Chapter 5

FIVE

Maple

Tonight.

I'm going out on a date tonight.

With Ryder.

My mind has been racing since he left me at Wet and Wild earlier today. Part of me still can't believe that I'm going out on my first-ever date tonight. I can't help but wonder if maybe he only asked me out because he's trying to get lucky since I kind of fell asleep on him last night before we could get to that part.

I wince as I remember it.

"What's that look for?" Saffron asks as she peers at me from above the book in her hand.

"Just remembering something," I mumble, and her eyebrows raise.

"Remembering what? Your last dental appointment," she jokes.

"I wish."

"What could be that bad?" She asks as the front door opens and our youngest sister, Ginger, walks in.

"What's bad?" She asks as she hops up on the other chair behind the counter.

"My dating life," I tell them, and they both snort.

" What dating life?" Ginger asks, and I sigh.

"I asked Ryder out last night."

"What!?!" Ginger asks, leaning forward with excitement. Saffron just looks surprised.

"Yeah…"

"How did it go?" Saffron asks, and I sigh again, louder this time.

"Terrible. Or, well, not so bad considering that I got drunk and fell asleep on the guy that I had invited over for sex."

"How is that not so bad?" Ginger cries, and I can't help but laugh.

"Okay, yeah, it was pretty bad," I admit.

"I hope that you didn't like the guy," Saffron mumbles, and my smile drops.

"I do," I tell them quietly.

"Then we'll help you figure out a way to salvage this," Ginger says, and Saffron nods, closing her book.

My sisters and I have always been close, and I love that even though they have no experience with dating or guys, they're willing to drop what they're doing to help me out with my boy troubles.

"He actually asked me out for tonight," I tell them, and they both squeal.

"Really! He must be half in love with you then!" Ginger exclaims and I can feel my cheeks start to blush.

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Lilou calls as she hurries in.

"No worries," I assure her.

"We're talking about Maple's love life," Ginger tells her with a saucy smirk and Lilou's gaze swings to mine in surprise.

"Ryder?" She guesses, and I nod.

"I knew it! He's always making eyes at you," she says, and I laugh when she does her imitation of it.

"I, I don't think that I've ever seen him look at me like that," I say with a laugh, and she giggles as the door opens and Milo comes in.

Lilou is ducking behind the counter to put her purse and coat away so she doesn't see him, and I bite my bottom lip as I wait to see her reaction.

"I wish that a guy would look at me like that," she tells me, and Milo frowns.

"Darling, I'll look at you any way that you want me to."

Lilou stands up so fast that she almost tips over, and Saffron reaches out to steady her as she gapes at Milo.

"What are you doing in here?" She asks him, and he grins.

"I thought that you might like to point out a few of the things that you like," he says and her face flames bright red.

"No thanks. Maple, I'll be in the back doing inventory," she says before she turns and practically sprints towards the back room.

Milo sighs, and I roll my eyes.

"Was your intention to scare her off?" I ask him, and he frowns.

"No, but I don't know how to get through to her. I've tried giving her space, tried just talking to her, but it's like as soon as I get close to her, she startles and takes off."

"You should ask Ryder for some tips," Ginger says, giving me a wicked grin.

I roll my eyes again and get back to stocking. I see Milo leave, and a moment later, I see him stop Ryder and say something. I watch them from beneath my lashes until Ryder opens the door.

"Are you here to get stuff for tonight?" I ask him, and he laughs.

"Nope. Hey, why did Milo just ask me to show him how I look at you?" He asks, leaning on the shelf above me.

Ginger and Saffron both giggle until Nolan walks in. Then Saffron shoves her book into her purse and stands.

"I'm headed home. I'll see you guys tomorrow," she says, and I wave bye.

"I'll walk you," Nolan tells her, and she ducks her head.

"I need to start charging people for coming in here and flirting with my employees," I mumble, and Ryder snorts.

"You'd be a millionaire in no time," he agrees as we watch them leave.

I make a mental note to interrogate Saffron about what's going on between her and Nolan the next time that I see her.

"Are you here to cancel tonight?" I ask him as I stand, and he looks bewildered.

"Fuck no! Why? Did something come up?"

