𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 | ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩 𝟏𝟖

I never imagined I'd be shopping with Ryder, but I've been finding myself saying that a lot lately, none of this has been imaginable.

Though, I think I've actually been enjoying myself. As we strolled through a few stores, we laughed and exchanged bits of information about each other. He shared a few details about his life, - where he grew up, and what he does for a living, and I reciprocated by sharing a few things about myself. I listened intently, hanging on his every word.

"Wait, you're scared of mice?" I question with a mixture of amusement and disbelief, trying to hold back my laugh as I look up to see his serious face. This big scary, 'intimidating' man is scared of itty bitty mice. "Yes, you should be too." He warns, I can't help but look up at him with a stifled chuckle.

"There's something about their beady little eyes," he continued, his voice low and filled with disgust. "They look like they're plotting an evil plan against you, and there's just so many of them—" He shakes in disgust, as if trying to rid himself of the image.

"I know it's dumb, but I just can't help it." He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. "Well, I guess we'll just have to make sure there are no mice around then, won't we?" I tease, as we enter another clothing shop.

As I made my way towards the rack of clothes, I could feel his presence behind me. He stood close, patiently watching as I browsed through the options. Eventually, I have a handful of clothes in my hands and we make our way to the changing rooms.

He sauntered over to the plush lounge chair and sank into it, leaning back comfortably. He hasn't shown an ounce of annoyance or boredom this whole time, I assumed he would've grown impatient following me around while I shopped. He's actually proved me wrong in many ways lately, he doesn't seem to be the arrogant jerk I met two weeks ago.

I swing the curtain open, dramatically revealing myself in a dress to Ryder. As he lifted his eyes from the screen of his phone, a smile spread across his face. He studies me head to toe, but not in a sleazy way— almost in a way like he's looking at me with admiration. "It looks good."

I pin him with a look, "Are you just gonna say that about everything I try on?" I cross my arms, tilting my head a little in accusation. "As long as it looks good on you, yeah." I notice the way his lips curled into a small smirk, revealing a hint of playfulness, before he goes back to scrolling on his phone.

I roll my eyes before walking back behind the curtain again, changing into another dress. again, I walk out to show him. He's now sat on the edge of the lounge, legs spread and his form hunched over with his face still down into his phone.

"What about this one?" I grab his attention again. "No." He responds with a blunt reply that causes me to frown in offence. "I'm kidding, Vivienne," his tone softening. "You look good in everything." I feel my heart suddenly miss a beat at his comment, and I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, revealing the dimple on his cheek. "What?" I chuckle a little in confusion.

He held up his hands in surrender, "Hey, I'm just here to offer my opinion." I decide to ignore it, heading back into the room to change. I grab all the clothes and head back out towards the register, Ryder coming up behind me.

We pay — actually, he paid, he insisted. — and he picks up the bag, adding to the rest of the collection he also insisted on carrying. "I think we're done." I say as we walk side by side through the mall, "If you say so, ma'am." he teases, but I don't acknowledge his words, my attention drawn to a figure in the distance. It was Luka, making his way towards us.

I thought he was busy today?

He doesn't seem to notice me, so I waited until he was within earshot and called out his name. when he lifts his head to me, I smile at him, trying to cover my confusion. I took a few steps forwards, leaving Ryder behind me as I approached Luka. "Hey." I sound uncertain as I wrap my arms around him, bringing him into a hug. "Hey" he says into my hair, but when I pull away, his eyes are staring over my shoulder.

As I turned around, Ryder stood right in front of me, catching me off guard. "Oh—Luka, this is Ryder, Ryder this is Luka." As I stood before them, I felt a knot forming in my stomach. I knew I had to introduce them, but my nerves were getting the best of me. With a forced chuckle, I began to speak, stumbling over my words as I nervously introduced them to each other.

"You must be her— husband. " Luka says, his voice unamused and a little irritated. They're both kinda just staring at each other, completely ignoring my existence in between them. "I sure am," Ryder responds proudly, with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, "and you are?" he questions, "Her boyfriend?" Luka frowns in confusion, his eyes flicking to me and back at Ryder.

I know that Ryders just being an asshole, I want to get out of here as quickly as possible. "Oh, Vivienne's never mentioned a boyfriend before?" He jokes with a sly grin on his face. I'm quick to elbow Ryder in the arm, before reassuring Luka, "He's kidding!" Without missing a beat, I gently guided Luka away from Ryder, putting some distance between us.

"What? I thought it was obvious." He chuckles again, "Don't worry big guy, I'm in a happy relationship." He spoke his piece and then fell silent. As Ryder made his announcement, Luka's tense expression began to ease.

Eventually, I've said kissed Luka goodbye, before Ryder and I continued to head out. As we're walking in silence, I hesitate to ask, but my curiosity gets the best of me. "you have a girlfriend now?" my voice is quiet and reluctant, "No, I just wanted to help his poor self-esteem, he seemed pretty jealous." He responds, causing me to roll my eyes in irritation.

"God, you're such an asshole. You need to humble yourself." As the words left my lips, a group of young girls walked by, their eyes fixed on him. They couldn't help but giggle and gawk as they passed. With a roll of my eyes and a scoff, I made it clear that I was not impressed. However, he didn't seem to care. Instead, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer, as if trying to claim me as his own. The girls shoot me a few dirty looks as they walked away.

I release myself from his grasp, looking up at him with a perplexed face. "what was that?" I question, still irritated with him. "I wanted to help your poor self-esteem, you seemed pretty jealous," he repeats, causing him to grunt and storm further in front of him as he chuckles behind me.

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AN/ word count - 1238