I pulled Shannon to our stuff and scooped it all up in one armful. “What’s going on, Ryker?” she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Another flash went off in the bushes, and this time Shannon saw it as well.
“Paparazzi,” she said.
“Yep. Time to go.” I pulled her towel from her bag and threw it toward her. She wrapped it around her midsection and followed me down the path that led back to the car. We climbed in my car, still dripping. I was sure it was too late. They would have most definitely gotten some pretty clear shots of Shannon kissing me in our very intimate embrace next to the falls.
By the time we got back to our house, my phone was already ringing. “Ryker.” George’s voice didn’t sound very happy over the phone. “Don’t panic, but there’s a swimsuit picture circulating around the internet of you in a passionate embrace in front of a waterfall.”
“The movie hasn’t even started filming yet. Why do they care so much?”
“Somehow, you caught fire on the internet. I can’t explain why people obsess over certain actors, but they seem very drawn to pictures of you. And this picture is the worst of them all. Who is the girl with you?”
“She’s my girlfriend, Shannon.”
“Girlfriend? I thought you said you weren’t dating anyone.”
“Um. It’s . . . new.” I glanced over at Shannon, but she was looking out her window, and all I could see was the back of her dripping-wet head.
“Well, you may want to practice a bit more discretion, unless Shannon doesn’t mind having swimsuit pictures of herself going viral.”
I groaned. The amazing Saturday I’d had planned with Shannon had taken a definite turn for the worse.
I ended the call with George and turned to Shannon as I pulled up in my driveway. “What was that all about?”
I hesitated. I wished there was a way I could avoid telling Shannon that her privacy had been violated so badly, but considering the fact that she already saw the photographers herself, it was a little late for that. “That was George. He saw our picture on the internet.”
“Like, from just now?” Shannon asked with wide eyes, looking down at her body in her swimsuit. “I should have skipped that slice of cherry pie after you went home late last night.”
“You’re absolutely ridiculous.”
“No. I’m not. I’m being serious.”
“You mean, you’re not upset that there’s a picture of you in a bikini, kissing me, that’s going viral on the internet right now?”
“I’m not thrilled about it,” she admitted. “But what’s the point of freaking out? It’s not like there’s anything we can do about it now.”
I said goodbye to Shannon and went into the house to get ready to go to work at Skippy’s. When I came out of my room, Ava turned to me from where she sat on the couch doing homework with Dad’s old laptop.
“So, you and Shannon, huh?”
“How do you know about that?”
“I just got a text from three of my friends, telling me about it, and I just saw the picture for myself.” She turned her laptop toward me, and a picture of me holding Shannon close to me while we kissed in our swimsuits filled the screen. I could see the edge of the waterfall on the far left of the image. I just hoped that Shannon wasn’t lying when she acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal. She was always trying to put on a brave face. Just yesterday she wasn’t sure she wanted to date me. I wasn’t even sure she was okay with people knowing we liked each other romantically, and now the entire world knew, including the thousands of crazy fangirls who’d already proposed marriage to me online.
Somehow, they thought if I said yes, they’d automatically turn into princesses just because I’d been cast as Prince Charming. I just didn’t want them targeting Shannon. As long as she stayed off of social media, she’d most likely be fine. Thank goodness Shannon hated social media and considered it a waste of her time. But the same couldn’t be said of the entire student body of Sweet Mountain High.
“You need to be careful with that girl,” my aunt Kristen said to me as I mopped the floor after helping her close the diner for the night. I’d just told her what had happened with the paparazzi and Shannon’s rapid trip into the media’s spotlight.
“Believe me, I know,” I said. “I love that girl. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“Her mom told me how fragile her dad’s abandonment left her. She became withdrawn and distrustful. I guarantee she never would have dated Austin if she’d had a supportive, loving father in the home.”
“The problem is, time is running out,” I said. “I just want to savor every last minute. I can feel the seconds ticking down like I’m on a march to my doom.”
“Don’t think about how much time you have with her. Just enjoy today. You don’t know what the future holds. And don’t worry so much about what other people think. The only person who matters is Shannon. All you can do for her is show her all the love and respect she deserves. The rest is out of your hands.”
“Sometimes, I question my decision to be in the film. I knew it would be a big change, but I didn’t think it would be this extreme. And I’d hoped to keep Shannon out of the public eye. Because of my decision, she may be targeted.”
“Remember, Shannon sat here right after you met Mr. Christopher and told you to go to that audition. She’s a big girl. She can make decisions for herself.”
“But you said I need to be careful with her.”
“I meant, be careful with her heart. She’s been in love with you for a lot longer than you realize.”
I studied my aunt as I absorbed this new information. Shannon was in love with me? And had been for a long time? “How do you know?” I asked.
“I’ve watched Shannon coming into this diner with you since the two of you were eight. I’m an observant woman. I could just tell. But I knew she wouldn’t admit it to herself or to anyone else, so I kept my observations to myself.”
“I only wish I’d know this a long time ago. I would have asked her to homecoming or something.”
