When my phone rings on Saturday morning, I rush to grab it thinking that it might be Maddy calling but when I look at the screen and see Ryder’s name, a smile instantly comes over my face.
Not wanting to seem too eager, I take a deep breath before I answer and try to sound casual. “Hello.”
“Hey Liv, what’re you doing?”
“Finishing up an essay, what about you?” I’ve been working pretty hard on this essay and I even got up early so that I could have it out of the way before our date.
“Just wanting to make sure that we’re still on for dinner tonight.”
“Yes,” I groan. “Why did you have to pick a dinner date?” Our breakfast date was a way better idea.
He starts laughing, “Missed me this week, did you?”
“Not as much as you would think,” I lie, I totally missed him. “I should be finished my essay in about an hour or so, if you’re not doing anything why don’t you come over and hang out until our date?”
“So you’re saying you’re eager to see me?” I can imagine the smug look he has over his face right now.
“Hey, if you don’t want to come over then that’s your choice. I’ll just make plans with someone else.” I totally won’t though.
He rushes to say, “No, no, I didn’t say that. Just, okay, I’ll come over in a few hours.”
“Great, see you then.” Hanging up the phone, I hurriedly finish writing my essay and do one final check over before I’m satisfied with everything.
I have a couple other projects to work on but they aren’t due for a few weeks so I figure there’s no harm in leaving it until tomorrow.
After all, I sacrificed my Friday night to stay home and work on my essay with the purpose of trying to entice Ryder to come over earlier.
Yes, I’ve become one of those girls.
Totally obsessing over a boy.
I even stopped by the store on my way home last night so I could stock my apparently empty fridge.
In a matter of weeks, I’ve become someone that I don’t recognize and I’m not sure how I feel about it.
When there is a knock on my door, I race to answer it but then fix my hair at the last moment.
Opening the door, I see Ryder leaning against the doorframe again but this time he has two helmets in his hands.
He holds them up, “I replaced my one in case you were interested in taking a ride with me today.”
Riding on the back of a motorcycle with Ryder and getting to put my hands on him, uh, sign me up! “Yes, I happen to be very interested in that idea.”
He beams at me, “Great.” Walking past me and puts both helmets on the table. “Did you get your essay finished?”
“I did so I’m free as a bird for the rest of the day.” Which is exactly why I worked so damn hard to finish the bloody thing.
He walks back over to me, “What did you want to do?”
I smile coyly at him, “I had a few things in mind.”
Stepping closer to him, I wrap my hands around his neck and he takes the hint like I hoped he would. Leaning down, he presses his lips against mine and I shiver at the contact.
Bringing my body flush against his, he uses his hands to caress up and down my back. Just when I think he might grab my ass, there is a knock on the door.
Pulling back slightly, I instantly become furious with whoever is knocking. “Who the fuck is that?”
Ryder chuckles, “I don’t know but do you think you should answer it?”
I shrug, “Do you think if I don’t, they’ll go away?”
He shakes his head and makes his way over to the couch. “Just open the door Liv.”
“Ugh, fine but as soon as I get rid of whoever it is, we are picking up where we left off.” I can’t believe my bad luck.
Who the hell turns up unannounced on a Saturday morning?
If it’s my neighbor asking some stupid question again then I’m going to let him have it.
Opening the door with a scowl on my face, my jaw drops open when I see my brother standing there with a bag slung over his shoulder. “Tyler, what are you doing here?”
The smile on his face vanishes, “You forgot, didn’t you?”
“Forgot what?” He pushes past me and walks into my apartment, dumping a duffle bag on the floor which is bigger than I first thought. “Uh, why do you have a bag with you?”
Did him and Laura have a fight or something? Because Boston is a long way to travel when he could just crash at a friend’s house until Laura calms down.
He gives me the same look Dad gives me when he thinks I’ve done something stupid. “Do you seriously not remember our conversation a few weeks ago?”
How the fuck am I supposed to remember every single conversation that we have? “Obviously not, now what do you want Tyler? You are kind of interrupting something.”
He frowns then looks around the apartment until his eyes land on Ryder.
Ryder gives a half smile and waves awkwardly from the couch. “Hey man, I’m Ryder.”
