Chapter Twelve
Camille
I groan as I shove my weekender bag over my shoulder, feeling sore from the workout I had last night. I worked out my frustration with the bag, hitting it with all I had until there was nothing left inside of me but a sense of contentment.
Quentin told me that his investigator got news that my parents hired an equally effective detective to find me and that I needed to be careful not to be seen on any social media.
My new job with the team worried me at first, but it’s not like I’ll be seen in the videos, and with editing tools, I can always edit my voice. I don’t have any personal social media, so I should be safe, but there’s still an eeriness that lingers with me now, like I could be watched at any time.
I push the thoughts away, focusing on the big bus outside of the baseball facility that’s taking us to New Mexico today for their first practice game of the season. I hustle out, walking a bit faster toward the bus, knowing I’m almost late. The bus is set to leave at five-thirty, and it’s already five twenty-seven.
I’m not a morning person, so they’re lucky I made it three minutes early. I lift my bag off my shoulder to put it in the under compartment of the bus when a hand grabs it from me.
“I’ve got it,” Ryker’s raspy voice says, hitting me like a breath of fresh air.
The way he looks this good at this time of day is beyond me. His hair is in a low bun, pieces falling around his sharp jaw, his beard neatly trimmed. His Dri-Fit long sleeve displays his chiseled chest and taut biceps while the gray sweats he’s wearing accentuate his muscular thighs and do nothing to hide the massive package he’s carrying down there.
God, why does he need to look like that ? Like the most perfect human I’ve ever laid eyes on. Rugged yet put-together in the sexiest way possible.
I avert my eyes and try to pull myself together. “Thanks,” I say, yawning and eyeing him with slight wariness. Ryker keeps saying things that lead me to believe he’s into me, and then he does something that makes me believe otherwise. Like the time when he drove me home from the party and gave me his number, then backtracked by saying to only use it if I needed something regarding my work with the team.
He may as well have thrown a bucket of ice water over me.
It’s safe to say I haven’t texted him, nor do I intend to. I don’t chase men. Never have, never will. Despite having the world’s biggest crush on him, I’ll never act on it. I was raised on the notion that the world will kneel to me, and I take that quite literally with men.
“Tired, princess?” he asks, shoving his bag down first, then puts mine on top.
“The sun is sleeping, therefore so should I,” I groan.
Ryker turns and nudges his head for me to follow him as we head toward the bus door. “What, you can’t be a ray of sunshine unless the sun’s out? Is that it?” he says, half chuckling .
I stop in my tracks, looking at him in shock. “Did you…did you just make a joke?”
Ryker glowers at me over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at me. “I can be funny, you know.”
My eyebrows rise at that as I approach him, a smile tugging at my lips. “Sure you can, Ryker the biker. Sky’s the limit, bud.”
I don’t wait for his response and pass him, giggling to myself as I do. That’s until Ryker grabs my hand, spinning me toward him. My chest lands against his with a thud, leaving me breathless.
“ Bud? ” He peers down at me with my hands on his chest, noting how close we are. The team and coaches are on the bus and can’t see us, but the last thing I need is to get in trouble for appearing to be flirting with a player.
Yet, I can’t find it in me to move.
“Yeah, we’re becoming friends, remember?” My voice is strained with breathlessness.
His scowl deepens, those blue eyes scorching mine with the intensity in them. His lips part to say something when Noah interrupts him.
“You guys better get on the bus before Coach comes out looking for you two,” he says, one foot on the steps and the other on the ground. His warning breaks me from the spell Ryker put me under with his proximity. I jump back immediately, not looking back as I dash past Noah and right onto the bus.
I smile and greet the team as I walk down the aisle. My heart is pounding in my ears while I make it to the empty row at the back of the bus. I take a seat and blow out a breath, resting my forehead against the seat in front of me.
Ryker is the most confusing man I’ve ever met.
When I finally look up, I notice that he’s currently walking to the back of the bus, right toward the only empty seat left, which is right next to mine .
This should be a fun bus ride.
Ryker sits down without saying a word, throws his headphones on as he closes his eyes, and folds his arms across his chest, making sure we aren’t touching.
Anytime we teeter on that line of flirting, he always does this. Retreats into himself and puts space between us. It hurts, and I’m sick of this constant back and forth thing he has going on. One second, we’re somewhat flirting and he’s being all protective and sweet, and the next, he’s shutting down.
It’s time I realize that all he’ll ever be to me is a crush, or a friend at most.
I stir awake when my phone vibrates in the back pocket of my jeans. I slowly open my eyes and freeze when I notice that my head is on Ryker’s shoulder, his own resting gently on top of mine.
How the hell did we end up like this?
I allow myself a moment to bask in the feel of his body against mine. He smells like vanilla and leather, his skin warm and inviting. I smile, letting myself imagine that it’s real. That we’re a couple who cuddle and nap together. When my imagination makes my heart ache, I stop, knowing it’s not good to fantasize about it for too long.
I carefully move my head, hoping I don’t wake him. I replace my head with the sweater I took off earlier and wrap it up in a ball on his shoulder. Then I pull out my phone to find Jasmine’s name on the screen with an unread message.
It’s then that I remember it’s their redo of Valentine’s Day.
I hate to lie to her, but I don’t want to tell her about what happened because she’ll get excited, and it’ll only raise my hopes up when I should be snuffing them out.
Ever since I started with the baseball team, Jasmine has been hoping that something will happen, insisting she saw a connection between us that night at the club all those months ago.
Maybe there was, but it doesn’t matter because Ryker and I aren’t meant to be together.