CHAPTER TEN —
THE SPOT.
RYLAND SAT IMPATIENTLY AGAINST THE CAR AS HE WAITED FOR RYDER to make her way down the stairs. She had been snatched away by Mia almost a half an hour prior and only then was she finally ready to go.
There was something he admired about the way she looked so pretty without any effort. It wasn't even like the was dressed up, in fact, she only wore sweatpants and a crop top and still Ryland was awed.
Maybe it was the way she carried herself that made him so attracted to her. She always stood upright and she walked with a calculated precision that he'd never seen before.
"Finally," he scoffed, looking her up and down as the girl stopped dead in her tracks and crossed her arms. "Lose the fucking attitude or I'm goin' right back inside to hangout with anyone else but you."
Ryland couldn't help but smile and shook his head, opening the car door before he fell into the drivers seat. He hesitated for a moment before leaning over to push open her door, his smile the first thing she saw before she sat down.
"Can't say I'm not a gentleman—"
"You're supposed to open the door from my side and then get in the car," Ryder cut him off, resting her head back on the seat as she heard him start the car. She was trying her hardest not to be quiet but there was something about him that just made her feel like she shouldn't talk.
As if he picked up on her silence, he leaned over and turned up the music before focusing his eyes on the road. He hadn't told her a single detail about the day he had planned and that was simply because he hadn't planned anytning. He just wanted a chance to see how she acted when it was only him and her.
Ryder suddenly sat up and snatched his phone, grinning when it was void of a password. She could see him looking at her from the corner of his eye and saw his knuckles go white as she laughed loudly.
"Chill out, I just wanna change the song. I don't care about your little Hollywood hoes."
Ryland scoffed at the statement and turned to fully face her as he rolled to a stoplight. "Who said I had hoes?" He asked defensively, his eyes narrowed as he watched her scroll through his songs with a shrug.
"Everyone has hoes out here."
"Facts though, I mean, Jaden has you—"
"Shut the fuck up," Ryder snapped, her face no longer showing any other emotion than pure anger. She was appalled that he had the nerve to bring up Jaden, especially when he had practically forced her to hangout with him.
Ryland quickly shook his head and closed his eyes, the words for the apology coming short because he had never really had to apologize to a girl before. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
She didn't say anything as he began to drive again, her head turned to look out the window so she wouldn't have to look at him. When he finally noticed, Ryland sighed and reached over to pinch the skin just above her elbow as she jumped in her seat.
"Bitch—"
"It's not my place to ask but it's kinda bugging me to know what the deal is with you guys anyway," he finally blurted, wincing when he realized how insensitive he sounded. He wasn't good at a lot of things but talking to girls about feelings was definitely the highlight of the list.
Ryder was silent for a moment, or rather, a bit longer than a moment. She didn't talk until he finally pulled into a gravel parking lot off the road and put the car into park.
She still refused to utter a word even when he got out of the car and his way over to her side, opening the door before he held out his hand for her to take. After eyeing it warily, she did so and following him down a small path until they reached the underpart of a bridge.
Ryland took a seat first, nodding his head in a way to inform her that she might as well follow his lead and so she did so, dropping into the grass besides him.
At last, he heard her sigh softly and she cocked her head to look at him with a small frown. "You really wanna know about me and J?"
Ryland nodded and leaned back so that he was now propped up by his elbows, his eyes never leaving her face as she thought about where to even begin her story.
"I met him two years ago, little bit before he blew up. He was cool, he talked to me about things worth talking to and then we just started talking more and more and then suddenly it was an everyday thing. Guess that started it all—"
"I wanna hear about the part where you fell in love with him," Ryland cut her off with a scoff, an even louder scoff leaving his body when she quickly denied his statement.
"Yeah, I'm not in love with him. You're trippin—"
"You really don't see that you are?" Ryland asked with disbelief, sitting up so suddenly that the girl flinched from besides him. Instead of speaking, she shook her head and clenched her jaw as he laughed loudly.
"Shawty, the first time I ever laid eyes on you, you were crying over something he said and then you put on the best performance I've seen in months. You shoulda seen the look on his face when you climbed onto that table," Ryland laughed again despite the fact that she looked ready to murder him.
"I don't love him," she defended herself, crossing her arms as Ryland gave her a mocking nod of agreement. "Right, and I don't love pussy—"
"You're a fucking—"
"Asshole? Piece of shit?" Ryland offered her a few choices and winked as she groaned and threw her head back in annoyance. "Yeah, that's I what thought. You may act like you don't like me but I think you kinda do."
"I don't even know you."
"You know me well enough that you agreed to come to the middle of nowhere with me. Didn't your parents ever tell you not to get in the car with a stranger?"
Ryder met Ryland's eyes and laughed loudly. She didn't know why she was laughing but for the first time in months, it was a genuine laugh that only radiated from her body and into his.
The sound was heaven for him and he couldn't help but notice the way that her eyes crinkled when she did so. There was no denying that Ryder Davis was one of the most beautiful girls in the world despite the fact that he could see just how toxic she was.
And just like that, Ryland was up on his feet and jerking her up along with him. She gave him a look but he only shrugged and dragged her back towards the car with his mind set on getting to know her before the end of the day.
"What are you—"
"You thought this was it? Shawty, the day has barely started."
