• Chapter 13


    He caught my hand and laughed as I started to laugh.

    “You a**! I was sleeping on the floor for how many nights now when there was a couch I could have slept on!” He just smiled, then it turned a little dim and I wondered why.

    “I can help you pull it out if you want?” I nodded.

    “That would probably be nice.” I laughed and leaned up to kiss his lips quickly and pulled back and started for the backroom.

    “Push harder!” I yelled. Ryder grunted.

    “I’m trying!” He yelled. We were sweating from the effort then Ryder started to laugh and looked up at me from the other end of the couch.

    “That’s what she said.”

    I frowned. “Huh?” He laughed and put his head down. Was he blushing?

    “I’m guessing you wouldn’t have…never mind,” he said and pushed harder on the couch. It skidded across the floor and we moved it into the aisle easily. I smiled in triumph as I placed my pillow and blanket on the couch. Ryder watched me carefully with a sad sort of puppy dog look on his face. When our eyes locked he gave me a half smile. It was fake. I frowned slightly.

    “So, um, thanks. Now what do you want to do?” I asked trying to get his mood back up.

    It did a little bit. “Want to go play those cars again?”

    I grinned. “Absolutely.”

    “But we’re going to try it a little differently this time…”

    “Are you sure this is going to work?” Ryder’s hand grazed my thigh as it moved to the steering wheel of the fake car. I sat on his lap feeling a little awkward. His leg bone was digging into my butt bone. Awkward? I would think so. His lips were at my ear and I wanted to shiver every time he breathed. But that would make things worse.

    “Now you control the gears,” he said and took my hand and put it on the stick. “And the gas.” I placed my foot on the gas.

    “Get ready,” Ryder warned. I narrowed my eyes and finally felt a little more comfortable, then slammed on the gas as the race started. I shifted as Ryder steered.

    “No! Go the other way!” I yelled laughing. Ryder chuckled. Every time he moved his arms brushed mine. His car lost control as he swerved around another car.

    “Don’t miss them! Just run into them!” He burst out laughing.

    “You are really violent Trinity, you know that right?”

    I smiled and shrugged.

    We made it to the finish line in a roar of happiness. I laughed and turned to Ryder and kissed him. Surprised he chuckled into the kiss. My head swam and my body heated.

    “Player 1 has won. Next race,” the car game told us. We pulled back and grinned at each other. I always dreamed about having a boyfriend. If that’s what Ryder was now, who knows. But never once did I think it would be like this. I never read romance books or was a big fan of some of the movies. A lot of them were the helpless girls who had to have her boyfriend. This was different. It wasn’t that I had to have him; it was that I just wanted to be with him. Be around him. Touch him. I put my hand on his cheek. It was hard and he flinched just slightly under my finger. He still wasn’t used to this kind of thing. Maybe he never had a girlfriend before.

    “We need to get back to the game,” Ryder said his voice a little squeaky.

    I frowned. He pulled back from my hand and smiled lightly at me. My anger came back and I demanded to know why he did that again! He could see my face heat up with anger. He rolled his eyes. I glared.

    “Whatever,” I turned around to the game and pressed okay. I hit my foot on the gas taking out my anger and geared it to 5th. Ryder, not realizing what I was doing hit a wall to fast and blew up.

    “Trinity!” He yelled. I slammed on the breaks and he backed up. Then I pressed on the gas and gunned it. The tires squealed and fire came out the muffler as it took off. Ryder tried to get it back on the road but kept hitting things. His anger growing he pushed me forward so I hit the steering wheel. I grunted and pushed him back. He growled.

    “Stop acting like a ******** 5 year old!” he barked. No one talks to me like that!

    “Don’t talk to me like that!” I hollered.

    “Oh yeah? Why not? You’re just as bad as I am!” He reached forward and pushed me into the steering wheel again locking me there.

    “a**!” I yelled and rammed my elbow back. It got his stomach. He huffed and let go completely. I smirked. The game ended, we were in last place. I stood up and turned to look at him. He was leaned back looking comfortable. His eyes weren’t though.

    “Why do you always have to ruin things?!” I growled. He didn’t look at me. But he knew what I was talking about. “I was having a great time till you did that!”

    Ryder looked over at me his purple eyes flecked with gray. “Maybe I wasn’t comfortable with that! Did you ever think of that?!” he raged. “You are so selfish you didn’t even think!” He pointed to his head and looked away again.

    I never thought of that…Why wouldn’t he of? What is wrong with him? Am I really that selfish? I am. God, I’ve always been that way! I yelled at myself. I was about to say sorry when a pain really sharp bolted through my stomach. I clutched my stomach with a gasp. Ryder didn’t see. It hit again two seconds later almost making me double over. “Ryder!” I yelled scared.