Something to Someone (Someone, Somewhere #2)

Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

RING THE ALARM

Caroline

Thankfully my mou th was already open, so it saved me the energy of dropping it once again.

“What? How? I—what?”

“You’re not the only person who requests that I repair their clothes. The shirt you were wearing, Ryder had asked me to fix the hem a week before which I wouldn’t have noticed except when I repaired it, I didn’t have any black thread to match. All I had was this thick white thread that definitely stood out in the few places I used it.”

The DJ said something over the microphone about something…I wasn’t paying attention. I was still trying to comprehend everything Natalie told me. When the DJ cut off the microphone and the music changed, I could finally speak.

“I’m so sorry, Nat. I’m so, so sorry.”

“I know,” she said without an ounce of anger in the words. “And I accept your apology. Just…keep me in the loop now. I don’t want to know everything, but the highlights would be nice.”

For several seconds, I just looked at my friend. We were sleeping together, that’s all it was, so what would the highlights be? “Also, and I know you’re going to hate this, but I’m going to say it anyway. I don’t think you believe it either. You thought I’d be mad, maybe angry enough for it to seriously change our friendship, but you did it anyway. And the Caroline I know wouldn’t do that if it was just fun. ”

Lucky for me, I didn’t have to respond. Not that I would be able to form words anyway. The music changed to something much slower, and Theo appeared on the other side of the table. He offered Natalie his hand which she took without a second thought. She gave me a smile before Theo led her onto the dance floor. I was too busy watching the two of them and thinking about relieving Addie that I didn’t see Ryder next to me until I stood and almost walked straight into him.

“Oh, shit,” I muttered, halting my momentum with my hands against his chest. As I stumbled, he reached forward and grabbed my waist before I could knock him over. All the breath rushed from my lungs the moment I felt him against me.

He chuckled, and I righted myself. Smoothing my hands down the front of my black dress, one of his hands stayed firm on my hip.

“Dance with me,” he said. Not a request, but a statement. My eyes flicked to his, and the blue captured me as it always did.

Alarm bells were going off in my mind. Blaring and warning me against getting closer or crossing another line. But those same alarms that were screaming only a few months ago, had slowly grown quieter. It was more like a quiet, annoying beep when a smoke detector’s batteries were low.

It was annoying but manageable. And once you got used to it, you barely heard it at all.

“Okay,” I found myself saying. Ryder’s smile widened, and a part of me felt lighter knowing I put that smile there.

He led me onto the dance floor, and although no one was paying attention to us, I felt like everyone was. Except for Natalie who caught my eye across the floor and smiled softly as she laid her head against Theo’s chest.

We weaved between a few couples, and Ryder spun me once before his arm wrapped around me and settled against my lower back. The other found my right hand as he guided us around the dance floor.

“When did you learn how to dance?”

“My mom taught me a while ago.”

“I had no idea,” I muttered as I rested my hand on his shoulder and tried to let him lead.

Ryder pulled me closer and leaned down until his mouth was next to my ear. “I just haven’t had the opportunity to show off my skills.”

His lips brushed the shell of my ear, and I shivered. So close, with his arms around me, he didn’t miss my reaction. I felt his smile against my neck as he kissed me.

“I…uh…I talked to your mom,” I said, pulling back so I could see his face. With eyebrows raised, Ryder waited for me to continue. “She knows.”

When he didn’t react, I clarified. “About us.”

I waited, expecting shock, confusion, something , but his expression didn’t change. I tossed my right hand into the air in exasperation.

“Why are you so calm about this?” I said a little too loudly. A few people glanced at us, and I gave them an apologetic smile.

Ryder placed his hand I’d dropped in exasperation on my other hip while I rested mine on his bicep.

“Theo gave me a heads up this morning.”

“And you couldn’t have shared this knowledge?”

He glanced around the room. “You were a little busy putting all of this together. Which is phenomenal, by the way.”

“Thank you, but what did Theo tell you?” I asked, brushing past his compliment. “You didn’t think this was important enough information to interrupt me for? ”

“He told me that she knew, but he didn’t tell her anything. He was right last night—we’re not all that sneaky,” he said.

“Ryder, you should have?—”

“He also said that she wasn’t upset. That she just wanted the truth.”

My eyes bounced between his, and I didn’t detect a hint of deceit behind the blue. Taking a deep breath, I let my shoulders relax. “I still wish you would’ve told me,” I said.

He nodded and looked appropriately apologetic. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

I licked my lips and bit the lower one to hide my smile. Ryder noted the attempt and leaned in like he was going to kiss me.

“Not here,” I whispered angrily.

“Everyone you were nervous about knowing knows, so what’s the harm?”

“I’m still technically working,” I argued and attempted to extricate myself from his arms. Only he tightened his hold, and my attempt wasn’t that valiant.

“Okay, you’re right. I won’t do it again.” I nodded, and he waved to one of the other groomsmen who was looking at us with shock and awe.

Freaking hell.

“What did my mom say?”

My eyes scanned his perfect jawline, stubbled with the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow, and the line of his neck where I could see his tanned skin behind his collar.

“She’s known since that day in my bedroom,” I said, and then dropped my voice lower as I continued, “after I tied you up.”

At that, I finally got a reaction. His eyebrows shot up, and he reared back in surprise. “She’s known for that long?”

I nodded as we passed an older couple—Miles’s grandparents, I think—who were standing in the middle of the dance floor swaying back and forth .

“Something about having repaired that T-shirt of yours I threw on to go out and see her.”

His eyes narrowed, and I saw when realization and understanding dawned on him. “Shit, I—I didn’t even think about that. I would have stopped you if I had thought?—”

His own panic was rising, not for the fact that his mother knew, but I realized because he thought I might assume he had done it on purpose. Ryder was smart and slick, but he wasn’t nefarious.

“No, I know you didn’t do it on purpose,” I said, resting my hand against his cheek. “And honestly, Natalie was more understanding than I ever could have hoped.”

He smiled and leaned into my touch. Suddenly aware of what I’d done, I almost removed my hand entirely, but then I considered his reaction. How his face would drop ever so slightly, and his shoulders would slump in disappointment. That was until he realized a second later that he’d shown me how much it hurt him and right his posture and expression.

And I couldn’t stomach that reaction.

So, I left my hand against his cheek.

“I told you she would understand,” he said, and I rolled my eyes at his gloating.

“That’s fine. You can have your ‘I told you so’ moment, but it only lasts as long as this song.” Which was going on forever, might I add. It was something slow and sultry that I hadn’t heard before. It was gorgeous, though.

“What if I want it to last longer?” he asked. “What if I want all of this to last a little longer?” His voice dropped, and he tilted his head down until our foreheads were nearly touching. I didn’t say anything, letting my hand fall to his shoulder and holding my breath. I could hear the change in his tone, and I could do very little to prepare myself for what he said next.

“Caroline, there is no way you can’t feel this. You can claim all you want that it’s just sex or just fucking or whatever, but that’s not true. There’s more. There’s something. ”

His voice shook as did his hand as he reached up and clasped my cheek. He didn’t try to kiss me, but I could feel how much he wanted to. His desire matched mine. And Natalie’s words were echoing through my head. You wouldn’t have done it if it were just for fun.

So, I successfully pulled myself free from his hold and all but ran toward the closest door.