Page 4 of Myself

He lets out a growl before spinning around and walking toward the door. He yanks it open. “What the fuck? Ryder?”

And just like that, this day that I wish was already over just became one of the best days of my life. My brother stands there in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. The smile drops off his face when he sees Conner. My heart picks up with excitement, and my mouth falls open in surprise. How did he ... I run to him, my arms open and my lips smiling before I jump into his arms.

“OhmyGod,” I squeal as he hugs me tightly, cutting off my air and spinning me around in the hallway. “Ryder! Ryder!” I jump up and down when he puts me down. “What are you doing here? Oh, my God, Ryder!” I hug him once again just trying to prove to myself that he’s really here. That I’m not dreaming this. When I pull away, I yank him into our room.

“I’m so confused!” I say, shaking my head. I don’t miss the look he throws Conner, but I ignore it. Not even Conner could ruin this moment. “What are you doing here?” Not like that’s important.

He smiles down at me, and he reminds me so much of Dad it’s not even funny. He’s twenty-nine today but looks younger than that. His hair is shorter than when I saw him last. He used to wear it long and shaggy in his eyes. It’s still long, but now, it’s spiked. His eyes still that same green I remember, and his smile still warm. His jawline more defined, and his body a little bigger. Even growing up, he spent a lot of time in the gym. He must still find time for that even when working nonstop.

He smiles down at me. “I came to surprise you.” Conner snorts, and he looks at him. “What is he doing here? Thought you guys broke up?”

Which time? “We got back together,” I say softly. Even though I don’t see him much, I try to talk to him often. And every time we do, he asks about Conner. The same ol’ questions. Dumped that loser yet? Is that fucker still treating you bad? That could be another reason Conner hates him. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be with a guy who your brother doesn’t approve of? Pretty freaking hard!

“What is going on in here? I’m trying to sleep, for Christ’s sake!” Ashlyn asks as she exits her room, looking just as hungover as she did earlier when she practically crawled in. Although she informed me that alcohol had nothing to do with it.

“My brother surprised me.” I grab Ryder’s hand and start jumping up and down as if it’s my birthday.

“That’s great!” She sighs heavily. “But can you keep it down ...?” She lifts her head as her hand drops off her face, and she looks at Ryder, her eyes widening. “What the fuck are you doing here?” she demands.

I frown, looking back and forth between the two of them. Have they met? “Funny! I said the same thing,” Conner growls.

“What ...?” I ask, but Ryder interrupts me.

“Sasha!” he says with a smile. “Lucky seeing you here.”

“Sasha?” I repeat. Why would he know her by that?

“Uh ...” She takes a step back.

“Why did you call her Sasha?” Conner asks. “Sasha. Why does that name sound familiar?” he asks himself, and then his eyes widen as he chuckles.

Ryder points at her. “Because that’s her name.”

“That’s Ashlyn,” he corrects him.

Ryder shakes his head. “I think I know her name. I spent all night with her.” Her face goes white, and her eyes shoot to mine.

“What?” Conner and I both ask.

An awkward silence fills the room, and my brother looks around confused. “Wait for a second,” I ask, remembering our conversation we had earlier this morning when she got back to our hotel. “This is the sex god?” I try to hold in my laughter at my best friend’s misfortune. But I point at Ryder. “This is my brother, Ashlyn,” I remind her just in case she is still confused. I know she’s hungover and obviously had a very long night.

Ryder smiles. “Sex god, huh?”

Conner laughs as he slaps his hand over his stomach. “This is priceless. Who knew you would fuck Ryder.”

I give him a hard look, but he ignores me while laughing at the situation we have found ourselves in. Ashlyn and Ryder start to argue about how they both lied to one another last night. And of course, Conner has to mention how he’s going to tell Bradley about her sleeping with my brother. So not only does she look tired, but Conner is also just pissing her off even more. She gets in his face, and Ryder grabs her, pushing her back into her room and closing the door behind them.

Conner turns to face me. His jaw tight and dark brown eyes narrowed on me. “That was a good show.”

“Show?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. I can’t help but smile like an idiot. My brother is here in Panama. I would have never seen that coming.

“Yes,” he hisses. “Show. You acting like you didn’t know he was here. Since when can you act?” he growls.

And just like that, the smile drops off my face. “I’m not acting,” I snap. “I didn’t know he was going to be here.” He can’t be serious. There is no way I would have been able to keep this a secret. And Ry sleeping with Ashlyn just proved that he was here in Panama last night. I would have seen him the first chance I got. Not gone out with Conner to some stupid club for him to fuck a chick in the bathroom and for us get in a fight.

He steps into me, his eyes still narrowed. “I don’t care how long he’s staying, but we are not spending our entire vacation with him.”

“He’s my brother, Conner,” I say, raising my voice.

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