Good Girl Gone Bad

42 | Tu Hijo De Puta.

'So why'd I have to punch that guy?'

Ryan came to stand next to me, wringing out his already bruising hand with a raised brow when I turned to face him. Shrugging, I shot him a grin and turned back to the race sign ups, making sure Valentino had actually done everything needed for me to compete.

'We had to assert dominance.'

Tilting his head with a frown, Ryan loosed a quiet laugh, 'Bullshit.'

Shrugging again, I turned away to hide my satisfied smile and thought back to the healing bruise on my stomach. A hand on my shoulder pulled me back around till I was facing him again and Ryan sighed, pinning me with a look that made me squirm.

'Fine,' I sighed, pulling up my shirt to reveal the dying bruise on my stomach, 'he was one of the people who gave me this.'

Ryan's eyes hardened, replacing the humor that had hid there previously with a thunderous look. Shit.

'That bastard?' he half growled, 'you should have told me before you insisted I hit him. I would have made sure I did more than give him a couple of bruises and a warning.'

I blinked, wondering how to react before shrugging for the third time within five minutes and grinning sheepishly. 'How did you even agree to punching him so easily? I was honestly just kidding.'

Ryan ran a hand through his hair and tugged, loosening a sigh as his eyes flickered back to my stomach momentarily. 'I saw him harassing this girl minutes after I went outside for a breath of air and remembered what you'd said. Seemed as good an excuse as any. Also, the girl was pretty cute and I got her number out of it so win-win I guess.'

I froze, turning to scowl at Ryan and trying to hide the fact that my stomach had completely dropped at his words. His eyes came to rest on my expression and he laughed, cupping my cheek gently. Against my will, I felt myself leaning into it.

'Relax, sweetheart,' he smiled softly, 'the number's somewhere in the many dustbins lining the arena. And I thought you already knew, I only have eyes for you.'

Blinking rapidly to hide the fact that his words had actually just stopped my heart, I grinned at him ruefully and batted his hand away, 'Asshole.'

Shooting me a kiss, he bowed and started walking away, backwards, 'I try my best.'

A large group of people entering the lobby behind him attracted my attention and I turned to see the rest of our friends entering, loud enough to attract half the lobby's attention and make me wince.

Ryan and I stood in the arena where the race was scheduled to happen, signing me up while the others went out to book us a hotel and grab a bite to eat. By the looks of it, they were back and rowdier than ever. Sighing, I tapped close my account on one of the many computer screens lining the hall and turned back to watch them make their way towards us, most of them munching on what looked, hopefully, like sausage rolls.

Caleb held a stack of what looked suspiciously like pamphlets of various casinos. Already, he wore a ridiculously large cap with the word Vegas scrawled across it in shockingly bright colours. In his hands, he held a tiny Vegas keychain that sparkled under the lights in the lobby and blinked with multi-colored lights.

He looked the epitome of an excited tourist. Only that with the makings of a dad joke legend and a forty year old mom excited to visit a cornfield for the day.

'Food,' I sighed in relief, half launching myself at the bag of possible nectar Avril presented when she reached us. Ryan merely waited while I ripped apart my sausage roll and only managed to grab his own from the bag when I was halfway through mine and less likely to choke myself.