Because of you (8 page)

“
Look, he’ll come to his senses eventually. Never mind him, I want you to come with me. I promised Jackson I’m going to cheer for him and I don’t want to go alone. Please, please, please?” She gives me a pleading look, batting her long black eyelashes. I raise my hands in the air.

“
Okay, okay, just don’t give me that look.”

“
Yay, thank you. Besides, Noah will be there. I bet he’s going to be happy to see you. I noticed the way he looks at you—he likes you a lot.”

“
Huh? What are you talking about? Noah and I are just friends. I told you he’s not my type.”

“
Well, he may be your friend, but you’re definitely something more to him, I can see it in his eyes.” I nudge her playfully in the shoulder, shaking my head.

“
No, that’s just in your head. Your romantic soul is always looking for the spark of love, even if it’s not there.”

~ * ~

“Yes, go, Jackson, go!” Addison cheers. Second quarter has started and the Tigers are nine points ahead. Jackson just scored a shot, and Addison can’t hide her excitement. Now, Ryder has the ball. He quickly runs down the half of the court and slows down. I watch how his biceps flex as he drives the ball to the basket. Sweat, running down his body, only increases his sex appeal. He’s wearing a yellow and black jersey with
the
number nine. He has a big tattoo of a tiger’s head on his shoulder. I assume it’s in his team’s honor. Shorts, riding low on his hips, are the same color as the jersey, and he’s wearing black basketball shoes. He just
dribbled past
a player from the opposite team, slam dunking the ball. The crowd goes wild, everybody is on their feet, screaming, clapping, whistling.
The
cheerleading squad Kittens is dancing on the side of the court, Paris their leader. Just now a personal foul was called on Marc, and he is awarded two free throws. Marc gets in the position to shoot, takes two deep breaths, bounces the ball two times, throws it to the basket, and we all hold out breaths.

“
Yeeees!” We yell when he scores. The second throw is also successful, and at this point, I’m fully engrossed in the game. Oh, how I missed this feeling—attending a game and cheering for your favorite team. First half is over, and all the players gather around the coach on the side to work on their tactics.
The
Kittens cheerleading squad now occupies the middle of the court, jumping, doing forward and backward rolls, entertaining the crowd. But I am more interested in Ryder, so I scan the Tigers’ bench for him. He’s holding a bottle of water, raising it to his lips and taking a sip. He wipes off the sweat running down his forehead with a towel and for a moment our gazes lock. I stare into his eyes, wondering why he doesn’t like me and what I have ever done to him. What gave him the impression I want his and Addison’s money? I didn’t even know they were rich until Addison told me how loaded their family is. Their father is some businessman who makes millions. Their parents are divorced, but their mom made sure the divorce settlement left her set for life financially. Even though Ryder is acting like a jerk toward me, there is something about him I find attractive and cannot help but notice him every time he enters a room
.
The sound of the siren, announcing the third quarter, breaks the spell, and I quickly avert my gaze. I notice Noah looking at me as he is walking to the court. I wave and grin at him.

The game is almost over and Tigers are seconds away from winning. They are 14 points ahead. Noah steals the ball from the opposing player,
makes a quick counterattack
and scores
 
before any of the opponents manage to get closer. In
that
moment, the siren goes off
and
the players shake hands. Tigers give each other man hugs—they shake hands and at the same time slap each other’s backs with the other arm.

“
Did you see how great Jackson was playing?” Addison asks with a dreamy smile. I nod, but truth be told, I was focusing only on Ryder and his skillful moves. Tigers are walking toward the locker room with towels in their hands when I see Paris throwing herself into Ryder’s arms. She skips beside him and they exchange words. I don’t know why I’m jealous. Nothing is happening between us, and Ryder
clearly showed
he doesn’t like me, yet I cannot help myself. I can’t resist his attractiveness.

In front of the locker room, Addison and I are waiting for the guys to join us so we can celebrate their victory at their house. She’s busy texting with a schoolmate about some projects they are due in the next few days, and my phone also rings.

