Love Redeemed

by Tich Brewster

  “Nothing. Go get dressed.” He moved with every step she took to prevent her from seeing anything. She wanted to look so bad. He could see the desire on her face, not knowing was killing her. Patience was never her strong suit.

  “Come on, you’re hiding something. Let me see it.” She tried to dash to the side, hoping she could get a glimpse before he moved it out of her sight again. No such luck.

  “If you don’t hurry up and change, I’m going to give this to someone else.” He knew that would get her moving. It did too. She rushed out of the pool area like a speeding bullet.

  She nearly tripped over her own two feet on her way to the changing room. It was a sight to see, and he loved every minute of it.

  She was gone and back in record time. What’d she do, twitch her nose to magically dress herself? Bouncing like a giddy school girl, she pointed to his hidden hands. “So, what are you hiding?”

  He brought one hand forward. A small stuffed bear sat in his palm. She was reminded of their first date. He had showed up on her parent’s doorstep holding a small stuffed bear, a box of chocolates, and a single white rose.

  Picking up the bear, she clutched it to her chest. “I love it. Thank you.”

  He brought his other hand forward. A bouquet of white roses greeted her. “I almost bought a box of chocolates but I figured they’d melt along the way.”

  Bringing the roses up to her nose, she inhaled. “They’re beautiful. Thank you for these.” She linked her arm through his and followed him to the parking lot. Today was going to be a great day.

  Ryder carried the two large bags of Chinese food from the Mercedes to Cassie’s kitchen table. His cell phone vibrated in his jeans pocket. A quick peek at the Caller ID and he rolled his eyes. Not now, he thought.

  Cheryl, the keyboard player for the band he toured with, was calling. Why couldn’t this girl get a clue? He had no interest in her, none whatsoever. Sure they hooked up, quite a bit actually, while they were on the road but she knew that he wasn’t committing to a relationship. She was just a friend with benefits type of girl to him. He was sure to make that perfectly clear their first night together.

  He ended the call, not bothering to answer it. She had called every day, several times a day in fact, to tell him how much she missed him. This was getting way out of hand. Looking at his cell phone a thought occurred to him. He could always change his cell number. It’s not like she knew where he lived or anything.

  Cassie collected two plates from the cabinet. While she loaded them down with food his cell phone vibrated again. “I need to answer this call, do you mind?”

  “No.” She pointed down the hall. “First door on the left.”

  “I won’t be long.” He winked at her then smiled when a beautiful color of red crept along her neck and cheeks. She bowed her head, allowing her hair to hide the blush. Ryder admired her for just a minute before leaving the room. Gawd, she was beautiful.

  His phone quit vibrating signaling that the call went to voicemail. Two seconds later it started up again. He shut the bedroom door and answered the phone. “What do you want, Cheryl?”

  “Don’t be rude to me, Ryder. I’m calling to tell you how much I miss you.” Her sultry voice irked on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

  “I don’t have time for this. What do you want?” He ran his fingers along Cassie’s dresser. It was the same dresser that they had planned on buying for their new apartment all those years ago. He was pleased to see that she had gone ahead with the purchase.

  “Come on, Ryder,” she cooed. “Baby, I’m lonely.”

  “Look, Cheryl, you need to quit calling me Baby.” He sighed and took a deep breath. “Just quit calling me, period. We are not in a relationship, never have been.” He cut her off when she started to protest. “Forget my number and leave me alone.”

  “What about our last night on tour? You told me that you were so glad that we were on tour together. You told me I was beautiful.” The girl was near hysterics now.

  Ryder thought back, trying to remember exactly what was said that night. He was pretty sure he didn’t lead her on in any way. “I was glad that we toured together, we had a great time. And you are beautiful. But Cheryl, we were never dating. We both had needs that needed to be met and that’s all that was, nothing more.”

  “Ryder, don’t leave me,” she wailed. “Please. I love you.” She sobbed so heavily he could hardly understand her.

  “I’m sorry,” he paused, “but I don’t love you.” He felt bad for telling her this over the phone. These kinds of things should be done in person but she was in California and he was in Texas. “You’re beautiful and bound to find another guy in no time.”

  “I don’t want another guy, I want you.” She blew her nose, not daintily like most women did. No, this was a loud horn blowing type of blow.

  “I’m sorry.” He didn’t say another word, just ended the call and shut off his phone. What was he going to do with that girl? She was beginning to weird him out.

  He joined Cassie at the table. She had given him most of the egg rolls. A huge grin appeared on his face. She remembered how much he loved those things. “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yes, everything’s just fine.” He tossed his cell phone on the table and dug in. It had been so long since he’d had any decent Chinese food. His mouth watered the instant the egg roll touched his tongue. The delightful flavors brought a moan out of him. He leaned back in the chair to savor the bite.

  “You’re such a dork.” She picked up a noodle from her plate and threw it at him. The look of shock on his face as the noodle landed across his nose made her laugh.

  “Oh, how very ladylike,” he teased. He took another bite of his egg roll, making sure to be a little more dramatic this time. Once he was done making a total fool of himself, he continued, “You’re lucky that I’m starving and these are delicious, otherwise you’d be wearing some Kung Pao chicken in your hair.”

