Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
ELIZABETH
Eleventh Grade
Ryder: Where u at?
Me: At the library.
Ryder: Meet me out front in 5.
I turn off my phone’s screen and hand my application over to the head librarian. After talking with my parents about getting a job, we decided that something part-time after school would be appropriate. They’re worried anything more will interfere with my studies. I love books and have volunteered off and on at our local library for years, so me working here is basically a given. I just have to go through the formalities of an application and background check first.
“Before I finalize next week’s schedule, is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from four to six still good with you?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you,” I tell Mrs. Peters.
“Sorry about all the paperwork.”
“It’s not a problem. I understand. I’m excited that I actually get to work here now. I love this place.”
Mrs. Peters chuckles. “I still remember you in pigtails when your mom would bring you and Hailey in for story time.”
The loud rumble of a car engine draws our attention to the double glass doors, and my mouth drops open.
When I see who the driver is, I tell Mrs. Peters goodbye and hurriedly rush outside.
“Oh my god, Ryder! You finished your car!” I run over and place my hands on the open passenger side window. “This is the most unbelievably kick-ass car I have ever seen!”
Without further invitation, I open the door and hop inside. Ryder waits for me to buckle up, then shifts into first gear and roars out of the parking lot.
“What do you think?”
I take in the black leather bucket seats with red stripes down the middle and red trim, the swirled stainless steel of the dashboard, and the high-end sound system. The car is a sleek, glossy black with a red stripe painted down the middle of the hood to match the interior. I know he must have done some serious work with the engine because it sounds incredible and vibrates powerfully when idling. If this car was a boy, I would be drooling.
“You did this?”
He nods.
“You really did it?”
He nods again, an ear-to-ear grin splitting his face.
“It’s gorgeous. I want to marry it.” Feeling giddy, I glide my hands all over the soft buttery leather.
“Good grief, woman. Stop molesting my car,” he teases.
I point at the radio. “Do you mind?”
“Go right ahead.”
He hands me his phone. I open his music app that he’s already linked to his sound system and go through several songs before finding the one I want. Selecting it, I turn up the volume to blast out “Alive” by P.O.D.
“Can it go any faster?” I ask, my voice dampened by the roar of the engine.
Ryder’s grin widens as he presses the accelerator, and the world blurs around us. The G-force slams me back into my seat, a thrill tightening in my chest. Wind tears at my hair, sending it flying in wild tangles. I reach my hand out the window and let the air rush between my fingers. The sensation is electrifying. The hum of the engine, the pulse of speed—it feels like we’re flying.
This is freedom.
“Where are we headed?”
“You’re the first to get a ride in her. Where do you want to go?” he asks, his copper eyes sparkling with pride.
“I’m the first? Not even your dad?”
“Nope. I wanted it to be you. I knew you’d appreciate her.”
“If it’s a her, you just destroyed my dreams of marrying it.” I run my hand over the dashboard, smooth and warm under my palm. “Okay, maybe not. She is gorgeous. Aren’t you just a beauty, Stella?” I coo, patting the car affectionately.
“Stella?” His eyebrow kicks up with amusement.
“Yeah, Stella. A sexy name for a sexy car,” I reply, dead serious.
We drive for a while, the road unwinding ahead of us in a blur of asphalt and countryside. When I notice that we’re near the Fields, I bounce excitedly in my seat.
“Seriously?”
I catch Ryder’s grin, and without a word, he veers left onto the dirt road that leads to the track. Dust kicks up around the tires, the car gliding over the uneven terrain as though it’s weightless.
“I can’t wait to see you race Stella here,” I say.
“Who says you have to wait?”
He pulls the Hellcat into position at the start of the track, his hands steady on the wheel. The engine purrs low and dangerous. Ryder revs it a few times, wiggling his eyebrows to the rhythm of the growl, making me burst into laughter. Before I can brace myself, he releases the clutch, and we’re off—thrust into motion so fast my breath catches in my throat.
Adrenaline surges through me. The open windows funnel the wind, wild and warm, as Ryder drifts around the first corner. Lap after lap, he maneuvers Stella with precision—speeding, sliding, the tires juddering as they grip the dirt on every turn. God, I love this. I never want it to end.
He shifts down and comes to a stop. “Your turn.”
I literally stop breathing. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Your turn,” he says, putting the car into neutral and getting out.
Is he out of his mind?
“No, Ryder. I can’t!”
He pulls my door open. “Yes, you can.”
“Are you crazy? I’ll probably drive it off into a tree!”
“No, you won’t.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Elizabeth, get into the driver’s seat.”
“Nuh-uh. Nope. No way. You can’t make me.”
I cross my arms, petulantly shaking my head.
Before I know what’s happening, Ryder has my seat belt unfastened with me hoisted over his shoulder.
“What is it with you guys always carrying me around like a sack of potatoes!” I grab onto the back of his shirt—which causes me to notice the hard muscles underneath.
Then it hits me. Something buried deep. Something potent and alive, wanting desperately to claw to the surface. Something that causes my heart to constrict. Something I should not be feeling because I forced it into lockdown when I chose Jayson.
Everything stills.
“Ryder, put me down, please,” my words a low timbre.
Ryder stops. His arm, the one banded around my thighs, tightens before slowly relaxing. He takes my hips and moves me down his body until I am standing on my own two feet. My hands press flat against the muscular plain of his chest, his fingers still gripping my waist. I inhale—his clean, masculine scent perforating my overstimulated senses. I keep my head bowed, looking at our feet.
“Ryder, we can’t.”
“I know.”
He steps impossibly closer.
We stand motionless like that for several minutes.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know, Elizabeth.”
Our arms reach around each other at the same time, bringing our bodies together in a hug. It’s an embrace of two friends, two best friends who could have been more if things were different.
Ryder is the first to pull away. He tips my chin up with a finger and gives me one of his captivating smiles, letting me know we’re going to be all right.
“You’re still driving.”
“No, I’m not.”
Yes, I did, and it was awesome.