Page 5 of Save Me

Gently, Ryker took the bag from her hands. “It’s not that big, Ryleigh. They’re not in there. Do you have a spare set somewhere?”

Her shoulders sagged as she nodded. “At home, but…ugh…I hate that I did this! Now I’ll have to call for an Uber to go home and back and…”

“You don’t need to call for an Uber.”

“Uh, yeah, I do, because I certainly don’t want to walk there and back. It’s already dark out and it’s a mile each way…”

“I’ll drive you.”

Her eyes went a little wide as her mouth moved with no words coming out.

He liked that he caught her off guard.

“It’s not a big deal. And, like you said, it’s only a mile away. What’s it gonna take? Ten minutes tops?”

“Ryker…”

“Do you want to go back inside and have everyone think you’re caving?” Honestly, he had no idea if that even applied to the situation, but he gave it a shot.

“Absolutely not!” she told him. “But…um…I don’t mind calling for a car.” Holding up her phone, she made a bit of a show of pulling up the app. “You don’t need to drive me anywhere, but…uh…thanks.”

With a careless shrug, he straightened. “No problem. I knew you’d be too embarrassed to accept my help, so…have a good night.” Turning, he started to walk away.

“Embarrassed? Why on earth would I be embarrassed?”

Ryker hid his smile as he turned to face her again. “You know…after being on a date with someone else earlier and then essentially sprinting from the table, I just figured you’d want to avoid anyone who witnessed that.”

Throwing her head back and exposing that neck that he’d love to lean in and press his mouth to, he fought the urge to stay where he was. Her little growl of frustration was kind of adorable, and when she straightened, she looked mildly pissed.

“He tried to put his fingers in my mouth! Trust me, it was in his best interest for me to get away from the table as fast as humanly possible.”

“Why would he put his fingers in your mouth? Was it like a third date or something?”

“Ew!No! And is there really a date rule for when it’s appropriate to put your fingers in someone’s mouth in the middle of a restaurant?”

If they were talking about the two of them, yes. But when it was her and some other random guy, absolutely not.

“I wouldn’t sayrule…”

“Never mind,” she quickly interrupted before turning her back and looking at her phone.

Ryker wasn’t stupid; he knew she was going to be too stubborn to accept a free ride from him based on…whatever preconceived notion she had about him.

But he refused to accept that.

“Ryleigh, this is crazy. I’m right here and my car is literally five feet away. You can be home in fifteen minutes. Just let me do this for you.”

It was insane how nervous he was and he found himself holding his breath. He’d asked her out at least a dozen times and she’d always turned him down. But this wasn’t a date.

This was a chance for her to get to know him.

The way she looked at him told him she was considering it.

“I just…I don’t want you to read anything into this,” she began carefully. “I know you’ve asked me out before…”

“Pfft, please. I’m not dense. This isn’t a date. This is just me helping you out. I know that.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t even know your name.”

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