Unknown number.

“Hello?” I say as I step away from the door toward the park, so I am not disturbed.

“
Where are you hiding?” a deep, hoarse voice on the other end of the line asks. I hold the phone in front of me, checking the number again, and quickly put it back to my ear.

“
Excuse me? Who is this?” I am curious to know.

“
Don’t mess with me, Aaliyah, I want back what is mine. Bring me the footage.”

“
Caden?” Oh my God, where did he get my number? My stomach turns, panic comes over me and I look around in fear to check if he’s anywhere near me.

“
Yep, the one and only. Now tell me where you hid the footage.”

“
I have no idea what you’re talking about. What footage?”

“
Don’t play dumb. You know you’re only alive because of the footage. I need it back!” I can hear him losing patience.

“
Fuck you! Even if I knew what you’re talking about, I would never give it over to you. You killed Hope, you worthless scum!” For a couple of seconds there is silence on the other side of the line. I imagine he took a drag on a cigarette—he’s a heavy smoker.

“
Look, I’ll find you, I have the means to find you, and when I do, I’ll take the footage from you and make you pay for playing with me.” He ends the call, and I’m staring at the phone, frozen. A hand on my shoulder pulls me out of my dark thoughts. I jump, letting out a piercing shriek, and drop my phone on the ground. I put my hand over my heart, terrified.

“
Damn it, you scared the shit outta me, don’t do that again,” I say to Noah a bit harshly, and he doesn’t know what to say. I let out a breath I was holding.

“
I’m sorry, I didn’t want to scare you—I thought you heard me approaching. Sorry.”

“
It’s okay,” I wave my arm, kneeling down to pick up the phone, “you just startled me.” I slowly stand up, still a bit woozy.

“
Hey, are you
alright
? You look a little pale. Do you want to go home?  I can take you.” Oh, Noah, always so nice and ready to help.

“
No, it’s okay, I could use some company. I’m probably just dehydrated—I haven’t
had
enough water today, I’ll feel better soon.” I try to give him my most convincing smile.

We get to their house quickly. We settle down in the living room and
the
boys bring snacks. Sitting on the couch, we are chatting pleasantly. I made sure to sit as far away from Ryder as possible to avoid seeing his nasty glares. Having to pee really badly, I get off the couch and walk up the stairs to the bathroom. Ryder is watching me leave, but I ignore him. Shit, he’s probably thinking I’m going up there to steal things. I should’ve said I’m going to the toilet. I shake my head as I open the door to the bathroom. I don’t care, he can think whatever he wants. I know what kind of a person I am, and if he disagrees, it’s his problem. When I’m done, I wash my hands, wipe them on a paper towel and take a moment to look at myself in the mirror. Big blue eyes are staring back at me, and pale skin on the face could use some sunlight. I fix my ponytail, freshen up and open the door. My heart almost stops as I see Ryder standing in front of me.

“
I didn’t steal anything if that’s what you’re thinking,” I retort harshly. He’s still standing in the door, hands on the doorframe, blocking my way, just watching me silently. “What’s wrong with you, let me through,” I say desperately, and try to go round him, which is impossible to do without touching him. Pressing my palms against his hard chest, I try to push him away, but he’s like a statue. Muscles of steel must be hiding under that shirt. “What?” I demand angrily when he still doesn’t say a word. He shakes his head and looks me straight in the eye.

“
I came here to talk to you.” His voice is calm and not angry as usual.

“
Well, I don’t have anything to talk to you about, so get out of my way or I’ll scream,” I reply, still trying to get him to move. No effect. “Please,” I quietly say, “just let me pass, I don’t want to fight with you.” He closes his eyes and moves out of my way. “Thank you,” I whisper as I slide past him. Ryder grabs my hand, stopping me. He leans close to me and I gasp in surprise, because I don’t know what to expect, and he whispers in my ear:

“
We’ll have that talk whether you like it or not. I won’t give up.” I simply shake my head and run down the stairs, intoxicated by the smell of his aftershave.

