Beneficial

Chapter 8.

  After I had left in huff about a week ago after meeting Brody, I had vowed not to have anything to do with him. If Riley wanted to date him, she can go ahead. But I was not going near him.

  That vow ended today because here I am, in Riley's room, helping her find something to wear for her first date with Brody. And it's defiantly not as fun as sex.

  "James, what about...James? James!" Riley snaps at me.

  "Hm?" I look up from her bedspread, her angry eyes meeting mind. She's holding up a tight and short dress on a hanger.

  "What do you think of this?" She asks, sounding very agitated.

  "No, too skimpy. Where's Brody even taking you anyway?" I question.

  "I don't know, but you're being absolutely no help." She huffs, rustling through her closet again.

  "Well aren't girls supposed to get their girl friends to help them pick out clothes for dates?" I huff back.

"Usually, but you're a guy and Brody's a guy. Guys think alike, so whatever you like, Brody will like." She informs me. I roll my eyes.

  "Not all guys are alike."

  "Well they're all pretty similar. Like you and Brody are similar."

  "I am nothing, like Brody." I state firmly.

"If you're not going to help me, then get out." She hisses at me, pointing at the door.

"Yeah because all I want to do is help my ex girlfriend get ready for a date." I retort. "And besides, you are the one who asked me to help."

"Yeah because I thought you would actually help! And what do being ex's have to do with it? It never bothered you before!" She yells at me.

"Well maybe because I have a bad feeling about this guy!" I yell back.

"Bad feeling? No, no I think you're afraid that I might actually have a future with this guy, and I won't be there at your beck and call to answer to all your needs!" She continues to yell.

  "That's so untrue! You don't realize how easy it is for me to get any other girl I want to "answer to all my needs" yet I keep relying on you for some reason!" I yell back.

  Well that shut her up. And by the looks of it, hurt her feelings a little as well.

  "Just get out. I'll find something to wear on my own."

  "Riley, I didn't mean to hurt you like-"

  "Just go! I don't care!" She yells furiously, staring me dead in the eyes. I guess that draws the line.

  "Call me after the date, alright?" I ask softly, getting up from her bed. She turns her back to me.

  "Don't count on it."

                              •   •   •

Riley didn't call me after last night, but I guess I shouldn't have expected it anyway. I was kind of a jerk last night.

I'm standing in the middle of the studio with my boys, stretching while we're waiting for Kate to start class. The girls, minus Riley, are gathered in a little huddle across the room when I see Riley walk in.

The girls immediate gather around Riley excitedly, and I can hear giggles and the words "date" float across the room.

I keep my gaze on the group of girls until their giggling die down and they finally move away from Riley.

  "Hey guys, I'll be right back." I tell my friends and make my way across the room to Riley. She's looking down at her phone, but looks up and frowns when she sees me coming.

  "So, how was your date last night?" I ask, putting a smile on my face.

  "Why would you want to know?" She snarls at me.

  "I'm really sorry about how I acted last night Ri. I don't know if I was jealous maybe, I really don't know, but I'm just really sorry." I say sincerely. She keeps her head down, fiddling with her ring, until she finally speaks up.

  "The date, it was amazing. I really enjoyed it." She states and I can see her smiling to herself. I smile too.

  "Was it better than our first date?" I tease. She looks up, a big smile on her face and laughs.

  "James, on our date, our order got lost, so we waited almost an hour for it, when it did come it was cold, you spilt your drink on the both of us, and we both ended up with food poisoning." She laughed.

  "So was your date with Brody as rememberable as that?" I chuckle. I see her blush and she ducks her head.

  "Me and Brody kissed actually. And he asked me to be his girlfriend." She replies. She looks up and her eyes, her deep, beautiful brown eyes, meet mine.

  "Well, what'd you say?" I ask.

  "I said yes. I really like him James." She responds.

  "Well, that's good. That's great Ri." I say. But I don't smile. I can't even force myself to do that.

  But she does. She smiles big, and still smiles as she turns away from me to put her phone in her bag and then walks away from me and to the girls.