Chapter 11 - Let the games begin

Ryder’s POV

I wasn’t thinking clearly when I kissed Keegan. It was in the heat of the moment, but god, it was worth it. She was a great kisser. If we could actually stand being around each other for more than five minutes at a time, this fake relationship could be a bit more tolerable. At the end of the day, it was a great kiss, and now she was angry with me for it. I guess I could understand where she was coming from. We hadn’t discussed it, but it's not like I dry humped her in the middle of the dance floor. It was just a kiss, not to mention that she kissed me back. This is why I didn’t date, even fake date. Girls were too much drama. So I decided to plan something to loosen her up a little.

While she was at work the next day, I made a few phone calls, and by the time it hit six pm, most of the team were at the house along with the cheerleaders, a DJ, a tone of food, and the alcohol was flowing. Everyone was having an amazing time, and I had finally relaxed.

“So where is that girlfriend of yours? April couldn’t stop raving about her last night.” Michael queried.

I took a sip of my bourbon, leaning against the bar, “Work, should be here soon.”

I had managed to get Michael on his own before everyone else started showing up and cleared up. He apparently thought that Marcus was a genius for dreaming it up. I, on the other hand, still had my doubts, especially after her little meltdown last night. I must admit that it kept me up most of the night, replaying over and over again in my head. By the time I got up this morning, I was beyond pissed about it. That was why I decided to through a party. I needed to blow off steam, but more importantly, I knew that a party was the last thing she would want.

As if hearing my thoughts, I spotted her weaving her way through the people in the lounge area towards me at the bar. I could tell by the look on her face that she was not happy with me.

“Can I talk to you in private?” She asked through gritted teeth.

I smirked at Michael and pushed off of the bar giving her a little peck on the lips, “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, feeling her stiffen against my touch as we walked to somewhere a little more private. In this case, it was the walk-in pantry where the noise from the people preparing the food for the night would block out our conversation. As soon as the door closed behind us, she shoved my arm off of her.

“What is this?” She asked, glaring at me.

Wow, I know she was pissed me with but was it wrong to think she looked hot when she was pissed at me?

“Just having some of the team and other people around to catch up. Training camp starts next week, so I thought we would get one last celebration in before the hard work starts.” I advised her, knowing that she wasn’t really buying it, “So why don’t you go upstairs, get changed and come back downstairs to socialize. Courtney had your new clothes sent over. They are in your room.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, “I have had a really long day, Ryder and some of us need to work in the morning.”

“Come on.” I exclaimed, “if we want to make everyone believe we are a couple, we need to keep being seen together.”

“All I wanted to come home, eat food that wasn’t good for me and have a naked date with Walter.” She whined.

Rage filled my body at the thought of her nake with another man, “Who the hell is Walter, and why are you getting naked with him? We are supposed to be making people believe we are together, and you’re talking about seeing someone else.”

She placed her hands on her hips, “Firstly, this is a fake relationship, and if I want to see someone discretely, I can since you already hinted that you would be getting sex where and when you could during our time together. And secondly, Walter is my nickname for the bathtub in my room.”

“You named the bathtub?” I questioned her, struggling not to laugh.

“Well, it’s warm, cozy, always there, silent and strong. Better than any man I’ve ever known.” She countered, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“Is there any other items in my house you want to name?” I queried, hiding a smirk behind my hand, “my coffee maker perhaps or maybe the couch in the media room.”

“Maybe I will.” Keegan advised, “the coffee maker keeps me alive, and the couch in the media room will provide hours of entertainment. Which is more than I can say about you.”

I leaned in closer until my mouth was against her ear, “I could provide more than a few hours of entertainment, sweetheart. I’m happy to give you a demonstration anytime.”

She shoved me away from her, and with a few fairly choice words muttered under her breath, she stormed off out of the pantry, slamming the door in her wake. After checking on the staff in the kitchen organizing the food, I went back out to join my friends.

Thirty minutes and two more bourbons later, I was starting to think that Keegan was going to have her date with her bathtub and stand me up, but then I saw her. Gone was her bland work uniform, and in its place was a pair of navy blue skinny jeans that looked like they were painted on her legs, a pair of heels and a burgundy off the shoulder, bishop sleeve wrap top which was tied just under her bust. Her strawberry blonder hair hung loosely on her shoulders, and her make up was done to perfection. She was a vision. She had a classy look that most women wanted but spent their whole life failing to obtain.

When she stopped in front of me, she smiled at my teammates, “Sorry I’m late, fellas. I wasn’t aware there was going to be a party today.”

They welcomed her into the conversation with open arms as she took a seat on my lap while she joked with them since there were no free seats. Just after midnight, she excused herself to go to bed. I knew I should call it a night then, turn down the music and send everyone home as there was no way she would get much sleep with all this ruckus. The only reason Faith wasn’t downstairs screaming at me to turn the noise down was because she slept without her implant in, which meant she didn’t hear a thing.

I knew I should do the right thing, but part of me was still annoyed with how she was acting when we got home, and I was ashamed to admit that that part of me one out and the music didn’t turn off until close to three in the morning.

When she got home from work the next night, she looked like the walking dead, and if looks could kill, I would have been six feet under. The news of our relationship broke on Sportscentre that night, but we had no public appearances until after training camp. When the weekend rolled around, I was sick of only having conversations with my sister since Keegan was ignoring me, so I decided to invite some of the guys around for a game on my outdoor court.

We were playing a game of shirts versus skins, and my team was kicking the shirts asses so far. I had just stolen the ball from the other team and tossed it in Archer’s direction; however, he stopped dead in his tracks, not even flinching as the ball hit him in the head as he stared off into space.

I allowed my eyes to trail off into the distance to see what he was looking at, and that’s when I saw it. Keegan strolling down the back deck in a pair of daisy duke shorts and a tank top, barefoot with a towel over her shoulder. I was painfully aware that the rest of my friends were now watching her as she made her way to the pool. Once there, she tossed her towel down on one of the deck chairs and started to remove her clothes. It was like everything was beginning to move in slow motion as I stared at her. At the same time, she pulled her top up and over her body, revealing a black halter neck bikini top that was nothing but four very small strings and two triangles of fabric that barely covered her ample breasts. Next, her hands travelled down her sides to the hem of her shorts, popping the button and unzipping them before shimming them down her hips until they could drop to the floor. Her matching bikini bottoms left nothing to the imagination either as she turned her back to me, allowing me to see a large portion of her ass cheeks hanging out for all to see.

I could feel my basketball shorts getting extremely tight as I continued to watch her as she started applying sunscreen to her bare flesh. What the hell was she thinking?