Something to Someone (Someone, Somewhere #2)

Chapter 19

NINETEE N

GRADUATION DAY

Caroline

“Who the hell decided to have the ceremony outside?” I asked Natalie as we walked through the courtyard. “Because whoever it is, deserves a special place in hell. A graduation ceremony outside in May? ”

Natalie laughed, but it was lackluster. She was already using her program as a fan too, trying to cool herself off some way, somehow. Luckily, she’d warned me that it was outside, so I’d followed her lead when getting dressed that morning. She was wearing a white sundress, and I was wearing something similar in a darker blue. But it was hot enough that we were bound to be uncomfortable no matter what.

“Yeah, I agree. I just hope we don’t see?—”

“Natalie?” We both stopped, and Natalie tensed, closing her eyes and probably praying that she hadn’t just heard her name although we both knew she had. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at me before she turned around, and I understood the silent request in that one fleeting look. She was looking for support, and hell, that was all she would ever get from me.

“Hey, Mark,” she said. Natalie’s ex-husband approached with w ho I could only assume was his new girlfriend following closely behind.

Their divorce had been amicable a few years ago, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some sort of tension. Especially since this was the first time he’d brought this new girl around, and he’d been less than impressed that Natalie had begun dating his son’s best friend.

“How are you?” he asked and subtly gave me a tight-lipped smile. There was no love lost between the two of us. I was Natalie’s best friend, and they were divorced, so it was obvious where my allegiance laid.

Mark was an average looking guy. Dark hair and eyes, he’d aged well, but he was nothing compared to Theo who was objectively gorgeous with brown curly hair and a myriad of beautiful tattoos. Not that it was her intention, but Natalie seriously leveled up in every way.

“Hot. How are you?”

He nodded and reached behind him for his girlfriend’s hand. She stepped up with a nervous smile. “Good, I wanted to introduce you to Jessica. Jessica, this is Natalie and Caroline.”

Jessica extended her hand with a shaky “hi,” and Natalie, then I, accepted it. “It’s so nice to meet you both.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Natalie said. “I’ve heard lovely things about you. Ryder has lots of good things to say.”

It wasn’t an all-out lie, but I knew that she wasn’t Ryder’s favorite. According to him, Mark and Jessica had been together for a while and were getting serious, yet she’d been reluctant to get to know him. But Natalie was trying to be nice which was just her personality.

They kept the conversation light and chatted for a few minutes. I nodded and smiled along, but my mind was everywhere else. Particularly on one of the men graduating who had sent me a cheeky picture of himself wearing nothing but his cap and gown that morning. It was a mirror selfie, with his tongue out an d a cute little peek at his toned stomach underneath the bulky gown.

It was stupid. And I’d looked at it about a million times.

“Let’s all sit together,” Jessica said, and I tuned back into the conversation. Natalie threw me a pleading look, but Mark jumped in before I had a chance.

“Yeah,” he said. “That would be great.”

True to her kind nature, Natalie agreed and let them lead us toward the rows of seats arranged in the courtyard.

“We don’t have to sit with them,” I whispered. “I can be the bad guy.”

Natalie smiled but shook her head. “No, it’ll be fine. I don’t want to be rude.”

“But that’s the thing,” I offered. “ You don’t have to be rude. I’ll be rude for you. I have no issue doing it.”

“Care, I promise, I’m fine. I’m a big girl.”

We chose seats toward the center of the crowd and near a large tree that provided some much-needed shade. The campus was beautiful—with tall red brick buildings, impeccable landscaping, and trees that were older than the country itself. It was much more picturesque than the standard, unimpressive state college I’d gone to. No wonder Theo and Ryder enjoyed being on campus so much.

I sat at the end of the row while Natalie was pressured into sitting between me and Jessica. They continued their surface-level conversation while I watched guests file in and prayed for a breeze.

My phone vibrated in my clutch, and I carefully pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

Ryder: Are you here? Where are you sitting?

Me: Sorry, couldn’t make it. Congrats, though!

It took seconds for his response to come through.

Ryder: Don’t make me cry on my graduation day. I’ll come out there and find you if I need to.

Me: We’re on the right-hand side of the stage about six rows back.

Ryder: That’s what I thought ;) I can’t wait to see you

I caught myself smiling down at my phone and quickly straightened my features. We hadn’t seen each other since he’d been at my house a week and a half before. With wedding season in full swing and him in the middle of finals, we hadn’t had any time to even try.

My mind was still in chaos knowing what we’d done, and the first time I’d seen Natalie afterward made my gut churn with guilt. I felt guilty for doing it, but even more, I felt guilty because I really wanted to do it again. And I hadn’t shut down Ryder’s obvious advances.

We hadn’t seen each other since that afternoon, but that hadn’t kept Ryder from texting me and calling. Or kept me from answering every single time. Butterflies, I felt fucking butterflies when his name popped up on my screen, or I heard his voice.

Jessica excused herself to the restroom, and Natalie turned to me.

“So, you haven’t told me about the guy from last week,” she said, and I made it a point not to look at her. Instead, I continued fanning myself with the program. She hadn’t brought it up before, I wasn’t sure why she decided now was the time to do so.

“There’s nothing to tell. He was…a man,” I said, knowing she wouldn’t let it go if I didn’t say something.

I felt her stare boring into the side of my face, and I readjusted in my seat. “That’s all? You’re not going to tell me anything else about him?”

