But Why Not

Chapter Fifteen

"Erin." I heard Ryder whisper. "You gotta get up. We have to go to school."

I slowly opened my eyes. Ryder has his arm around my waist holding me to his side. I grinned at him. "Good morning." I responded sleepily.

He smiled and kissed my forehead, "You're so cute."

"Mmm thank you." I mumbled snuggling deeper into Ryder's warmth.

"Oh no you don't." he said kissing my cheek. "We gotta get up."

I groaned but sat up. "Can't we just skip school?"

"As tempting as that sounds, you got in enough trouble yesterday. I don't want to get you in more trouble."

"Fine." I huffed as I tossed the covers aside and tumbled out of the bed.

I picked up my jeans from the floor as Ryder disappeared into his closet. I rummaged around in my gym bag till I found a t-shirt I had thrown in there weeks ago and never worn.

Emerging from the bathroom changed, I stopped in the doorway openly gawking at Ryder. He was wearing a tight, black, cotton shirt that hugged his biceps and muscular tummy. He looked amazing.

"Like what you see?" Ryder asked standing up from his bed smirking.

I blushed and nodded looking away. Ryder pulled me tightly to his chest. "Ah, my shy girl. Don't be embarrassed. It's cute when you blush. Red is a good color on you." I laughed. "Now, how about I take you to get breakfast?" he asked pecking my lips lightly.

I grinned and nodded.

Ryder and I made our way downstairs hand in hand. Ryder opened the front door and I was shocked to see Zach leaning against his truck outside. Ryder's face immediately darkened. "Erin, go back inside." he growled not looking at me.

"But-" I tried to object.

He finally looked at me his eyes pleading, "Please, Erin. Just go inside. I don't know what will happen and I don't want you to see this if it gets ugly."

I glanced at Zach. He was know standing straight with his fists clenched at his sides. He looked pissed and ready to fight. I turned back to Ryder. "Just be careful." I said quietly before going back inside.

I went into the leaving room and peaked out the window.

Zach crossed into Ryder's yard yelling, "Why can't you just leave her alone, man? She had a perfectly good life and now she's jeopardizing it for you!"

Ryder held up his hands. "Hey, it's not my fault she chose me. She's a big girl, Zach. She doesn't need you or her parents helping her make decisions. She can handle that on her own." he responded calmly.

"That's exactly the attitude you've put in her head!" Zach yelled swinging wildly at Ryder.

Ryder stepped back just shy of the punch. "Zach! Calm down, dude! We can talk this out without fighting."

I have known Zach my entire life and I have never seen him that angry.

"Erin is my best friend and you took her! I don't even know who she is anymore. And I can blame it all on you!" he screamed throwing another punch. This time Ryder wasn't so lucky. The punch caught him on his jaw. I cringed. His head whipped back surprised.

I expected Ryder to fight back but instead he surprised me. He took a deep breath and apologized, "Zach, I'm sorry. Okay? I didn't plan to take Erin from you. I didn't coerce her into anything. She did everything willingly. I didn't tell her to choose me over you. And I don't think that's how she sees it at all. She chose to go with me because you're controlling her too much. She made her own decision thinking about herself not about pleasing you or her parents."

Zach stood there breathing heavily. It seemed the worst was over. I went and opened the front door. Both boys looked at me. I stood beside Ryder.

"Erin, get in my truck." Zach said without looking at me. "He is a bad influence and you need to get away from him. Get in the truck now."

My heart dropped. After everything Ryder had just told him, that was incredibly true by the way, he still didn't care. All he cared about was winning me from Ryder.

I slipped my hand into Ryder's. "No." I said strongly, "You don't know what's best for me, Zach. I don't care if you are my best friend, you still don't know what's best for me. Only I know that. Leave before you cause more trouble."

Zach stared at me stunned and hurt. "I don't even know who you are anymore." he said before turning and climbing into his truck.

There you go. New update!

You get a little dip into the drama that is brewing! Do y'all feel sorry for Zach?

Thank you guys so much. I've been getting so much positive feed back and I'm so glad you guys like this book!

Avery