Chapter 4
Chapter Four
SAM
I was learning a lot of new things on my day out in town today.
There was, of course, the fact my old classmate, Dan Yao, had become a doctor at his family’s clinic.
And my other classmate, Ryker West, was hot as hell. Flaming even. Hotter than lava. Hot enough to scorch all common sense out of me and make my already foggy mind foggier.
I’d never wanted to climb a tree as much as I’d wanted to climb Ryker. And with our height difference, I was sure I could actually climb him.
He was considered tall back in high school, but he’d shot up like a freaking tree in the years since then. Standing this close to him, I had to look up when talking to meet his eyes.
As a teen, Ryker was a cutie, with his chubby cheeks and hints of youth still clinging to his skin. But now, as an adult, his face matured to such perfection that any sculptor would scout him to be their model, and with arm muscles bigger than my thigh, he was in a blazing hot category all on his own.
Even with just the two of us currently standing in the empty living room, his presence took up all my attention that I had a hard time thinking as I spoke. It was the reason I’d told him how I’d been secretly scheming to have Junior’s first word be ‘unckie’. That was supposed to be a secret I took to my grave, because Lana would be sure to kill me if she found out.
But I couldn’t be blamed. It was too damn hard to think with Ryker around. Plus, I was running on like two hours of sleep and probably my body weight in coffee.
Even without adding Ryker into the mix, that wasn’t a good combination on a good day.
But if I was going to be living with Ryker, I wondered how I was expected to function as a rational human being around him.
Ryker had always been a quiet kid in my memories, and it seemed that hadn’t changed much. He looked content listening and nodding along as I blabbed about my life back in Kither Springs.
He was a good listener. Nodding and laughing at the appropriate times. Chocolate-brown eyes focused on me like I’d was the only thing he was tuned into.
It felt good.
We were laughing as I told a story of how possessive Junior was with his food. At every feeding, he’d try to use all his limbs to hold the bottle like he was scared someone would snatch it from him.
Ryker found it as hilarious as I had when I’d first seen him scrunch his entire body to try to hug the bottle.
“Sounds like we’re having a blast in here,” a gentle voice came from the front door.
Ryker and I both turned around to find Gina standing there with an older woman beside her. She looked around Gramps’ age with gray hair and permanent wrinkles around her eyes that were testimony that she was someone who smiled a lot.
“Sam, Ryker, this is Annabelle. She will hopefully be your new landlady,” Gina said with a bright smile.
Ryker and I both went over to shake her hand.
“You’re Russell’s boy, ain’t ya?” Annabelle said, patting the back of my hand.
“Yes, ma’am. Russell’s my grandpa,” I replied, trying to recall if I’d met this woman before. Maybe when I was too young to remember because her face wasn’t familiar at all.
Kither Springs was small, but that didn’t mean everyone knew every single person who lived here—not when there were about a thousand people who called it home. Well, now it was probably double that with all the new people moving here.
“I haven’t seen you since your parents’ funeral. May they rest in peace,” she said with a hand to her heart.
“Thank you,” I replied. If that was the last time we’d met, then I definitely didn’t remember her. I was only five when it happened.
“How’s your grandfather? Not too overwhelmed with the new baby, I hope?”
The rumor mill around town was still as strong as ever. “Russ Junior has Gramps wrapped around his finger. Gramps has been more active than ever,” I replied with a smile.
“A baby does that for you,” she said with a smirk, then turned to Ryker. “And you—” She squinted at him as if trying to place him.
I couldn’t blame her. Ryker had changed a lot in the past ten years, not to mention from when he was a boy.
“Oh my. Are you the West’s oldest boy?” Annabelle said after a minute.
“Yes, ma’am,” Ryker replied with a nod.
“Why, I barely recognize you. The only thing familiar about you is your height. You Wests sure are giants. Is your little brother just as tall? I heard your family moved.”
A tint of color graced Ryker’s cheeks. I’d noticed he’d blushed earlier, too, when I’d first arrived.
I wondered if he’d blushed easily. If so, it only made him even more attractive. That tough exterior combined with the softness as unexpected as him blushing?
Cupid, just shoot your arrow straight into my heart already!
“Devin just started high school, but he’s already up to my chest. At the rate he’s going, he’ll be taller than me by the time he finishes school. And yep, they all moved to Corio City. Since Devin’s so smart, they thought a higher ranked high school would give him a better chance to get into his dream university.”
Annabelle nodded, and her smile grew wider. I hoped that meant she approved and was going to rent the place to us.
She looked between the two of us, still smiling, then furrowed her brow.
“Which of you boys is renting the place?” she asked with confusion.
“We both are,” I replied.
“Oh, my,” she said with a hand to her heart again.
Uh-oh. That wasn’t a good sign.