"No, I just didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Oh, I just wanted to ask if you had any allergies or a preference on where you wanted to go tonight for dinner. I would text you, but I don't have your number."

He pulls out his phone, and I rattle off my number for him.

"No allergies, and I'm good with whatever," I tell him.

He smiles, and I can practically see his brain turning as he makes plans.

"Okay, I'll see you in a few hours then."

"See you."

He gives me a heated look before he heads out, and I let out a dreamy sigh as I watch him go.

"It looks like he isn't the only one who has it bad," Ginger remarks, and I clear my throat.

"Why don't you go tell Lilou that the coast is clear?"

"You got it, boss."

I ignore her and try to get lost in work for a few hours. I manage to put out a lot of new inventory before it's time for me to head home and get ready for my date.

"Do you guys need anything else before I leave?" I ask them, but they both shake their heads.

"Have fun tonight! Call me if you need anything," Ginger says, and I smile, giving her a quick hug before I grab my thing and head for the door.

"I'll see you both tomorrow!" I call before I head out.

The walk back to my apartment is quick, and I smile as I pass all of the shops on the way and admire their Halloween decorations. Something about the cute little ghosts and bats taped to the windows brightens my spirits. I grin as I head up the stairs to my place.

I don't have long before Ryder will be, so I hurry through a shower and then pull on a pair of jeans and my favorite knit sweater. I'm not sure where we're going for dinner, so hopefully, this will work for whatever restaurant we go to.

I pull my hair back and braid it so that it hangs over one of my shoulders and then apply some mascara and lip gloss. I'm just pulling on my boots when Ryder knocks on the door.

"Hey," I say as I answer it. My eyes widen as I take in the bouquet in his hands.

It's Halloween-themed, with orange and black roses. There's even a little pumpkin and bat on a stick in the bunch, and I grin as I take them from him.

"Thank you so much! I love them."

"I thought you might," he says with a pleased smile.

"Let me just put them in some water."

"Take your time."

I usher him in and then go to find a vase. I don't get many flowers, so it takes me a minute to find something that will work and fill it with water.

"Thanks again. They're beautiful."

He nods, and I grab my purse and follow him out of my place. I lock the door behind us, and he takes my hand as we head downstairs.

His truck is parked right out front, and he leads me over to it, opening the passenger door for me. I smile slightly as I climb inside.

I feel comfortable around Ryder, but that doesn't mean that I'm not nervous to be going on my first date. Things that I never thought of before keep popping into my head. Thoughts like, what do I do with my hands? What do we talk about? Am I dressed appropriately? Am I breathing too loud?

That last one is because I can feel myself starting to panic as Ryder climbs behind the wheel and starts the truck up.

"Ready? Hey! Are you okay?" He asks me, turning to me in concern.

His hand lands on my knee and his thumb rubs circles there. I can feel his heat through my jeans, and I shiver.

"It's okay. You're okay, Maple."

I suck in a deep breath and nod.

"Are you not feeling alright? We don't have to do this tonight. There's no rush. No pressure."

I snort at that, and he cocks his head.

"No pressure? You're not nervous? Cause I'm kind of freaking out," I admit, and he smiles at that.

"I'm nervous," he tells me. "I don't want to mess this up. I don't want to pressure you to do anything that you're not ready for. I don't want to push you away."

I take a deeper, calmer breath this time and nod.

"This is my first date," I whisper, and he nods.

"It's mine too," he whispers back, and I blink.

"How is that possible?" I blurt out, and he laughs.

"Well, it's probably the same reason why you haven't been out with anyone before."

"Social anxiety, being overweight, and a lack of interest in the opposite sex," I say, listing my reasons, and he frowns.

"You're not overweight."

I snort again, and he frowns harder.

"You're not, Maple. I love your body and all of your curves."

"Alright, well, other men haven't."

"They do," he grumbles darkly, glaring out the truck windows like he's about to see a line of men all ogling my body.

"It doesn't matter. No one has ever caught my eye before," I tell him and his gaze swings to me.

"Until me," he says matter-of-factly, and I turn my head to buckle my seatbelt so that he doesn't notice the blush on my face.

My stomach growls and Ryder shifts the truck into drive, and we take off.