  She giggled. It was beginning to feel like old times. The only problem was; would she be strong enough to watch him go when his manager said it was time to pack up and move on? Probably not but she would worry about that day when it arrived. Right now she was going to enjoy every minute she had with him.

  After dinner Ryder followed Cassie out to the patio. Even though it was dark out, the heat and humidity were still high. Not a very comfortable atmosphere to be sitting in but one that he would endure to be near her.

  “Here.” She handed him a glass of iced tea.

  He sipped his tea as he watched her dust off two patio chairs. When she was done he sat down on a chair and pulled the other chair right up next to his. They gazed at the stars until their glasses were empty.

  “Ryder?” Cassie leaned forward, glancing sideways at him. “Do you have your guitar with you?”

  He nodded. He carried his baby with him everywhere he went. “It’s in the trunk.”

  She ran her finger along the top of her glass. “Would you play for me?”

  He smiled. It had been a long time since he’d played the guitar for her. “You bet.” He set his glass down on the table and left to retrieve his guitar.

  When he returned to the back yard his glass was full and Cassie had arranged the chairs so that they were facing one another.

  He propped his acoustic on his knee and began tuning it. When the notes pleased his ears he looked at her. “What do you want to hear?”

  She bit her bottom lip as she thought about what she wanted to hear him play. A smile turned up the corner of her mouth. “Do you still know I’ll be there for you?”

  He didn’t answer. He just leaned back in his chair and started strumming. This was the first song he’d ever played for her. As he played he got lost in time, back to that first night. Their freshman year of high school.

  Ryder had attended Jared’s back to school pool party that summer. Ryder was the new kid on the block and was surprised when Jared showed up on his doorstep with the invite. There wasn’t a t
on of people there that night, just some of the neighborhood kids.

  Cassie immediately caught his attention. Her pink polka dot bikini stood out from all the rest. She ran and jumped into the pool, splashing him in the process. When her head bobbed up to the surface he jumped in next to her, dragging her back under the water.

  The two chatted while enjoying some water activities. Later that night a few of the kids were singing karaoke and Ryder decided to call his mom to bring his guitar. She did.

  Instead of singing along to CDs and words on the screen, he decided to play a few of the popular rock songs on his guitar. The first one he played was I’ll Be There For You and he looked right at her throughout the entire song.

  Ryder was drawn out of his memories by the sound of Cassie’s voice. He looked up to see her singing the words to her favorite song. Her voice was beautiful, slightly out of tune but beautiful none the less.

  He played the last chord and her eyes fluttered open. She batted her eyes bashfully when she realized he was watching her, listening to her. She turned her head in embarrassment.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, it was beautiful.” He put his guitar in its case and set it aside. Dragging his chair over next to hers, he gazed back up at the stars. “Do you ever wonder what might have been?”

  Ryder’s question was so out of the blue. Cassie just stared at him in shock, unsure of what to say.

  “I have. Over the years something would remind me of you and I’d wonder what you were doing, if you were married. I wondered what would have happened between us if I’d stayed.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.

  She was stunned speechless. Of all the things he could have said tonight, she would have never guessed it would have been that. “Yes, I have.”

  Cassie knocked on her boss’s door. “Come in,” he replied curtly.

  She pushed open his door and poked her head in. “I emailed the completed document and all paperwork has been filed.”

  “Good. See you in the morning, bright and early.” He never looked up, just typed away on his computer.

  “Yes sir. I’ll see you in the morning.” She closed his door and waved to her co-workers. A couple of them stuck their tongues out at her playfully because she was leaving work a few hours early.

  She had spent the last couple of days getting to know Ryder again. They spent their evenings chatting over dinner and stayed up until the early morning hours talking on the phone. Things were off to a pretty good start.

  She could smell him as she rounded the corner to the lobby. Obsession lingered in every square inch of the room. She inhaled the wonderful scent.

  The clacking of her heels drew his attention. He peered over the top of the magazine. A low whistle escaped his lips. “Looking good.” He tossed the magazine on the end table and met her in the middle of the room.

  “So where are we off to?” she asked as she gave him a hug.

  “The carnival.” He reached out for her hand.

  “We’re going to the carnival?” She hadn’t been there in years. What an odd place for a date.

  Cassie hadn’t had that much fun in a long time. After getting over her fear of riding the roller coaster, she became addicted to anything seemingly dangerous. Roller coasters, tower drops, if it was high in the air and had the speed of superman then she rode it.

  It took a lot of convincing to get her to sit down and eat. She looked up at him with her pouty lips stuck out. “But I’m having too much fun to sit down and eat that greasy stuff.”

  He chuckled at her. Here she was, a grown woman running around a theme park like an energized teenager. “I’m hungry, woman.” He latched onto her hand and headed in the direction of food. “Corn dogs or that barbecued beef they’re serving over there?” He pointed to a stand on their left.