Tyler turns his attention back to me and he does not look impressed. “Yeah, I can imagine what I just interrupted but can you get rid of this guy now? I came here to spend time with you, not some guy you’re fucking.”
My jaw drops in shock, “Um, that was rude Tyler and no I’m not getting rid of him.”
Now that he’s here, I vaguely remember something about him saying he wanted to come up and stay for a weekend but I thought it was one of those times people say stuff but they don’t actually mean it.
Like when you run into an old friend and it’s like, we should catch up sometime, except you don’t and you don’t speak again until the next time you guys run into each other and have the same conversation.
He’s been saying we should spend the weekend together for ages but I just thought he was being nice since Maddy’s away.
Why the fuck did he have to pick this weekend?
Ryder stands from the couch. “Its fine Liv, I can come back later.”
Tyler turns and says curtly, “Thanks man.”
Pointing at Ryder, I yell, “Sit the fuck down Ryder.”
His eyes widen and he looks between Tyler and I, clearly not knowing who to listen to.
When I raise one eyebrow and cross my arms over my chest, he finally sits back down and starts staring out the window.
Glaring at Tyler, I lower my voice. “Ryder’s not leaving and for your information, we aren’t fucking. At least not yet but we have plans for today that you are ruining.”
I am so fucking close to stomping my foot like a child that it’s not even funny. I love my brother but right now, I want him to go the fuck away.
Tyler throws his head back and groans, “For fuck sakes Olivia. What is going on with you? I haven’t seen you since you got back from Italy. I have this whole big weekend planned for us to catch up, then I get here and you’re trying to blow me off for some dude that you aren’t fucking who has given you some nickname, that you hate, by the way.”
“I don’t hate that nickname, I actually find it quite endearing.” He’s right that I don’t normally like nicknames but when Ryder started calling me Liv, it made me feel all warm inside and then I didn’t correct him.
Lame, I know but now it’s stuck.
He eyes me suspiciously, “Olivia, we tried to give you a nickname when you were a kid and you completely lost it. You made us sign some stupid contract to call you Olivia for the rest of your life.”
Is he trying to embarrass me in front of Ryder? “I was ten and that’s only because you guys started calling me Livvy. Livvy is fucking stupid,” and I still stand by that.
Tyler throws his hands up in the air in frustration. “Whatever but I’m not leaving, you and I are hanging out and if Ryder over there isn’t happy about it then he can leave.”
“He’s staying,” I demand.
His eyebrows crease together, “Seriously? You want some guy that you’re dating to get to know your brother?”
Fuck, I didn’t think of that.
Is three dates too soon to meet my brother?
It’s not like he’s meeting my parents but Tyler is still a family member so I probably should have checked how Ryder feels about this.
“Um, give me a minute.” Walking around Tyler, I stand in front of Ryder and take a seat on my coffee table. Putting my hand up to cover my mouth, I ask him, “Are you okay with hanging out with my brother today?”
Tyler calls out, “I can still hear you Olivia, you fucking idiot.”
Giving him the finger, I drop my hand and look back at Ryder, “Well?”
Ryder looks between the two of us and it’s clear he’s uncomfortable. “It’s fine but I don’t want to cause trouble between you two. We can reschedule our date, it’s not a problem.”
“Ryder,” I say completely seriously. “This is date number four, if you think I’m going to let you postpone date number four an entire week which will push date number five even further away then you can think again. If you leave now then this is still counted as a date.”
Tyler has already ruined my day with Ryder, he’s not taking a date away from me as well.
Ryder takes a moment to think it over and looks between Tyler and I a few times before announcing, “I’ll stay for a bit.”
“Yay!” Clapping my hands, I join Ryder on the couch. “Stop being rude Tyler and come hang out.”
Tyler takes a seat on one of the chairs and stares at us both with a frown on his face. “My boss gave me two tickets to watch the Red Sox at Fenway Park tonight.”
Oh that sounds like fun. “Can you get another ticket?”
“Seriously?” His mouth drops open but I don’t see what the big deal is.
“Yes, seriously. If he gave you two then he probably has access to more, just ask.” If Ryder can’t come with us to Fenway Park then Tyler will just have to go by himself.
