Page 15 of Ride or Die
He looks good in my bed. Seeing him so comfortable, like he’s meant to be there, does things to me. He’s so handsome, and now that we’ve hung out, I’m feeling more comfortable with him by the minute. Like I can be myself, and it seems like he’s more himself with me, too. He’s not hard and angry, he’s relaxed and at ease.
His eyebrows knit together in concentration as he searches for the perfect dinner option. It gives me a chance to admire him discreetly, my eyes drawn to his tattooed forearm and how each movement of his hand causes his muscles to flex subtly as he navigates the screen.
The soft flow of the phone casts light on his focused expression, and when his tongue darts out to wet his lips, I have to look away.
Everything about him, he’s just…my heart swoons for him constantly. What would it be like to be with a guy like Colton? Smart, confident, sexy as all hell. But I want romance. A relationship. Are guys like him capable of providing that? Would he even be interested in a girl like me?
He’s so hot it's intimidating. Ugh, who am I kidding? He’s so out of my league. He’s been with so many beautiful women and has so much more experience, and I’m just…me. A virgin. A nerd. A plain, boring, good girl.
“There, I ordered some food.” He smiles kindly at me. “I have an idea, since you’re the queen of competition.” His head gestures towards my shelf and I bite my cheek to suppress a smile. “Let’s study like we’re in one. We each come up with ten questions and quiz each other?”
I smile widely at his suggestion. “I love that idea.” I slide my chair back, opening my desk drawer to grab a stack of index cards for us to write on and hand him some. Once I finish writingmy questions, I hop onto the bed and sit cross-legged, facing him. He sits forward and brings his knee up, touching mine, which I try to ignore, but still don’t move.
“Okay, I'll start. First question: failure to record an accrued expense at year-end will cause what to happen?” he asks.
“Liabilities to be understated!” I call out, and he laughs at my enthusiasm.
“Yes, you’re right. You love this shit, eh?”
I nod repeatedly. “Yeah, I’m the bookworm, remember? What did you expect, hotshot?” He bursts out laughing.
“It’s going to be fun watching you lose to me. I always win,” he teases, his eyes sparkling flirtatiously.
“We’ll see.” I wink at him, and this time, it’s his face that reddens slightly as he looks away from me. I love this, and it’s even more fun because right now, I’m not alone. I’m sharing this with someone who genuinely seems interested in spending time with me.
Now that he’s here, I’m starting to understand just how lonely I am.
When the food arrives, we’re four questions into our competition, and the score is tied.
“Need a break before I win this thing, or should we eat later?” Colton smirks, placing the takeout bag on my desk.
“Keep dreaming,” I scoff, ready to take him down.
I don’t know what he ordered, but I’m starving, and the smell of whatever is in the bag makes my stomach growl loudly before I can say anything else. We both laugh.
“Alright, food it is,” he says, deciding for us.
We sit quietly while we eat, stealing glances at each other. The quiz competition looms over us, mingling with the subtle tension that's been growing between us since the night he drove me home. We’re both winners in our right, except right now he’son my turf, trying to prove himself. And I secretly like watching the bad boy squirm just a bit.
I finish my last bite of the Alfredo pasta he ordered and wipe my face, placing my plastic fork into the empty container. “Thank you, that was delicious. Way better than all the frozen food I eat. I wish I had the time to cook more. Also, as you can tell, this isn’t the nicest place to play chef in.” I collect our garbage and throw it in the trash.
“You’re welcome.” He smiles, and my entire body tingles. “Tell you what. I have to cook for my mom every day, you should come over for dinner sometime.”
Trying to ignore how he makes me feel, I don’t respond. Instead, I grab my index cards, hop back onto the bed, and tap his shoulders. “Okay, let’s do this! I’m ready!”
“You really are competitive, and I thought I was bad,” he razzes me.
I nod excitedly, making him chuckle. We get back to it and we’re neck and neck, practically yelling out the questions and answers to each other, laughing our asses off because of how dramatic we’re being. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Colton laugh before today, and tonight, he’s been practically crying from laughing so hard. I love it, especially since I think I'm the only one who's seen this side of him.
Colton gets the next question wrong, so it is up to me to answer this one right in order to win, otherwise we go to sudden death. We selected my biggest trophy, and the reward is a night out together, somewhere of the winner’s choosing.
“Okay, so last question. What are we going to do if you win?” he asks. I tap my finger on my chin, cocking an eyebrow while I think.
“I’ll drag you to a museum or something. What about you?”
“Okay, I can do that, and I don’t know yet. I’ll have to figure it out when you lose. No pressure.” He gives me a mischievousgrin, flipping the cards in his hands before he clears his throat and begins to read.
“If the beginning capital was $25,000 and the ending capital is $37,000, and the owner’s withdrawals were $23,000, was it a net income or net loss? And for what amount?”
