Where Would We Be? (Ryker)

Soundtrack

“So, have you decided what you boys want today?” It was hard not to notice that the waitress was excluding me in her question. Then again, being ignored was better than some of the dagger-like glares I was getting from the other female patrons at the restaurant. They all looked mildly surprised to see me in my present company; I supposed it made sense - I was the polar opposite of the boy that sat next to me.

“I think so, are you ready to order, Ryker?” I grinned over at Jonny as he pointedly looked at me, reminding the waitress of my presence. Always the gentleman…

We all ordered cheeseburger platters and sodas before falling back into easy conversation. Jonny was quiet, but that didn’t surprise me; Adam and Patrick made up for his lack of voice anyway. I wonder if he’s always this quiet, or if it’s just when girls are around…
I turned slightly and began to steal glances at Jon every now and then, as I continued to listen to the boys carrying-on across from us. There was something wrong with him; and I wasn’t sure what it was. At first I thought he might have been freaked out by the tattoo; but he had given me a genuine smile when he saw it, and he seemed happy enough until he started watching his friends again.

Speaking of his friends… I glanced over at Adam; there was something going on with him too. Ever since he woke me up and invited me out to lunch, he was acting strange.
He was a good guy, funny, cute, witty; but he had done a complete 360° flip from last night to now - it was a little disarming. He liked me, that much was obvious, but his demeanour had changed. Last night he had kept his distance and acted like we were just friends; today he was trying to move closer to me - I could feel his eyes on me every since we had first arrived at the restaurant.


“Well, I guess we should head out.” Patrick said after we had finished eating. I nodded in agreement, bored after sitting in the same spot for so long. I glanced over at Jon; wondering if he was finally going to say something; but he didn’t.

“I’ll give you a ride back Ryker.” Adam grinned at me from across the table. I looked at Jon again, he still said nothing, so I turned back to Adam and nodded.

“See you later…” I said to Jonny once we were outside. He turned around and nodded, not looking me in the eyes. I felt a presence behind me as Adam’s hand came up to rest on my lower back.

“See ya.” Jon finally replied quietly, turning around and following Patrick to an SUV. I allowed Adam to steer me back to his truck; and he opened the door for me, before heading around to the driver’s side of the cab.

“So, what are your plans for the night?” Adam yelled at me over the music that was filling his truck. I shrugged my shoulders as I looked out the window, stifling a yawn as we pulled out onto the highway..

“I’m not sure yet, what are you doing?”

He grinned at me before answering. “I got a game tonight, you wanna come?”

I nodded, looking forward to seeing on-ice-Jon again. “Sure, get Lola a ticket too?”

He smiled at me, reaching over the seat to rest his hand on my knee. “Sure, I think Kaner was gonna ask her anyway… you can pick them up at the box-office, alright?” I agreed as he pulled in front of my apartment building. “Hey Ryker…” He called as I stepped out of the cab and onto the ground. “You look hot.”

He turned around and shook my head at him, laughing as I slammed the door shut.




“We learn anything else yet about hockey?” Lola asked me as she filed away at one of her nails.

“Nope.”

“Ugh… there’s got to be a book or something… Hockey for Dummies…” I nodded in agreement; my eyes scanning the ice for Jonny.
I found him, barking out orders as the teams warmed up; feeling myself get heated as I watched him shove Lola’s new boy toy into the line of fire.
At the thought I pulled down at the oversized shirt I was wearing. Apparently Kane had given Lola one of his team shirts; but she thought the look was too ‘homely’ for her taste so - the shirt had been passed off to me.
I took in my outfit now; I looked so… blah. An over-sized, bright red shirt and a pair of tight, ripped jeans with converse and my hair pulled into a pony-tail; was not a sexy look, at all. I didn’t care though.
For some reason Jon had apparently told the guys he wasn’t going out tonight; so it was Adam, Lola, Kane and I… no one to dress up for. Not that I should be dressing up for Jon anyway… I sighed as the game started.


The guys ended up loosing; but I thought Jon played great - at least… it looked good to me. He had gotten a goal; but he didn’t meet it with the same enthusiasm as the time before - something I found terribly disappointing.
I followed Lola down to the lounge area, to wait for Adam and Kane; but I found myself too distracted to walk in a straight line. “Ryker… earth to Ryker…?” I stopped walking and turned around to see Lola waving at me from the door to the lounge; I had walked right by it.

“Oh…” I headed back towards her, before following her through the door.

The lounge wasn’t as busy as usual; I counted that up to it being a Monday night - people with jobs tended to stay in on Monday. Or so I’ve been told.
I followed Lola over to a couch and sat down beside her. “So… I’m going out on a limb and saying that the sex was good?”

