Page 35 of Keep Me

It’s ten o’clock, and I’m sitting on my bed, anxiously waiting for Ryker to answer my latest text message. After the game, everyone went back to their rooms, since it was nine o’clock at night and everyone was exhausted. Once I got to mine, I showered and got ready for bed, opting for joggers and a tank top, foregoing a bra.

He’s seen me like this before when he did my tattoo, and quite frankly, I don’t care all that much. My boobs aren’t big enough for them to be super noticeable, except the piercings that occasionally make themselves known.

That was a decision I made when I was eighteen after years of begging my parents to play softball. They of course said no, so I rebelled and did something fun for myself.

My phone vibrates, pulling me from my memories. My heart races in my chest when I see Ryker’s name and I pull up our text thread.

Nerves rattle my chest when I realize we’re actually doing this. I don’t have much of a choice and Mackenzie told me earlier that Cuddy would be coming over. She said I was welcome to stay, but her tone lacked sincerity.

I inhale a quiet, deep breath, then stand from the bed to grab my bag filled with everything I would need for tomorrow.

“Well, have fun tonight. My cousin is out front,” I lie to Mackenzie awkwardly.

“I appreciate you for this.” She smiles brightly, genuine gratitude on her face.

“No problem. Have fun.” I smile back, exiting the room.

I glance down the hall quickly and make sure no one’s in sight. Then I tiptoe down the hall to Ryker’s room.

I knock once, and before my knuckles have even left the wood, he gently pulls me inside the room and slams the door shut behind us, then locks it.

I would focus on his proximity, but my eyes instantly land on the table behind him.

“What’s all this?” I ask, motioning toward the variety of snacks ranging from candies and chocolate to potato chips and popcorns.

Ryker shrugs. “I got us a few snacks, but I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got everything essentially. I figured we could watch a movie.”

“Popcorn with hot sauce is my favorite snack,” I tell him.

“Good to know. Wait, you’re not allergic to anything, are you? Shit, I should’ve asked first,” he grumbles, looking disappointed.

I can’t fight the smile that tugs on my lips. “No, I’m not. This is perfect. Thank you. And a movie sounds great.”

“You can take whatever bed you want. I’ll set up Netflix while you pick what snacks you want. Do you need a drink?”

He’s still my grumpy guy, but there’s something odd about how nice he’s being. I know we said yes to being friends, so maybe he’s taking that to heart and trying.

“No, I have my water,” I say, holding up my emotional support water bottle that goes with me everywhere. It’s huge and a lavender shade, obviously.

Ryker nods and starts setting up his Netflix account on the TV, while I lay my stuff down on the floor and drop onto the bed that is closest to the wall. Then I move to the table and browse through the snacks and decide on popcorn and sour cherry blasters.

The hum of the Netflix intro fills the room as Ryker plops down on the bed beside mine, putting space between us that I’m partly thankful for, while another part of me is not.

“Which snack do you want?” I ask him, lifting my eyes to his. I notice his are cast downward and on my chest.

He quickly averts them and shakes his head. “I already have Pop-Tarts,” he says, holding up a box of cookie dough-flavored ones.

“What am I supposed to do with all of these snacks?” I giggle while looking at how much is on the table.

“You can take them home. They’re all for you,” he says casually.

Flurries of warmth sprinkle across my chest at the image of Ryker going to the corner store next to our hotel and buying everything just for me.

“What do you want to watch?” he asks, pulling me back to reality.

“Nothing scary,” I immediately say because whenever I watch scary movies, I’m more likely to have a nightmare. So I do my best to avoid them.

Ryker eyes me for a beat, then exits the app to pull up a different app instead. I don’t say anything and watch with intrigue to see what he’ll do next.

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