I glanced at Ryker, who also looked nervous. He was chewing on his bottom lip now. He’d nibble, release, nibble, release. Rinse and repeat.
The action brought moisture to his lips, causing a shiny gleam that made them look so kissable. I had to look away and focus back on Annabelle before I’d lost control of my temptations.
Annabelle turned to Gina with a look of confusion. “I thought I told your firm I don’t rent to roommates. The horror stories I hear about them getting into fights, then one or both not paying rent on time. I’m too old to deal with all that hassle.”
“I haven’t heard anything about this,” Gina said, furrowing her brow. It appeared she was as perplexed as we were.
“Ma’am, we promise neither of us will default on our rent. If we do, you know our roots are here. We’re not going to up and disappear one day,” I said, hoping to persuade her.
She worried her brow again, then shook her head. “I don’t know. I just don’t have the energy to handle the drama if something does happen.”
My heart sank. She was only going to let one of us live here. And while I’d really love to have a space of my own, I didn’t know Ryker’s situation. His family had moved away, and if he was looking for a place to live, I was sure he needed the place more than I did. At least I could still live with my family.
Besides, I wouldn’t have even seen this place if Ryker wasn’t kind enough to let me tag along.
I opened my mouth, about to tell her that Ryker would be the one to live here, but she spoke before I could.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll only rent to committed couples. It’s just less of a risk that way for me,” she said, a finality in her tone.
A very, very stupid idea tickled my brain. I should have ignored it, and I probably would have if I had enough rest in me, but at that moment, this seemed like the only optimal choice so that Ryker and I could both rent the place.
“That’s perfect!” I started, then slid my arm through Ryker’s. His thick muscles were warm and smooth against my skin, but I forced myself to focus on the stupid plan I’d apparently decided to go through with.
“Ryker and I are actually engaged. Isn’t that right, honey?”
Ryker slowly turned to me with his eyes so wide I thought they would pop out of his head. If we hadn’t been in such a dire situation, I probably would have laughed at how comical he looked.
If I didn’t want to come off as a liar and a fool, I needed him to go with my plan. I bumped my hip with his to break him out of his trance and made eyes at him to follow my lead.
I could only hope he understood…and that he’d actually back me up on this ridiculous situation I’d created for us.
Ryker cleared his throat and a slow hint of red crawled up the back of his neck as he looked everywhere but at any of us.
“That’s right. We’re en-engaged.”
Ryker peeked at me, his face going as red as a tomato.
We’re so fucked.
Ryker was the world’s worst liar in the history of liars.
In any other situation, this would have been a very attractive trait, but right now? All it did was fuck me over.
And not in the way I enjoyed.
I sighed, knowing I was going to have to come clean to Annabelle and apologize for lying and trying to cheat the system.
When I glanced at her, though, I was surprised to find her eyes sparkling and a huge, beaming smile across her face. She had her hand placed across her heart again as she let out a dainty sigh.
“Well, aren’t you two just the cutest? The engagement must still be new if your beau here is getting all shy about it,” she said with a wink toward Ryker.
Despite already being as red as a tomato, he somehow blushed even harder.
I chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s right. It’s new. Very new,” I replied.
It wasn’t even a lie, since this thing was so new that I’d made it up about a minute ago.
Standing behind Annabelle where she couldn’t see, Gina was smirking and gave me the thumbs up.
At least I knew she wasn’t going to point out my lie.
“I guess you didn’t only move back for your nephew,” Annabelle said to me with a knowing grin. “You two kept this tight under wraps. I had no clue you were seeing each other.”
More awkward laughs from me, and more eye avoidance from Ryker ensued. He was still red in the face, and I hoped that was from him being shy and not because he was pissed off that I’d dragged him into this mess.
“Well, it looks like they’re the perfect candidates, Annabelle. They’re both locals and are a loving couple. I’m sure you’ll have no problems having them as tenants.”
Good ol’ Gina piped up when the silence stretched out. I never wanted to hug anyone as much as I did her at that moment.
Annabelle nodded, and I was finally able to release the last of my worries.
Gina brought out the contracts for us to sign. I watched the ink dry with our signatures while the two ladies went over how payments would work and how to send over the first month’s rent and deposit.
I sneaked a peek at Ryker, who was standing beside me. He was listening intently to the instructions, but he still looked as bewildered as I felt. And yes, I shouldn’t have felt that way since this was my plan in the first place! But I had to admit, I never thought this outrageous, crazy plan would actually work.
“Don’t be strangers, now. Do let me know if you need anything. I live right downstairs, after all,” Annabelle said when she handed us the keys.
She cast a glance my way. I didn’t know if I was seeing things, or if there was more meaning behind the glint I saw in her eye. She turned away before I could think too deeply about it.
Gina had left too, leaving only me and Ryker.
Alone.
In our new apartment.