CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Have I told you how much I love the gold heels, Aspen?” I ask as we stand on the packed elevator together.
She sticks her foot out and twist. “Thanks.”
Next time I get to dress up, I’m going with heels. Aspen’s at least three inches taller with the gold ones. My closet is sparse when it comes to high shoes because Cody hated it when I stood over him. I bet with a pair of stilettos I'd barely pass Ryland’s chin. There’s a whole new world of fashion available to me.
We step off the elevator and even at the late hour The View is full of people. Most stand around the large open windows, but a few mingle in the middle by the circular bar with leather chairs.
“Wow, we’ll never find a place to sit, Aspen.” Heels or not my feet are tired.
She practically skips off the elevator. I guess the shoes aren’t bothering her after all. “Don’t worry, Finn had a table reserved."
“Damn it.” Ryland’s curse is quiet, but he’s close enough I hear it.
“What?” I ask leading him to the side away from the rest of the group.
He lets go of me and runs a hand though his short hair. “A table? Marissa, you girls will be here gossiping all night.”
“We do not gossip. We chat,” I refute.
He takes off his jacket and loosens his tie. I’m surprised he lasted this long. “You’re lucky I love you, Kitten. I wouldn't do this for anyone else.”
Ryland’s said I love you before, but every time the words create these weird warm fuzzy feelings. I want to wrap my arms around him, climb him like the tree he is, and partake in a PDA of epic proportions. Of course I’ll never do it. Such an act would ruin the man-hater reputation I've worked hard to create in our group of friends.
Blinking lights from one of the taller buildings outside the window catch my attention. I pull Ryland to the little area our group’s claimed with a table and two dark leather couches.
We tend to create chaos whenever we go out together and tonight’s the same story. Aspen and Finn sit on the couch without an issue, but Trey appears to argue with a waiter over the menu. I catch small pieces from the waiter reassuring him Finn’s already ordered food, but it doesn't appease Trey who continues to debate. Simone sits on the couch looking in every direction but at her boyfriend in a cute attempt to distance herself from him.
“Is Trey trying to order a steak?” I ask Simone when he continues to fight with the waiter. “Didn’t the waiter tell him Finn already placed orders?”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. You have no idea. Trey believes he should be able to order a good steak anywhere.”
“Really?” I can’t imagine what it would be like to date Trey. I’d probably end up stabbing him with a salad fork at dinner one night.
“I’ve seen him eat steak on the beach.” Trey gives up on his argument and sits down on the couch next to Simone. She pats him on the knee a few times, a special kind of condescending comfort.
I’m about to ask if he succeeded in his quest for meat when Ryland stops behind me and I step back so I’m closer to his body. “We should go to the beach."
“I like this idea. Someplace warm.” I have over twenty days of vacation time saved up. It wouldn’t take much for Ryland to persuade me into a vacation.
He sighs and it blows my hair. “We’d need to do it now. Once I sign with a team, the season lasts ten months or more. There won’t be much time for vacations."
Our conversation lulls until Ryland rests his chin on the top of my head and I look out at the twinkling lights from here to the bay. “Aren’t the lights beautiful?”
“Sure,” he replies without the proper amount of enthusiasm and I stick an elbow into his side… lightly. “What? It’s a bunch of lights on buildings, Marissa. Can we go home now?”
“No.” I glance around us again, looking for a certain person whom I can’t find. “Where’s Grant and Clare? Weren’t they in the taxi right behind us?”
Ryland shrugs but then turns to Finn asking him across the few feet between us. The three guys discuss a get together they’re having next month on the fourth of May until Finn’s phone chimes with an incoming text.
“Grant and Clare had a mix up. They’re grabbing a drink and then they’ll meet us here. They’re on the other side of Mission. Had a problem with the driver.”
“Didn’t you give all the taxis the same directions?” Aspen asks.
Finn shrugs. “Yeah. I guess theirs went the wrong way.”
Ibetthey had a problem with their driver. I also know exactly what Grant plans to use his hour for… wooing Clare.
