Page 10 of The Downside of Love
“Rory.” I sway back and forth. “I want to tell you something.”
I love you.
I wish you were mine.
I hate myself for letting Colby take you.
I fucking saw you first.
Be with me.
She grips my waist, her hands burning my sides, igniting a dangerous fire inside me. “What, Stryder?” She finally opens her mouth, her voice soft and understanding. Irritation long gone. But that’s how she is—so goddamn understanding.All the time.
Sighing, I grip her cheeks with my hands and say on an exhale, “You look nice tonight.”
Nice doesn’t even compare to what I’m really thinking. She looks breathtakingly beautiful. She always does. Colby was obsessed with her lips, especially when she wore red lipstick, but that’s not what draws my attention. It’s the little freckles splattered across her nose that I want to connect. The light grey outline that circles her irises. Or the way occasionally, a strand of hair falls over her forehead inviting her slender fingers to push it to the side.
Eyes cast toward Ryan, she speaks past my clutched hands, cheeks still smushed by my hands. “I think he’s drunk.”
“Uh yeah, he’s seriously drunk.” Grumbling, Ryan pulls me away from Rory and says, “Let’s get going.” She pulls on my hand, but I don’t budge.
“Hold on, I need to ask you something.” I lean back against the bar and take a look at my brother. Oh yeah. He’s here too. “Oh, Ryan, Rory. This is Shane, my brother.”
Shane lifts his hand in greeting and then takes another shot while handing me one. I go to throw it back, but Ryan stops me, stealing the shot glass from my hand. “I think you’re done.”
“But I’m thirsty.”
“You’re done,” Ryan says more sternly. “Come on, let’s get you back to your house.” She pulls on my arm again, but I don’t move.Again.
“That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Yeah, you have to listen to him, Rihanna,” Shane says next to me, almost seeming more drunk than me.
“It’s Ryan,” she says.
Giving her a once-over, he licks his lips and tilts his glass in her direction. “Sure it is.”
Growing more irritated, Ryan says, “You can either come with me, or you can stay here, but I’m leaving.”
Ryan turns away, pulling Rory with her, but I catch Rory’s hand before she can be dragged away. Her head whips toward me, her beautiful brown hair floating over her shoulders. I link my fingers through hers, taking a second to memorize what her hand feels like in mine before those green eyes of hers connect with mine. “I need help,” I say before I can stop myself.
When her expression softens, I fucking lose it. My stomachs flips in all different directions, my skin breaks out in a light sweat, and once again, I become incredibly angry that I never gave myself a chance to be with her.
So much fucking regret. I gave up my chance for what?
For nothing.
Colby and Rory aren’t together anymore, and I haven’t talked to Colby since graduation night. Ican’tto talk to him. I’m a jealous fuck. He’s flying and I’m grounded. Or maybe it’s because every time I think about talking to him, I’m tempted to tell him about my feelings for Rory.
That I want his girl.
Stepping away from Ryan, Rory brings me to a stool and motions for me to sit. I listen to her. I always listen to her.
“What’s going on, Stryder? Is everything okay?” So goddamn sweet. It’s why Colby loved her.
It’s why I’m in love with her.
I shake my head, running my hands through my hair, deflated. “I have to get out of my house.” Ryan comes up next to me and rubs my back, favoring my vulnerability over my drunken idiocy. “I can’t fucking live there anymore.”