  “Corn dog, no wait, I want the barbecued beef.” She tapped her chin with her fingernail. “Ah heck, I can’t decide. Let’s just have both.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “You’re going to eat all of that food?”

  “Yes.” She tugged him toward the corn dog stand. “And a funnel cake.”

  “I’m surprised that someone as skinny as you could eat that much food,” he teased.

  “Shut up and buy my corn dog.” It had been too long since she’d eaten carnival food.

  He bought their corn dogs, a plate of barbecued beef to share, and a funnel cake. There was no way he’d be able to eat that much and he was a man. They sat at a picnic table. A young girl walking by with her parents shouted, “Hey, that’s Ryder Hanson. Mom, we have to go back.”

  The mother shushed her child and looked over at the two of them apologetically. Ryder laughed. “Come on, grab your food.” He gathered up their drinks and the plate of beef. “We better go before we have a crowd of screaming girls.”

  Cassie looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, several girls were looking in their direction. A large portion of them with their fingers pointed at them. A few squeals traveled across the way. “Oh my gawd, it’s Ryder Hanson!” one girl shouted.

  Another girl fanned herself and cried hysterically. “I love you,” another one shouted as she ran towards them.

  “Crap.” He tossed their drinks into the nearest trashcan. “Run.” He took off in a dead run, Cassie following close on his heels.

  Luckily, a couple of police officers noticed the commotion and helped to ward off the screaming fans. Once they were outside of the gates Cassie bent over, completely out of breath. “Who knew that going to the carnival with you would turn into the workout of my life.”

  Ryder busted out laughing. She glared at him which only made him laugh harder. “Welcome to my life,” he said after he composed himself. “Come on.” He nodded toward the parking lot. “I’ll take you somewhere else.”

  “I’ll settle for a nice quiet place to eat my food.”

  His car was parked at the furthest end of the parking lot and Cassie thought her legs would fall off from exhaustion. By the time the Mercedes came into view she looked more like a walking zombie than a human.

  Ryder drove them to the park next to the elementary school. They sat in the car and ate their cold carnival food. It definitely didn’t taste the same cold but it was good nonetheless. Cassie leaned back and moaned in satisfied bliss. That deep fried food not only made her taste buds sing joyfully but it brought back childhood memories.

  “I’m sorry our day of fun was cut short.” He cocked his head when she giggled.

  Instead of answering the question in his eyes, she wiped powdered sugar from the tip of his nose. Her eyes locked with his. So many emotions swirled around inside of her. Was it possible to still love him so deeply after everything they’d been through?

  He slid his hand up her arm, to the back of her neck. He leaned forward, staring at her beautifully plump lips. Cassie watched as his tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now.

  She needed to feel his lips on hers. To feel that connection that they once shared. She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to his in a searing kiss.

  His fingers tangled in her hair as he kissed her back. The slight tug on her hair sent shivers up and down her spine. Goose bumps rose on her arms. Her body melted into his and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  A thump on the windshield caused them to break apart. A basketball rolled off of the hood. A kid stood in front of the car, staring at them in disgust. He picked his ball up off the ground and ran back to the basketball court.

  The two of them laughed. “Well, it’s nice to know we can still gross out the kids,” Ryder said as he gathered up their trash. He stuffed it into a plastic bag that he pulled out from under his seat.

  “You keep bags in your car?”

  He looked at her, feigning shock. “You think I’m going to spend this kind of cash on this car and not keep trash bags around?”

  “You are such a dork.”

  “Maybe,” he said, running his finger th
rough his hair. “But I’m a sexy dork.”

  “Oh jeez, some things never change.” She shook her head.

  “We should do this again.” He ran his fingertip along her arm. “Can I pick you up after work tomorrow?”

  “I’d like that.” Was she playing with fire? Most likely but at this point in the game she didn’t care. If she only had a few weeks or even just a few days with him then she was going to make the most of that time.

  “Great.” He leaned across the seat and kissed her below the ear. “I’ll take you out for dinner and a movie. Allie said there was some romantic comedy playing that you two have been dying to see.”

  “Yes, Safe Haven.” Giving him a curious look, she asked, “You’re actually going to go see a romantic comedy?”

  “Um hum.”

  She felt his forehead with the back of her hand. “Who are you and what have you done with Ryder Hanson?”

  As promised, Ryder showed up at Bradshaw Publishing to pick her up for their date. She crawled into his car and kissed him hello.

  When they arrived at the Bijous she nearly choked on her own saliva. “We can’t eat here.” The Bijous was one of the finest restaurants in the area. There was no way she could allow him to spend that kind of money on her.

  “Nonsense,” he said shutting off the engine and getting out of the car. “I have a table reserved and I’m starving.”

  She watched him walk around the car and open her door, holding out his hand to help her out. There was no way he’d let her out of this dinner, this was where he wanted to eat and what she thought about the price didn’t matter. The determination in his eyes wore her down and she accepted his hand.

  This was her first time in a five-star restaurant. The expensive menu never did fit into her budget. Even now, she was having a hard time accepting this dinner.

  They walked into the building, a young woman stood behind a podium looking at a computer screen. “Name?”