Because of you (21 page)

“
I saw you singing the other day with a spark in your eyes. You turn into a completely different person when you sing, you were born to perform. Please, it’s for charity.” She covers her face with her hands. I embarrassed her.

“
Ryder, you should have asked if I am okay with this. This was Hope’s dream, not mine. I’m not as nearly talented as she was. What if I make a fool of myself?” I cup her cheeks with my hands and look deep into her eyes.

“
Baby, you were born to do this. You’re great, don’t hide your talent.” I kiss her forehead and give her a comforting hug.

“
Okay, but only because it’s for the kids—otherwise I’d never do it.”

Aaliyah

Damn it, the things I am willing to do for someone I love. On shaky feet, I walk the stairs to the stage, holding my dress so I won’t accidentally trip and embarrass myself before I even open my mouth. I have a big rock in my throat. I give the girls from Stormy Surrender a shy smile and we pick the songs. The first song we’re going to sing is
Girl on Fire
by
Alicia Keys
. The first notes are already filling the room, and I quickly grab the microphone. Still a little nervous, I look around the ballroom. It is beautifully decorated and the waiters are wearing black bow ties, white shirts and black pants. A few disco lights are set on the stage, changing colors. Most guests are gathered in front of the stage, listening to us with interest. My eyes land on Ryder’s, I see pride in them. He is glowing with happiness and I love this side of him. A big grin across his face, he whispers something to Marc. Addison and Jackson are dancing, holding each other tightly, and looking at each other with love in their eyes. I sing the rest of the song, excited, still keeping back a little—but Ryder was right. The feeling of being up on the stage cannot be described. I feel free, happy, it is so liberating. A loud applause fills the ballroom and I continue with
Wide Awake
by
Katy Perry.
A few
s
ongs later my performance is over. I leave the stage, adrenaline coursing through my veins, and head to the bar, because my mouth is dry from nerves.

“
Hey, babe, that was a sweet performance.” I turn to the voice, and see Ethan’s eyes all over me. He’s wearing a black tuxedo, a white shirt and a black tie. His hair is styled with hair gel. He takes a sip from a glass, filled with brown liquid and ice, and then licks his lips. His eyes are roaming down my body. “Can I buy you a drink?” I feel goosebumps rising on my skin from his closeness, but not the pleasant kind.

“
No, thanks, I just came to get some water.” I show him the glass, filled with
the
clear liquid.

“
Do you want to get out of here?” He points his fingers to the door. “We could have a lot of fun together.”

“
Ugh, no, thanks, I’m here with…”

“
Her boyfriend,” Ryder finishes the sentence, possessive hands on my hips. “Leave her alone,” he hisses, and takes me to the other side of the ballroom. “I want you to stay away from him, he only causes trouble.”

“
He came to me.”

“
I know, baby, still. He’s not a good person and I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

Ryder

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” the organizer of the ball steps on the stage with a microphone in his hands, “girls, please join me on
stage.” Addison, Nikki, Aaliyah
,
and a few more girls I don’t know that wel
l,
climb the stairs to the stage to participate in the auction. I knew Aaliyah would happily take part in this cause, because she loves helping others. We agreed on the amount of money I’m going to bid on her, so kids will get the money they deserve. I wink at Aaliyah, and I can’t wait to have her in my arms again. The opening bid is the same for all the girls and the price goes up to the extent men are willing to pay for a date. First two girls already left the stage and a nice sum of money was raised for charity. Marc is bidding on Nikki and she soon leaves the stage. The organizer approaches Aaliyah, and now it’s my turn to bid. I wink at her and offer $100 and the auction price goes up.

“
Do I hear 550?” calls the organizer after 500. I am about to raise my hand to offer that amount, when I hear “950!” from my right. Shocked, I turn and I am immediately overwhelmed by anger, when I see Ethan joined the bidding war, most likely just to piss me off. But I’m not going to let him.

“
One thousand,” I jump in, and we start outbidding each other. Aaliyah is watching me with
eyes opened wide,
surprised by what is happening. Her lips are moving and she is trying to tell me something, but I’m not sure, what. She shakes her head, repeating.

“
Stop, it’s enough,” I
manage to c
atch. I shake my head at her, I don’t want her to have drinks with him—I don’t even want her in the same room with him. Angrily, I make my way through the crowd toward Ethan.

“
Stop it, I’m warning you.” He raises one eyebrow and makes a clicking sound with his tongue.

“
Oooh, I’m shaking in my pants,” he says sarcastically, and shaking his arms, he outbids me again. “What if I don’t stop?” He crosses his arms across his chest and waits for my response.

“
You don’t want to know. Cut it out or you’ll be sorry!”

“
Fine,” he approaches me so we’re standing side by side, “but not because of your silly threats, but because I’m bored and will get my own revenge on the basketball court, rather than here. You can have your little whore.” He barely finishes the last sentence when my arm is already in the air, and I smack him hard in the face. He is on the floor in an instant, wiping his bloody nose. Jackson, Noah and Marc hurry to my side and hold me back, so I wouldn’t hit him again.

“
Don’t let me hear you say one bad thing about Aaliyah. Leave her alone.” Ethan just spits on the floor, gives me a nasty look and gets up.

“
I’ll see you on
c
ourt,” is all he says before he leaves. Aaliyah runs to me and hugs me.

“
What was that about?” I’m still
angrily watching him leave, b
ut my eyes soften the second they land on her.

“
It’s nothing, we just had a misunderstanding.”

The remainder of the night is uneventful and the room is slowly emptying, so we decide to leave. Addison goes home with Jackson and Aaliyah and I go to her room.