“I can’t just ask my boss for more tickets.”
“Why not? I thought you were his star worker,” I say sarcastically.
I’ve heard all about how well Tyler is doing at his new job. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for my brother but Dad is only telling me all of Tyler’s accomplishments because he thinks it will give me more motivation to study.
It doesn’t.
It just pisses me off.
He shakes his head then starts ignoring me, it’s obvious he wants to say something else but doesn’t want to start something in front of Ryder.
Maybe I should have Ryder around the next time Dad tries to tell me off about something. He could turn out to be pretty useful.
Ryder’s knee starts bouncing and he still seems rather uncomfortable. “Uh, so, what do you do?”
“I’m a-”
“Please don’t get him started on his job, it’s sooooo boring.” I’ve heard enough about Tyler’s job to last me a lifetime, I don’t need to hear any more about it.
Tyler glares at me, “Now who’s being rude Olivia.”
“I’m sorry but your work stories put me to sleep.” Angling my head so I can look at Ryder I start to explain, “Let’s just say Tyler majored in finance and got some fancy pants job in New York that impresses everyone and he’s really good at it but it’s all numbers, numbers, spreadsheets, numbers.”
Tyler reaches up and rubs his hands over his head. “That’s not, fuck Olivia, why do you have to be such a dick?”
Ryder tries to smother his laughter but I don’t bother trying to hide mine.
Leaning against Ryder’s side, I ask Tyler, “Are you planning on sleeping in Maddy’s room?”
He glances over in the direction of her room. “Yeah, if that’s alright?”
I shrug, “Fine by me.”
“She, I tried to call her a few times but she never picks up. She’s been ignoring my texts and emails too,” he says sadly.
“What did you do to her?” I ask bluntly.
Something happened between those two when he went over to Italy to save her but I have no idea what it is. Every time I mentioned Tyler to Maddy, she shut me down so I stopped mentioning him.
If I had to guess, I would say that Tyler is jealous over Blake because he’s so amazing.
I mean, it’s hard to trump a guy when they shield your body with theirs in a gunfight.
That shit is hardcore and if I was Maddy then I probably would have fallen in love with Blake too.
“Nothing,” he snaps.
“Well you must have done something if she’s ignoring you.” Not that he would ever tell me what’s going on.
Those two have some secret pact or something not to divulge information to anyone. It’s pretty annoying.
He rolls his eyes, “How is she?”
“She’s good, really good actually.” I don’t want to rub it in Tyler’s face that she’s happy but I can’t lie either. She truly is really happy.
He rubs his hands up and down his jeans. “Is she still dating that guy?”
Like he doesn’t know what his name is. “His name is Blake and yes she’s still dating him.”
“Is she happy?” he asks quietly.
Fuck, I hate feeling sorry for Tyler but it’s hard to not feel something when he looks like I’ve just kicked his puppy.
Why the hell does he have to be so stubborn when it comes to her?
Again, I can’t lie to him. “Yes, she’s happy Tyler.”
“Good,” he clears his throat and stands up. “I’m going to put my things away then since Ryder’s hanging around, I’ll take you both to lunch.”
Both Ryder and I watch Tyler grab his duffle bag and walk into Maddy’s room where he slams the door.
He’s such a sorry sack. “Sorry about that, I hope we didn’t make you uncomfortable.” Except we clearly did.
Ryder puts his arm around me, “Nah, it’s actually nice watching people argue when it’s clear that they love each other.”
“What do you mean?” That’s kind of a weird statement to make.
He shrugs, “I grew up in foster care remember, the arguments I witnessed or were a part of were never like that. It’s actually entertaining.”
Fuck, I keep forgetting about Ryder’s past.
He just seems so put together that you would never guess he had such a tragic childhood. “Well then you are in for plenty of entertainment today. Tyler takes after my dad in the whole protective thing. He’s not as bad but some days I want to hit him over the head.”
“What’s the deal with him and your roommate Maddy?” he asks suddenly.
“Maddy grew up next door to us and our parents are best friends. We were all best friends growing up too but then shit happens and you drift apart.” It’s the same answer I give to everyone when they ask.
Smirking, he says, “He’s in love with her, isn’t he?”
I narrow my eyes at him, “How did you come to that conclusion?”