“What?” Lola asked, turning her attention from the door back to me. I shook my head and laughed; normally I was the unfocused one, the one that day-dreamed and was always off in left-field - tonight it was her.

“The sex is good?” I asked causing her to let out a hysterical giggle before blushing and turning away. “Oh… wait. You mean… you guys… you haven’t?”

I waited for her to laugh it off, tell me that I was being ridiculous; of course they’d had sex. When she turned back to give me a small smile though, I saw the truth in her eyes. “I really like him Ryker… a lot.” She tried to explain while tugging at a loose thread on her skirt. “I just… I don’t know, he makes me feel special. It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve felt like more than just a stripper, or a piece of meat to a man…” I reached over and squeezed her hand, returning her smile.

When I looked up Adam and Kane were coming towards us. I stood up at their approach and pulled Kane into a tight hug. Lola laughed lightly behind me, understanding the message behind my action; guys were always rotten to her, something that she never deserved. Kane was changing that; the fact that he had slept in the same bed with her and they still hadn’t slept together, gave me hope that he might be different. My hug was my hope, and my thanks.

“Woah now, save some of that love for me.” Adam laughed as I let Kane go. He reached out to me and pulled me into a one-armed hug, leading me back out of the lounge; Lola and Pat coming up behind us.

“So, where did you guys want to go?” Pat asked once we were outside. We headed slowly towards Adam’s truck; as Adam yelled out random suggestions the whole way.
Finally deciding on going over to Pat’s house, we all hopped in the truck and took off.



“Why do you have so many musicals?” Adam laughed as he ransacked through Pat’s DVD collection.

“I do not!” Pat snapped back, his blush evident even in the low lights of the den.

Lola was snuggled up next to him on the loveseat; her hands tugging lightly at the curls on the back of his neck. “I like musicals…” She said softly, smiling up at him as she spoke.

“Holy shit! Is that batman?” Adam laughed hopping up and wagging a DVD in front of Pat’s face.

“It’s Christian Bale, not batman…”

“Yah well he played batman, same thing… we’re watching this!” Adam grinned as he turned on the DVD player and took a seat next to me on the couch; his arm resting carelessly around my shoulders.
This turned out to also be a musical, but it was a good one; one that we were all able to laugh at and enjoy.
Over the course of the movie Adam had shifted me around on the couch, until I was curled up into him.
When the Newsie’s revolution was starting, near the end of the movie, Adam’s lips began to brush gently against my neck; his intentions becoming clear.
What wasn’t clear was the way Jon was acting. The way I was acting. Why am I still thinking about him? I was the girl that couldn't focus on one thing for over a minute... the girl that had dropped out of school because the concept of sitting in a chair for forty-five minutes was unreasonable. Yet here I was, thinking about the same guy for days... this must be a new record for me...

I tilted my head up slightly, catching a glimpse of Lola and Pat, half-hid under a blanket, oblivious to the movie, or Adam and I. “Ryker…” Adam moaned lightly in my ear, his voice husky and heavy as his hot breath sent shivers down my neck. I turned back to him slightly, wondering how I was going to get out of this situation, when his lips pressed down on mine.
There was nothing forceful about the way that his arms began to wrap around me, pulling me into him and holding my tightly; but it still felt wrong.

Of course there was nothing wrong about it. He wasn’t trying to make me uncomfortable or force me into anything; but I still felt awkward, and slightly dirty as his tongue pushed into my mouth.
Jon’s attitude at lunch started to make sense as I felt Adam’s smile against the kiss. Jon didn’t want me, he was being distant because he was trying to avoid my attention. It all makes sense now… that’s why Jon’s always so detached with me, he wants me to be with Adam and leave him alone…
It shouldn’t have bothered me, other than the fact that it did. I didn’t want Jon to leave me alone, I wanted him around me. Maybe it was my fault, for always jumping into everything with both feet; never bothering to look before I let go.

I didn’t want Adam, not like that. At any other time there might have been a chance for this to work, for this to be great; but it was already hindered by the fact that I wanted someone else.
Someone else, who am I kidding? I don‘t want someone else, I want Jon… I sighed as I finally started to kiss Adam back; but Jon doesn’t want me… and against my better judgment, I didn’t want to be alone with my revelation. I wonder if Jon doesn’t want me because he’s afraid of what people would say if we were together? I had felt a connection to him, was he that oblivious to it… or was it just not worth the risk? What would have happened if I had of met him before he was the hockey player? Where would we be now if Jon had of met me when he was just Jon?