The Wannabes (12 page)

RYDER UNLOCKED THE door and once
inside, he handed Corbin her bag.

“Thanks.” When she reached for it he grabbed her hand.

“You’re welcome.” He rubbed his thumb over her hand. They
share a moment of silence then he pulled her against him. He kissed her hard,
his tongue seeking hers. They dropped their bags to the floor. Corbin wrapped
her arms around his neck. He grabbed her ass and lifted her up. She in turn
wrapped her legs around him. She grinded herself against him and was making
those tiny little moans that drove him crazy. He carried her to the couch and
without losing contact he lay down on top of her. He returned her grinding with
his own. He knew she was primed and ready to go, as was he.

“Ryder…” she panted.

“Hmmm…” he mumbled as he kissed and nibbled at her neck.

“I have to go. And we don’t have any….Oh god that feels
good.” He felt her fingers grasp his hair.

“Grrr…” He growled then slumped on top of her. He slid off
of her and stood. She seemed to be gathering her senses. Her legs were still
open and her mouth was wet from his. He held out his hand and helped her stand.

“Your glasses are smudged,” he joked.

“Imagine that.” Corbin removed them and began wiping them on
her shirt. Ryder shoved his hands in his pockets in a vain attempt to keep his
hands to himself. He willed his engorged dick to go down. Hearing a door open
Ryder glanced in the direction. He did a double take as a huge hulking black
man exited Alex’s bedroom and Alex followed behind

“Holy shit,” Ryder blurted. Alex stopped in her tracks and
her eyes went wide.

“Moses?” Ryder heard Corbin ask.

Ryder looked from Moses to Alex, trying to put two and two
together. Alex covered her eyes.

“Corbin, Ryder.” Moses gave them each a nod then swept Alex
in his arms. He kissed her and when he pulled away Alex swayed a little. Moses
leaned into her and whispered something that made Alex giggle and blush. Moses
then walked to Ryder and held out this hand. Ryder reached out apprehensively
and shook it. Then Moses turned and gave a wave to Corbin and continued out the
door.

“What?” Ryder shook his head. Total confusion had set in. He
looked at Alex, not knowing what to say.

“Oh my God, Alex,” Corbin squealed. He watched Alex’s face
turn full on red.

“What she said.” Ryder jutted his thumb at Corbin. Alex
shifted from one foot to another, her eyes staying on the floor.

“Stop staring at me,” Alex groaned. She tugged at her
t-shirt. Corbin uttered a giggle. “Come on guys, grow up!” Alex turned and went
back into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Ryder looked to
Corbin who was still giggling.

“Who was that?” He pointed to the door.

“Moses, they work at Rebel’s together.” Ryder nodded then
shook his head.

“What the fuck?” He rubbed his forehead.

“I know, I didn’t see that coming either,” Corbin laughed.
“I gotta go.” She grabbed her keys, gave him a kiss on his cheek, then
whispered in his ear, “Go easy on her, ok?” She opened the door and shut it.

Ryder stood alone in the living room and ran a hand through
his hair. He walked to Alex’s door and knocked. She cracked it open.

“If you are going to lecture me, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Practice what you preach.” Alex rolled her eyes, then swung
her door open wide. He stopped in the doorway and leaned against it.

“You can come in and sit you know.” Alex huffed and crossed
her arms.

“Hell no, I am not getting anywhere close to that bed.”
Ryder suppressed a laugh. She picked up a pillow and chucked it at him. He
moved out of the way as it zipped by him. “That smelled funky.” He plugged his
nose.

“Fuck you.” Alex flipped him off. Ryder cleared his throat.

“Is he good to you?”

“He has a name, and yes.” She looked to the floor. Ryder
nodded.

“I’ve never seen that side of you before, it kinda blew my
mind.” He watched as Alex smiled.

“Blows me away too.” She nodded and laughed.

“It’s good to see you happy.” Ryder picked at the door way.

“Ahhh…” Alex stood and began walking towards him, her arms
outstretched. “Give me a hug.”

“Hell no, you have sex funk all over you.” He took off
running through the apartment, Alex chased him and laughed. He dodged and
weaved her advances until she finally tackled him to the ground. She rubbed her
hands on his face.

“Yuck,” he said between laughter. She was laughing so hard
tears were rolling down her face. She wiped her eyes and looked at him.

“I love you, dork.” Her face was serious.

“Yeah, I know, me too.” She helped him up from the floor,
and he hugged her tighter than he had ever done before.

CORBIN WALKED DOWN the hall to where
her Mom was. The door was shut so she knocked.

“Just a minute,” Jan said from inside. Corbin turned and
leaned against the wall.

“It’s about time you show up.” She looked up to see her
brothers Chance and Clay walking towards her. She tucked her hair behind her
ear.

“Hey guys.” She gave them a small wave.

Here comes the guilt trip.

They stopped in front of her. She fidgeted.

“How is Mom?”

