Page 183 of Wanna Play A Game?
“Where are we?” I ask, standing without his help.
“Home,” he says simply.
My chest clenches. I want someplace to call home.
I step outside onto the tarmac. The air is colder and more humid than I’m used to, the water in the air instantly clinging to my skin.
Miles grabs my hand, gripping tighter when I try to yank it back. The other men follow as we walk up a path into the trees. The ground is wet and mossy, covered in gray boulders. The trees open up to a clearing where a quaint, two-story house sits. The roof is flat, the windows are bordered by storm doors,and all the lights are on inside. It looks warm and dry. Despite myself, I find myself pulling towards it.
When we get to the front door, it’s not locked. Sawyer pushes it open. “Welcome home, Cali.”
My heart stops.
Wait, home? As in, my home?
Miles pushes me gently inside. We’re in a small entryway attached to a hallway. I pause. Miles pushes me down the hall where a living room opens up on the right. Suddenly, I’m hit with a familiar smell. It smells like apples and cranberries. Like my apartment. I whirl around.
Miles gives me a gentle smile.
Ryder pushes past us with the luggage. “You’ll have to take your shoes off in the living room, Cali. The floors are tatami.”
I glance down. They look like woven straw mats.
“Here, I’ll get those.” Miles grabs the luggage from Ryder and starts heading upstairs with Sawyer. Poor Halloweiner is howling.
“I’ll take care of him,” Miles says. “We have a space upstairs for him to settle in.”
Suddenly, they’re gone, and I’m left standing with Ryder. He looks just as good as I remember, with a dangerous aura surrounding him. I’m not sure where we stand, and I shift.
“You hungry?” Ryder asks.
Starving actually. I nod. He walks me to the kitchen. The downstairs is shaped like a big square, with the steps to the upstairs in the middle.
“What do you want?” Ryder opens the pantry.
“Uh, whatever.” I slide into the dining room table and look around.
He tosses me a bag of chips. “Eat those while I warm up some real food.”
I open it hesitantly while he heats something up in the microwave.
I glance at the table. “I followed your rules, you know.”
“I know.”
I look up at Ryder. He’s staring at me with heat in his eyes. The microwave dings. He looks at me for a second longer before opening it.
I eat my food in silence for a bit. He watches me silently. It’s unnerving.
“Would you stop?” I mutter.
“Stop what?”
“Stop…looking at me.”
Ryder lifts an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because,” I grumble while heat runs through me. “It’s weird.”
