When he sees me, his stormy gray eyes light up. I see him give me a once over and clearly he likes what he sees. The feeling is mutual.
“Hello, beautiful,” he says huskily, walking forward to meet me. That one word sucker punches me right in the gut. It’s what Kade calls me.
“Hey, Ry,” I greet, leaning on my tip toes to give him a kiss on his cheek. He smells delicious, that familiar cologne he always wears.
He puts his hand on the small of my back, gently leading me inside. The waitress seats us, and we start making small talk. I try to purge my mind of all things Kade, but I can’t stop thinking about him, and it’s completely ruining my date. Hell, lots of women would love to be in my place right now. Ryder is drop dead gorgeous, attentive, tattooed, and a talented musician. What woman wouldn’t want that? “So, I hear you are interning at a public relations firm.”
“Yeah, it’s a good start for me. I’m enjoying it,” I tell him honestly.
After we eat, we head over to Club Deception. Ryder knows how much I love to dance. I down a few shots and head to the dance floor with Ryder following behind me, his hands on my hips. We’re dancing to Ke$ha’s “Crazy Kids”, grinding on each other, and having a great time. I can feel that he's hard, aroused. In a swift move Ryder spins me around, and kisses me hungrily. He tastes good and he is a f**king amazing kisser, but I find myself just not feeling anything. He notices because he quickly pulls away, his face now blank. Fuck, I don’t want to hurt Ryder, but he's just not Kade.
“Want me to take you home, Nicole?” he asks knowingly. Only Ryder calls me Nicole, he knows I hate it.
“Yeah. Thanks for tonight, Ryder. I had fun.” And I did, or at least, I tried. Fucking Kade.
“I know you and Kade have something going on, but I’m here. If you ever need to talk, call me,” he says, staring into my eyes.
“Thanks, Ry,” I say, giving him a warm hug. Ryder drives me home, as I’m too tipsy to drive. I tell him I’ll get my car tomorrow.
When I make it home, Kade isn’t there. Only James is.
“Hey, Nik, have fun tonight?” he asks as I walk into the kitchen.
“Yeah, I did. What have you been up to?” I ask him, curious as ever. Layla and I have come up with random theories on what James does in his spare time. FBI agent, cross dresser, male stripper, and spy have all been mentioned. So has the idea that James has a secret family with a wife and kids. All insane, we know.
“Oh, just busy.” James, vague as ever.
We chat for a bit before I head to my room. As I’m getting ready to go to bed, my phone rings. It's Layla. “Hey.”
“Hey, I stopped by tonight, and Kade said you were out on a date. Who were you with?” Nosey Layla.
I sigh. “Um, Ryder.”
Silence. “My Ryder? Ryder, Nikki? Well, how was it? I want details!”
I go over the date with her, and she just listens. “What you need to do, Nikki, is give Kade a chance. You never know what will happen unless you try.”
We talk for a few minutes more before we hang up. I let her know I’ll talk to her tomorrow.
When I wake up the next morning, my car is parked out the front. Ryder. Whoever lands him is going to be one lucky woman.
Chapter Eleven
KADE
I can’t f**king believe she's going on a date! Who the f**k is she going out with? I have backed off a bit since her fight with Ashley, mainly because I don’t know how to handle the situation. She and Ashley hate each other. How am I supposed to juggle my best friend and the girl I want? I never should have backed off. Then I come home, and find her straddling James in the gym. I know nothing was going on there, but f**k, it looked bad. I was livid. I was just giving her some space, which I thought she needed. I still want her. God, her being out with some ass**le is killing me right now. James comes into my room. “What the f**k, man?”
“Nikki is out on a date,” I seethe.
James's eyebrows shoot up. “With who?”
“I don’t f**king know,” I growl.
“Well, maybe if you got your head out of your ass she wouldn’t have turned to another man,” he says nonchalantly.
With that he leaves my room.
I’m sitting on the couch, when Layla walks in and asks where Nikki is. I tell her she’s out on a date, and even Layla doesn’t know who she’s out with. She leaves a few minutes later.
I’m not going to sit here all night, if I do I’m just gonna get more f**king pissed. I quickly call up Derek. “Hey man, busy tonight?”
“Not at all. Wanna go grab some beers?” he asks.
“Yeah, meet up at our usual place?”
“Yeah, see ya,” Derek says before hanging up.
After a few rounds, the tension is slowly dissipating. A few women come up and offer to come home with me, but I decline each one.
All I want is Nikki.
A few shots later my phone rings.
“Yeah?” I bark into the phone.
“Kade, man, it’s Ryder.”
“Hey man, haven’t talked to you in a while, what’s up?”
“You need to get your head out of your ass before you lose Nikki for good,” he says infuriatingly.
“None of your business, man,” I tell him frankly
“Actually it is, seeing as I just had a date with her, and took her home because when we kissed, she only thought of you.”
Fucking hell, she went on a date with Ryder?