“Well if would have been around this weekend, you would
know.” Clay crossed his arms over his protruding belly. Chance smirked.

Assholes.

The room door opened and Jan peeked out. “Come on in. Sorry,
I was in the middle of bathing her.”

Corbin started in but her brothers pushed her out of the
way.

“Seriously…” Corbin grumbled. She entered the room and
looked to her Mom. She was sleeping soundly. Chance and Clay sat on either side
of her, so Corbin pulled up a chair at the foot of the bed.

“How is she?” Corbin looked to Jan.

“She is doing well. She rested peacefully all weekend.” Jan
gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“That’s good to hear.” Corbin nodded then reached up and
rubbed her Mom’s leg. She watched as her Mom’s chest rose and fell. “Is she
supposed to be breathing that slow?” Panic filled her.

“She just had a dose of her meds so she is really relaxed.”
Jan leaned over her Mom and placed a stethoscope on her chest. She listened for
a few minutes. “Her lungs are working fine, and her heart rate is good too.”
Jan scribbled on a chart. Corbin let out a huge breath.

“It’s good to see you got some rest this weekend too,
Corbin.” Jan gave her a wink then started putting her stuff in her bag.

“Yeah, she’s out partying and Clay and I sat here all
weekend,” Chance blurted. Clay snickered. Something snapped in Corbin. Her eyes
narrowed.

“Nobody told you that you had to stay here.” She glared at
them both.

“Someone had to be responsible. You were off doing who knows
what with who knows who.” Clay threw his arms in the air.

“Hey guys...” Jan started. Corbin stood up so fast that she
knocked over her chair. She walked to them and pointed her fingers at them.

“Oh hell no…you want to talk about who’s responsible? Well
let’s see…hmmm…who took care of mom after dad died? ME! Who took care of mom
after she got sick? ME! Who has been here every night for the past two weeks?
ME! So fuck you both!” Corbin was so mad that tears flowed down her face and
she was shaking everywhere. She stared at her brothers who just sat there,
their mouths agape.

“This is bullshit.” Clay stood and stormed from the room.
Chance shook his head then followed him out.

“Ahm…” Jan placed her hands on Corbin’s shoulders. Corbin
turned into her and buried her face into her shoulder. She sobbed so hard that
her sides hurt.

“I’m sorry Jan, I didn’t mean to explode like that.”

“Oh Hun, it’s ok, they have been driving me crazy all
weekend.” Corbin laughed. “I think your mom enjoyed you telling them off.”

“Huh?” Corbin wiped her eyes.

“Look.” Jan pointed. Corbin turned around a caught a glimpse
of a smile on her mom’s face. Fresh tears erupted.

“HAVE YOU BEEN helped?” a man behind
the meat counter asked.

“Not yet,” Ryder glanced at the man’s nametag. “Steve.”

“Ok, what can I get you?”

“I need 4 Cornish game hens, 4 skinless boneless chicken
breasts, 4 4oz filet mignon steaks, and 4 4oz salmon filets.” The butcher
raised an eyebrow at him. Ryder gave him a nod then continued on to gather the
rest of the ingredient he needed. He pulled the list Alex gave him from his
pocket. The first things on the list were tampons and pads. At the end of each
word she had placed a smiley face. Ryder chuckled then headed for that section.
He found a box of heavy duty extra large tampons. He held them up next to his
head and snapped a photo as he made a goofy face. He cued up Alex’s number and
typed under the picture,

I figured you would need the extra large ones after the
weekend you had.

He giggled aloud as he clicked send. He looked up from his
phone and seen several people eyeing him.

“How you doin’?” He gave the group a wave and a wink. His
phone went off.

You are such an ass.

Tee hee.

He added a winky face. He shoved his phone back into his
pocket and continued down the aisle. He perused the selection of condoms. He
caught the attention of an older woman who was looking him up and down as she
walked by. He held up two boxes of them.

“Excuse me ma’am, do you prefer lubricated or ribbed?” The
woman’s mouth dropped and her face turned a bright shade of red. Ryder laughed.
He continued looking through the different varieties and finally settled on
some fire and ice Trojans. He looked around and grabbed ten boxes of the three
packs and dropped them in the cart. He also put a bottle of lube in the cart.
He released a wicked laugh. He walked to the beer section and placed two twelve
packs of Blue Moon in the cart. He made his way back to the meat counter and
picked up his order. He went through his mental checklist to make sure he had
gotten everything he needed for the meals he had planned. Once he was
satisfied, he made his way to the checkout lanes. Seeing nothing but long lines
he let out a sigh. He slowly made his way to the cashier.

“Did you find everything ok?” The cashier made eye contact
with him and blushed.

“Yep.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket. She began
scanning stuff, her face turning redder as she started scanning the condoms and
lube. Ryder leaned closer to her and checked out her nametag.

