roll of tape. “We’re going.”
There was a pause. “Yes, ma’am.”
I cracked a smile as I taped the sketch to the wall above my desk. “Wait here?”
His eyes were on the sketch. “Not going anywhere.”
Walking out, I grabbed my makeup bag and took it to the hallway bathroom before I lost my nerve and ended up changing my mind. I pulled out the bobby pin and then ran a brush through my hair. I quickly retouched the makeup—lipstick, blush and added mascara. I figured the sweater dress and thin tights were good enough.
Rider was waiting for me like he said, and when I walked in, his gaze did a slow slide that left a wake of shivers. “I really love it when your hair is down.”
My heart did a little skip at the word love and I told my heart to stop being stupid. “Thank you.”
He rose and within three steps he was in front of me, lifting up a heavy strand of hair. “Such a gorgeous color now. Don’t get me wrong, the orange was cute...”
I rolled my eyes. “The orange was not cute.”
He ignored that. “I have no idea what I’d have to mix, color-wise, to get this shade, but I’m going to figure it out.” Then he lowered his head and kissed the freckle below my eye.
I started to lean into him, but Carl’s voice echoed through the house, and I figured that wouldn’t be the best idea. “Let’s do this.”
On the way out, I grabbed my phone and a small purse. We headed downstairs to the kitchen, where I swiped my keys off the counter.
“You guys heading out?”
We turned at the sound of Carl’s voice. “Yes.”
Carl crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on Rider. “And where are you going?”
I responded before Rider could. “We’re going to a friend’s house.”
“I thought you two were studying.” Suspicion clouded Carl’s tone.
“We were and we’ve finished.” Which wasn’t a lie.
He didn’t look like he believed us, but before he could say anything else, Rosa entered the living room. “Neither of you have a jacket?”
“We aren’t going to be outside for very long.” I glanced at Rider. He was just wearing a thermal under his shirt. At least my sweater dress was thick.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Thank you again for the sandwich, Mrs. Rivas.”
Rider had thanked Rosa so many times for the ham and cheese sandwich she’d made us when he first came over that I was seriously starting to believe that he was really afraid of her.
Carl eyed Rider stonily. “Her curfew is eight.”
“What?” My eyes widened as my grip tightened on the keys. “My curfew has always been eleven.”
Rosa stepped forward, placing a hand on Carl’s shoulder. “Make sure she is home before eleven.”
“I’ll have her back by eight,” said Rider, and my mouth dropped open. Before I could say anything, he added, “I promise.”
Carl’s lips were pressed in a thin line, and I waited for him to thank Rider or something, but all he did was nod curtly. Anger pricked at my skin. Rosa was trying, kind of, but Carl wasn’t. At all.
I reached down, wrapping my hand around Rider’s. A muscle throbbed along Carl’s temple, and I squeezed Rider’s hand. I didn’t say anything until we were outside, in the bright sunlight.
“I’m sorry about Carl,” I said. “He’s just...really protective.”
“It’s okay.” Rider dropped my hand as we neared my car, and I knew that it really wasn’t okay. “I understand.”
I frowned. “Understand what?”
He lifted a shoulder as he snatched the keys out of my hand. “Everything.”
* * *
The large, rundown industrial building across from the ancient row homes reminded me a little of Rider’s abandoned factory. Windows were boarded up and the faded red brick was covered from the ground to the roof in graffiti. I knew it wasn’t Rider’s, because it wasn’t nearly as beautiful, but it did create an odd combination of dull shades and bright, in-your-face color.
Rider pulled into a parking lot that was partially enclosed with high, chain-link fencing. Half the fence had fallen down, and someone had piled up the broken sections in one corner of the lot. The off-white pavement threatened to crumble beneath our feet as we walked out.
“Is it okay for the car to be parked here?” I asked. I’d never been to this neighborhood, but I knew it wasn’t too far from where he lived.
Rider nodded as I dropped my keys into the purse. “No one will mess with it.”
I wasn’t necessarily worried about anyone messing with it. More like it getting towed away due to all the No Trespassing signs plastered everywhere.
