“Tee said she will drop by tomorrow,” she assures me. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell any of us she was coming home!”
I can only imagine what Sasha and Tee will get up to together, and the thought makes me shudder.
“I spoke to Tee on the phone today, and I hear this Lexi girl is a total babe,” Sasha tells me, her purple lips curving. I clear my throat. “She is, isn’t she? Are you gonna ask her out? I’ve heard she’s a cool chick, Tee told me she has no family or anything. She and Tee have been inseparable since they met,” Sasha says thoughtfully.
Lexi has no family? The thought saddens me. It must be lonely, I don’t know how I would survive if I didn’t have my family at my back.
“There’s a family function coming up anyway, so we can all catch up then,” Sasha announces, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“What family function?” I ask, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Sasha puts her hands on her hips. “Jet’s birthday, remember?”
“Oh shit, yeah, I forgot. That’s gonna be a bucket load of fun,” I say sarcastically. Sasha huffs in agreement. There’s a knock on the door and I stand up, ready to hand out threats to the latest man that’s caught my baby cousin’s eye.
I don’t want to see her hurt again.
*****
Chapter 4
Lexi
Tee and I are playing band hero and laughing our asses off when Ryder finally gets home, his hands full of bags of food. I’m on guitar, and Tee is banging away on the drums. Tee presses pause when the food arrives.
“Yay! What did you bring us, Ry?” she asks, walking over to him.
“Pizza and some groceries. Mostly drinks and snacks for you guys,” he says, placing everything down on the kitchen table. That’s really nice of him. Tee pulls out two plates and loads them with pizza, bringing one over to me.
“Thanks,” I say, feeling a little awkward. Here we are, gate crashing his house, and he’s buying us food and treating us like guests. The pizza smells delicious; pepperoni with cheese dripping off the sides. My stomach growls loudly before I take a huge bite.
“What’s the plan for tonight?” Ryder asks us as he picks up his own slice.
“I’m going out,” Tee announces.
“Where?” Ryder asks, standing straighter.
“Just out,” Tee replies, her dark brown eyes narrowing.
“Where?” Ryder repeats harshly.
“A guy I met asked me out to dinner,” Tee tells him, picking at her pizza.
“You just got here yesterday. When the hell did you have the time to pick up a guy?” Ryder asks.
Tee just shrugs. I laugh at the look on Ryder’s face. He looks like he wants to strangle her. I see him exhaling deeply. Then he pins those mysterious gray eyes on me.
“Looks like it’s just me and you tonight then,” He grins, like he’s pleased about that.
I gulp.
*****
Tee gets dolled up and leaves the house, but not before asking me a million times if I wanted her to stay home. I tell her it’s fine, I’m just going to have an early night anyway. Tomorrow we’re spending the day looking for apartments. Fun, I know. Tee kisses me on the cheek, and before heading out I hear her call out to Ryder to keep an eye on me. I laugh out loud when I hear Ryder complaining about her outfit, or lack thereof. He’s so protective of his family, it's adorable. I have a quick shower and change into my pajamas. About ten minutes later, Ryder taps on my door and walks into my room, taking a seat on my bed.
“Wanna play?” he asks, gesturing at my guitar. His eyes light up animatedly.
“Okay, but only if you sing,” I tell him.
“You drive a hard bargain, queen of hearts,” he says, chuckling, as he picks my guitar up.
“Queen of hearts?”
“Your new nickname,” he says proudly.
“How the hell did I get that nickname?” I ask, confused.
“It’s a secret,” Ryder mock whispers, passing me the guitar.
“Can you play any Three Doors Down?” Ryder asks.
“Yeah, how about ‘Here Without You?’” I offer. It’s one of my favourites.
“Perfect!” he beams.
I start strumming my guitar, and almost melt when he sings the first few lines. His voice is perfection; deep and soulful, husky. It gives me goose bumps. After we finish the song, Ryder looks at me, his brows drawn.
“You are f**king amazing on that thing!” he finally says.
“Thanks,” I say, blushing. “But I’m not so great compared to you.”
He smiles, dropping his gaze. “What kind of music do you like?” he asks, directing the subject away from his talent.
“A bit of everything really, but mainly R&B,” I tell him honestly. He actually cringes, causing me to laugh.
“R&B, really? I think I need to educate you a little while you're staying here.” I roll my eyes. “One more song?” he asks. I nod, starting to play the intro of a Mario song.
“Not an R&B song though,” he clarifies quickly. I laugh.
“Okay how about Incubus 'Love hurts'?” I ask. Ryder looks impressed.
“Good choice, that one I can do,” he says, his lip curling up.
And that’s how I spent my evening. Talking, playing music, and letting Ryder’s beautiful voice take over me. Around eleven I yawn.
“Tired?” Ryder asks gently.