A good hour has passed since I came back to the room. Ryder still hasn’t come down. Addison is playing a console game with Jayden, Noah joins me on the couch.

“Are you having fun?” He grins at me, two dimples appearing on his cheeks. I nod and return the smile. “Good.” He shifts a few times and then speaks again. “I’ve been thinking,” I raise my gaze to his eyes, which are full of hope, but there is also a flicker of fear. “Would you like to go out with me some time? To the movies or something like that?” I give him a look of surprise.

“
You mean, like a date?” He nods. Oh, Addison was right—he does like me. I don’t know what to do. Perhaps if I say yes to one date… I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt him, because I consider him one of my good friends. Maybe one date wouldn’t be so bad. Shit, I’m so confused right now. I
would
feel bad rejecting him, but I also don’t want to give him false hope.

“
So, would you?” he repeats
, because
I’m still hesitating. I take a deep breath.

“
Okay?” The response sounds more like a question coming from my mouth.

“
Really?” My answer totally surprises him. I nod and smile faintly. “Great. I’ll pick you up on Monday, okay? Mirage is closed then and we’re both free.” He kisses my cheek and hugs me tightly. Ugh, did I make a mistake by agreeing to this date? “Does seven p.m. work for you? We’ll grab something to eat and then go see a movie, okay?” He releases me from the embrace when I nod, and my eyes find Ryder, standing behind us, throwing
angry
looks our way. He gives us a final
piercing
glare before turning around and climbing the stairs, probably going to his room.

Ryder

Finally, my mind is a little clearer after our little confrontation in front of the bathroom. When I leaned to her, telling her I won’t give up on trying to talk to her, I was overwhelmed by her closeness. I couldn’t help myself—I took a deep breath, forever imprinting her magical, sweet scent in my mind. I don’t know why I’ve been such a jerk toward her, really. I can see
now
she’s a wonderful girl that helps everybody who needs a hand. For example, the other day in the cafeteria when we were waiting for our next classes, one of the students forgot her wallet at home and couldn’t pay for her meal. Aaliyah was kind enough to buy whatever she chose plus a bottle of water. Also, a few days after Paris, Britney and Scarlett purposely spilled their drinks on Kim, Aaliyah took a shirt from her backpack and lent it to her. She’s not just a beautiful girl, she has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen, and I’ll do anything to make her forgive me.

I return to the living room and I’m shocked by what is happening. I hear Noah asking Aaliyah out. I clench my fists, my lips forming a straight line. I’m even more shocked when I hear Aaliyah agree to the date. She raises her blue eyes to mine and our gazes lock. In an instant, her smile fades away, being replaced by pain. I turn around angrily and stomp to my room.

“
Shit, shit, shit,” I shout, hitting the wall with my fist. Why do I feel like someone punched me in the stomach, knocking the breath out of me? Of course she’s going to go on a date with someone else. How can she like me if I’ve been acting like a jerk toward her, showing her nothing but disdain? I hurt her, and it is going to be very hard to gain her trust. “Shit!” I say, running my hand through my hair, and throw myself on the bed. I shove headphones in my ears and increase the volume on my iPod to the maximum.
Bon Jovi
’s
I’ll Be There For You
is currently playing and I can’t help but shake my head and snort. “Yeah, a totally inappropriate song for this moment.” I press stop, yank the headphones out of my ears and throw the iPod on the bed. I really haven’t been myself the last few days. I’m not usually this harsh, especially not to girls. I was blinded by her beauty and I came to the conclusion
that
she wanted my and my sister’s money because she looks good. What beautiful girl is normally kind and compassionate? All of them just look after their own interests and are always
looking
for a way to get money and free things. It’s true I only had bad experiences with beautiful women, mentally putting her in the same box with the gold-diggers before being able to see who she really is. As I promised her, I will never give up—I’ll apologize for my behavior, and as the song says, I’ll stand by her side.