Forbidden Love

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Skylar

I may have let him off the hook too easily. Why should my affection be earned by a deal? Did I make a mistake proposing that deal?

These were the things that I thought as I got ready for my date with Ryder. I was standing in front of the mirror, assessing my outfit as Cairo bounced on my bed. She was totally excited for me.

"I don't know. Does this outfit look alright," I ask her.

"Yeah, you look fine," she assures me.

I fiddle nervously with the end of my dress. It had white lace arms with intricate designs. The top half was white and the bottom half was dark blue. It was separated by a black belt. The dress was very beautiful, I have to admit, but it's short.

"Have fun," she tells me as I walk down stairs.

Cairo had apologized to me a week ago, the day pnemonia went away. Someone had slashed Dejah's car and long story short, her Dad wouldn't let her leave the house to go the party. This wasn't the first time that had happened to one of the cars. Left without a ride, Cairo had called Ethan to pick her up. But he didn't answer. So she called another one of Dejah's friends, Troy. He was punished too, but his parents were at the store so he quickly went to pick her up. When she asked him to drop him off the party, he said he didn't have enough time. So he dropped her off at the gas station that was fifteen minutes away from Ryder's house, at her request. All of this happened before it started raining, and as soon as she got home, she went to sleep.

Nothing that happened was her fault, so I totally understood.

I walk out of my old room and downstairs. Ryder stood by the front door, looking effortlessly handsome with light blue jeans and a white button-up.

I was expecting him to say that I look nice. He didn't.

"I don't like that dress. It's too short," he says.

I give him my deadpan face. "Ryder, I really like this dress."

"I don't. You can see too much legs. Those beautiful legs will cause attention,: he growls. I refrain from rolling my eyes.

"Please go change into some jeans or something," he asks. I knew it was an accident, but he just commanded me to do something. My body turned on its own accord to walk back to my room.

I hear him yell, "I'm sorry," as I climb up the stairs. I want to be angry with him, we had made a deal after all. But, I just couldn't put the blame on him. He said please and he asked. It was just an accident.

You just love making excuses for people don't you? You know he wouldn't have to be so careful if he'd never bitten you in the first place?

My mood goes down by the time I go downstairs again. This time in a black shirt that said "I'm Not A NERD. I'm Just Smarter Than You." I wore a pair of acid wash jeans and some black tennis shoes.

"I really am sorry about that," Ryder apologizes again. I was too consumed in my thoughts to respond.

This was a stupid deal to make. Ryder can just be joking and my body will instantly take it as a command.

"I don't know, Ryder. This was a mistake. I mean-" he stops me by leaning in for a kiss. He was doing it slowly, as if asking for permission. I don't say anything, and he takes that as a yes.

As soon as his lips press against mine, all doubt is erased. I don't even know why I felt doubt.

"Alright, let's u-uh go," I stutter. We had never actually kissed like that. A kiss that left me breathless. A kiss that left me craving more.