Handcuffs, Kisses and Awkward Situations (PUBLISHED, SAMPLE)

Chapter [13]

Because this book is now published, content stops after chapter twenty. Please proceed with this information in mind.  

T h i r t e e n 

            Ryder said we could do whatever I wanted for the rest of the day. Honestly, I just wanted some space to think. The locker room incident had gotten me all flustered and now I was a total and utter mess. By the time we got back to Ryder's house and gotten cleaned up, I had come to the conclusion that I had gotten too many footballs to the head and the locker room odours were making me feel funny. Yeah. That's it. I think.

            Ryder left me to come up with the remaining day's plans. In the end, we went out back. It was like a pergola, yet cased with glass so if you looked up, you could see the sky. It was one of many privileges Ryder had to his house. So, we sat out there for a while. I snuggled into some warm, comfortable clothes and curled up on the soft, leather couch with a book. Ryder sat next to me.

            He didn't seem to mind about my choice of activity. I think he was tired. Within a few minutes of settling in, a silence had fallen upon us. It wasn't a tense silence like the one we had experienced in the taxi ride home the previous night. It was... rather comforting.

            When I opened my book, I didn't read it. I stared blankly at the jumble of words and thought. Absentmindedly, I'd flick the pages over once in a while, appearing to be reading, when really, my mind was racing with so many thoughts.

            Say, hypothetically, if I were to fall for Ryder, what would be my reasons? I mean, we had hated each other for almost six years and without that stupid handcuff demonstration we might have graduated with our silent loathing of each other. But Ryder and I had been handcuffed for nearly three days now. You couldn't possibly fall for someone in three days.

            Maybe it wasn't love. Maybe it was just hate. I had read somewhere that there as a thin line between the two. Hate seemed like a more reasonable explanation, but I didn't think my hate for him was any more passionate than it was a few days ago. If anything, it had dimmed.

            Perhaps I was just thrilled that Ryder was being nice to me. I mean, after six years of hate and a sudden change in attitude, maybe I was just pleased with the difference. Maybe I didn't like, like him. Maybe I was starting to like him as a friend. I mean, he was being extremely compassionate and supportive, especially with the recent disastrous events.

            Looking over at Ryder, who was now fast asleep, I thought further. He sat there, eyes closed, lips slightly parted as he gently snored. His hair was a tousled mess, wisps of dark hair sticking out in all directions. My eyes skimmed through every line and angle of his face; the arch of his lips, the hallow of his cheekbones, the shape of his jaw. It was no doubt that Ryder was attractive, but that didn't mean that I actually was attracted to him. I think. I mean, that makes sense, right?

            In the end, I just ended up back in square one. My thoughts had jumbled up so much that I decided since I had so many football attacks to my head -and chest- that my brain had rattled up and was making me feel weird things. That, and the seriously foul odours of the boys' locker room.

            I don't know how long we stayed outside for. Eventually, I just placed my book down and watched the sun set. Rich, vibrant colours painted the sky, a spectrum of sparkling life. Slowly, the golden ball of light dimmed, the sky darkening with the faint glitter of stars appearing.

            Ryder woke up at that point, right when the sky bled from colour and was replaced by a velvety blanket of sapphire. He grunted, shifting in the couch as he stretched awkwardly and slumped back into position. He turned and looked at me, rubbing a hand down his face.