Ryder's POV

Walking in my house, I closed the door softly behind me and shouted out for my dad. I couldn't stop thinking about kissing Casey. Kissing her had been so much more than I'd imagined. Her lips were softer and sweeter than I'd thought. Kissing her was intoxicating and exhilarating and I couldn't wait to do it again.

I'd never actually enjoyed kissing a girl before. I'd never taken the time to actually enjoy a girl's lips because I'd never actually wanted-needed-to kiss another girl like I wanted and needed to kiss Casey. Her lips were like two magnets that kept pulling me and pulling me, until I gave in. I'd tried so hard to resist; I knew she deserved better than me. She deserved so much more. But that simple plea, 'please' had broken down any barrier that I'd put up. In that moment I knew. I knew that I would give Casey Stratford anything she asked me to. All she had to do was ask and I would go through hell and back to give it to her.

That feeling had only gotten worse after I'd kissed her. After I'd kissed her, the overwhelming feeling to make her happy, scared me to my core. I'd never felt like that about another girl. With other girls it was all about my satisfaction, but with her, I only cared about making her happy.

"Ryder? Is that you?" My dad's voice floated through the hall towards me. I headed in the living room's direction and gave him a smile when his eyes lifted towards me.

"Hey, pop." I let my body fall into a chair with a happy sigh, which drew my dad's attention towards me.

"You kissed her, didn't you?" he raised a bushy eyebrow and I turned towards him in shock. How the hell did he know that?

"How the fudge can you know that?" I asked him, my voice showing my shock. He laughed, shaking his head, his eyes filling with amusement.

"I was your age once, remember? You and I couldn't be more alike even if we wanted to be, kid. The first time I kissed your mom, I had the same dopey look you've got now." My mood darkened a little when my mind ran to my mom. Up until the age of five, my parents had been crazy in love. But shit got fucked up, things happened and I hadn't seen my mom since I was seven.

"I think I may be falling for her," I admitted, my voice showing signs of fear. It scared the bejesus out of me to even think that I was falling for Casey so fast.

"You already fell, kid, you're just starting to realize it," he answered with a knowing smile and I let my head fall on the back of the chair.

"You know how I told you that I would only break her heart?" I paused and waited for his response. When he hummed, I continued, "I think it might happen the other way around."

"Why?" I heard my dad ask.

"Because she deserves better and she'll realize that," I replied, shrugging. I knew she would someday, I just hoped it wouldn't be soon. I wanted to have her for as long as I could.

"Kid, any girl would be damn lucky to have you. I'm sure your girl knows that." I smiled. His words weren't really helping. He was my dad, he was supposed to say that, but I knew better. "So when I'm I going to get to meet this girl?"

"Not right now, dad. I'll bring her by sometime, I promise, but not soon. I need her to fully trust me before I unleash Tyler Cavanaugh on her." His booming laugh filled the otherwise quiet room and I lifted my head with a smile. I'd missed hearing his laugh so much.

"How about you bring her over for New Years?" he suggested and I thought about it. It was a good idea. My dad was a having a small party for the family on New Years Eve. Only our closest family members that were visiting for the holidays would be coming, so she wouldn't feel too out of place and meeting my dad wouldn't seem like too much.

"That's actually a good idea. I'll talk to her, see if she has any plans for that day." He nodded happily, a big smile gracing his face.

"Good. I can't wait to meet her," he replied, his blue eyes, that were so much like mine, twinkling in the light. "So tell me about her. What's she like?"

"Stubborn." He laughed. "She's so stubborn, dad. She's bossy, frustrating and she drives me crazy. She has no idea how insanely beautiful she is, or how sexy. She cares about everyone and would kill for the people that she loves."

"She sounds like an amazing girl," he told me and I nodded. She was. She really was, and that was the reason why I knew she deserved better than me.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked him, changing the subject and he shrugged.

"Whatever you wanna cook, kid," he replied and I nodded. Standing up, I headed to the kitchen.

"You feel like helping?" I asked over my shoulder. The doctor had suggested that I try to keep my dad active and involved in everyday activities, so he could begin to get adjusted to his life once again.

"You know I do," he answered as he slowly walked into the kitchen. I thought about helping him, but knew better. My dad was a stubborn man; he wouldn't want me to treat him like an invalid.

When he made it to the kitchen, we got started on making some omelets. My dad and I would cook together a lot before he ended up in a coma. We both loved cooking and enjoyed doing it together. We would spend hours in the kitchen, coming up with new recipes, or tinkering with the ones we already had. Cooking was one of the things I found comfort in, and so did my dad.

Once we were done with the omelets, we sat at the kitchen island and talked about the past year. I told him about recreating the dares he'd done when he was my age and he'd laughed at the different crap I'd gotten Oliver into. When I told him about Oliver shaving his junk because of Chloe, we'd both burst out laughing.

It was times like these that I'd missed having with my dad. When he'd been in that coma, I hadn't had anyone to talk to about this stuff. I hadn't had anyone to share my day with. But now that he was up, I did, and I couldn't be more thankful.

