“Who the fuck hurt you, baby?”
I let go of his hand and crossed my arms under my chest. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Well, it must matter enough for you to question my motives.” He sighed. “Listen, I saw you. I watched you for a few minutes before I actually got the balls to approach you. Yes, I’m shipping out on Monday, but I won’t be gone forever. I wanted to go on this date and see where things went. I’m not looking for a random fuck. I want to get to know you, Clara. That’s it. If after tonight, you just want to be friends, that’s fine too. You just let me know.”
“I’m sorry.” The back of my neck heated. “I’ve had some bad luck with guys, and I guess you asking me out on a date surprised me.”
Ryder leaned an elbow on the windowsill, scratching his jaw. “I get that. I don’t date a lot. I won’t lie and say that I’ve never had a one-night stand. I’m not home a lot, so it’s hard to keep a relationship. I have to do what I can to take the edge off. But if we’re both happy with how tonight goes, that ends. I promise you. I’m not a cheater or a player. I know the twins tried setting you up with Zach.”
“Yeah, that backfired and was embarrassing,” I mumbled.
“I’m sorry that happened to you but I like to think it actually worked out in my favor.”
I looked at Ryder.
He winked, waggling his eyebrows.
I laughed, the heaviness in the air, dissipating. “I’m glad it didn’t work out. I like Luna. I wouldn’t want anything to ruin what little friendship I have there. I don’t really hang out with the girls, but I do like them.”
He gave me a small smile. “How’s school going?”
“It’s hard but I’m determined,” I said honestly, thankful for the change in subject. “I’m more of a hands-on kind of person. It’s the in-class shit that stresses me out.”
“I get that.”
“Where are we going?” I asked when I realized that we were no longer in town.
“You’ll see.” Ryder winked.
That small movement sent a nervous flutter racing through me. Nervous because I knew that I could fall for him and dangerously so. He was different. Raised well. Good head on his shoulders. And he had a single mission on his mind and that was to fight for his country.
Ten minutes later and we were pulling down a gravel road.
“Nervous?” Ryder asked.
“Yeah, I’m wondering if you’re going to leave me out here by myself.” I sat forward, seeing a clearing at the end of the road. It overlooked…my eyes widened. “Wow.”
He chuckled. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“It is.” I had heard of a stunning view that overlooked our town, but no one had ever brought me here.
Once we reached the edge of the cliff, Ryder turned the truck around and backed it up. “We’ll be able to watch the sunset from here.”
My heart warmed that he had thought of that. I wasn’t overly girly, but I did enjoy dressing up from time to time and just being treated like a Queen. What female didn’t? It had always been the little things that mattered most to me.
Ryder killed the engine and slipped from the truck. “Coming?” he asked before shutting the door.
I took a breath and left the vehicle, not overly sure what I had gotten myself into but excited to see where this night went just the same.
Much to my surprise, Ryder started rolling back the cover on the bed of his truck. When he was done, I just stood there, staring at what laid before me.
He chuckled. “Surprised?”
“Uh…I really have no…I just…” My heart warmed and I think I swooned a little bit.
Ryder came toward me, a satisfied smile sitting on his face. “Did I do okay?” He took my hand, bringing it up to his mouth.
I nodded, chewing my bottom lip.
He winked. “I think we should test it out.” He kept hold of my hand and helped me up into the bed of the truck. I kicked off my wedges and sank my toes into the plush feather bed. There were two pillows sitting at the head of it. A bucket with a bottle of wine and two bottles of water sat to my right.
Ryder snapped two ends of wires together, a row of lights turning on that sat around the edge of the bed.
It was beautiful, romantic, and damn near perfect. No. Correction. It was perfect. No other guy had ever done this for me before.
“Do you like it, Clara?” Ryder asked, his brow scrunching in the middle.
“Oh God.” I shook my head, my eyes welling. “Yes. I can’t…I have no words.”
He joined me in the back of the truck and sat beside me. “I didn’t mean…” He reached out, wiping a tear that had fallen down my cheek.
“Oh…” I laughed, my face heating. “I’m such a romantic but no one has ever done this for me before. Thank you, Ryder. I really have no words.”
His grin grew, his shoulders dropping with relief. “I’m glad you like it, but I can’t take full credit. Gigi came across a picture on Facebook and both her and Meadow gave me ideas.”
“You planned this all today?” I asked, taken aback that he would be so damn considerate and do this with such short notice.
He nodded slowly. “I wanted to impress you. I know we don’t know each other and it’s hard to trust anyone these days. But thank you for putting your trust in me and letting me take you out tonight.”
I leaned forward and placed a soft peck on his cheek. “Thank you for this.”
“I told the center where you are, so if you end up feeling uncomfortable and want to leave, someone can pick you up.”
As if on cue, my phone dinged. I pulled it from my purse and found a text from… “It’s your mom.” I looked up at Ryder.
Jay: I know you’re out with my son tonight and that you don’t know each other really but if you need anything, you don’t hesitate to call me. Understand?
Me: Yes, Ma’am.
Jay: And don’t call me Ma’am.
Jay Rodriguez had set up The Dove Project with friends years ago. It was a place for victims of human trafficking and domestic violence and more. I had been volunteering there for the past several months. It also looked good on my application when I applied for college. Ryder’s mom had been nothing but supportive.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I said to Ryder. “You told your mom where I was in case I didn’t feel safe?”
Ryder shrugged. “Why not? I like you, Clara. I wouldn’t have asked you out if I didn’t. And I know a lot of people don’t start dating until they actually know each other. But when I saw you today, I wanted more. Do I know exactly what that is? No. I need to focus on my career.”
“Me too.” I looked down at my lap, picking at a random fuzz on my dress. “But for one night, I don’t want to think about school or careers.”
A wide grin spread on his face. “Good. Because neither do I.” He leaned forward and pulled the bottle of wine from the bucket. “Did you want a glass?”
Ryder
I never expected my romantic gesture to actually bring out any sort of emotion in Clara. My sisters had been right in saying that she would love it. Unless she was a good fucking actor and was just saying she loved the surprise just to make me feel better about myself.