Chapter 17

My head felt heavy as I woke up to realize that I was on a plane. My head was on Ryder's shoulder, and as soon as I lifted it up, his eyes shifted to me.

"Morning, well, more like afternoon." He said and I giggled while rubbing my eyes.

"Are we almost there?" I asked and checked the time. 11:23 a.m.

"We have about half an hour left. You dozed off quick." Ryder said.

"Sorry, I have this obnoxious neighbor who likes to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning." I glared.

"Sounds like a pain in the ass," he replied.

I nodded. "Oh, he is."

"But a sexy one." He winked.

I groaned. "Can you be any more arrogant?"

"You really want to know?"

I stared. "On second thought, never mind."

I looked out the window and saw the light, puffy clouds. They hovered over us and under us. I felt like reaching out the plane and sleeping on them.

"It's pretty." I jumped from Ryder's voice and how his mouth was lightly pressed against my ear. He was so close that I got the goose bumps. I didn't dare turn around for fear of clashing our lips together awkwardly.

His chin rested on my shoulder and I was scared that he would hear my heart beating.

"Am I making you nervous, Ruby?" he said in the sexiest voice I had ever heard.

I scoffed. "You wish, Daniels." I tried my best to keep my voice from shaking.

"Are you sure?" Then I suddenly felt his lips pressed against my neck and I sucked in a sharp breath. He left tingling sensations on the spots where he kissed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, for we are landing shortly."

Ryder's lips left my neck and I sighed. I turned forward with a slight tinge of pink to my cheeks.

One of the stewardesses walked back in the aisles and checked to see if everyone had their belts securely fastened. My breathing finally returned to normal, but my heart rate was faster than ever.

Our plane finally landed and everyone got up to get their bags.

Ryder stood up and got ours down. "Thanks." I said and he grinned back.

We got out of the plane and airport and I was relieved with the fresh, Oklahoma air. I smiled and saw people running around to get from place to place.

"I feel kind of weird without my bike." Ryder said from beside me and I agreed with him.

Ryder found an airport taxi near the back and we hauled our stuff in the trunk. Ryder told the driver our hotel and we were off.

We reached Bricktown and Ryder pointed to a tall tower. "That's the Devon Tower." Then when we neared it, he pointed to a large, circular dome arena. "Cox Center. That's where the competition is being held."

"Wow." I looked at all the tall buildings and small buildings. The parking garages and many arenas. It was nothing like Pennsylvania.

The taxi halted to a stop in front of a hotel called Sheraton. It had a polished floor when we walked in and amazing ceilings. A waterfall was in the middle and nice music played throughout the building.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" The man behind the desk asked.

"Hi, I'm here for the 2015 Fighting Competition Monday."

"Oh! May I have your name?"

"Ryder Daniels."

"Aha! Here it is. The suite, yes?" I heard a hint of a French accent in the man's voice.

"That's us." Ryder said.

I looked at him weirdly. "Just one room?"

He winked. "Don't worry baby, two beds."

I rolled my eyes at him as the man gave us both a card key.

We rode the elevator up and I saw through the clear glass outside into Downtown OKC. It was astounding.

We got to one of the top floors and Ryder opened the large door to our room.

And may I just say.

Damn.

There were luxurious couches and pillows. The drapes were pulled back to show the entire view of Oklahoma City. Two large beds lie next to each other with a wine bottle on the table next to them.

"Holy shit." Ryder said and let go of his suitcase. I nodded and did the same.

We checked out the large bathroom with a waterfall shower and many buttons. There was even a pantry filled with goods and food. The fridge held sodas and champagnes.

Then I saw the amazingly soft looking beds. Ryder and I looked at each other at the same time and grinned.

We both ran to our beds and flew on top of the covers. It was like sinking in a cloud. It didn't even feel like a bed, it felt like heaven.

"I could get used to this." Ryder said from his bed.

"Yeah." I sighed and plopped my head down on the pillow. This for four days? I wasn't complaining.

"Mr. Daniels and Ms. Buchanan," Ryder started and I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him read the note he was holding, "Thank you for joining us in our yearly Fighting Championships. We hope you enjoy your reserved suite and complimentary bottle of champagne. We're looking forward to accompanying you on Monday for the 2015 Men's Fighting Championships. Rest well, and enjoy your stay. Donald Freire and the OYAF."

"What does OYAF mean?" I asked.

"Organization of Young Adult Fighting."

We stared at each other for a while and broke out into wide grins.

Then Ryder laughed, short and sweet. "This is gonna be awesome."