“What do you want to know?” I shouldn’t have asked, but the words were out of my mouth before I considered the reperc ussions. And of course, it would be my luck that she would ask the single worst question possible.

“Do I know him?”

I stopped fanning myself and whipped my head in Natalie’s direction. Guilt and anxiety slipped through me. Caught off guard by her question, I swallowed before I answered.

“I don’t think you’ve known any of the men I’ve slept with before,” I said simply.

She shook her head. “I mean, have you talked about him before? Do I know of him?”

“No, I haven’t talked about him before.” My voice wavered, but the slight shake was concealed by the music that erupted from the speakers positioned around the courtyard.

Jessica also squeezed past us at that moment which I thought was enough to draw Natalie’s attention. But she never missed anything. She cut her eyes at me as she smiled up at Jessica. When she took her seat, Natalie nudged my leg with hers.

“You’re acting weird,” she said. “Is this one different?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I swallowed and shrugged as the processional began. But that was what I was afraid of, that he was different.

The ceremony was long. It likely wouldn’t have felt as long as it did if it hadn’t been so hot, but we made it. And were gathered underneath another tree, waiting for Theo and Ryder to find us for the required photo ops.

Mark, Jessica, and Natalie constantly scanned the surrounding crowd for the two of them. But everyone was wearing the same black gown and funny hat, so I leaned against the tree and waited for them to find us.

I pushed my sunglasses on top of my head and looked up at the exact moment Ryder and Theo stepped through the crowd. Theo spotted me then immediately searched out Natalie whom he scooped into his arms and spun around .

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mark flinch, but he refrained from saying anything. Instead, he stepped toward his son. But the moment Ryder found me, his eyes didn’t move, and a slow smile slid across his lips. My skin flushed, and for once, it wasn’t due to the heat.

Intercepted by his father and his outstretched hand, Ryder was forced to look away. He shook his dad’s hand and gave Jessica a side-hug. They congratulated him, and he thanked them both for coming, but he couldn’t get away fast enough.

I pushed off the tree and bit my lower lip as he tugged me forward and wrapped his arms around me. My hands slid around his waist and across the scratchy graduation robe. Rather than get lost in the embrace like I wanted to, I tried to pull back when the appropriate amount of time passed. But Ryder didn’t let me go.

“Thanks for coming, pretty girl,” he muttered against my ear.

“Any time, Trouble.”

Finally, he stepped back, and his eyes raked down my dress. “God, you look good.”

I straightened and tried to appear unaffected by the way his sincerity-laced voice dropped.

“Let’s take some photos!” Natalie exclaimed, and both Ryder and I jerked our heads in her direction.

“Whatever you want, Mom,” Ryder said, and emotion hit me directly in the center of the chest with the reminder.

They took photos in every combination I could think of—Ryder with his parents, Ryder with his dad and Jessica, Theo with Natalie, Theo, Ryder, and Natalie together. Ryder had even requested one with me and Natalie squeezed between him and Theo.

By the time we were done, we were all drenched in sweat and ready to go.

“I’m going to run to the restroom before we leave,” Natalie said, motioning to the bathrooms just on the other side of the tree we were standing next to. As she walked away, Mark and Jessic a also excused themselves to get a table at the restaurant they’d chosen, leaving me alone with Ryder and Theo.

“You’re coming to lunch, right?” Ryder asked, and I nodded.

“Your mom wouldn’t let me get out of it.”

Turning, Ryder nudged Theo’s arm and offered him his phone. “Take a picture of me and Caroline, please.”

Theo stopped and glanced between Ryder’s phone and his friend’s face. Then he looked at me, and I wasn’t sure what the hell I was supposed to do. A picture was innocent enough. We’d held it together through all the other photos, what was one more?

Theo finally took Ryder’s phone and stepped back. With an arm around my waist, Ryder tugged me into his side. We both smiled at the phone as Theo pointed it toward us.

He took one then went to hand it back to Ryder who shook his head. “Take a few more,” he instructed. Theo’s glance toward the bathroom was almost imperceptible, but I’d noticed it. And it was more than enough for me to realize he knew something. I had a suspicion that it had to do with more than him catching Ryder and I coming out of the same bathroom at my nephew’s birthday party.

I wouldn’t have put it past Ryder to tell him something. It’s what I would have done had it not been my best friend I was keeping it from.

Theo lifted the phone again, and Ryder pulled me closer, tilting his head slightly so his cheek pressed against the side of my head. The position was more familiar, but I continued smiling.

That was until he leaned down and said, “Kiss me.”

I reared back and looked up at him in shock. My jaw dropped, and I stuttered over a response as I tried to determine if he’d really just asked me that. There was nothing but honesty on his face.

“Not going to happen.”

That didn’t keep him from tightening his hold on me and liftin g his free hand to clasp my cheek. His fingers pressed against my skin like he was preparing to tilt my face the way he wanted it. Our eyes locked, I held my breath. All the background noise faded away as I watched his blue eyes darken. He licked his lips, and when my eyes flitted to his mouth to watch the movement, it was enough to break me from my trance.

I stepped back and breathed a desperate sigh of relief when Ryder let me go. Theo was there in a second, stepping almost between us and shoving the phone into Ryder’s chest.

“Good timing,” he said. “Natalie’s coming.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see my best friend walking toward us and hoped she hadn’t witnessed any of that.