Don't Forget Me Tomorrow(89)

He and Ezra set their drinks down and Ryder reclaimed his stool.

For the longest time, he sat there, taking it in, happy that Dakota was having a blast.

Her eyes shined and her skin was slick with a sheen of sweat when they came racing back to the table, all of them laughing, giggling under their breaths, at what, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was he couldn’t look away as Dakota hopped onto the stool next to him and took a big gulp of her drink.

“Mmm,” she hummed into the glass like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted. “Thank you.”

He couldn’t help but lean into her, his shoulder touching hers, his voice just loud enough that only she could hear over the din. “That drink is the same color as your cheeks.”

That flush only heated more, and she dipped her head, that old shyness winding with something bold as she smiled back at him.

And fuck, he wanted to reach out again.

Touch it.

See if what he’d kept suppressed for the last four years was real, only he was tripping up when Amelia suddenly showed up at their table.

All sly grins, her black hair curled in fat waves, dressed like she was on the hunt.

Unease skittered through Ryder. He knew what she was hunting was him. He knew Dare used her to keep tabs on him. Another fucking trap he’d been a fool to fall into.

She sauntered up, all hips, her fingertips going to his chest as he sat back in his stool. She angled down to his ear. “I’ve been looking for you.”

A scowl took to his brow and that hatred that’d been simmering for years bubbled up from the depths. “I’m busy.”

“Too busy for me?” she purred.

“It’s a family celebration.” He let an edge of warning slip into his tone.

Her gaze bounced around the table. No one else was paying them any mind or found it out of character. It wasn’t like he didn’t have women crawling all over him half the time. He’d gained that reputation.

The only one who seemed to notice was Dakota who he could feel shifting in discomfort on her stool.

Amelia immediately zeroed in on her before she cut a wicked smirk back at him. “Call me later, then. I’ll be waiting.”

She touched her fingertips to his lips.

Disgust pumped through his system, this shame as Dakota peeked at them before she jerked away, turned her attention to Beth, and jumped into a conversation with her.

It was for the best.

He needed to maintain those boundaries.

Keep up the walls.

He and Dakota were friends. They’d always been. She was like a sister to him and that was the only thing she could ever be. It was already reckless that he came around this way.

Creeping too close.

An outsider drawn to this normalcy.

Wanting to be a part of it, dipping his fingers into something good when his feet were solidly cemented in immorality.

Except something inside him clutched when a cowboy who worked one of the local ranches strolled up and asked Dakota to dance.

She didn’t hesitate.

She slipped off her stool, her hand in his as he led her to the floor. The song that was playing was fast, and the guy led her in a quick two-step, and Dakota’s face was lighting up again as he spun her round and round.

All while Ryder sat there feeling like he was going to suffocate. This feeling snaking over him that he just couldn’t shake.

The night went on like that. Different guys asking Dakota to dance, which she was all too eager to oblige. The girl having the best time.

It was growing late when he finally found the balls to cut in.

Surprise rolled through Dakota’s expression when she found him standing there, and she warily let him pull her into his arms as the guy she’d been dancing with disappeared into the fray.

“What are you doing, Ryder?” She said it like she couldn’t believe he was standing there. Like maybe she’d felt him physically trying to push her away.

But when it came to Dakota, he found those walls didn’t stand.

“Thought it was time I danced with the birthday girl since every guy in the place has gotten the chance to.” He fought for a smirk as he began to sway them, the beat of the song slowed.

“Isn’t your girlfriend going to mind if you’re dancing with me?”

His chest pinched. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

Dakota’s brows lifted as she looked up at him, no hesitation when she asked, “Are you telling me you’ve never had sex with her?”

“Didn’t say that.”

“Ah, so you are the player Cody tells me you are.” He couldn’t tell if she meant it as a tease or if it was an accusation, not with the way those cinnamon eyes glinted beneath the strobing light.

He fought to keep it easy. Playful. Refusing the thing he could feel brewing between them. “I see how it is. My best friend is spreading rumors about me.”

“Is that what they are? Rumors?”

He couldn’t do anything but tug her to him, and he breathed out the words too close to her ear. “I wish they weren’t.”





Giggles floated on the night air as they went stumbling out at closing.

Ryder had his arm looped around Dakota’s waist, supporting her, and the other was around Paisley’s as he guided them to his truck parked in the lot.

The two of them had done it up, tossing back three rounds of shots during the last hour they’d been there. Their laughter had started to come easier just as their words had started to slur.