Handcuffs, Kisses and Awkward Situations: Mystery Romance

  But in the end, was I trying to prove Chris’ innocence to Ryder or to myself?

  Ten

  I had thought of this night over and over since the day I met Chris Baker.

  I also thought I’d be wearing something a lot more… suitable for the occasion. Since I couldn’t exactly wear sleeves, I had to squeeze into a strapless dress. The material was soft and silky, the kind that slipped between your fingers like delicate and icy waves. Tossing Chris’ blazer over my shoulders, Ryder and I headed downstairs to where Chris was waiting.

  Dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a grey button down, Chris stood at the door, engaging in small talk with Patrick. Eve was there too, completely convinced that Chris had brought her a ham. Eve really liked ham and according to her, Chris smelled like ham.

  “If it’s not ham, is it bacon?” Eve pressed.

  Chris looked a little startled as she advanced towards his chest pockets. “I, uh, didn’t know I was meant to bring a ham…” He looked at Patrick in desperation.

  Patrick just wrapped his arms around Eve, placing his hands on her stomach as he pulled her away and pressed her against him. “We have some leftover ham in the fridge, baby,” he soothed, Eve instantly melting.

  We had reached the bottom of the stairs then. Chris suddenly looked so young and awkward as he watched my sister and her boyfriend contently wrapped in each other’s arms. He looked away from the couple, suddenly finding the wall across the room extremely fascinating. Then, his eyes flickered towards us.

  “Nora,” he breathed, watching as we made our way towards him.

  “Hey,” I mumbled nervously, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and wrapping the jacket around me tighter.

  “You look beautiful,” he commented, before looking over at Ryder. His tone turned to ice as he said, “How cute. You colour coordinated with my gorgeous date.”

  I looked over at Ryder. Patrick had lent him another one of his T-shirts and this time, it was grey. I hadn’t realised how impeccably it matched the silvery material of my dress. Ryder and I exchanged quick glimpses, just a quick flicker before we returned our gazes back to Chris. Ryder stepped forward for a single second and briefly whispered something to my date. Chris narrowed his eyes in anger, lips tightening to a thin line as Ryder stepped back. Together, they stared each other down with a silent, raging intensity. Chris returned his gaze to me a moment later and smiled.

  “You ready to go?” He held out his hand, tossing one last glare at Ryder.

  Linking my arm through his, we stepped out into the night and towards his car. It was dark and sleek, glazed with a metallic coat of paint that glittered under the faint, golden glow of the streetlights. Ryder and I, since we were now conjoined twins, were forced to sit in the back seat. Chris still held the door open for me, but stepped away once I was in and let Ryder finish off what he started.

  The serious tension between the two guys was starting to bug me and I had the urge to demand answers to avoid awkwardness for my date, but the way Chris looked through his rear view mirror every so often to sharply stare Ryder down made me pause. Sighing, I gazed out the window and into the night, as if I could really see anything.

  The ride to the pizza parlour was short. It wasn’t in town, which had surprised me. As Chris made every smooth turn and passed every streetlight, I started to become unfamiliar with the roads. I realised we weren’t heading towards where the main shopping attractions were. In fact, we were just passing through streets full of houses.

  After a few minutes of awkward tension in the car, we stopped at a house. Well, it looked like a house from the outside. The bright lights glowed from the inside, radiating the small building with a warm shine. But when Chris held the door opened, I was surprised to see what was inside.

  The area was set up like small restaurant. I expected to walk into a house, but instead of seeing a kitchen and connected dining room, the place was just a wide floor of space. Small tables and chairs dotted the area and a few booths were lined up against the far wall.

  It smelled wonderful. The delicious aromas of fresh vegetables and baking pizzas tickled my nose and teased me. My stomach involuntarily growled as we followed Chris towards a quiet table under the faint glow of a golden light. As we passed customers, the soft chattering of voices sounded, glasses clinking, and gentle laughs filling the room.

  The welcoming warmth of the room made me shrug off the blazer resting on my shoulders as we sat down. “This place is amazing,” I whispered in complete awe.

