"I swear, living with her is like living with a toddler. It always a competition with her, I tell you," Alice said broodingly as she paced around my room before turning to me before she plopped down on my bed stretching beside me. "Thanks for letting me crash here."
"No problem. I know how it is with parents you can't stand."
"I'm sorry. You must be sick of me ranting about my mom when you can't see your own."
"It's okay. It's not like she keeps in touch anyway," I said with a shrug and I could feel her gaze on me.
"What about your dad?"
"Business all year round. We talk sometime but not of late. You get used to it," I said and she gave me a wary smile.
I hated to paint such a picture but it was better than practically deeming them dead as they had previously suggested and I let out a quiet sigh. Unlike me, Alice's was quite real. Divorced parents who can't stay in one sitting before setting their claws on each other. Father was a businessman and the only reason he stuck around was for Alice since they shared custody, not that he's majorly around but he pops up once in a while and left his mansion open to his daughter. She would have gone there but apparently her mother has no respect for the property she is not supposed to be caught on. Yet I know deep down she loves her mother like I do mine, even though she wishes her mother didn't make a spectacle out of herself, especially with the males flings half her age.
"So what's up with you and Christian?" I asked and she looked away from me, a frown coming up on her face as she let out a sigh.
Seemingly, I was the only one who had noticed that everything they did was to keep up appearances but things were clearly different ever since that party last week.
"He thought I was cheating."
"Thought or still is," I said and she let out another sigh.
"I don't really know. He saw me talking to Cody, and thought something was up. He didn't even bother to know what was going on and did hesitate to kiss some other girl in truth or dare," she said and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "I know it's stupid but he has never done something like that before."
"It's not stupid, but is there something going on between you and Cody?" I said and she was quick to refuse.
"God no!? We are just partners in chemistry. Nothing more."
"Are you sure you don't have chemistry?" I asked and she shook her head no, before bursting out into laughter at my pun. "That's a relief."
I said and she gave me a pointed look.
"Wait, do you have a crush on him?"
"What!? No. I just happened to meet his girlfriend. Just between us , maybe it would be best if we kept a bat around," I let out in a hushed whisper and she burst out in laughter.
"That's a relief. It would have been a shame to give up my dreams on team Ryana, maybe Riana. Ryder and Diana? Which one do you prefer of the two and believe me they are the only ones that sound cute," she explained and I shook my head looking away from her regrettably as she went on rambling on about how cute a couple we'd make and I believed I could care less.
He'd been gone for a week now. Meaning, a week since I last saw him. A week since we've talked, rather argued and a week since we shared that horribly steamy make out session in that club, it wasn't horrible but if I thought he was occupying my thoughts a lot, I can admit he has taken complete control over my body and mind, I thought shifting uncomfortably on the bed. It doesn't help that the recurring dream of whatever happened haunts my nights and I swear I'm now used to taking cold showers every morning. Despite that it feels like it's been so long since I've thought about him, but between my shifts at Exotic Reads, the cafe , tutoring two freshmen and babysitting Darius, Alex and Alyson till Lisa came back from work, I barely had time to question my choices.
"What's going on with you? You've been acting really strange lately."
"Just tired. I didn't think tutoring was hard," I said and she patted my hand.
"You'll figure out. You're the smartest person, I know. Well, I mean after me," she said smiling as she flicked her hair and I laughed.
"You know that's just your opinion but no one's judging," I said and she huffed in anger glaring at me playfully and I beamed at her. "You know you're gonna have to get out of those pajamas soon."
"You're the one to speak. You haven't even showered."
"Because unlike you I don't spend an hour in the shower."
"Do you think this just happens because I let myself go?" She said and I shook my head in amusement at the irony as she pointed to her sweatpants and overly large shirt. It was almost impossible to believe this is the same girl who gets dolled up every morning, even for school. I wonder if she and Eve are distant relatives of some sort.
"Yeah, yeah, just get in the shower. And hurry up," I said to her back as she skipped off to my bathroom and I started gathering my books on the desk and putting them together waiting my turn.
