Chapter 12

I stared open mouthed at my beloved motorcycle. There it was, standing there in perfect condition. Wait, did he polish it too?

I ran over and sat down on my haunches. Running my fingers over it, I felt the smooth material and shininess.

I stood up and turned to Ryder who was leaning against the garage door frame with his hands in his pockets. He was grinning at me and took a few steps forward.

I ran over to him with the largest smile on my face and hugged the living daylight's out of him. I heard him chuckle and he wrapped his strong arms around me.

We stayed like that for a few moments before I let go with a grin. "Thank you so much Ryder."

He shrugged. "I know, I know, I'm your knight in shining armor."

"More like tin foil." I mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing." I laughed and he looked at me skeptically.

"Where'd you find it?" I said.

"Downtown, I was taking a break from your little motorbike hunt when I heard that low rumble. I looked out the café window and there it was, a guy was parking it outside a club. So I went over there and kinda sorta rearranged his face. Then I used the keys you gave me and rode it back to the corner of the block, but pushed it the rest of the way so you wouldn't hear it and think that I would lose."

I stared dumbfounded by this. He actually did it. He actually found my precious baby. He came over closer and handed me the keys that I trusted him with. I truly trusted him with my bike and he didn't disappoint me or lazy off. He actually tried.

"Now, about my massage..."

•••

So here I was, massaging Ryder's shoulder while he sat on the couch with a bowl of cheetoh puffs. I was currently standing behind the couch, wishing I could take a break from this pretty exhausting work.

"Catch." Ryder said and before I could comprehend what was happening he threw a cheetoh puff in my face. It whacked me in the forehead and I stopped my hands and just stood there with my eyes closed and mouth in a straight line. I breathed in slowly and calmed myself from his laughter. Oh how I wanted to suddenly massage his neck. With my hands. Very, very, tightly.

"You have a little cheese right there..." Ryder pointed to my forehead and chuckled lightly.

"You won't be laughing when I strangle you to death in your sleep." I said.

"Here." He sat up from the couch and leaned over the back. His fingers slowly brushed off the cheese dust from my forehead and lingered a second too long. I saw his eyes glance down to my lips and then back to my eyes.

"There." He whispered in a husky voice that sent shivers down my spine.

Clicking sounds from the front door of his house broke us off from our trance. A nice, short lady walked in and her eyes found ours. Her hair was long and brown. I guess this was his mom.

"Hi mom." Ryder came over to my side of the couch and gestured me over to her. She was stunningly beautiful. Unlike Ryder, her eyes were a light shade of green. I thought they were amazing. She held out her hand to shake and I smiled. "Hi, I'm Ruby."

She let go and grinned. "Ah, Ruby. I'm Karen. It's nice to finally meet you."

I was confused why she said it was nice to finally meet me. Did Ryder talk about me?

I looked over and his cheeks were a light shade of pink. Awh, Ryder blushed.

"Okay mom," He grabbed my arm and dragged me up the stairs.

I heard Karen giggling downstairs and we were suddenly in Ryder's room. I had seen his room from the window, but only one wall. Now I was inside. I was surprised to find it neatly organized. I looked on the walls. There weren't any posters of girls in bikinis or clothes scattered on the floor. It just felt too plain for Ryder.

"Surprised?" he asked from the other side of his room. I looked at him and admittedly nodded. The walls were at least painted a dark blue. He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked up at me.

"Ready for your fight tonight?" he grinned.

I groaned. "I was hoping you would forget about that."

"Nope. You're competing, and there's nothing you can do about it." He laid back on his back and looked up at his ceiling. When he did, his shirt rode up a little bit and revealed a scar.

"What's your scar from?" I asked and went over sit down on the edge of his bed. He sat up and lifted up his shirt a little bit more. I tried to ignore his amazingly toned abs and stared at the scar instead.

"This thing? Oh, I was in a motorcycle accident a couple years ago."

"Did it hurt?" I instantly smacked my face with my hand. "Sorry, dumb question."

He laughed and waved it off. "It's okay."

"So how did it happen?" I asked once I regained myself.

"Uh, I was driving back from the meadow with my dad. He was drinking a little before and he was driving with me in the back. When we got to an intersection, he didn't stop at the light and we ran straight into a semi."

I sucked in a breath sharply through my nose.

"I wasn't hurt that bad, just this scar and a couple of bruises and cuts. But my dad..." he trailed off and I rested my hand over his.

"Uh, he died in the emergency room a couple hours later. I don't blame it on him, just his habits."

I squeezed his hand and his eyes met mine. I was taken aback by how much vulnerability and grief there was in them. I had never seen him like this, and I didn't know how to react.

"Why am I opening up to you, Ruby?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know. Maybe because you know I'm amazing and awesome."

He chuckled and I let go of his hand, missing the warmth from him.

"We should probably get going so you can beat some butt tonight." He said.

I grinned and stood up. "Damn, you still remembered."