  “This place was originally on the main street,” Chris explained as he picked up the laminated menu and scanned through. “The place had different owners back then though. When they died, the Jones family took over and found that the main street rent was too expensive, so they decided to open here.”

  “In a house?” I questioned, picking up my own menu.

  Chris chuckled and shook his head. “No. This is the old part of town, where some of the oldest houses were built. This place used to be a post office.”

  “Complimentary bread from the chef.” A waiter dropped a roll of sliced garlic bread onto the table. It was only four slices, but it sure smelled heavenly.

  “Free bread!” I cheered.

  “Ah, Conrad is up to his old tricks. Be careful. This garlic bread is probably the most amazing thing you’ll ever eat,” Chris warned, smiling. “Chef always brings out complimentary bread just to encourage customers to buy a whole roll.”

  Picking up a slice, I broke my piece into two. The sound of the crunchy outer crust crumbling was just mouth-watering, especially as I watched the soft, fluffy centre tear effortlessly down the middle. The garlic butter had soaked deep into the soft bread, giving off the most amazing aroma.

  I refrained from making an appreciative mumble.

  When ordering came around, Chris told me to pick out whatever I wanted. Although there was just about every topping available, I chose a simple seven-cheese slice. Judging from the garlic bread, simplicity was delicious. When a giant pizza was placed in the middle of the table, each a different slice, I instantly dove for my cheese portion.

  Ryder lazily reached out and snagged an all-topping slice, tormentingly glaring at Chris with satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair and took a big bite.

  “You better be paying for that.” Chris nodded at the pizza in Ryder’s hands.

  “What are you talking about?” Ryder replied, tipping his head back and shoving half the slice into his mouth. “Aren’t you the one taking Nora on the date?”

  “Yes,” Chris answered coldly. “But I’m not taking you on the date.”

  Ryder simply held up the handcuffs. “Two or none, bro. We’re a package deal now.”

  Chris just glared at him and picked up a meat-lover’s slice of pizza. Then, before you know it, the guys were in a silent battle to see who can eat and shove the most pizza into their mouths. I was starting to feel like I was the third wheel intruding on their date. Within minutes, the boys were battling between the last slice while I was just finishing my first.

  Looking at them glare at each other as they feasted their eyes on the last slice, I sighed. Reaching over, I snatched the last piece and shoved as much of it in my mouth. Chris looked over at me for a moment, crazy and wild, but as he kept staring, his eyes melted and his shoulders sagged.

  Like a little boy, he muttered, “I’m sorry, Nora…”

  While I was struggling to swallow all the pizza I had stuffed into my cheeks, Chris turned his attention away from me and looked distantly towards the back of the room. His lips twitched, then his eyes fell back on mine.

  “Would you please excuse me?” he said, wiping the corners of his mouth with a serviette before scraping his chair back and walking away.

  I watched him walk towards what I presumed to be the bathrooms.

  “Prepare for disappointment,” Ryder warned, picking his glass up and taking a swig, the ice clinking as the liquid in the cup stirred.

  “Do
n’t be so negative,” I replied, picking up my own glass and raising it to my lips, but not drinking.

  Chris wasn’t that type of guy, right? Admittedly, I was a little worried at school after our encounter, but once the date progressed, I enjoyed myself. Sort of. The awkwardness with Ryder was tense, but putting that aside, Chris was a great guy… wasn’t he?

  Five minutes turned to fifteen and fifteen turned to thirty. All that remained were empty plates and bread crumbs. Couples, friends, and families.

  “Excuse me, Miss, but we’re going to have to ask you to leave,” a waiter said, sounding sympathetic.

  I looked towards the direction where Chris had disappeared. Sighing, I looked up and smiled wearily. “I understand. May I please visit the ladies room first?”

  The waiter nodded and walked away. Dumping my napkin onto my empty plate, I scraped my chair back and tugged Ryder along. Twisting our way past chairs and people, we headed towards the restrooms, but instead of going towards the ladies’ room, I paused in front of the men’s.

  “I don’t need to go,” Ryder said.