Chapter 17

Aaliyah

We are walking quietly in the hallway so we wouldn’t wake up the other students. My feet are hurting from the high heels and I can’t wait to take them off. Ryder closes the door after us, loosens his tie and takes off his jacket. We turn to each other. “Thank you for the wonderful evening, I had a great time.” He hugs me around the hips, pulls the dress up to my thighs and lifts me in his arms.

“That’s good, because I intend to make the evening even better.” He barely finishes the sentence before he presses his lips to my neck and I tilt my head to give him better access. He puts me down by the bed and helps me get out of the dress. I slowly slide it down my body and the whole time I’m looking him in the eyes. When I’m standing before him completely naked, his eyes widen in surprise
as he
examines me from head to toe, oozing with lust and licking his lips. “I can’t believe you didn’t wear anything under that dress. If I knew that, we wouldn’t have stayed at the ball for so long.” I give him a seductive look, one eyebrow raised.

“
You like what you see?”

“
Like? That’s too mild
of an
expression. My eyes are devouring you, I can never get enough of you.” He gently pushes me back and I land on my back on the bed, and he’s on top of me in less than a second. “I can’t believe you’re finally mine.” He kisses my bellybutton and raises his gaze again. “I want you, now,” he says, kissing me higher, under the swell of my breasts. His nose grazes my nipple, and then the other one, and then I finally feel his warm lips on them. He expertly sucks and nibbles them. “You’re so very beautiful,” he says, before our lips meet. His muscular body presses down on me, his surprisingly hard dick against my belly. I reach down to his pants, never breaking our kiss, unzip them and quickly pull them of. I touch him through his boxers and he groans in pleasure. The place between my legs starts tingling and I soon feel Ryder slide two fingers
inside me.
“You’re so wet, Aaliyah.” I grip the sheets as his thumb slides over my swollen clit. I shout his name in pleasure, and a second later I explode under his skillful fingers. Before I can fully regain all my senses, our bodies merge into one.

~ * ~

I can’t believe life could be so wonderful. Ryder and I get along great, I’m doing well in my job, I successfully passed a few exams, and Caden stopped calling me. What more could I want? Christmas break is coming up soon and Ryder and I decided to spend it together. He invited me to a ski trip with his sister and Jackson. Even though I’ve never skied in my life, I am looking forward to it. He promised to teach me, and truth be told, I am eagerly awaiting our lessons. But first, I have to survive the two weeks of exams.

I’m in the middle of studying, a pile of books open on the desk. I have three more exams to pass and then officially,
the
Christmas break
will start.
Addison is in a similar position on the other side of the room. My phone beeps
and
interrupts my studying. I check the time, it’s 5 p.m. I open the text message and a grin appears on my face when I see it’s Ryder.

Ryder: Hey, baby, I have a surprise for you. Hurry over to my place, so I can show it to you.

I quickly close the books and put them away, grab my purse and call a cab.

“
Where are you going?” Addison asks in surprise, because she knows I wouldn’t just storm out without a reason.

“
Ryder wants me to come over, he has something to show me.” She laughs cheerfully and nods.

“
Yeah, I thought it was something like that. Well, don’t be too late, you know you have to study.” I nod.

“
Yes, mother,” I say mockingly and open the door.

“
Have fun,” she winks at me before I leave.

It’s raining heavily, like it hasn’t
rained
for a long time and there are very few cars on the road. During the drive I’m staring at the ugly grey sky. It’s pretty dark outside and not pleasant to be out during
this
downpour. I carefully step out of the cab and run up the
driveway
to Ryder’s house, careful not to step into a puddle. I forgot my umbrella at home, but I don’t need it for
these
few feet to his house. I see the guys through the window, sitting in the living room, but Ryder is not with them. I ring the bell and take a step back, butterflies in my stomach. Marc opens the door and I can see from his expression that he’s surprised to see me.

“
Oh, Aaliyah, what are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you until later.” I shrug.

“
Hey, Marc.” I give him a smile. “Ryder sent me a message. Is he in his room?” He nods, and I don’t lose time. I quickly run up the stairs to his room and, not bothering to knock, open the door. I am greeted by the smell of roses. Rose petals are sprinkled around the room and unlit candles cover every surface. Before I can get excited that Ryder prepared this surprise for me, my gaze falls on his bed. The air is knocked out of my lungs, I start shaking and I suddenly feel faint. I hold on to the doorpost and stare blankly at Ryder sitting on his bed in only his boxers, and Paris, dressed in skinny jeans and a tight shirt, is climbing all over him. She is straddling him, kissing him. A shocked gasp leaves my throat and I shake my head. A tear rolls down my cheek. Ryder and Paris look at me, a satisfied smirk on her face, and Ryder looks like he’s about to faint. He shoves Paris off him and runs to me.

“
I can’t believe you did this to me. I trusted you. How could you do this? And I, a fool, loved you. I was in love with you.” Raising my arms high in the air, I let them fall back down, upset. I turn around to run, anywhere, so I wouldn’t have to be near him, but he grabs my hand.

“
Baby, it’s not
what
it looks like.” I snort and laugh sarcastically.

“
Oh, really? Then what does it look like?
Apparently my eyesight is not that
good anymore, explain then,” I hiss angrily. Another tear falls down my cheek and I close my eyes when he starts to speak, but I raise my hand and stop him. “You know what, you don’t have to explain anything. I won’t listen to your lies, it’s over between us. I hope she was worth it.” His face
goes pale
and he looks at me with a shocked expression as I turn around and run down the stairs into the cold and rainy street.