"Yea. But what else is in it for me?" Ryder asked as she stared at Holly with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He was determined to milk the opportunity to the very end.
"What's in it for you? Dude! You're already spending a night with me."
Ryder rolled his eyes.
"Yea! That's because I won the bet. What am I getting for doing this for you?"
Holly grimaced.
"Free cupcakes?" She asked and Ryder scoffed.
"Nice try."
"What about a lap dance?" He asked sneakily as he brought his head closer to Holly.
"A lap dance?"
"Tell me how this isn't a disaster?"Charlie asked over the phone as she made dinner.Holly sighed as she walked into her closet and groaned in frustration. She had zero idea on what she was going to wear."It is but damn it to hell I'm just going to do it.""Don't you think you should maybe call Kim? Since she's the reason all this is happening?"Holly shook her head."I'm not sure... She's being pretty vague these days. I just really wanna do this one thing and get over it.""Don't you think it's better you tell her you're n
Holly stared at her door for a full minute."I need a drink." She murmured to herself as she walked to her kitchen and fished out a bottle of vodka from her cabinets."Ah! That's the stuff." She said to herself as she walked back into her room.She found out that her search results on her laptop had loaded and Holly out of curiosity decided to watch one video.One video turned to two and two turned to three. And in a little over an hour Holly had consumed almost half the bottle of vodka and watched about five explicit lap dancing videos.She was tipsy but she also felt like a sex goddess as she practiced some of the moves.A text from
Walk of Shame.Walk of shame. That's what Holly would call the embarrassing way she had to leave Ryder's apartment. He still ended up finding out she was sneaking out of his apartment. And it had even made it all even more humiliating.He had caught her while she was trying out different combinations for his passcode which in turn triggered his alarm. Not to mention that she had been incredibly rude to him before she practically ran out of this apartment. She was still shocked by what she did. The scenes from the night before were a constant loop in her head.But she had been satisfied. Deeply. Holly didn't think she had ever been so happy after having sex in her entire life. Being with Ryder wasn't a waste of time after all. She had to admit, he knew how to please a woman. He was very good at it.
"Do you really think I'll agree to that?"Holly asked with a raised eyebrow."It was worth a try don't you think?""Were you joking?"Ryder sighed as he ran a hand through his hair."I was not and the offer is still open just in case you reconsider.""No thank you Ryder. If you'd excuse me, I'd like to go back to work."Holly stood up from her seat as she turned to leave, not ready to look into Ryder's eyes. She was afraid she might change her decision.Well, she couldn't change her decision, because then it would be wrong. No matter what her body was telling her, Ryder Bates was not the right guy for her and she had to start accepting it.So far, his presence in her life has caused her to lose her best friend. There was no way in hell she'd allow him to still stay in her life.
Ryder gently patted Holly awake when they reached the front of the four star hotel.She had fallen asleep barely a few seconds into the car ride and she looked so tired that he decided not to pester her.Holly rubbed her sleep filled eyes as she stretched a bit."Are we there yet?""Yes, we are. Come on let's go."It took a lot of convincing to get a very sleepy Holly out of the car. Ryder took care of their bags as they walked into the hotel.At the reception desk, the receptionist flashed her teeth as Holly gave her details."I'm sorry, we don't have any reservati
Holly woke up to the annoying sound of her phone alarm.It was around six in the morning. The first thought that came to her head was how Jamie would be arriving in an hour and she was still lying in bed naked with Ryder.Ryder was fast asleep as she untangled herself from him. He was also naked. His dark brown hair was tousled and all over his face while he slept peacefully with a petulant pout.Holly wondered if she snored the night before. Sometimes if she was too tired she always snored after a long day. Hopefully Ryder didn't notice, she told herself as she slipped out of bed.After a quick shower and blow drying her hair with the portable hand dryer she had packed along, Ryder finally stirred a bit in the bed. He smiled at her as he watched her hastily putting on her dress, but not before catching a glimpse of her black underwear."Good morning beaut
"And fifteen seconds later, he was like, did you come?""And I was like, Mark I'm still in my underwear!!"The whole table busted into another round of laughter. Ryder was holding Holly's waist as he threw his head back in laughter.The table arrangement had put Ryder and Holly in the same table as two of Mark's aunts that he hated and one of Dulce's cousin she didn't really like and the table was far back.But with a generous amount of alcohol, Holly and Mark's aunties had loosened up. Mark's Aunties entertained the table with tales from Mark's childhood and Holly made them all laugh with their boring sex life and relationship fails.
"Breakfast is served!!" Charlie said as the waiter brought their plates to their table. Holly smiled mildly. She was too tired to even make a comment. Charlie had picked out the place this time. And so she was going to be eating pesto asparagus with a side of cauliflower salad. It looked yummy and Holly was hungry so she didn't care that it was vegan as she dug in her plate.It was good. She thought as she took another bite of the creamy asparagusthat was in sauteed ribbons served with a rich pesto sauce."This is much better than I thought it would be.""See!!! I told you. Vegan food can be really delicious. Beside I love this place, they have so many recipes and new ways to try out vegan food it's so satisfying."Holly nodded in
September 2019.Holly pushed through the crowds of Fulton Street until she got to the park. She pulled the stroller to a crawl and then stopped at the edge of the curb. She pulled the top of it back and look down at her daughter Skylar Rae.She was peacefully sleeping as usual. She was a very happy baby. She had a calm energy about her and it was addictive."How old is she?" a woman asked. She was standing in front of the park with them, staring down at Skylar appreciatively."Two months.""She's gorgeous." she said."Looks just like you. Identical mouths."Holly smiled.
