Some Kind of Wonderful (sequel to Give Me the Greenlight, Mr. Clifford)

Ch 7 - I Don't Like It

Ryder and I were going to wash the dishes as usual, but Mom told us she and dad would take care of it.  So instead, we went up to my room.

"Okay, so are you going to call Kenzie now?" I asked, crawling across the bed to sit next to Ryder.

Ryder rolled his eyes and smiled that cute half-smile he does. "Sure. I know I'm the one who thought of the idea, but are you really okay with it? I may or may not have been a little bitter when I suggested it."

"So I noticed. Are you still jealous of Mason?" I was teasing him, but was seriously curious. The way he had been acting, my guess was yes.

"Well, yeah. I'm not used to having to share you with anyone other than Kenzie." He moaned loudly and threw himself back onto the bed, rubbing his temples. "Shit, Kate. What's happening with us?"

I honestly didn't know. "I don't know, Ry. I guess we're just growing up and spending more time with other people, ya know? It's bound to happen. We're just not used to it."

Ryder reached up and grabbed my arm, pulling me to his chest, my favorite place in the world. "Whatever it is, I don't like it."  

"Neither do I," I admitted, absentmindedly drawing circles on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.  

I could have fallen asleep to the rhythm, but after a few moments Ryder went back to the original conversation. "Anyway, like I said, we'll all be together anyway. Maybe we could get a limo or something. And I was thinking we could go to the beach for our party. Have a bonfire or something. Not a huge party, just the six of us. What do you think?"

"Yes! All of that sounds great! We'll have a blast, Ry. Go on and call Kenzie. I want to hear her squeal." I laughed, imagining her face.

I moved off of his chest to lie down beside him. Ryder pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Kenzie. He was holding the phone between us so I could hear, too, without putting her on speakerphone. She picked up before the first ring was finished. 

"Hey, Ryder, what's up?" she asked, way too perky.

"Hey, Kenzie. So, um, Kate told me about you and Carter. I'm sorry to hear about that." He looked at me, silently laughing. I slapped his chest to make him stop before I laughed out loud. We really did love Kenzie, but she ran through boyfriends like disposable plates. She was always so dramatic about the breakups, but miraculously got over them quickly.

"Oh, thanks, Ryder. He's a jerk."

"Yeah, he is. So I guess that means you don't have a date for prom now?"  

"Right. I asked Katesby if she had another hot cousin I could take as my date," she said with a nervous chuckle.  

Ryder laughed, too. "Nope, just me. Look, Mason really wants to go with Kate, and she's cool with that, so why don't you and I go to prom together?"

Oh, I could imagine the look on her face at that moment. I wish we had been facetiming. She was no doubt doing a happy dance. I could tell it took her a few seconds to gather her wits. Finally she replied, "Um, okay," as though she was the calmest person ever.  

They talked a couple minutes, Ryder telling her the plans for the limo and party. I didn't listen to the whole conversation. I took that opportunity to escape to the bathroom and put on my pajamas. When I walked back into the room, Ryder tossed my phone to me. "Your turn."

I looked at the phone. I already had six texts from Kenzie. I quickly scrolled through them and replied, pretending that I was as excited as she was. I mean, I was excited. I just had to get used to the change in plans. I dialed Mason's number. Ryder was still lying across the bed, now up on one elbow, staring at me. I turned my back to him when Mason answered.