“Hold on a sec,” he says as he lifts his phone to his ear. “Hey, bro.”
My heart stops beating.
“Just wanted to see where you are tonight cos I’m taking Sum out and I don’t want her to run into you,” he says into the phone, smirking at whatever Reid replies . Ryan stares up at me, a mischievous look taking over his face.
“You can take the bra off, too, Summer, nothing I haven’t seen before, trust me,” he says, I’m sure so that Reid can hear. I roll my eyes at his antics and take my dress into the bathroom so I can undress in peace.
I exit the bathroom twenty minutes later, dolled up and ready to party. With my black dress, I’m wearing my strappy platform heels that make my legs look longer than they really are. My brown hair is down and ironed dead straight, and my makeup consists of a brown smokey eye and a nude lip.
“Someone’s dressed to kill,” Ryan says as I walk back into my room, doing a little turn to show him the back of my dress, or lack thereof. He stands up and walks over to me.
“You look beautiful. My brother’s a dumbass,” he says, checking me out again.
“Thank you,” I tell him, meaning it. That was the perfect thing to say. I walk out, frowning when I see Xander and Dash missing in action.
“They had to go somewhere, they'll meet us out. Come on,” he says, heading to the front door. I lock up the house and slide into his car, wrinkling my nose.
“This car smells like… sex,” I say, looking at Ryan’s profile. Ryan laughs but doesn’t explain. Knowing him, he probably got some action before he came for dinner.
“How come I’ve never seen Dash hook up?” I ask, suddenly curious.
Ryan shrugs, keeping his eyes on the road. “That’s Dash’s story.”
I make a growling sound in my throat and Ryan laughs. “So glad to amuse,” I deadpan. When we pull up into a car park of an apartment complex my head snaps to Ryan.
“What the f…”
“I have to stop by and get dressed, I’m not going out like this,” he says gesturing to his jeans and T-shirt. He looks fine to me.
“Fine, go on, I’ll wait here,” I say, pulling out my phone from my handbag to keep me amused.
“I can’t just leave you here,” he says.
“You can.”
“Reid isn’t here. When I rang him he was at the bar, so you don’t have to worry about seeing him,” he says, getting out of the car and walking around to open my door for me.
“Promise?”
“I promise, babe, come on.”
We walk up the stairs and to the front of apartment number twenty eight. Ryan unlocks the door, and gently pushes me to enter before him. He turns on the lights and I walk in, checking the place out. It’s spacious and beautifully decorated, sparsely but lovely just the same. The kitchen is black and white, with red bar stools.
“This is my room,” he says opening the door to a large room, with a huge bed and probably the largest TV I've ever seen. He turns the TV on and tells me to sit, leaving the room, and returning minutes later with a vodka orange for me.
“Thanks,” I say, taking a sip. I cringe when I realise it’s mainly vodka. “If this is how you pour your drinks at the bar no wonder so many women want to go home with you,” I joke. Ryan messes my hair up with his hand and then leaves to the bathroom. I finish my drink slowly, smiling when I hear Ryan out in the kitchen. I stand up, and wobble slightly, before walking out to the kitchen to ask for a refill.
“Ryan, I…” I trail off when I see Reid standing there. What the hell is he doing here? Yes, I know this is his apartment, but come on.
“What are you doing here?” he demands, eyeing my bare feet and my empty glass. I took my shoes off and left them in Ryan’s room. When Ryan walks out a few seconds later, shirtless, I’ll admit it doesn’t look good. But when a girl walks up and stands next to Reid, I could care less how it looks.
I give Ryan the dirtiest look I can muster, but he just shrugs. “Reid, I thought you were at the bar.”
Well, at least Ryan didn’t lie to me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was gonna be interrupting something,” he says in a cold tone. He looks gorgeous as always, wearing faded jeans and a black shirt. His hair is dishevelled, like someone was running their hands through it…
“Ryan, get dressed, and let’s get out of here,” I say, putting my hands on his back to push him towards his room door. I grab the bottle of vodka from the table, realising there's no way I’m standing here with Reid and his piece of ass, so I follow Ryan into his room.
“You gonna watch?” he teases, pulling a fresh shirt out of his cupboard and shoving it on.
“Turnabout is fair play,” I joke, not wanting to think about Reid.
Reid and another woman.
How stupid am I?
“Hey, you alright?” Ryan asks softly, doing up the buttons on his shirt.
I swallow hard before answering. “I’m fine.” I take a sip of vodka straight from the bottle.
“Does this shirt look okay?” Ryan asks me. I can’t help it, I start laughing.
The door suddenly bursts open, the sound making me jump.
“What are you doing here, Summer?” Reid asks, his teeth clenching with the effort.
I look at him but don’t reply, taking another swig of vodka instead.
Who knew I was so classy? Apparently Reid brings out the best in me.