Just a Little Crush(15)

If that was ever going to change, it wouldn’t be with him. I stared at my beer can, unable to make eye contact. Ryder saved me from further embarrassment by jumping in.

“I’ve never told a girl I was someone famous to get into her pants,” he said to Noah.

Noah laughed and drank.

It came back to me. I kind of hated this game. “Can I pass?”

“I’ll help,” Cassidy said with a wicked grin aimed at Ryder. “I’ve never had a threesome.”

Was she fucking kidding? What did she know? I glared at him, like I had a right to judge. He made no move.

“Never?” Cassidy tilted her head. “Huh.”

What kind of reputation did he have?

“Well, we can always change that, you know.” Her teeth grazed her bottom lip and she smirked. “I’m sure she’s game.” She pointed at me.

My face warmed and I looked at Noah, who had walked into the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to what she’d said. He stumbled a little as he reached into the fridge for another beer.

“Well?” Cassidy asked.

“Not my thing,” Ryder finally said.

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Her lip jutted out. “I have to pee.”

She could barely walk as she made her way to the bathroom.

I stared at Ryder. “What’s the point in this game?” I hissed. “To embarrass me? Prove you were right about my experience? Well, all it proves to me is you like whores, and I’m not one.”

Ryder chuckled and anger heated my face.

He leaned toward me. “The point of these games is to get them drunk. And it worked.” He stood. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.” He disappeared down the hall, toward the bathroom, and it sent me into a mini rage. What was he doing with her in there?

“Where did everyone go?” Noah slurred.

“Don’t know.”

“Sit with me in the living room.” He plopped onto the couch, a beer can dangling from his hand. He patted the space next to him but I sat on the other side of the room. He set his can on a small table and stretched out with heavy-lidded eyes.

Noah was on the verge of passing out, and the moment he did, I’d leave. It’d be easier to slip away without having to offer an explanation. I glanced down the hall. The bathroom door was open; I had no idea where Ryder and Cassidy had gone. Every second the two were missing, the more agitated I became. Not even a minute later Noah was snoring. I stood, tiptoed toward the door and placed my hand on the knob.

“Where are you going?”

I spun and stared into Ryder’s green eyes. He stood only a few inches in front of me and I tried to control my breathing. “To my dorm.”

He ran his finger along my jaw. “You’re going to tell me I did all this for nothing?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He brushed his lips against mine and I shivered. He sighed and the warmth of his breath sent heat racing through me.

“If you do that every time I kiss you, it’s going to be real hard to be good around you.” He ran his tongue along my mouth, parting my lips and sweeping it over mine.

My knees went weak and I sank against the door for support.

He captured my bottom lip and gently sucked it into his mouth. When he released it, I did something I’d wanted to do all night. I licked his lip ring, slowly tracing the silver hoop.

He groaned and grabbed my hand. “C’mon.”

I stumbled at the unexpectedness.

“Where are we going?” I whispered.

“My room.”

Wait, did he actually think that threesome thing was happening? “Where’s Cassidy?”

“His room.” He nodded toward Noah, passed out on the couch.

“You put her to sleep in his room?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“She wasn’t the girl I wanted in my bed tonight.”





Chapter Five


His bed? I stalled at the door.

Ryder glanced over his shoulder. He studied me, exhaled a big breath then faced me. With a gentle tug of my hand, he pulled me against his chest and brushed his lips over mine. “I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and glided his finger down my jaw. “In fact, I’m not even going to do all the things I want to do. But I do want to kiss you, and I think you want to kiss me too.”

Though I would never publicly admit it, I’d replayed our first kiss countless times over the last four years. And now I was actually being given the opportunity to relive it? Heck yeah, I wanted to kiss him. But everything about this situation had me going crazy. My heart pounded so hard it would surely explode. I didn’t have that much experience with guys and he seemed to have more experience than necessary with girls. The right thing to do was run but he made me want to do wrong things. He made bad choices look good.