After we'd both said good night and headed to our separate rooms, I decided to take a quick shower before calling Casey for the night. Casey and I had quickly fallen into a routine of talking over the phone every night, and it was honestly the best part of my day. I looked forward to hearing her voice and laugh. I looked forward to talking to her; hearing about her day.

I dragged my ass from the bathroom to my room after I'd taken a shower and brushed my teeth. Grabbing my phone, I dialed Casey's number, bringing the cellphone to my ear. She picked up on the second ring, her voice coming over the phone in that damn raspy, low voice that made me hard.

"Hi."

"Were you asleep?" I asked curiously. Her voice sounded like she had been.

"That's the second time you've asked me that over the phone," she pointed out, her voice hinting at a smile.

"I'm just curious as to why your voice sounds so fucking sexy," I admitted and heard her laugh over the phone. "It's like you're some kind of sultress, or some other shit that describes a woman with a sexy voice." She laughed harder into the phone.

"Well then I guess that's a mystery that will never be solved." I nodded my head, pulling myself up until my back was resting against the headboard. "Do you realize that I hardly know anything about you and vice versa?"

"Don't they say that that's the fun thing about a relationship, the getting to know each other bit?" I asked, my eyebrows lowering in confusion.

"I call bullshit," she answered, making me chuckle. "I say, we play twenty questions. What do you think? Are you man enough for the challenge?"

I gasped indignantly. How dare she? "Damn straight!"

"Okay, then. What's your favorite color?" she asked and I thought about it. What was my favorite color?

"I have no idea," I answered, resigned, and she laughed. "What's your favorite band?"

"The Beatles, of course," she answered confidently and I smiled. The Beatles were also my favorite band. "What's your favorite thing to eat?"

"How can I choose? That's like asking me what I hate the most, people or waiting," I told her and she hummed in thought. "Don't you dare ask me which one I hate the most," I warned her and she laughed. "What's your weirdest fear?"

She was silent for a minute in thought. "...Rabbits."

"What?!" I asked, unable to hide my shock. Who the fuck was scared of rabbits? They were so adorable.

"Yeah." She didn't seem embarrassed at all that she was scared of probably the cutest animal on earth.

"I can't believe you're scared of rabbits, they're adorable," I told her, still not fully believing that she could be afraid of such a cute, harmless animal.

"Adorable? Are you insane? Those little suckers are scary as fuck, with their big teeth and jumping so fucking high like they're some kind of frog or something! Ooh, look at me, I'm a fucking kangaroo," she exclaimed, outraged, making me laugh. "Fine, what's your weirdest fear?"

I sighed. "I told you, I'm not scared of anything." Liar!

"Right, and I can grow carrots from my ass. Give it up, Cavanaugh!" I sighed in defeat.

"Dogs," I mumbled softly, hoping that she hadn't heard me. When her laugh came over the phone, I groaned. Damn it!

"You're scared of dogs? Cuddly, sweet, loving, man's best friend, dogs?" she asked in between her laughs.

"Shut up!" I grumbled, pouting.

"But dogs are so cute," she mumbled to herself, her voice filled with disbelief. "I mean, they are like literally thought to be man's best friend. Big bad Ryder Cavanaugh is afraid of dogs. This is the best day ever!"

"I don't know what you're so happy about, Ms. Scared-of-the-fluffiest-animal-on-the-planet," I grumbled, my pout intensifying.

"Are you pouting? Hmm, what is it that you always tell me?" I humphed in response and she giggled. "Don't pout unless you want me to kiss you," she quoted my words, making my pout disappear, replaced by a shadow of a smile. "Do you want me to kiss your fear away, Ryder?"

"Don't tempt me, woman, or I'll go over there and make you kiss me," I warned her and she giggled again.

"That doesn't scare me," she replied, a smile in her tone. The fact that she wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss her, made my heart thump.

I grinned, shaking my head. "I'm glad it doesn't."

She sighed over the phone. "Do you think we'll mess this up, Ryder?"

I thought about her question. Would we mess this up? "No. But I now that we'll fight, because we're so different, but that's okay. I'll be happy to fight with you as long as I get to kiss you." She laughed.

"I'm serious," sigh, "I can't lose you," she admitted in a small vulnerable voice and my heart jumped into my throat. I didn't like hearing her scared; it unnerved me.

"I won't let that happen, sweetheart, I promise," I promised her, and I would do anything in my power to keep that promise. I didn't want to lose her either; she'd become an important part of my life in a short space of time, and thinking about her not being in my life, about nearly killed me.

"Okay," she whispered back and I nodded, with a new resolution to make us work. "I'm sleepy," she said after a while with a yawn.

"Then go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." When she agreed and said good night, I hung up and tossed my phone on the night stand next to my bed. Shutting off the bedside lamp, I pulled the comforter up to my waist and settled in.

Drifting off to sleep, the last thing to cross my mind was Casey's smile, and that's when it hit me hard.

I was in deep shit, and the worst part was that I didn't seem to mind.