He smiles and leans down to kiss me, “Let’s just say that I’m observant.”
“Well, if you want to stay on Tyler’s good side, pretend that he doesn’t love her because that’s exactly what he does.” If Ryder can pick up on Tyler’s feelings for Maddy then how come no one else has?
It’s like I’m the only person in our whole extended family who is smart enough to pick up on their sexual tension.
Maybe it’s because I spent so much time around the two of them growing up or maybe it’s because no one else wants to see it. Either way, it still baffles me that no one else has picked up on it.
“What about Maddy?” he asks quietly. “Does she love Tyler too?”
I sigh deeply, thinking about my best friend. “Yeah she does, I try to stay out of it as I don’t want to have to pick sides but I think something happened between them in Italy. When he came back, he wasn’t the same and was extra moody. I don’t think he likes the fact that Maddy finally has a boyfriend. Which makes him a huge hypocrite as he’s never without a girlfriend.”
I’ve stopped trying to work out my brothers thought process when it comes to Maddy and believe me I’ve tried.
My brain ends up going in circles then I get confused and it’s like trying to work out the Labyrinth.
That shit is impossible.
The only reason I’ve come up with for him always having a girlfriend is he uses it as a distraction but I still don’t get why those two don’t just go for it.
If it doesn’t work out, I’m sure there will be some fallout and family holidays will become super awkward but they both seem miserable staying away from each other.
“Sounds like your life is full of drama.”
I’ll say. “Oh you have no idea, if you choose to stick around then I’m sure you will uncover plenty more family secrets.”
The look in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine. “I think I’d like to stick around.”
“I think I’d like that too.” Reaching up, I pull his head down and he crushes his lips against mine.
Our tongues start colliding and just when it starts getting good, Tyler walks back out and once again ruins the moment. “Cut that shit out and let’s go to lunch.”
Breaking our kiss, I stare into Ryder’s eyes, “Please don’t change your mind about dating me after today.”
He smiles and tucks my hair behind my ear, “Never.”
After Tyler grumbled about having to ask his boss for an extra ticket, it turned out that it was no big deal and he was even offered another one in case he needed it.
I took great pleasure in rubbing it in Tyler’s face that I was right.
When it came time to leave for the game, Tyler absolutely lost his shit when I said I wanted to go on Ryder’s motorcycle and would meet him there, so the three of us drove to Fenway Park in Tyler’s truck.
Ryder has been a great sport about today and I can tell that Tyler is warming up to him.
Thinking back, Tyler hasn’t had to hang out with one of my boyfriends before because my relationships never seem to last that long.
It must be weird for him to deal with both Maddy and I having boyfriends.
Not that Ryder’s my boyfriend.
But it sure felt like he was today.
We end up getting great seats a few rows back from the dugout and even though I don’t know a lot about baseball, I’m rather excited.
I’m up for watching anything live in a huge crowd, there’s always such a great atmosphere.
I sit in the middle between Tyler and Ryder, waiting patiently for the game to start.
Ryder leans over and places his mouth against my ear, “Are you a big baseball fan?”
I glance over at him and shake my head, “To be honest no, I just love the atmosphere at places like this. Oh, and when you see one of those guys walking around, tell me, I want a hot dog.”
Ryder starts laughing and shaking his head, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you a hot dog.”
“How about you? Do you like baseball?”
He shrugs, “Yeah, I’ve been to a few games here but I’m not a fanatic or anything. I can watch most sports.”
“Did you ever think our fourth date would be at Fenway Park with my brother?” I laugh when I ask this question as I never thought I would be on a date with Tyler tagging along.
I can’t wait to tell Maddy, it will blow her mind.
He glances over at Tyler, “No, you sure know how to keep a guy on his toes.”
Hopefully he means that as a good thing. “We need to start talking about date number five, I was thinking Friday night but you have to clear your schedule for Saturday and Sunday first.”
His eyebrows crease together, “If our date is on Friday, why do I need to clear Saturday and Sunday too?”
I turn my head and stare at him with wide eyes, “Um, it’s date number five, what do you think I mean?”
He can’t honestly be that dense.
I’ve been going on about date number five since he created this stupid rule.
