He Shoves Me But Loves Me (Riker Lynch/R5)

Chapter 41

"Rydel, what on earth are we doing with two dead starfish?" I chuckled.

"Making friendship necklaces, duh!" Rydel spread out colored strings and beads of all sorts. "You take the smaller one and use the needle to poke a hole through it." I did as she told.

"First, some tunes." I smiled and turned on Christina Aguilera radio on pandora. A song from her movie "Burlesque" started playing. It was "Show Me How You Burlesque". I loved that song so I had to sing along.

"Underneath the city lights, there is a world few know about. Where rules don't apply, no. And you can't keep a good girl down."

Rydel clapped then grabbed some black, white, and pink string. "Dang girl, you have a powerful voice. You hit that note perfectly! I choreographed a dance to that song at the Rage. Maybe one day we could dance while you sing."

"That'd be so cool!" I braided together gray, pink, and black string and strung my starfish on the string. I put a few beads on each side of it and had Rydel tie it on. I tied hers on.

"Awesomeness! Let's go show mom and eat that snack she made us." I exclaimed and dragged Rydel up stairs with me.

"Hey girls." Stormie smiled sweetly. "Is your hand feeling better Marilyn?"

"Very much, thank you."

"Notice anything different, Mom?"

"Necklaces?"

Rydel and I cheered at the same time. "Yup!"

"Those are really unique girls. Eat your snack and I have to go to the market to get some things for dinner. Any requests?"

Rydel and I looked at each other. "Nope." She said.

"Alright. Eat up and I'll be back. Love you both." She kissed both of our cheeks and left.

"You have an awesome mom." I said, popping a piece of pineapple into my mouth. Rydel smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. What was your mom like?" We sat at the island.

"She was like a taller me. We have the same hour glass shape and thick, wavy blonde hair. We even had the same eye prescription, the left eye worse than the right. She was my inspiration for everything. She'd play Etta James all the time and sang along perfectly, so I mimicked her. I picked up my love for piano and singing from her. She was so polite, cheery, beautiful. She had such a big heart. I'd do anything to be back with her." I hadn't noticed that tears slipped down my face and that Rydel had embraced me.

"Though I've never met her, if she's just a taller you, I can tell that she was a lovely woman."

I couldn't speak, and Rydel was okay with that. She smiled at me and wiped my tears, just like Riker would when I was sad. "What else is on the agenda?" I asked after I had calmed down.

"We can do whatever you want to."

"I don't know what I want to do, though!" I laughed and Rydel cracked a smile. I glanced at the large clock mounted on the wall. It read seven 'o three. My hand throbbed dully.

"I think I'm gonna get cleaned up for dinner and then just relax. Maybe we could watch a movie or two?"

"Sounds great!" Rydel motioned for me to follow her. "I'll show you the bathroom and where stuff is in there." She took me up the stairs and down the hall. "Here's the bathroom. Towels are in the closet and if you need shampoo and conditioner it's already in the shower. There's soap in there too."

I half smiled. "Thanks. I'm gonna grab my shower caddy and some fresh pajamas." I padded down the hall and grabbed my shower caddy and my cow print pajamas and undergarments. Snatching my iPad, I made my way back to the bathroom. This way by far the biggest bathroom I'd ever been in. I set up my soap and things inside of the shower and set my dry clothes on the sink. I figured out how to work the shower and stripped of my bikini. I picked a playlist and stepped into the steaminess. As I washed up, I thought about Riker. I missed him, but I was having fun without him. I scrubbed the sand and salt from my hair and turned off the water. I found the towels and dried off, putting on my pajamas. I combed my thick hair and let it fall in its natural waves.

Three knocks at the door startled me slightly. I turned down my music and opened the door. Rydel stood, looking fresh faced in a pair of cotton sleep shorts and pink tee. Her wet hair and makeup free face signaled she'd just showered herself. "Mom sent me a text. The store she went to didn't have the things she needed for the original dinner she had planned so she wants to know if she can order pizza."

"Yeah that's sounds great." I exited the bathroom and put my stuff away. I found my phone and saw I had a text. My face twisted in confusion.

"What is it?"

"I got a text."

"From who?"

"Riker."