For the most part, I was glad another weekend was coming so I could finally get some rest but seeing a text from Addie about a beach party we were supposed to shop for I began dreading it. An overbearing migraine slash a massive hangover wasn't the way I was planning to start my weekend.
"Diana drop Darius off at school okay," I heard a sleepy Logan yell out through the door and I refrained from rolling my eyes.
I had grown to like Logan as a friend and a brother but I was beginning to question the slump he'd become in the past few weeks. And even I can tell it's beginning to wear everyone down. Heartbreaks? Was I really that cold of a person or a hypocrite to question why he was letting it wear him down while I was having a crisis of my own, if that's what I can call it, with Ryder? It wasn't like she cared about him anyway. It was just for his adoptive parents money. Maybe I am a hypocrite, I thought heading into the shower moments after Alice finished hers, scrubbing at my skin and feeling lighter once I was done.
"Are you kidding me?" I let out part in anger and part in horror as I looked at the room which looked like a hurricane had passed through and in the middle of it someone I didn't expect to see, Ryder and weirdly I wasn't even mad about the clothes. But let's just say between being lost in my thoughts and my brains suddenly turning into mush when I saw him, I forgot to schedule in to strangle Alice for trashing my closet and room in the name of picking out my outfit or hers.
"Do you have a spy camera in the room or something, you slimy pervert that you keep showing up while I'm half naked? 'Cause I swear I will rip you into shreds if I find it," I let out angry pointing a finger at him accusingly as he stepped towards me with a smile. "Hey, what are you doing? Stay right there."
In the middle of my rant rather panic as I tried to take a reign of my emotions as he approached I forgot that one of my hands was holding onto the knot of my towel and it was like everything was happening in slow motion. Not removing his gaze from my own he reached out grabbing the towel before it reached the ground, and my blood pulsed hard under my skin as he stepped forward holding it to my body and stuck his nose to my hair before looking down at me with a smirk and I shivered visibly seeing the darkened look in his eyes.
"Babydoll, ever thought that maybe it's you who wanted to be naked around me," he said and my breath hitched at my throat as he moved his hands around me letting the towel hang lose and was angled just enough to cover my butt and my front as he hugged me and I forgot how to breath.
My body reacted, was reacting. My nipples tightened as the brushed against his chest, my breasts felt heavier than usual as a layer of goosebumps lined my skin as his cool fingers touched my spine making my back arch towards him and my breath started up in short pants, leaning towards him as I placed my hand on his where he held the ends of the towel.
"Oh, Ryder..?"
"Diana..?" He groaned softly brushing his lips against mine, pressing the hand lifting him on the wall behind me when..
"Diana, are you done.. oops sorry. I'm not here. I was never here," Alice said suddenly barging into the room and we sprang from each other watching her with slight irritation as she backed away from my room and shut the door behind her or in front of her.
Always with the worst timing. Thanks a lot Alice.
"Well, that moment is ruined," he said and what sounded like disappointment rang clear in his voice making my heart slam against my chest as I looked back at him flushed and wrapped the towel tighter around me.
"Yeah..I ..uh," I let out under my breath feeling at a loss for words worried I would say the wrong thing and his expression softened.
"I missed you," he said any eyebrows shot up in surprise as my heart slammed against my ribcage once more. He did?
"You did?"
"Of course. Who else am I going to annoy?" He said with a shrug and my heart drop. There is to hoping, note the sarcasm.
I couldn't even get my own head. I knew he liked me, at least that's what I wanted to believe and a part of me wanted him to admit it, but then comes logic and I wish he'll ever. Him admitting it would mean I had to come to terms with my own feelings, which would really not be the best thing to do. The only question is would I really be willing to put him in harm's way and by that I mean my crazy family? It's a crisis, I tell you.
"Ethan? What? All I'm saying is that he can keep an interesting banter going," I explained when he gave me a pointed look.
"True but no. I can't kiss him because he annoys me," he said and I flushed red glaring at him before his words registered in my mind.
"Wait, you kiss me because I annoy you," I asked confused and he shrugged. It didn't make sense. "Why?"
"Because."