“She was always with Austin, remember?”
“And now that he’s out of the picture, she’s able to examine her own heart,” I mused.
“It seems that way. And when you asked her to prom and kissed her, she couldn’t deny her feelings anymore.”
“And then everything changed.”
Aunt Kristen smiled. “I’ve waited a long time to watch you two be this happy.”
I only hoped it could last.
12
Shannon
I reached into the large bin of rocky road ice cream and dug out two scoops for the older woman standing in front of me. I piled on the toppings of peanuts and chocolate chips that she’d requested. “Will that be all?” I asked. When she nodded, I took her bowl to the register and rang up her order.
“Shannon, come here,” Megan, one of the managers at Toppings, called me back to the kitchen, where customers couldn’t overhear our conversation.
She was holding her phone up for me to see. “Have you seen this?” Her screen displayed the picture of me at the falls with Ryker earlier that day that George had been talking about.
“I heard about it, but this is my first time seeing it.” A blush crept across my cheeks. I never thought my boss would be the one to actually show me the picture. How embarrassing. “Am I in trouble? I promise I didn’t know they were going to take a picture of me. I just wanted to go to the falls and have a fun day with Ryker.”
“Of course, you’re not in trouble. But I am worried about you, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Was I okay? I didn’t actually know. I thought I was, but maybe I was still too in shock to know any difference.
“Shannon?”
I must have been zoning out. I looked at Megan and smiled. “I’m doing just fine. The paparazzi are annoying, but I stay off of social media anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal.”
I went back to the front and to
ok a few more orders. When the store emptied, closer to the end of the night, my coworker Jessica pulled her phone out and scrolled through with a bored expression on her face. I got the broom and started sweeping behind the counter where we’d spilled a bunch of chocolate chips and gummy bears.
“Shannon, is this really you?” Jessica said, turning her phone screen to me. The picture of Ryker and me lit up her display.
I groaned inwardly. Was this my new reality?
“Well, that look on your face answers that question.” She zoomed in on the picture by sliding her fingers apart on her phone screen. “That’s a cute swimsuit. Where’d you get it?”
“Ugh. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“So, are you and Ryker an item now?”
“I don’t even know myself. How could I tell you?”
“How do you not know? You look like you’re together here.”
I winced at the kissing picture. I didn’t think I’d mind the lack of privacy, but now I was starting to question the sanity of that assessment. I had no idea what I was talking about.
“This picture is on pretty much every social media platform.”
“Are there any others?”
“Not that I can see. I guess they thought this one was plenty of evidence to tell the story they wanted to tell.”
“And what story is that?” I asked.
“That Ryker’s taken,” Jessica said matter-of-factly. “You’ve broken the hearts of thousands of girls across the internet.”
“That’s just weird,” I said, feeling strangely defensive. “They don’t even know Ryker. How can their hearts be broken?” I was the one with the heart on the line. They didn’t get to take that from me by cheapening my pain.
Maybe it was a mistake to start dating Ryker, if that was what we were doing. Ryker had called me his girlfriend to George. But he hadn’t officially asked me if I wanted to take our relationship to that level of commitment.
Was I an idiot to let myself think Ryker wanted me and only me? What chance did I stand with him spending tons of time with Gabi, a gorgeous movie star, kissing her on camera? Gabi probably had an entire team of makeup artists dedicated to making her look perfect.
Dad had cheated on Mom, and Austin had cheated on me with Tabby. My trust levels with the guys in my life were so low it was scary. How was I supposed to trust any guy after all that? I knew Ryker had spent the last ten years being loyal to me. Out of everyone I knew, I should trust him the most. But now everything was changing for him. He hadn’t spent the last ten years surrounded by celebrities who were interested in him. Was it possible that fame could change Ryker enough to betray me like Austin had?
How could I ever know for sure? Maybe I needed to end the nonsense between us before it went too far, and I let my heart be more vulnerable than it already was.
I knocked on Ryker’s window later that night. I’d seen his car in the driveway, so I could tell he was already home from Skippy’s. I had to tell him it was over. What we were doing was reckless and stupid. We just needed to move on in our separate directions.
Ryker came to the window and pushed it up.
“Hey there, beautiful.”
Ryker had never called me that before. I could get used to it. Too bad that would never happen. I just couldn’t allow it.
He reached out and helped me climb inside. “Is Parker in here?” I asked. I probably should have checked on that before I just climbed in and got Ryker in trouble. Now that we had a picture of us kissing plastered across the internet, I had a feeling Ryker’s dad wouldn’t be nearly as relaxed about us being in each other’s bedrooms with the door closed. There was no way we could claim we were just friends after that disaster. Unless we broke up and went public with it. Which was what I was planning to tell Ryker.
“Parker’s sleeping over at a friend’s house tonight.”
“Oh,” I said.
“Is everything okay?” Ryker said, running his hands down my arms.
“I don’t know.” I looked away from his searching gaze. “I saw the picture at work today.”
