See You Soon

Chapter 4

Leslie's POV

He's going to Boston, tomorrow. I'm going to Boston, tomorrow. I smiled then frowned. We're going to Boston, tomorrow, Mom, Sami and I. I sighed we weren't going to be getting to Boston alone. Not in our car anyway.

"Hey Ryder?" I looked down at the still hot latte in my cupped hands. I hadn't tried it yet.

"Yeah?" He replied still looking at me as if he could read my thoughts. I kind of hoped he could because there was no question more awkward than asking an almost stranger if you could ride with them across the country because your mom doesn't make enough money to fix your damn car.

"Well, you know the condition our car is in. In no way is it fit to travel across the country." I couldn't do it. "Could you help us get the car out of the ditch and get it started?" I rushed out the last part looking down; embarrassed to ask him for more after all he had already done for me. To distract myself I lifted the coffee to my lips and took a small sip. Holy Shit!!! I savoured every last drop.

"That was delicious. What was it?" I asked, swirling what few drops remained in the bottom of the cup contemplating tossing it back.

"That was a cinnamon dolce latte. Did you like it?" He looked at me, a smirk on his face, "I told you my coffee was the best. Do you want another one?" I nodded quickly. He made me another one and we sat in awkward silence until he broke it.

"So why are you going to Boston?" He asked. I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep, the coffee or maybe the fact that he told me something so personal but I spilled.

"It's my mom's job. She works as a district manager so we're always moving so she can oversee the different locations and solve the problems that are constantly coming up."

He looked thoughtful then said, "Well at least your mom has a good job. It must pay well."

I snorted, "It should but it doesn't. Mr. Howell hasn't given her a raise since she started working."

"Is that even legal? Why doesn't she ask for a raise or just quit?" He asked.

"She doesn't have an education. She can't get another job. She dropped out of high school at fifteen to have me. She never went to college and was destined to work at Burger King for the rest of her life. She got a job and some guy found her there. He called in a favour and got her a job at Mr. Howell's company. She started off as a janitor but she worked her ass off and he promoted her only giving her a slight raise in pay." Ryder gave me my latte, "The son of a bitch continued to do this until she was a district manager and he has kept her there." I hate that man with a passion. My mom worked so hard and only got minimal pay. He was taking advantage of her and she couldn't do shit. I was getting so worked up that I visibly started to shake with anger at my mom. Ryder put his hand on my arm to calm me down. I stopped shaking and looked at his hand. He pulled it away, again. I looked at him.

"Why do you pull your hand away?" I asked with a furrowed brow.

"Do you mind?" I shook my head. He smiled then put his hand in mine and pulled me up abandoning my coffee. I whimpered at the loss and he gave a low growl. Then he kissed me.