He swallows deeply, “You want me to stay with you for the whole weekend?”
“Duh, it was your idea to make me wait so now you have to make it up to me,” and that includes an entire weekend where we lock ourselves away in my apartment and do nothing but stay in bed.
Sounds pretty perfect to me.
Leaning in close to my ear, his breath tickles my neck and I shudder. “Should I be worried about how much you like sex?”
“No but if you talk any louder then I would start to get worried.” He may have leaned into my ear to make that comment but because it’s loud he didn’t exactly whisper.
Tyler has already been giving us strange glances since we sat down.
Ryder looks up at Tyler then stares out at the field intently and I try to smother my laughter. It’s cute that he’s trying to make a good impression on Tyler but it’s not like it’s going to change my mind about dating him.
My family might be super close but if they don’t like a guy I’m dating then that’s not going to stop me.
After a few innings, Ryder buys us all hot dogs and I really start to get into the game.
Whenever the Red Sox fans start yelling, I yell right along with them which causes Ryder to spend most of the game laughing at me.
I’m picking up some of the rules but mostly, I’m just agreeing with the majority.
Tyler seems to be having a good time too and he and Ryder have even started heckling me which means that Tyler must like him.
For some reason that makes me incredibly happy.
If Tyler didn’t like Ryder then it wouldn’t stop me from dating him but it’s nice to have his approval.
I miss hanging out with Tyler and it would be awesome if he came up to stay more often.
When the game is finished, we start milling towards the exit with the crowds but end up waiting for Ryder to use the bathroom.
Personally, I wouldn’t be able to stand in line that long but he seemed adamant about going rather than waiting until we got home.
After about twenty minutes, I spot him through the crowd and he has a jersey dangling from his hand. He grins when he reaches me, “Since you’re such a huge Red Sox fan now, I brought you this.”
He holds up a white Red Sox jersey that is exactly the right size. “No way!” I grab the jersey and put it on straight away. “You even got the size right, this is great, thanks.”
I can’t believe he brought me a present.
No guy has ever done something like this for me before.
Standing on my toes, I give him a couple of kisses before Tyler starts clearing his throat.
Like Dad, he’s a huge hypocrite. Those two are both shockers when it comes to PDA.
It takes a long time to reach Tyler’s truck and even longer to drive through the city to my apartment building but I had a great night.
Date number four turned out to be pretty epic.
Ryder comes up to my apartment with us to grab his helmet but Tyler lingers in the living room. I eye him darkly to let him know that his presence isn’t required but he ignores me.
Giving up, I decide to pretend like he isn’t here. “Why don’t you leave the spare helmet here? It will save you having to bring it over next time.”
I’m still dying to wrap my arms around Ryder while we ride around the city on his bike. He pointed it out when we walked to Tyler’s truck and it looks badass.
I have no idea about motorcycles but Tyler seemed impressed so it must be a nice one.
“Okay,” he eyes Tyler wearily and I can only imagine that Tyler is giving him a death glare over taking me on his motorcycle.
The last thing I need is for Tyler to open his big mouth and tell Dad that I’m dating a guy who rides a motorcycle. I would never hear the end of it and even though Ryder’s a nice guy, he would never approve.
It’s always safety first with that one.
Even if I were to point out that plenty of people die in car crashes, he still wouldn’t listen to me.
Ryder shoves his hands in his pockets and glances over my shoulder before looking at me. “I had a good time today.”
“Me too.” Pulling him out into the hall, I wrap my arms around his neck and press my body against his.
Tyler can get over it because I need some Ryder action before he leaves for the night.
He drops his helmet on the ground and spins us around so I’m leaning up against the wall. His mouth drops down to meet mine and as our tongues collide, I finally get to feel his hands on my ass.
Loving the feel of his hands on me, I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist.
He starts grinding into me and working his way down my neck, sucking and licking as he goes.
When I release a throaty moan, he pulls back and looks at the open door to my apartment. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of my brother.”
He chuckles into my ear, “Not afraid but I would rather he like me and if he hears any more of those sexy little moans come out of your mouth, then I might lose the progress I’ve made with him today.”
Releasing my legs from around his waist, I drop to the ground and kiss him one more time. “Suit yourself but remember what I said about clearing your schedule next weekend.”
