6. Mila #2
“Yes,” Ryker said, and the tenseness of his yes spoke volumes.
Ryker was an atypical son for a handsome, famous, billionaire.
While he was handsome and popular, he’d never used his father’s name to get ahead.
In fact, all he’d ever wanted to do was make his father proud.
Ever since I’d known him, he’d been an overachiever—and not because his parents pushed him, either—but because he wanted to prove to his father that he was just as brilliant and capable as him.
Yet, his father had never really given him the validation that he needed.
I didn’t think it was fair. I hated his father.
Not because he was mean or rude, and not because he didn’t love Ryker.
He loved Ryker like a father should love a son, but he never gave him anything extra.
He never went above and beyond. He always said the perfunctory congratulations, but he never seemed super proud or overeager.
He just assumed that Ryker would be intelligent and sporty because he was.
And that was the crux of my issue with him.
He always compared Ryker to himself. If Ryker got an A, he would have gotten an A+.
If Ryker was the second seed on the tennis team, he was the first seed.
If Ryker won a leading role in a school play, he was the lead.
And it wasn’t even as if he were bragging to outdo Ryker; that was just his way.
Ryker’s dad had taken his father’s business and made it into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Hudson Walker was world famous for his business acumen and for dating the hottest supermodels and actresses.
It was his way; he worked hard and played even harder.
And somehow, Ryker had gotten left by the wayside.
“What do you do?” Barbie continued, and the air in the car grew tense.
“Let’s talk about something else,” I said to change the subject.
I felt bad for Ryker, and while I thought he was a jerk, I didn’t want him to have to go into the nitty-gritty of his job to someone like her, someone I hoped wouldn’t last past the weekend.
I didn’t like Barbie, and it wasn’t just because I was jealous.
She seemed like the worst kind of gold-digger, and I really hoped that Ryker wasn’t going to get sucked in by her good looks.
I didn’t understand why guys could never figure out which girls were the parasitic vultures in the dating world.
Did they really not see all the signs, or did they just ignore them because the girls were hot?
“Whatever,” Barbie said, clearly annoyed that I’d cut her off.
“Whatever,” Lara mouthed at me and rolled her eyes. I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing. “So, I sure am hungry,” Lara continued and rubbed her stomach. “I wish Troy were here because I know he’d take us all to a nice steak restaurant and pay.”
“Lara.” I gave her a look, and she grinned back at me. “Troy isn’t your sugar daddy.”
“But he could be yours.”
“You have a sugar daddy?” Barbie turned around, and her look was so scornful and shocked that I couldn’t stop myself from responding.
“Well, he wants me any way he can have me,” I said sweetly. “And as I’m not cheap, he knows he has to work hard.”
“Mila’s a difficult one to catch,” Ryker said in an amused tone, and I blushed.
“Not that many have been trying to catch me,” I said, and immediately regretted my words. I meant to make myself look more desirable than I actually was. Not worse.
“You mean this week?” Lara said. “What about Louis and Damon?”
“What?” I asked, confused. However, my voice was drowned out by Ryker.
“Who are Louis and Damon?” he asked in an annoyed tone, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
“Mila hasn’t told you about Louis and Damon?” Lara said and winked at me.
“And I’m not about to start,” I said, cutting her off. I didn’t need Lara getting me into any more trouble. Louis and Damon, ugh.
“You can’t help it if men just fall in love with you,” Lara said. “You’re beautiful and smart. Men like that combination. No guy wants a bimbo.” She grinned. “Big boobs and no brains are not attractive.”
“I guess no boobs and no brains is even worse though,” Barbie interrupted and looked back at Lara with narrowed eyes. “I’d hate to be ugly.”
“Well, you certainly don’t have to worry about that,” Ryker said and squeezed her knee. My body froze as I sat there watching her squeeze his hand. This was the worst kind of torture, and I wished that I were anywhere but in this car.
“Just on the inside,” Lara said under her breath and caught my eye. I smiled weakly at her joke, but it was hard to rejoice in her humor when Barbie was enjoying Ryker’s attention in the front of the car, while I sat in the back feeling like a loser.
“I’m stuffed.” Lara leaned back into the car seat as we made our way home from dinner. “I literally couldn’t eat another thing.”
“Not even another bite of that cheesecake?” I laughed as I stifled a yawn.
“Not even another bite.” She groaned and then laughed. “Well, maybe another bite, since it would be a shame to waste cheesecake.”
