Chapter 9

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Ryder said while I stood dumbfounded by the door like a statue.

What was I supposed to say? 'Sorry for interrupting your little "playtime" with miss blonde over here but I needed to escape from the crowd?'

No. I just stood there like an idiot until the blonde girl stood up in her bras and panties and walked to the bathroom door. "Uh, Ryder, I'll call you later..." then she shut the door and I heard the sink water running.

"Sorry, I just, um, needed to get away from, uh, the people..." I pointed towards the door and shut my mouth.

Ryder just looked at me weirdly. I couldn't help but notice that he was shirtless and his abs were calling out to me like some sort of beacon.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He said and my cheeks blushed from embarrassment. Thank God it was dim in here.

"I'll just go." I started towards the door handle again, but suddenly Ryder stopped me.

"No, don't it's fine," he got out of the bed and pulled on his shirt then stood in front of me.

"What are you doing here at Will's party?" he asked.

"I was invited. What about you?"

He shrugged. "We're sort of close, I guess. Just thought that I could get some action." And he had the nerve to wink at me.

"Yeah...sorry about that, I should really get going-"

He grabbed me arm before I could go anywhere and stared into my eyes. Goosebumps formed on my arms and a shiver ran down my back.

"Did you ride your bike here?" he said in a husky voice.

I nodded.

"I want to show you something." Then he opened the door and led us downstairs. Will spotted me but his grin turned into a frown when he saw Ryder coming down the stairs next to me, his hand still wrapped around my forearm.

We made it outside and the night air was like a new breath to my lungs. The stars were dimly shining above and people were starting to head home in their cars.

I looked around for my Ducati but it was nowhere in sight.

"Shit." I said loudly and Ryder stopped to look at me with his eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"Someone fucking stole my bike." I started to run towards the curb where I had put it, but all there was was an empty plastic bottle.

"God damn it!" I kicked the water bottle across the street and sat on the curb with my head in my hands. I heard Ryder's footsteps come up beside me and felt his warm arm curl around my shoulders.

I had no tears, for I wasn't sad, just angry. Very angry.

"You're sure someone stole it?" Ryder's voice said close to my ear.

"How else would it disappear Ryder? Obviously some shithead asshole put it in their car and drove off." I yelled.

He looked taken aback but quickly regained himself.

"I'm sorry, I'm just mad." I said.

"You don't need to apologize, Ruby," he tightened his arms around me, "it can't be that hard to find, could it? I mean, it's a Ducati for Christ sake. If we see someone riding around with it, we'll know. Not a lot of people own them around here."

I looked up at him and spoke. "You really think we'll find it?"

He nodded and smiled a genuine smile. One that I've never seen on him before.

"Definitely, and I'll help you. Don't worry, we'll find it."

I smiled back up at him and then remembered, "Weren't you going to show me something?"

His face lit up and he smirked. "Yep, come on."

Ryder's bike was a little bit bigger than mine, so I sat in the back and he started the engine. I wrapped my arms slowly around his abdomen and rested my head against his back when he started the motorcycle.

I didn't recognize any of the roads we were taking. The street lamps lit up the roads and we zoomed down the highway. Ryder took a turn on a narrow street that led to a woody area.

I had never been to this side of Pittsburgh before, but from the looks of it right now, it seemed a little eerie.

"If you're gonna kill me, at least let me eat my chocolate first." I said into his ear.

He chuckled and kept driving into the woods with barely any light except the headlights from his bike. "Don't worry. If I was to kill you, I would've done it a long time ago."

I laughed quietly and we kept going deeper into the woods. I was about to say something about turning back when we were suddenly in an open clearing.

I looked around, astounded by the amount of flowers covering the meadow-like clearing. I looked over Ryder's shoulder and saw a crystal clear pond.

"Wow." I whispered and Ryder turned around to glance at me with a grin on his face.

The dirt road stopped at the edge of the pond. Ryder and I hopped off and I speedily walked to the pond.

I stopped when I saw small twinkling lights hovering over the water. Fireflies.

I reached out to grab one and lost my footing, but Ryder's arms pulled me back before I fell face first into the water.

My body was turned back towards him and my chest was pressed up against his. Our breathing was shallow and my nose was mere inches away from his. I looked into his deep brown eyes and felt a tug towards his lips.

I looked away and gently pulled myself out of his arms, immediately blushing. "How did you find this place?" I asked.

He walked to the edge and sat down on a flat rock near the water, lying down to face the stars. "My dad showed me this place on my seventh birthday. That's when I got my first bicycle and we rode all the way here, side by side." I went to lie down next to him in the soft grass and turned my gaze skywards at the twinkling stars.

A firefly landed on my nose and I giggled, watching it cross eyed.

Ryder chuckled from beside me and I slowly turned my head towards his. The firefly still didn't move. We were laughing at the firefly for no reason now, but it felt good to have someone to share a moment like this with.

It finally flew away and I watched it fly off towards the trees. When I looked back over, I met Ryder's gaze and we looked at each other for what felt like a century, but was only a moment.

"Why'd you show me this place?" I said quietly.

He shook his head slowly and softly said, "I don't know. I just felt like I should."

We smiled lightly at each other and then shifted our attention back up to the heavens. I watched as more and more fireflies floated above us and then there were millions of them flittering in the sky. It was like watching tiny yellow stars dance.

After Ryder took me to the meadow, we drove back home on his bike with my head resting snugly on his back. We made it home right around midnight and I hopped off his bike, almost collapsing from exhaustion.

"I know you'll find your bike, Ruby. Don't worry too much about it, okay?"

I nodded and sadly smiled. How was I supposed to get around without my bike? I didn't have a car, because the only one we had was my mom's, and she was always gone at work.

"Yeah, hopefully." I yawned and stretched my arms. "Thanks, Ryder. For tonight, for helping me, and for everything." I smiled at him before turning back towards my house and shutting the door behind me.

I walked up the stairs and heard my mom's soft snoring from her bedroom. I quietly walked in and stopped by her bed. Pulling the covers up over her, I softly kissed her forehead and silently walked back out to my own room.

As I laid in bed, I thought about the Ryder I had seen today. Not the arrogant, cocky, always smirking Ryder, but the caring, kind, and helpful Ryder. I knew that he had that soft side of him hidden away somewhere, but he just needs some pushing to get it out.

I watched Ruby retreat back into her house after I showed her the meadow.

I don't know why I did it, I just felt like she was trustworthy enough and that I could rely on her. I showed her a side of me that no one has ever seen before. God damn it, I was opening up to her.

I went upstairs to my room and my eyes went straight to Ruby's window. I saw her put away the keys to her motorbike that had been stolen.

When I saw her so crumpled and stricken, a fueling anger welled up inside of me and all I wanted to do then was to get her bike back for her.

I stripped out of my shirt and jeans and laid down under the covers in my bed. I thought about Ruby, and that was all I could think about. No matter how hard I tried to swerve the subject away from her, it always led to her entrancing brown eyes and delicate face.

I thought about how good it had felt to have her head rest against my back and how nice it was when we shared that moment in the meadows just gazing at each other. I thought about how good it felt to have her wrapped in my arms like she belonged there when she almost fell, or how she looked so carefree and happy when that firefly landed on her nose.

I shut my eyes tightly and tried my best to just go to sleep and forget about Ruby for one night.

And I did go to sleep.

But I still dreamt of her.