If I Do

Chapter 5

"Your mom is going to kill me," Ryder continued to complain. He hadn't stopped since we found Gianna. "I can't believe I let the two of you get this drunk."

I groaned before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, "We're fine, no one is going to know. Stop worrying so much."

"I'm never taking either of you anywhere again. You'll have to get a taxi."

"How are the two of you still friends?" Gianna chimed in from the backseat, "All he does is whine."

I giggled as Ryder scoffed in response but didn't say anything else. We finally pulled up to our house and Gianna and I stumbled our way up to the front door with Ryder trailing close behind us.

"You owe me breakfast," Ryder said as I was about to walk into the house.

I nodded, "Tomorrow."

Ryder pulled me in for a hug before gently pushing me into the house and closing the door. Gianna and I crept up to our rooms and spent the rest of the night trying our hardest to avoid waking our parents as we got ready for bed and fell asleep.

The next morning I was surprised that my head wasn't pounding. The dull ache I felt was manageable so I quickly checked my phone then hopped in the shower. Ryder made sure he texted to remind me about my breakfast promise to him. I got dressed and wore my hair the same way as yesterday

My sister was still asleep so I texted to let her know where I was going. I locked the front door and got in the car. Our parents' car wasn't in the driveway and I didn't expect it to be. It was already after nine.

By the time I arrive at Jenny's Spot, Ryder's car is already parked out front. I walk in and spot him instantly, making a beeline for his table.

"Hey," He greeted me as soon as I sat down.

"Hey, how are you?"

He smiled, "Great since I'm getting a free breakfast."

"Ha ha. You do know that I could have just stood you up, right?"

Ryder raised his eyebrow, "You'd never do that."

I put my elbows on the table and propped my head up on my fists, "Really? Why's that?"

"You love me too much to leave me here all on my own."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the menu. The subject changed and we made casual conversation. The waitress came and took our orders and our conversation picked back up again.

"Hi, Britney. Where's Gianna?" I heard a voice ask from behind me. I turned ever so slightly as the person walked up to our table.

My eyes landed on a tall guy with brown hair and mesmerising green eyes. He smiled at me when he came to a stop.

"Hey Colby, she's most likely still sleeping off a hangover."

He nodded, "Okay, cool. I was texting her this morning and wasn't getting a response so I was just making sure she was good. I'll see you later."

I waved as he walked off.

Ryder and I dove back into our chat. I told him all about the encounter with Jaxon yesterday. He raised his eyebrow, "I told you making him jealous was going to work. Men always want what they think they can't have."

"I guess you were right."

He chuckled to himself, "You know what would be funny?" He paused for a second and before I got the chance to ask, he continued, "If Jaxon showed up right now."

I glared at him, "That's not even a little bit amusing. I look like a trainwreck."

"You really do." I narrowed my eyes at him and said nothing. This man was not going to stress me out on this beautiful Tuesday morning. Nope. Not going to happen.

We got our breakfast and I placed an order to go for Gianna. Ryder and I had a great time and to my absolute delight, Jaxon never set foot in the cafe. I didn't need more people than necessary seeing me like this. I paid for our meal and we set off to my home.

The door closed softly behind me and I made my way into the kitchen to put down my sister's breakfast.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to get home," she said, closing the fridge. I handed her the container as I leaned against the counter. "Thank you."

"I ran into Colby while I was there. He was asking about you."

She dug into her breakfast, speaking around a forkful, "Yeah, I texted him back when I woke up." She swallowed, "Was Jaxon there?"

"Nope. Do you see what I look like? I'd actually die of embarrassment."

Gianna rolled her eyes, "You don't look that bad."

"Besides, did you see how he was all over Mindy yesterday? How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"As far as I know, he's single so you have nothing to worry about. Anyways, Colby is hosting a small pool party and he invited me. You're my plus one." She grinned and clapped her hands.

I groaned, "You're always dragging me to things you know he'll be at and on top of that, he doesn't even act like I exist."

"I keep dragging you to things because we're going off to college soon and we may never see these people again. I want to have fun and I want you to have fun."

My shoulders slumped. She was right. Depending on where life took us, we may never see most of our classmates ever again. Some of them we knew for our entire lives. I was going to put aside any thoughts of Jaxon and enjoy the last few months here. Maybe I'd even make a couple more friends.

"Fine, I'll come."

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A/N A short chapter but I hope you liked it anyway!