Rider took my hand as we crossed the narrow street. “This is Rico’s place. It’s not the nicest, but we won’t be bothering Mrs. Luna by hanging over here when she gets home from work.”
My throat had dried as we climbed the wide steps. Rider didn’t even knock. Just opened the door and we went right inside. Laughter echoed through the dark entryway and there was that rich, earthy scent.
“Hey, man,” an older guy said. He was sitting in a recliner, a tall bottle in his hand. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” replied Rider. He squeezed my hand. The living room was full of people. My gaze darted nervously as Rider started to introduce me to the guys in the room. I recognized Rico, but I hadn’t seen anyone else before.
“This is—”
“Mallory,” a familiar voice said from behind us. Paige.
I stiffened as Rider turned halfway. “Hey there,” he said as she handed him a cup. Not me. Just him. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Her gaze flickered over me. “Nice dress.”
I had a feeling that wasn’t necessarily a compliment. She looked amazing, as usual, in skintight black jeans and a strappy tank top in a shimmery, silvery color. How was she not cold? Maybe it was because she was the devil.
The devil that spoke the truth.
“Thanks,” I murmured anyway. Those were pretty much the only words she’d spoken to me since the day in the hallway when she told me I was going to break Rider’s heart. I knew they still sometimes talked. I was okay with that as long as I didn’t get dragged into conversations with her.
Paige arched a brow. She didn’t just walk past us into the living room. She sashayed, swinging hips and all. She sat on the couch, in between two older guys who nodded at Rider. They were focused on the TV, their fingers flying over the game controllers.
“There’s shit to drink in the kitchen.” Rico nodded in my direction. “If she wants something.”
“Cool.” Rider tugged me around and we walked do
wn the hall, into a sparse kitchen. Empty beer boxes were piled next to an overflowing trash bin. He placed the cup Paige had handed him onto the counter and then walked to the fridge. A sharp smell hit the air when he opened the door. “There’s some Mountain Dew in here. That work for you?”
I nodded. “So does Paige hang out here a lot?”
He shrugged as he handed a can over to me then grabbed one for himself. “Sometimes. Rico’s a friend of her family.”
“You’re not going to drink...what Paige gave you?”
“Nope.”
For some stupid and most likely childish reason, I was happy to hear that. Rider curled his hand around the nape of my neck and lowered his head. When he spoke, his warm breath danced over my lips. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” I murmured. “We just got here.”
“I’m checking in, though.” His head tilted slightly, and I shivered. “I’m going to do that a lot, and when you want to leave, you just tell me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He kissed me softly and then pulled away. I felt my cheeks heat as we walked back toward the living room. Rider stopped at the doorway. “Where’s Hector?”
“Upstairs.” Rico sipped from the bottle.
Rider glanced down at me. “Want to see what he’s up to?”
“Sure,” I said, trying to speak louder, but it came across as a whisper.
He smiled anyway and then led the way. The upstairs was slightly cooler than below, and Rider seemed to know where we were heading, because he went straight to the second door and rapped his knuckles off it.
“Yo,” came the response.
“It’s me. You busy? I got Mallory with me.”
“Yeah, give me a sec.”
There was a sound of something creaking and then a girl giggled. My brows flew up, and Rider winced. “Hey, we can come back,” he called out, grinning at me. “Don’t want—”
The door swung open. Hector was straightening out his shirt with one hand. We had so interrupted something. “Nah. No problem. Come on in.”
“You sure?”
Hector nodded as he opened the door the rest of the way. A dark-skinned girl sat on the edge of the futon. She smiled when we walked in and gave a little wave.
A candle was burning on a dresser, and it reminded me of sugar cookies. I wondered whose room this was. Then again, it didn’t really look like a bedroom.
“Have you met Rider?” Hector asked the girl, and she nodded. “Cool. Uh, this is Sheila and that’s Mallory.”
Sheila smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I murmured.
Hector walked over to a dark red beanbag and plopped down in it. “So when did you guys get here?” he asked as we sat on the futon next to Sheila.