He leans against the wall. “Trust me, I haven’t forgotten.”
“Good, I’ll see you later Ryder.” Waking back into my apartment, I slowly start to shut the door.
Watching him walk down the hallway, he turns around and grins, “Bye Liv.”
Once the door is shut, I lock up and lean my head against the door, smiling like an idiot.
“You really like this guy huh?”
Spinning around, I walk into the living room and join Tyler on the couch, trying my best to wipe the smile off my face. “I really do. It kind of snuck up on me but at the same time, happened really quickly.”
“Ryder seems like a good guy and it’s nice to see you happy.” Wow, Tyler seems really genuine with that statement.
It’s not often we get all mushy and talk about our feelings so I decide to bite the bullet. “Are you happy?” I blurt out.
“What do you mean?” he asks cautiously.
My guess is that he knows exactly what I mean. “Ever since you came back from Italy you have been a moody mess. What happened over there?”
Normally I don’t like to get in the middle of things between Tyler and Maddy but something definitely went down and it’s affected Tyler more than he is letting on.
He likes to pretend that he’s the strong one out of us siblings and normally that is the case but when it comes to Maddy he’s as soft as a marshmallow.
What she endured over there was horrendous and I have no doubt that Tyler is beating himself up about not protecting her.
No one could have known that she was hiding such a big secret but that wouldn’t have mattered to Tyler. He would still blame himself for her getting hurt.
Like I knew he would, he starts to shut down. “You know exactly why I went there Olivia.”
Of course I know why he went to Italy. He would travel to the ends of the Earth for Maddy. “No, I mean what happened between you and Maddy while you were there? I know we don’t talk about her but if somethings bothering you, you can tell me.”
He seems like he is about to say something then hesitates, “It’s nothing.”
I could waste my breath and try to argue with him some more but I already went down that road with Maddy and it didn’t work. “Well there’s always tomorrow if you change your mind but answer me this, are you happy with Laura?”
He pauses for so long, I’m not sure that he’s going to answer. “I am, but…”
“But?” I prompt.
Fidgeting in his seat, he seems reluctant to share. “She’s mentioned marriage in passing a few times now and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
My eyes widen in shock, “Marriage? Like she wants you to propose to her?”
Holy shit.
No wonder he’s been in such a weird mood.
Marriage is such a huge commitment, especially when your heart belongs elsewhere.
Can I really stand by and let Tyler make a mistake like that?
Surely he knows that if he marries Laura that it’s not going to last.
He rests his head against the back of the couch and stares at the ceiling. “I’m not sure and I haven’t exactly wanted to bring it up.”
“Wow, that’s intense. You’re still so young.” Tyler is only a year older than me and marriage is the last thing on my mind.
Our twenties are the time for travel and parties, not marriage and babies.
Oh god, what if she wants to have a baby with him?
Nope, don’t go there yet.
I need to help him deal with the whole marriage thing first.
In my mind, I always presumed that Tyler and Maddy would get married.
I always thought it would take them until their thirties to figure out they should be together and by that time, I would be willing to let Maddy go.
“I know.” He sighs deeply and rubs his hands over his face. “I was happy, I mean, I am happy but the word marriage makes me think about my future and…”
“Tyler.” I grab hold of his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. “Don’t let her pressure you into anything. There’s no rush. None. You get married when you want to get married and only to the person who completes you. If that’s not Laura, then that’s okay.”
I wish I could shake some sense into Tyler.
Even though I don’t appreciate people meddling in my life, I will have to intervene if he wants to propose to Laura.
Hopefully he decides to confide in me before he does anything stupid.
I’ll have to make a point of talking to him more to make sure he’s doing alright.
It’s awful seeing Tyler so down and out when he’s normally such a happy guy.
He squeezes my hand back, “Thanks Sis.” He stands from the couch, “I’m going to go to bed.”
“Okay.” When he reaches Maddy’s doorway, I call out, “I changed her sheets by the way so don’t bother trying to sniff her pillow.”
Smirking, he eyes me over his shoulder. “Very funny, Livvy.”
My head snaps around but he has already closed the door so I mumble under my breath, “Fucking smartass.”