  I shook my head. “Yes, you do. I know Chris isn’t a bad guy. He would never stand me up. I’m pretty sure he ate his pizza too fast. Maybe he’s sick.”

  “Nora…” Ryder’s voice quietened and he gave me a half smile. “I don’t think…”

  “Ryder,” I interrupted, my voice sounding hurt and desperate, although I tried to conceal it, “please…”

  He sighed and pushed open the door, me following behind him. The instant stench of seriously strong pee and some other unidentifiable odour filled my senses. Holding my nose and breathing through my mouth, we crossed the damp floors towards the urinals.

  “Hey, lady! This is the men’s room!” someone shouted from across the room.

  Ignoring the grunts and complaints, we stopped at the urinals. Ryder just stood there, a hand in his pocket as he watched me. “Well, are you gonna take your thing out and pee or something?” I hissed.

  Ryder raised an eyebrow. “I told you I didn’t need to go,” he answered.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “But you can’t just burst in here without a reason,” I muttered. “Especially with a girl chained to your wrist. Just pee, dammit, so we don’t look like creepers looking around at everyone else peeing.”

  Ryder just rolled his eyes and picked a urinal in the corner while I scanned the area for Chris. He was in there. He had to be in there. In the stalls maybe. Chris would never stand me up… He’s not that kind of guy. I mean, sure, Ryder was being a third wheel on our date was a pain in the ass, but he wouldn’t really-

  And that’s when I heard Chris’ voice. “Slower. No, slower!”

  It was coming from one of the bathroom stalls and instantly, images of bathroom hook-ups with waitresses flashed through my mind. Ryder was serious about not needing to pee, because in seconds, he was zipping his fly up and looking towards the stalls.

  “Crap, man! What the hell is wrong with you? I said slowly or you’re gonna drop me in the bloody toilet!” Chris hissed.

  And that’s when I realised where hfrom. It wasn’t in the bathroom stall. It was above the stall. There he was, legs and butt casually hanging out the little slither of a window as one of his mates lowered him down. Pursing my lips, I watched him struggle to squeeze through the gap.

  I was mad. Mad that he felt the urge to ditch me. To use the oldest trick in the book and sneak out through the bathroom window. I didn’t even want to think about what he was doing while he was gone. How dare he. How dare he even think he could get away with going on two dates at the same time.

  Marching my way over to the stall, I poked his butt. That’s right. I poked his butt. I heard Chris’ head hit the glass as he kicked his legs and tried to scramble out to see who had just touched him.

  “Uh, I really don’t appreciate you feeling me up, dude.”

  “Oh, sorry, dude,” I said, watching him tense when he realised it was me. “I thought you liked having hands all over you, you sick bastard!”

  “Nora,” he squirmed, “it’s not what it looks like…”

  “Save your excuses, you sad excuse of a man,” I hissed.

  This would have been the perfect opportunity to do something completely outrageous, like kick his ass. But I was too short for the window and I wasn’t sure if I had the strength. Emotionally, I was all over the place and I’d probably end up hurting myself more than him. So, instead, I reached up into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet and dropped it onto the toilet.

  “Have fun paying, jerk.” Then I stormed out of the bathroom, pulling Ryder with me and ignoring Chris’ explicit choice of language.

  My whole body was shaking, so I had to clench my fists to regain some control. I felt my cheeks flush as we pushed our way out of the men’s bathrooms and past all the staring customers. Once we exited the restaurant, I was relieved to feel the cool air kiss my heated cheeks. I tore Chris’ blazer off my shoulders and threw it into a muddy puddle, watching the expensive material soak up the dirty water.

  Ryder called a taxi over and we hopped in. He hadn’t said anything. Nothing at all. And although I was usually begging for him to be silent, this was the one time I needed him to say something. Anything. Even if it was a simple, ‘I told you so.’ Because I didn’t want to have to put up with his humiliation later.

  After a few minutes of silence, Ryder did speak. ”You didn’t deserve this.”

  Of all the things he could have said, I didn’t expect him to say those four words.

  I didn’t look at him. I stared straight ahead, eyes glazed with tears. It was so blurry, I could hardly see the road properly. My anger had bled into embarrassment and hurt and once I blinked, the tears rolled down my cheeks. It was dark inside the taxi so I hoped he couldn’t see.