“Just a little bit ago,” Rider answered.
Hector glanced over at me before continuing. “Everyone still downstairs?”
He nodded. “Rico and the guys are playing one of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games. Looks pretty serious.”
Chuckling, Hector reached up and snagged a clear glass off the small end table. “Sounds like normal. You guys planning to hang out for a while?”
“Maybe.” Rider knocked his knee off mine. “We might catch a movie or something. Not sure.”
“Sounds good. You catch the game earlier?” Hector asked, and as the boys started talking about a basketball game, I glanced over at Sheila. She was looking down at her phone, scanning what appeared to be Facebook.
There was so much I could say right now, so many questions I could ask. Options were limitless, but my tongue felt heavy. I started to look away, but stopped myself. That wasn’t what I needed to do. I needed to speak. I needed to not do what I normally did, which was just shut down.
I forced my lips and tongue to move. “So...do you go to Lands High?” There. I did it. And I managed not to smile like a fool, too.
Sheila looked up. “No.” She grinned. “I actually go to Howard University. I’m just home visiting for the weekend.”
“Oh.” Surprised, I glanced over at Hector, but neither of the guys were paying attention to us. “Um, what...what are you studying?”
She hooked a long leg over the other. “Education. This is my first year.”
“That’s...that’s cool. Did you...always want to go into education?”
“Pretty much,” she replied, and I was envious, because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Or maybe I was, but Carl and Rosa weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea. “What about you? You planning college?”
I nodded as I set my soda on the floor. “University of Maryland. I’m not...sure what I’ll study yet.”
“You’ll figure it out. There are juniors at my college who still don’t know what they want to do.” Her phone dinged. “So you all go to the same school?”
I nodded. The conversation between us slowed and I focused on what the guys were talking about. They’d moved on from basketball to football, and I lost track of time. Maybe an hour passed when Hector rose and so did Sheila.
“We’re heading downstairs,” Hector announced, walking to the door.
“We’ll be down in a minute.”
Hector’s grin was sly as he closed the door behind them. “Sure. Sure. Take your time.”
I twisted toward Rider. “Why—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish speaking. His mouth was on mine in a sweet, all-too-quick kiss.
“Proud of you,” he murmured against my lips, and I smiled, because I knew what he was talking about. The small conversation I held with Sheila wasn’t much, but it was a big deal. I was out of my element, but I hadn’t just sat there, paralyzed.
Placing my hands on his chest, I smiled against his lips. “She seems really nice.”
“Yeah.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’m pretty sure we totally interrupted them.”
I giggled. “Yes. I think we did, too.”
“We’re such terrible friends.” He cupped my cheek. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m so going to take advantage of the fact that we’re alone.” He paused, and my stomach dipped like I was on a roller coaster. “What do you think about that?”
I lowered my hand to his knee. “I think...I think I’d like that.”
“Good.” He tilted his head. “Because I think I’m really, really going to like that.”
Rider kissed me then, and it was slow and soft, and it warmed my blood. I didn’t know how long the velvety, supple kiss went on, but after endless moments it changed, deepened. His tongue moved against mine, and I...I’d never been kissed like that before. Never felt anything like that before.
He made this noise in the back of his throat, and my heart was thundering in my chest as he leaned into me. Somehow, I ended up on my back and Rider was beside me on the futon. His hand slid down my arm, and it was just him and me. I wasn’t thinking about this odd room or the people downstairs. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than how he made me feel, how he kissed me, touched me, like I was something precious and invaluable to him.
My hands had a mind of their own, and I was touching him in ways I’d never done before. I tugged on his thermal and Rider immediately responded. He lifted up and reached around to the nape of his neck. Grabbing a fistful, he pulled his thermal and shirt off in one smooth movement.
I sucked in air as I got an eyeful of Rider shirtless. It was... Wow. Except for TV and movies, he was the first guy I’d seen bare-chested in real life. Carl didn’t count, because that was, well, weird.
“You can touch me if you want,” he offered.
I wanted.
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