“Tiff, do you think those are enough condoms? And I wasn’t
sure about the lube; ugh...I am so inexperienced when it comes to this kind of
thing.” He tried to keep his face as innocent as possible.

Tiff almost dropped the produce she was holding. She cleared
her throat.

“Can I get you anything else?” She bit her bottom lip and
started twirling her hair.

“A carton of Marlboro Reds.” He popped some gum in his
mouth. Tiff’s eyes went to his lips, she seemed to shudder. She hurried off to
get his cigarettes then came back and totaled everything up.

“$257.86.”

Ryder slid his debit card and typed in his pin and then Tiff
handed him the receipt.

“Have a nice day,” she cooed.

“You too.” He gave her another wink.

“I’ll help you out with these, sir,” a pimply face kid said.

“If you must.” Ryder waved his hand in the air then led the
carry out to his car. He popped the trunk and helped place his items in.

“Have a good one.” Ryder shut the trunk.

“You too, sir.”

Ryder slid into the driver’s seat, started the car and
popped in some Jackyl. He slipped on his sunglasses rolled down the windows and
cranked the music. As he stopped at the red lights, he turned to the people
next to him and sang the words to the songs. Some people sang along and others
just shook their heads at him. When Dirty Little Mind began, his brain exploded
with thoughts of Corbin. He couldn’t wait to get her alone again. He clicked
his tongue at the thought.

CORBIN OPENED THE door and walked
into the apartment. Alex and Stella’s voices resonated. They were sitting on
the couch giggling.

“What’s up?” Corbin asked. She sat her purse and keys down.

“Come here, look at this.” Alex waved her over, holding her
phone in her hand. Corbin joined them on the couch and looked to Alex’s phone.
A picture of Ryder holding a box of tampons and making a stupid face came up.

“What the hell?” Corbin laughed.

“He’s such a dork,” Alex laughed along.

“How’s your mom?” Stella asked while texting.

“Doing ok.” Corbin pulled her knees up to her chest and
wrapped her arms around them.

“That’s good.” Stella kept her eyes on her phone.

“Did you have fun this weekend?” Alex asked. Stella snorted.

“Yeah, it was good.” Corbin hid a smile behind her knees.

“Ha!” Stella laughed.

“Am I missing something?” Alex looked from Stella back to
her.

“Is she, Corbin?” Stella giggled.

Corbin shrugged. She watched as the color drained from
Alex’s face, her eyes grew wide.

“Oh my God, you and Ryder hooked up?”

“From the naughty little sex sounds I heard coming from the
bedroom, several times.” Stella giggled.

“Stella!” Corbin felt herself blush.

“Whoa…slow down. I need time to process all of this.” Alex
stood and began pacing.

“Yeah, I understand needing time to process stuff,
especially after seeing you and Moses walk out of your bedroom together this
morning. And seeing that kiss he planted on you.” Corbin smirked.

“What!” Stella exclaimed and lept off the couch dropping her
phone to the floor. Alex covered her face with her hands.

“How did he not crush you?” Corbin laughed.

“I told you so!” Stella pointed a finger at Alex and began
to do some sort of what Corbin assumed, was a victory dance.

Alex dropped her hands from her face.

“It’s not a big deal guys.” She plopped back onto the couch.

“Oh come on, Alex.” Stella grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled
her from the couch. “Live a little!” Stella shook her boobs at Alex and then
started to dance again. Alex laughed and joined in with her. Corbin sat on the
couch laughing along.

“I could use a little help, ladies!” Ryder’s voice rang out
above their laughter. Alex stopped and saluted him.

“Yes, sir,” Stella blurted.

Corbin looked to where he stood holding two twelve packs of
Blue Moon. She found her flip flops and slid them on, then sauntered down the
stairs. Ryder’s trunk was packed with grocery bags.

“Whoa,” Stella blurted.

“When you release Ryder in a grocery store it’s like us
girls at the mall,” Alex quipped.

“No kidding.”Corbin shook her head. They grabbed all of the
bags each carrying at least 5 on each arm. As they started up, Ryder started
down.

“Could you be a darling and get the trunk?” Alex asked him.
The three girls laughed together. Ryder raised an eyebrow and shook his head
then continued down the stairs.

They made quick work of putting the items away. They
followed Ryder’s orders as he told them where to put stuff.

“Hey where do these go?” Stella snorted. She held up a box
of condoms and some lube. Corbin looked to Ryder and felt a blush rush over
her. He hurried over to Stella and tried to grab them from her. Stella took the
bag and kept pulling out more and more boxes.

“Jesus Christ, Ryder,” Alex blurted and then covered her
mouth. Ryder got a hold of the bag and chucked it into the bathroom. He looked
to Corbin, he seemed to be blushing too. He ran a hand threw his hair and
shrugged.

“Always be prepared, that’s my motto.” He grabbed a beer and
chugged some of it.

“Are you a boy scout now?” Alex huffed. Ryder smirked and
they all erupted into a fit of laughter.