He had been smiling when the news came. Laughing at a joke his father made, readjusting his bow tie and imagining the love of his life in the wedding dress he saw her in two days before. He knew she was even going to be better than he pictured.The urgency and speed that Ryder used to rush into Holly's room was unmatched. And the sight he was met with made his heart stop.There was Holly, lying on the cold ground with her pale body and her white gown soaked with the crimson red blood that was gradually spreading from her chest.Before he knew it he was barking out instructions to no one in particular as he took her in his arms. The ambulance had been called. But they had to wait for it to arrive.Ryder didn't need to ask the question of who did
Mischievous. Cunning. Deceptive. Cruel.Those were the names anyone who knew what Kim was doing would call her. That was what she would have been called. For the past few days, Kim had been madly obsessed with Holly. Tracking her every movement, studying every move and every emotion on her face.From when she went into the bridal shop and when she emerged with a bright smile that only made Kim more angry. To when she went for her spa facials and Kim had paid two attendants 1,000 dollars each to listen in on she and Charlie's conversation. From what she had gathered. The wedding was going to be at the Pierre hotel. It was a private ceremony, so it was most likely going to be strictly by invitation.But there were other ways Kim would get her way. Other ways she could get her way that would go unnoticed.
The Peninsula spa at Fifth Avenue. That was the gift card that Ryder had given her for a full day of spa treatment. She had almost forgotten all about it due to the stress of planning a wedding till Charlie mentioned something about Holly going to a spa and getting her facials done in time for the wedding.That was when Holly remembered about the gift card. Charlie had decided to accompany her. She was going to be her maid of honor.The Peninsula spa gave an intimate vibe in a space that was gracious, discreet and luxurious. The walls were dark lacquered wood walls and it had English chandeliers and Carrara marble counter tops. It was so quiet and serene that Holly and Charlie found it hard to believe that they were still in New York. They couldn't even hear the sound of traffic!The spa offered everything from a regular sauna treatment to a cryo facial to rej
"Is this good?"Holly asked for the tenth time as she did a little spin in front of the mirror."You look amazing! Please stop worrying so much. My parents would love you."Holly turned to look at Ryder with a glare."I know you're saying that just to cheer me up but I'm so nervous."She said as she turned back and faced the mirror. She was wearing a navy blue pleated A-line dress with a V neck with lace sleeves.She had bought it in hopes that it would be fancy enough for Ryder's parents. She was so nervous about seeing them. Ryder had been trying to reassure her all week.
Christmas started around midnight for the Michaels family. Not only because it was Christmas but because it was also Holly's birthday. Ryder and Holly had stayed over at her parents house for Christmas. Then when the clock chimed twelve, they had woke Holly up with an array of birthdays gifts and happy birthday songs.It was how Holly had always celebrated her birthday when she was home. She always celebrated it with birthday songs and a huge birthday cake at midnight and she got her presents early. In fact she always got two presents. A birthday present and a Christmas present.The last few days had been hectic because she and Ryder had to go gift shopping for the family. There was a long list of things to get since Ryder also wanted to get gifts for his parents and his brother Alex. They had visited about five shops in total and spent almost two days shopping for gifts alone.Then, Holly's
The news of Holly and Ryder's engagement spread like wildfire since Holly made the brutal mistake of telling her sisters first. Holly sent the pictures to her eldest sister Ella who in turn sent it to the entire family. The picture that Holly had taken in bed with the engagement ring had been circulated by her mother, Crystal and even Ryder.Holly and Charlie had a long conversation, where they were both gushing about the amazing details on the ring. Charlie was so genuinely excited that Holly was finally happy with Ryder that she cried.After a blissful morning with the love of her life, they were off to spend lunch with her parents in a restaurant. It turned out that Ryder had slipped up and exposed the fact that Holly was carrying a baby, so her parents were already aware that she was pregnant. But no one was expecting the engagement news either. Because Ryd
They had to rush into Ryder's car because of the pouring rain and after twenty minutes they reached his hotel.By the time they got into his hotel room, they were both drenched from the rain. But they didn't care about it, it was as if they didn't even notice anything else but the presence of one another.Ryder told Holly everything, from the fact that Jake his best friend stole from his company and was wanted by the law to the extents which Kim's deception ran deep when she partnered with Jake.Jake was still at large somewhere, the police had been unable to find him. Holly had called Jamie out of excitement and told him to start the bakery's reopening without her. She still very much planned on spending Christmas with her family, that was if Ryder decided he wanted to stay in New Jersey for Christmas.
"Get out Ryder!""Get out of my house! Get out of my life!"Holly said as she started walking away. Her resolve was crumbling fast and she couldn't even bear to look at Ryder's face.Her hands were shaking so much that she felt dizzy and she sat on the edge of her bed to steady herself."Are you okay?"Ryder asked as he moved quickly to her side."Holly please, just give me a minute to explain. You can't send me away without knowing the whole truth."Holly finally brought herself up to look at him.He was exactly like s