  But I turned my head towards the window, just in case he saw me cry.

  Eleven

  When the taxi pulled up at the curb, Ryder and I sat in silence for a few long minutes. I didn’t move. I just stared blankly ahead, not wanting to look directly at the luminous glow of Ryder’s house, knowing that he would see how broken I was. I didn’t want to look out the window either. For one, I didn’t want to get blinded by some random car’s headlights, nor did I want the driver to freak out over my sad clown face. Noticing that Ryder and I weren’t making any move to get out of the vehicle, the taxi driver turned around.

  “You kids gonna go-” He paused, looking startled, probably because I looked like a seriously depressed squirrel with the makeup running down my face. “Oh… Is… Is she okay?”

  The taxi driver looked completely terrified as he quickly switched his attention to me, to Ryder and back again. I guess I’d be pretty freaked out if some teenage girl started crying in my backseat. Of course, I’d be more concerned about the closest supermarket so I could buy her ice-cream, but I figured he was more worried about what to do with me.

  “I think I have a tissue somewhere,” he said, clumsily rummaging through his pockets. When he discovered he actually didn’t have one, he frowned. “Oh, uh, sorry… I can’t seem to find one. I swear I had one.”

  I didn’t say anything. Instead, I just stared blankly at him. After a moment, he said, “Hey, don’t even worry about paying, okay, darlin’?”

  I managed a small, forced smile. But I guess I looked pretty scary because the taxi driver grimaced a little. I watched as he turned fully in his seat and looked at Ryder. His eyes narrowed at him.

  “Wait a second… Did you hurt this young lady?” He glared at him.

  Ryder simply shook his head and in his tone emotionless, said, “I didn’t.”

  The taxi driver just kept his eyes on him. “You better be telling the truth, mate, ‘cause I’ll report you to the police if I find out you hurt this young lady.”

  I just wanted to go inside. So, to avoid any further conversation, I opened the passenger door and mumbled my gratitude to the driver. The icy air slapped my wet cheeks and blew through th
e flimsy material of my dress, causing me to shiver. A moment later, Ryder was at my side and leading us towards the house.

  It was warm inside. And bright. I tried not to look at Ryder. I shifted my gaze to everything in the room other than him. Silently, I was preparing myself for the humiliating teasing that I knew Ryder was ready to do. But to my surprise, he didn’t mock me or say anything insulting. He didn’t laugh or give me a smart ass, ‘told you so.’ Instead, he did the most scariest and wonderful thing.

  He hugged me.

  With his free hand, he pulled me into him and just held me there. I tensed. His body was warm against mine, the hug tight, yet the way he held me was delicate, like my emotions had made my body fragile and I might have broken if he were rough. I rested my head against his chest and relaxed as he silently held me closer; the tears stopping, the pain easing, and at that moment, it felt like everything was going to be okay.

  I had the comfort of a friend I had lost long ago… and at that moment, I realised just how much I missed him.

  ~♥♥♥~

  “Wake up.” Someone poked me. “Wake up.”

  Throwing the pillow over my head, I groaned. Ryder continued to poke the crap out of me until I opened one eye and looked at him. He grinned, holding up a piece of clothing. At first, it was blurry. Just an indistinct shape of green and gold. But once I rubbed my eyes, I saw the familiar twenty-one printed on it.

  “Oh, no…”

  Training day.

  We didn’t have much time to get ready. Ryder had woken me up at five because he knew I’d take longer than his usual ten-minute routine. So sluggishly, I got ready. Slipping into a sleeveless summer print dress and throwing half a jacket over my shoulders, we went downstairs for breakfast.

  Mrs. Collins took one look at me and said, “Honestly, Nora, I doubt that will hardly keep you warm.”

  I scowled. It wasn’t something I wanted to hear so early in the morning. I didn’t even bother arguing that it was the only thing I could wear without reminding her of the fact that I was handcuffed to her son. Brushing off her remark, I passed her and grabbed a bowl and the cereal box.