Chapter 14

I smoothen the edges of my black skater dress. I looked at the mirror again and fixed my ponytail. The ends of it were curled. I know I didn’t change my usual hairstyle. But I don’t think I need to be overly dressed for this occasion. "Coming!" I yelled when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and saw Ryker rocking back and forth with his feet while looking down on the floor. "Hey." I greeted him with a small smile. He looked up and sucked a breath. My eyebrows furrowed. "You look... amazing, Avery." He said breathlessly as he took a step towards me. "No." I put my hand against his chest to stop him. I know he’s going to do something that surely I’m not going to like. He sighed. "Let’s go." He smiled. He took my hand and I locked the door as we went our way. He took me to a five star restaurant as expected of him. Of course this guy never cease to impress a girl. I smirked at him. "Really, Ryker, you never changed." He looked up from his menu and smiled at me. "But you did." "Of course." After a while, the waiter came back with the food we ordered. He carefully set it on the table. We then ate our meal but I couldn’t stop wondering why he wanted to talk. I stared at him until I couldn’t take it anymore and asked him. "What do you really want Ryker?" He chuckled. "Still as straightforward as ever." He stopped eating and placed his utensils down on the table. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and paid attention to me. "We’re not here to talk about the past." I said coldly. "If us is considered the past, Avery, then we are going to talk about the past." He said seriously. "Why are you really here, Ryker?" I asked off topic. "If you mean here, then surely you know why. I-" "I’m talking about New York. Why are you here in New York? Shouldn’t you be in Chicago running your old man’s business?" I cut him off with pure curiosity. The thought that this city is so big yet we still bumped on to each other. It’s kind of weird really. "Oh, that. Two years ago, dad branched out in New York and Canada. The company was doing really great in the past couple of years so he decided to branch out again. My older brother is taking care of the branch in Canada. It’s a lot bigger than New York though. As you can see, I’m handling it here. Thus, the answer to your question." He answered showing interest in his field. I smiled at the thought. " How’s your brother? I almost never seen him since he went to college but he’s a really good guy. I mean out of the two you, he’s better you know." I teased. He frowned." That’s really nice of you to say that, Avery." I laughed. "Alex is going to be quite busy for a couple of months. He’s getting ready for his wedding." "Wow". I beamed. "No way. I mean it’s still Lilith, right?" He showed a smile that was genuine and no hint of mischief. "Yes, it’s still her." I smiled proudly. "I knew they’re going to end up together. Your brother’s all over her you know-" I was cut when he cleared his throat. "But that’s not why we are here, Avery. Don’t sway me out of topic." I sighed knowing he caught up with my plan. "Why are you here in New York? And why do you happened to be Stefano’s driver?" He asked with no pause. Clearly enough there are lots more to come. "It’s a long story, Ryker. Some of it, I really don’t want to talk about. I came here because I want to start afresh. I just happened to bump Stefano and end up being his driver." "Where were you when you suddenly disappeared for three years?" I looked at his eyes full of concern. His face morphed into something which I’m not familiar with even if we were together for a couple years back then. I know for a fact that he’s extremely serious right now. "I honestly don’t want to talk about it, Ryker. I did unimaginable shit back in high school and paid the price for it. That’s all I want you to know." He sighed. "Did you love me?" I was caught off guard with his question. "What?!" I almost yelled. I then laughed. "What’s with that question, Ryker? We both know that we dated because they thought we looked good together and we agreed. There was no feelings involved." He scoffed. "No feelings? I’m pretty sure it’s not obvious with the kisses, the random make outs, the mind blowing sex-" "Ryker, stop! We were teenagers for god sake. If you recall I was a bitch. I bully people. I was a fucking queen B. You would have known that I didn’t take everything seriously." I looked in his eyes squarely. "And you were no different, Ryker." "Avery..." He called my name with much guilt and concern. "No, it’s fine. I didn’t give a shit about us you know. I just had a relationship with you because you’re the quarterback that everyone loves. You’re the golden boy. Every girl in our school worshipped you like you were some Greek god. I wanted you because of that and that no one dared to mess with me, made it even easier to have you." I laughed." Boy you were easier to them too. You were such a playboy. But I didn’t complain about it, did I? You have multiple girls in your side. You made out with them, fucked them. I didn’t give a damn about it. Just as long as the girlfriend title was mine." I laughed again." God, I hate how I was back then." I looked at him and noticed he was staring at me with full of emotion. I didn’t talk. He didn’t talk. We ended up staring at each other instead. Until he decided to. "When you’re suddenly gone... I realized something..." He leaned towards me and caught my hands with his. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it. I was shocked at his gesture. "I missed you. I kept thinking about you ever since. I couldn’t get you out of my head and I didn’t know why. Not until I realized I grew feelings for you. I went to your house and asked where you were. Your dad was the one who answered. He said you went overseas but he didn’t mention exactly where. I tried to force him out of it but he didn’t budge. Man, your father is a fucking rock head." He chuckled. "I stopped asking for you when I went to college here. There was no way to find you anyway when they didn’t want you to be found." My brows creased. My family was ashamed of me that’s why they didn’t want anyone to know where I was. How could a spoiled bitch like me went to military school? It’s a shady thing to happen not unless the girl is a fucking drug addict. "When I saw you at the elevator, you have no idea how my whole world stopped. My heart’s gone crazy for you, Avery." "But you’re still a playboy, Ryker. That didn’t change." He let go of my hand. He rubbed his hands on his face. "Well, that. Yes, I was." He tried to deny with frustration. "You still are." I argued. "When I found you again, not anymore-" I cut him off. "No, stop, Ryker!" "I just want us to start over again, Avery. Is that hard to believe?" He said with frustration. "No. I believe all of what you said. I believe you. But it’s just... it’s just... I’m unwilling. I don’t want us to start over again. And I’m sorry. I really can’t do this." I said with sincerity while trying to throw away the guilt simultaneously. I don’t think I can give him a chance when I don’t have feelings for him. I don’t want to give false hope for him knowing he wouldn’t get anything from me. Despite him being a playboy, he’s a really good guy. Even if we weren’t serious with our relationship, we had fun, we have a bond. But that’s it. Nothing more than friends with benefits. "Why? You have someone else?" Though he was acting calm, his fury could still be evident. He was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. "Don’t give me that crap, Ryker." I slam my hand on the table furiously. I stood abruptly and left. I could hear Ryker’s footsteps following me.