"Because?"
"Because," he said once more and I rolled my eyes.
"You're annoying. Maybe I should punch you whenever you annoy me?"
"Let's not be hasty. My face is a money maker, you know. But I have to point out that the last time I checked, you were more than happy to have me kiss you," he said winking at me and I cursed at him in my mind as I looked away embarrassed. Jerk.
"It's too early for you to be a pain in my ass," I said trying to hide my blush with no avail and he smirked.
"You're into that. Good to know," he said surprised and musing as if he was actually thinking about it and I fumbled for words before sticking to glaring at him.
"I wonder, if, let's say hypothetically speaking, if I strangled you and buried your body in the woods would anybody in particular miss you," I said and he visibly paled before tugging on collar of his jacket and I snickered.
"Geez, you're scary when you're mad. Maybe I should start calling you beasty," he mused out loud. "To answer your question, of course. All of people love me. But in other news, you're back. I'll say being infatuated with me is not a good look on you."
He said and I regarded him stoically trying hard to show how his statement already had my head spinning.
"You are weird," I let out shaking my head and he chuckled.
"You love my kind of weird."
"Right?" I said before a knock came on the door and Alice poked her head in half covering her eyes.
"Everyone dressed?" she asked her excitement, no doubt the girl wanted to find us in another compromising position to grill me about. "So not to be the world's greatest cockblocker or anything but we're going to be late and you promised to help with our routines."
"I'll leave you girls to it. See you at school beasty," he said going out of the window making me roll my eyes and that's when I saw Ethan poking his head to wave at me and I moved forward to shut the window.
"Stay out of my room, perv," I yelled at his back and he turned to me with a salute making roll my eyes as I shut the window before turning to a giddy Alice and I crossed my arms. "What happened to my room?"
"Would you look at the time? I'll go warm up the engine. Your outfit is on the bed," she said before dashing out of my room and I let out a sigh before working fast slightly annoyed she'd messed up my colour coded clothes, buy I didn't stay mad for long as I took the outfit she'd picked out. Not something I'd wear willingly but sometimes dressing up is a girl's best therapy.
********
"Did he say why he bailed on you at the DMV?"
"Nope. Don't know, don't care. It doesn't matter anyway. I got my license either way, didn't I?" I said pulling my hair up as we got ready for gym.
"I guess. But it still bothers you, doesn't it? You might not want to admit it but I know what I saw this morning. If I came ten seconds later, you'd have kissed."
"You're reading too much into it, Alice," I said getting up from the bench. "I'm already used to it."
"You mean that's not the first time," she said loudly and most girls in the locker room turned to us and I winced inwardly before she apologized. "I'm sorry, but really? Since when do you hold out on me?"
"Sorry, but it's not like it means anything. We were doomed from the first day we met. Not important. All I'm saying is our relationship with each other is just what it is. Cordial."
"If you say so," she said doubting me but as we got out of the locker room I gave her a pointed look when I saw him flirting with another cheerleader who looked a lot like Heather.
What happened to they weren't together and all that talk of revenge if she did something to me. I still remember the dirt I found in my locker earlier this week but why am I not surprised? She probably twisted the story so she would look like the victim. But at least now I knew where we both stood, I thought as Alice looked at me pitifully.
"Sorry, I... I how dare he? No girl should go through this. Why do they never understand that?"
She said quietly tears brimming her eyes and I hugged her knowing she was thinking about Christian again.
"Hey, you know we don't need them right. There are just a bunch of hormonal idiots," I said and she smiled wiping away her tears.
"You're right. Who needs them," she said before her eyes lit up and I groaned inwardly. I knew that look. "You know what they deserve some payback."
"Alice that's not a good idea."
"Nonsense. Think fast," she said and before I could register what she her words she shove me and I tensed waiting for my body to hit the ground but it didn't and I pried one eye open to see Kyle looking down at me amused.
"Hi there."
"Sorry. Guess I don't know my own strength," Alice said almost sheepishly seemingly satisfied and I followed her side glance to see Ryder storming off. What was that about?
In other news, Alice I'm going to kill you.