“You girls are brave,” Barbie said in her teeny-weeny voice.
“Brave?” I asked loudly, the wine from dinner making me lose any inhibitions to talk to her.
“You know that saying, a second on the lips, a year on the hips,” she said poignantly as she looked me up and down. “But I suppose you don’t care.”
“Excuse me?” I said, my voice rising as Ryker got into the car.
“Excuse you what, Mila?” he said as he looked at me. I ignored his gaze and shook my head. I was pissed at Ryker. He’d basically ignored me all through dinner so that he could whisper sweet nothings to Barbie. He was so rude.
“I just tell the truth as I see it,” Barbie said and turned back to the front with a confident smile.
“What truth?” Ryker asked, confused.
“Barbie’s just talking about my hips,” I said in a huff, still pissed, especially as my jeans were feeling tight after the meal.
“Oh?” he said and looked back at me, his eyes glittering. “What about your hips?”
“That the cheesecake went straight to my hips,” I said, embarrassed.
“Well, then you need to eat more cheesecake.” Ryker winked at me. “Personally, I like a woman with hips—more to hold on to when I’m working my magic.”
“Ryker!” I said, shocked, as my face heated and my stomach flipped in excitement.
“Yes, Mila?” he said, his voice silky smooth. His eyes burned into mine before he looked down my body and focused on my breasts. “I’m just telling you what I like,” he said and looked back into my eyes, a huge grin on his face.
“Whatever,” I said and looked away from him, though I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as I looked out the window. Take that, Barbie! Score 1 to me.
“So, Mila, is that why you have a big ass?” Barbie turned around again and looked at me.
“Is what why I have a big ass?” I repeated after her, glaring, for making me repeat her offensive words.
“So you can get a man for the night?”
“Excuse me?” I said in a high-pitched voice.
I looked at Ryker to see if he was going to say anything, but he started his engine and put his car into drive instead.
I shook my head and looked over at Lara, whose jaw was also practically on the ground.
“Did you hear what she just said to me?” I said loudly, not caring if I was being rude or making Barbie uncomfortable.
“Yes,” Ryker answered. “I didn’t hear your answer though.”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Ryker Walker,” I said, almost having a hissy fit.
“Oh, okay,” he said, his voice clearly amused as he drove. Lara’s eyes met mine, and we both shook our heads in shock.
“You are not a gentleman, Ryker Walker,” I said, saying his full name again, which made him laugh.
“Did I ever say I was?”
Sometimes I just wanted to hit him. He was so obnoxious. Ugh!
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Mila,” Barbie said in her fake sweet voice again. “I’m actually jealous of you.”
“Jealous of me?” I said in a tone that clearly showed I wasn’t buying it.
“I wish I could find a guy to have a one-night stand with me,” Barbie said in a pitiful voice, her full pink lips pouting as she gazed back at me with a sad face. “You’re really lucky.”
“You’re telling us you can’t find a guy who will have a one-night stand with you?” Lara said in disbelief. I looked at Lara and made a face. I had no idea what game Barbie was playing, but I had a feeling I was going to be the loser.
“That’s what I’m saying,” Barbie said. “Every guy who meets me wants me for longer than a night. I can’t just have a one-night stand because they never want to leave once they’ve had me.
” Her blue eyes were like ice as she smirked at me.
“That’s why you’re so lucky, Mila. You can have a man for a night, give them the ride of their life with your big hips, then they walk away, and you’re both happy.
Me, I give them the ride of their life, and they want to make me their wife. ”
“Are you frigging kidding me?” Lara’s voice was pissed. “I think you are one of the biggest?—”
“Barbie, that was uncalled for,” Ryker said, interrupting Lara, and I watched as he moved Barbie’s hand off his thigh.
“What?” Barbie sounded breathless. “You know it’s true. I’m too pretty for one night. Guys want to make me their trophy. For once, I wish I could be average.”
“I bet,” I said snarkily. “If I had your brain, I’d be wishing for average as well. I wouldn’t even aim or hope for genius status. Just average.”
“Now, now, girls.” Ryker’s voice was sharp. “Let’s play nice, or this weekend will not be fun.”
“Yeah, I think we already got that phone call,” Lara said, sitting back and closing her eyes. “I can’t wait for Parker to get here.”
“Who’s Parker?” Barbie asked and looked back at me with a questioning look, as if she hadn’t just dissed me. I couldn’t believe that she thought I would answer her.