“I was afraid of something like that happening. I hoped you wouldn’t see it since you aren’t on social media, but people are stupid and love sensational stuff. But don’t worry. We’ll get through this together. You have me in your corner every step of the way.”
I needed to stay strong. I had my reasons for wanting to back out of this relationship, and I couldn’t let Ryker’s charming self distract me from my plan.
“But what about when you go to California, and you forget about me? I don’t think I could handle that. This hasn’t been something casual for me. That’s why I’m over here. I need to let you know that we can’t continue whatever this is between us.”
“Shannon.” He lifted my chin so that my eyes looked into his. “I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, but I can promise you that I have eyes for you and only you. It’s been this way for me for a very long time. Haven’t you noticed that I’ve never had a girlfriend before?”
“Yeah, but I just thought that was because you focused too much on school.”
“I did focus on school a lot, but the real reason is that I was actually focused on you. I couldn’t even look at another girl when you were in my life.”
“But I just kept you in the friend zone the entire time.”
“And as much as I didn’t like that, I still couldn’t look at another girl.”
“You didn’t like being stuck in the friend zone?”
“Of course not. What kind of question is that?”
“I just didn’t realize you felt that way about me the entire time. I might have brought you out of the friend zone if I’d known. I know I wouldn’t have still dated Austin for very long. That guy would have been in the dump zone.”
Ryker took my hands in his and placed a gentle kiss on my hand. “Can you reconsider breaking this off between us?”
I hadn’t realized that Ryker might be scared to lose me. I just kept focusing on the celebrity fangirls swarming him. I didn’t want to hurt Ryker. Like ever. And if I broke off our budding relationship tonight, I would break Ryker’s heart. And I couldn’t have that. I would let my own heart break into a million pieces before I knowingly hurt Ryker.
Ryker pulled me into his arms, and we stood in the middle of his room with my head on his shoulder. I fit right into his embrace like two matching jigsaw puzzle pieces.
I wouldn’t be breaking the relationship off with Ryker tonight, but as I climbed out of his window and crossed our lawns, I hoped he knew what he was talking about, or we would both end up miserable with shattered hearts.
13
Ryker
Sunday afternoon, I knocked on Shannon’s front door with a white box under my arm. Her mom answered the door.
“Is Shannon home?” I asked.
“Yep. You know you don’t have to knock. You practically live here anyway,” Mrs. Cooper said.
I followed her inside.
“What’s in the box?” Maddie said when I walked into the living room. She had her feet crossed at the ankles with her feet up on the coffee table.
“It’s a surprise for Shannon.”
Maddie’s face lit up. “Ooh! Can I see?”
“If Shannon wants to let you watch her open it, then I don’t mind you seeing it.”
“Shannon!” Maddie yelled. “Your man’s here with a present for you.”
Shannon’s bedroom door opened. “Ryker?” She had her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head, and a sweatshirt that had fallen off one shoulder. She came up to me and hugged me. She looked like she’d just been napping. She’d gone through a lot lately. It was no wonder she was exhausted. “You got me a present?” She eyed the large, white rectangular box curiously.
“Open it,” I said.
She lifted the lid to reveal a royal blue cocktail dress. She gasped, taking it from the box and holding it up to inspect the dress fully. “Ryker, this is beautiful. Thank you.
” She hugged me and buried her face into my chest. “How did you know how to get my size right?”
“I came over when you weren’t home and swiped the red dress you wore to homecoming and took it to the dress shop on Main Street. They helped me find this dress for you.”
“It’s stunning. But what’s the occasion? This dress is too short for prom.”
“Oh, there’s a gift card at the bottom of the box for prom. That way, you can pick the dress out yourself. I know it’s a big deal for girls to go dress shopping together.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Shannon said, wiping away a tear. “I didn’t know how I was going to afford a dress for prom. How can I ever thank you enough?”
“All you need to do is agree to go with me to dinner tonight. That’s what the blue dress is for.”
“This dress is for dinner? It’s pretty fancy. Where are we going?”
“I got us reservations at Charter.”
“Charter?” Shannon squeaked.
I took her hands in mine. “You’ve been through a lot with the paparazzi, and that was because of me. I want to show you that dating a movie star isn’t all bad. There are perks too.”
“You’re incredible,” Shannon said.
“We have reservations at seven. Does that give you enough time to get ready?”
“More than enough time. I’m not a high maintenance kind of girl.”
“Perfect. I’ll be back to get you at six forty-five.”
Shannon planted a kiss on my lips. “I’m heading to the shower.”
“That was a really thoughtful thing to do,” Mrs. Cooper said after Shannon had disappeared into the bathroom. “She’s had a hard time with all this mess with the paparazzi. I can’t even imagine how tough it would be to have my privacy violated like that, and I’m forty. She’s only eighteen and is dealing with it like a champ.”
“I know she hides most of what bothers her. So if you can tell she’s having a hard time, it’s probably much worse than what you see,” I said.
My Best Friend Prince Charming: A Sweet YA Romance (Sweet Mountain High Book 6) Page 8
