Page 39 of Something to Someone

By the time we were done, we were all drenched in sweat and ready to go.

“I’m going to run to the restroom before we leave,” Natalie said, motioning to the bathrooms just on the other side of the tree we were standing next to. As she walked away, Mark and Jessica also excused themselves to get a table at the restaurant they’d chosen, leaving me alone with Ryder and Theo.

“You’re coming to lunch, right?” Ryder asked, and I nodded.

“Your mom wouldn’t let me get out of it.”

Turning, Ryder nudged Theo’s arm and offered him his phone. “Take a picture of me and Caroline, please.”

Theo stopped and glanced between Ryder’s phone and his friend’s face. Then he looked at me, and I wasn’t sure what the hell I was supposed to do. A picture was innocent enough. We’d held it together through all the other photos, what was one more?

Theo finally took Ryder’s phone and stepped back. With an arm around my waist, Ryder tugged me into his side. We both smiled at the phone as Theo pointed it toward us.

He took one then went to hand it back to Ryder who shook his head. “Take a few more,” he instructed. Theo’s glance toward the bathroom was almost imperceptible, but I’d noticed it. And it was more than enough for me to realize he knew something. I had a suspicion that it had to do with more than him catching Ryder and I coming out of the same bathroom at my nephew’s birthday party.

I wouldn’t have put it past Ryder to tell him something. It’s what I would have done had it not been my best friend I was keeping it from.

Theo lifted the phone again, and Ryder pulled me closer, tilting his head slightly so his cheek pressed against the side of my head. The position was more familiar, but I continued smiling.

That was until he leaned down and said, “Kiss me.”

I reared back and looked up at him in shock. My jaw dropped, and I stuttered over a response as I tried to determine if he’d really just asked me that. There was nothing but honesty on his face.

“Not going to happen.”

That didn’t keep him from tightening his hold on me and lifting his free hand to clasp my cheek. His fingers pressed against my skin like he was preparing to tilt my face the way he wanted it. Our eyes locked, I held my breath. All the background noise faded away as I watched his blue eyes darken. He licked his lips, and when my eyes flitted to his mouth to watch the movement, it was enough to break me from my trance.

I stepped back and breathed a desperate sigh of relief when Ryder let me go. Theo was there in a second, stepping almost between us and shoving the phone into Ryder’s chest.

“Good timing,” he said. “Natalie’s coming.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see my best friend walking toward us and hoped she hadn’t witnessed any of that.

TWENTY

FOOTSIE

Ryder

I wasthe last one to the restaurant, but the seat saved for me was next to Caroline, almost like it was meant to be.

The air conditioning felt amazing after being out in the heat for hours. But I was a college graduate.Finally.

When I sat down, there was already an array of appetizers on the table. I popped a piece of bread in my mouth and was happy to see that my parents and their partners were engaged in friendly conversation. There wasn’t much animosity between my parents—there hadn’t been even when they’d divorced several years ago, but it wasn’t always easy between them either. Which I expected.

Still, it had been a while since we’d all been together, and I was happy to see them getting along.

Caroline readjusted in her seat next to me as she reached for her wineglass.

“You get to sit next to me,” I whispered.

She tossed me a withering side-eye that did nothing more than make my cock harden. She liked to pretend that I annoyed her or that she couldn’t stand me, but I knew it was only a game.

“Or,” she said without looking at me. “You get to sit next tome.”

Containing my smile was pointless. I let it slip across my face and took a cursory glance around the table to make sure everyone else was still occupied.

“You’re right. You are the prize, Caroline.”

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