Chapter 24: Chapter 24

“What was that about?” Ryder asked when she returned to them.

“He gave me a free Coke,” she said, stepping around him, but he took her arm and swung her back to face him.

“What did he say to you?”

“Ryder, he just gave me a free Coke and made sure I was alright. Nothing more. I made it clear I was your fiancée.”

He narrowed his eyes and glared at the bartender. Alecia took a step back. “Ryder,” she ran a hand down his cheek. “It was just a Coke.”

Ryder took her hand as his other arm wrapped around her back and rushed her out of the bar, not saying a word.

The heat hit her cheeks defrosting them as they stepped into the foyer of Richard's home. Ryder had not said one word to her on the way home, but Sheila kept asking her questions about the bartender, trying to glean information. But what could she tell the girl, he had focused on her needs never once saying a word about himself. She could have sworn Ryder had gripped the steering wheel the whole trip home as if the whole conversation unnerved him. But it was hard to tell since Sheila jumped in the front thus regulating her to the back. That couldn’t be it. One conversation would never make him jealous.

After a brief visit to the restroom, Alecia followed the sound of a drum beat roll. She walked into a room filled with a large screen LCD T.V with various pictures of bands flashing across the screen like a PowerPoint presentation. Small round speakers filled each ceiling corner, making sound come from all directions.

Ryder lay shirtless on a black leather couch, holding a beer and talking to Sheila about the club. Sweat glistened over his chest, matting the dark hair. Sheila swayed her hips to the music – a black slip flowed to the middle of her thighs, making her skin look like coffee creamer. Could she not find anything else to wear?

A fire burned in the fireplace, creating a nice glow accented by a few lit candles shooting the scent of pine into the air.

“Hey Alecia, Sheila is going to loan you a nightgown,” Ryder said, pointing to a door. “It’s in the bedroom.”

Alecia walked into the room. Lying on the bed was a white silk slip. She picked it up and held it to her body. A gown that only fell to Sheila's upper thigh fell to her knees. She put it on and rubbed the silkiness against her stomach as she looked around the room. It must be Sheila's because all the pictures featured her, Taylor and Chloe, but there were none of Ryder or her father. The room contained a queen size bed covered in red silk sheets and black drapery that hung off the bedposts. Someday she’d be able to decorate a room like this instead of the plain wood beds and grandmother quilts her family owned.

“Hey puritan, get out here,” Sheila yelled.

“I’m no puritan,” Alecia mumbled. She walked to a mirror with a gold border and took out the hair tie, letting the hair tumble down. She played with it a second, trying to make the curls look perfect. She sprayed some perfume on her skin. Turning around, she watched her hair swish behind her. Ryder loved her in white. He always said it made her innocence radiate. Only Ryder could find her innocent after all the things he had taught her. Her cheeks warmed just with the thought of how he would make his lips lightly trail her neck. Best not think of that. She left the room.

Ryder's eyes immediately fixed on her and he bit down on the side of his bottom lip. Perfect, he would focus on her now, ignoring the black nymph who danced in the middle of the room.

Ryder held out his hands for her. She sat on the edge of the couch just in front of his waist, letting him immerse his hand under her curls, sending a warm shot through her.

Sheila sat on the edge of a black leather chair and nibbled on the top of a beer bottle. “She is pretty, Ryder.”

“And she’s all mine,” he said.

Alecia looked into his gray eyes, placing her hands on his chest. “Are you all mine?” A smile crossed his face. “Of course I am.” Sheila busted out laughing.

“What, Sheila?” Alecia asked. Her hand curled into a fist. She would love to punch those full lips, and add a black eye to match that slip. That girl grated every inch of her. “Sorry babe, but you’re going to have to share him with his fathers.”

“That’s different,” Ryder said.

Sheila placed the bottle on her knee. “Is it?”

Alecia ran a hand down Ryder's arm. What could she be talking about? No father owned his children. She looked at Ryder but he glared at Sheila. That line must have meant something.

“Let’s have fun,” Ryder said as he sat his beer down, got up and walked over to the MP3 player. He switched the song to a much faster one. The words ran together so fast that Alecia couldn’t understand them, but they knew them since they shouted them out at each other.

Alecia sank back into the couch and crossed her arms. Forgotten again.