His eyes may have softened, but the curiosity was still there, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to get out of this. Despite everything, there was a part of me that wanted to tell him everything. I'd never really spoken to anybody about what happened, not properly, and I needed to get it out.
He tilted his head back in the direction of the clearing.
"Come on then."
"Ryder?" My voice had quietened by several octaves, and I hated how vulnerable I sounded. He turned to face me as I chewed nervously on my lip.
"I didn't know it was going to be this muddy when I got dressed and my shoes are a bit...." I trailed off awkwardly as he glanced down at my feet. His eyes ran slowly back up my body without discretion, making my cheeks flush under his examination. He smirked as he walked closer, and my breath hitched slightly.
"On you get then." He turned, crouching down so that I could climb on his back. Wrapping my fingers hesitantly around his shoulders, I hoisted myself up, hoping to God he was strong enough to carry my wait. Wrapping my legs around his front, I wriggled to get comfortable before leaning my head into his neck.
It had always struck me as odd when I'd read about attractive scents in the cheesy romance novels I kept hidden under my bed. How on earth could someone be attracted to somebody else's smell? Now I knew exactly what those loved-up characters were talking about.
His neck smelt faintly of aftershave, combined with something purely Ryder. I couldn't get enough.
"When you're quite done."
Ryder's voice brought me back to reality as his hands slid under my thighs. I shivered from the contact, my cheeks flushing. His shoes squelched in the mud as he approached the picnic blanket he'd laid out, and I thanked god that he'd chosen a dryer spot further from the water. Pausing beside it, he bent forward slightly, allowing me the chance to slip off gracefully. However, being me, graceful was rarely an option. I fell off his back, going over on my ankle as I landed and grabbing back onto him for support. Had it not been for him, no doubt I would have toppled straight over.
I blushed, embarrassed by my own clumsiness. He chuckled as he sat on the blanket and began to deal out the food. I had to admit, I'd been expecting him to press me for an explanation to my earlier outburst. His acceptation of my reluctance was surprising.
It was as he pulled the chocolate covered popcorn out of the basket that I changed my mind. Over a year after our little cinema encounter, and he'd remembered the weird little food quirk.
"When I was younger, my parents and I used to hike a lot."
As if sensing the importance of what I was about to tell him, Ryder paused in unloading the food, turning his full attention to me. There was no backing out now.
"And my dad was always in charge... which was funny because he couldn't hike to save his life."
I laughed sadly as the memories it had taken so long to push away came flooding back.
YOU ARE READING
Revenge on The Bad Boy (Unexpected Match #1)
Teen Fiction"You can't play a player baby, it doesn't work that way." Lola Mackenzie is getting way more than she bargained for. When she agreed to help her friend get revenge on the player that broke her heart, she never imagined that it would be anything mor...
