and kisses me swiftly on the mouth. "Sorry. I needed a little hit."
"You know that's never going to satisfy your craving." I grab him by the collar of his thin t-shirt and draw his lips to mine again. Chattering and footsteps sound behind us, and I pull back. When I glance around I realize that the other students barely give us a second glance.
Ryker exhales, a long stream of air pushing past his lips. "We're not going anywhere in my rockstar mobile, as you called it."
"We're not?" I lean against the side of the car. The door handle sticks into my butt , and I readjust my position.
"Nope." He pops the trunk and dips his hand inside.
Too curious not to peek, I lean forward on my tiptoes and look inside just as Ryker extracts a picnic basket.
"A picnic? You're really messing up your whole rockstar rep, you know that?"
"I'm not interested in my rep, Lola. I'm interested in you." Holding the picnic basket in one hand, he slams the trunk closed with the other.
I bite my lip, unable to formulate a response. This guy really does know how to render me speechless.
"Let's go. I know the perfect spot." With his f ree hand, he snatches up mine.
The perfect spot is a lush patch of grass under a large, leafy tree. Ryker spreads out a blanket and then plops down on top of it, rooting around in his picnic basket. As I sit down next to him, I ask, "So where did you get all these picnic supplies? Is this like what you do with all the girls you date?"
With his arm still half hidden inside the basket, he tosses me a smile. "No, I've never actually taken a girl on a picnic before. But my mom got this basket as a gift years ago. She let me borrow it."
"Oh." I bend my legs, pulling them closer to my body.
Ryker holds up two foil wrapped burritos. "Chicken or beef?"
"You got us burritos?"
"Not just any burritos. I bought them at the best burrito place in town."
I giggle. "I guess you've gained some of your man card back. I was a little worried that the basket was full of strawberries and champagne."
He peeks inside. "Nope. Sodas, burritos and chips. Is that okay?"
"It's perfect," I answer. "Chicken."
"Here you go ." He tosses me the foil wrapped monstrosity.
"This is huge," I eye the giant burrito, wondering how I'll ever eat the whole thing.
"Yeah, I get that a lot." He winks.
"And now your man card has been returned in full." I roll my eyes. "I guess you have kept your rockstar image intact after all." I lean back on my arm. A flurry of students blur past just a few feet away. They all look so stressed and harried. Actually they look the way I normally feel. But not in this moment. In this moment, I feel completely at peace.
"You know you love it."
H e's right. At first I thought I just liked Ryker because he was different from the guys I normally date, but the more time I spend with him I find myself falling for who he is, not what he is. He's no longer 'rockstar Ryker' to me. He's just Ryker, and I like him . A lot . It's actually a little scary.
I carefully unwrap the top of the burrito. When I take a bite, salsa dribbles down my chin. "Do you have a napkin?" I wipe some salsa with my hand to keep it from traveling down my neck. Ryker tosses me a napkin, and I wipe my face. "So, what's your major?"
He chews for a second and then swallows. "Business."
Maybe I'd misjudged him . "Really? What kind of business do you want to go into?"
He shrugs. "I don't. I just want to play music. I only majored in business because my mom talked me into it. She wants me to have something to fall back on in case music doesn't work out for me."
"So, you have no plans to acquire a high powered corporate job after graduation?" I quip, picking a cube of chicken out of my burrito and popping it into my mouth. The spicy, tender meat melts on my tongue.
"Hell no. After graduation I plan to continue to play my guitar. Hopefully we'll make it big."
"And if you don't?" I hope he has some kind of backup plan. If he ever meets my parents they will
"You know that's never going to satisfy your craving." I grab him by the collar of his thin t-shirt and draw his lips to mine again. Chattering and footsteps sound behind us, and I pull back. When I glance around I realize that the other students barely give us a second glance.
Ryker exhales, a long stream of air pushing past his lips. "We're not going anywhere in my rockstar mobile, as you called it."
"We're not?" I lean against the side of the car. The door handle sticks into my butt , and I readjust my position.
"Nope." He pops the trunk and dips his hand inside.
Too curious not to peek, I lean forward on my tiptoes and look inside just as Ryker extracts a picnic basket.
"A picnic? You're really messing up your whole rockstar rep, you know that?"
"I'm not interested in my rep, Lola. I'm interested in you." Holding the picnic basket in one hand, he slams the trunk closed with the other.
I bite my lip, unable to formulate a response. This guy really does know how to render me speechless.
"Let's go. I know the perfect spot." With his f ree hand, he snatches up mine.
The perfect spot is a lush patch of grass under a large, leafy tree. Ryker spreads out a blanket and then plops down on top of it, rooting around in his picnic basket. As I sit down next to him, I ask, "So where did you get all these picnic supplies? Is this like what you do with all the girls you date?"
With his arm still half hidden inside the basket, he tosses me a smile. "No, I've never actually taken a girl on a picnic before. But my mom got this basket as a gift years ago. She let me borrow it."
"Oh." I bend my legs, pulling them closer to my body.
Ryker holds up two foil wrapped burritos. "Chicken or beef?"
"You got us burritos?"
"Not just any burritos. I bought them at the best burrito place in town."
I giggle. "I guess you've gained some of your man card back. I was a little worried that the basket was full of strawberries and champagne."
He peeks inside. "Nope. Sodas, burritos and chips. Is that okay?"
"It's perfect," I answer. "Chicken."
"Here you go ." He tosses me the foil wrapped monstrosity.
"This is huge," I eye the giant burrito, wondering how I'll ever eat the whole thing.
"Yeah, I get that a lot." He winks.
"And now your man card has been returned in full." I roll my eyes. "I guess you have kept your rockstar image intact after all." I lean back on my arm. A flurry of students blur past just a few feet away. They all look so stressed and harried. Actually they look the way I normally feel. But not in this moment. In this moment, I feel completely at peace.
"You know you love it."
H e's right. At first I thought I just liked Ryker because he was different from the guys I normally date, but the more time I spend with him I find myself falling for who he is, not what he is. He's no longer 'rockstar Ryker' to me. He's just Ryker, and I like him . A lot . It's actually a little scary.
I carefully unwrap the top of the burrito. When I take a bite, salsa dribbles down my chin. "Do you have a napkin?" I wipe some salsa with my hand to keep it from traveling down my neck. Ryker tosses me a napkin, and I wipe my face. "So, what's your major?"
He chews for a second and then swallows. "Business."
Maybe I'd misjudged him . "Really? What kind of business do you want to go into?"
He shrugs. "I don't. I just want to play music. I only majored in business because my mom talked me into it. She wants me to have something to fall back on in case music doesn't work out for me."
"So, you have no plans to acquire a high powered corporate job after graduation?" I quip, picking a cube of chicken out of my burrito and popping it into my mouth. The spicy, tender meat melts on my tongue.
"Hell no. After graduation I plan to continue to play my guitar. Hopefully we'll make it big."
"And if you don't?" I hope he has some kind of backup plan. If he ever meets my parents they will
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