"Where are we going?" I ask him as we cruise down Main Street.

"How do you feel about steak?"

"Love it."

"Good. I thought that we would go to Palmer's Steakhouse."

"What were we going to do if I hated steak?"

"Well, there's Mancini's or Toasty Buns."

"Well, for the record, I love pizza. It's my absolute favorite food."

"Want to go to Mancini's instead?"

"No, it's alright."

"What do you get on your pizza?" He asks as we pull into the Palmers parking lot.

"Pepperoni and mushroom. What about you?"

"Well, my favorite food is tacos, but for pizza, I'm good with pretty much anything. Pepperoni is my favorite, though."

We park, and Ryder climbs out and hurries to open my door. He offers me his hand, and I smile as I slip my palm against his.

"Have you been here before?" He asks me as we head up to the door.

"Yeah, we came here once a few months ago for Ginger's birthday and had a great time."

We head inside and I look around at the place. Palmer's is pretty much the only upscale place in Wolf Valley. They also have the best steaks.

Candles are in the center of each table, their tiny flames casting shadows around the place. The restaurant isn't very big and only holds about twenty tables, which makes it feel more intimate.

We're shown to our table, and I pick up my menu, scanning it as I try to get my bearings. So far, the date seems to be going well.

"Have you ever been here?" I ask him, trying to get the conversation going again.

"Yeah, a couple of times when I was growing up."

"Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting that you were born and raised here. Was this your favorite place to go when you were growing up?"

"No, I always liked King's Tacos best. This was where we went for fancier occasions. The meals were usually… tense," he finishes.

"How so?"

"My parents, they didn't really like, well, they didn't really like each other that much."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I mean, they're divorced now and seem happier, I guess. I don't really talk to either of them."

"I'm sorry. That seems rough."

"It's honestly better without having them in my life."

"Hey there. Welcome to Palmers. Can I get you two something to drink?" Our waiter asks, interrupting us.

"Just a water for me," I say, and Ryder nods.

"Me too."

He nods and heads off to get our drinks and I scan the menu, deciding on a sirloin for dinner.

"Have you and your sisters always been close?" He asks, and I grin.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, we had the usual fights growing up, but I always knew that they had my back. It was kind of nice having three built-in friends everywhere that I went."

"That sounds nice."

"Do you wish that you had siblings?" I ask him, and he shrugs.

"Maybe sometimes. I've always been more of a loner, though, so I'm not sure."

The waiter comes back with our water, and we both order a sirloin and some sides. The conversation flows smoothly after that. I tell him about family vacations, more about my sisters, our family dog, and growing up in Oregon. He tells me about living in Wolf Valley and more about his business. By the time Ryder pays the check, and we head out to his truck, I'm feeling more relaxed around him than I am with anyone else who's not related to me.

We make the short drive back to my apartment, and Ryder parks out front. I'm about to invite him in, when I pause. I like Ryder and I don't want him to think that this is just a fling to me. I won't tell him, not when this is all so new, but I think that he could be the one for me.

He's the first man that I've ever been interested in. He's the first one to make me feel sexy and wanted and at ease.

"I'll walk you up," he says, and I smile.

He opens my door for me and holds my hand as we walk up the stairs to my apartment. As we reach the top of the stairs, I fumble for my keys, my heart pounding in my chest. Ryder is standing so close, his warmth radiating against my side, and I can't help but feel the weight of the moment.

I turn to face him, a soft smile tugging at my lips, but before I can say anything, Ryder reaches out, brushing a strand of hair that has fallen loose from my braid behind my ear.

"Tonight was fun," he says, his voice low and soft, making my heart flutter.

"It was," I agree, my voice barely a whisper as I stare up into his eyes. They're warm and intense, filled with something that makes me feel like I'm the only person in the world.

He takes a small step closer, and my breath hitches. His hand lingers on my cheek, his thumb brushing lightly over my skin as his gaze drops to my lips. I can feel the tension building between us, electric and undeniable.

"Maple," he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion.

He leans down, closing the distance between us, and my heart skips a beat. For a moment, all I can do is stare at him as his lips hover over mine. Slowly, Ryder leans down, his lips brushing against mine in the softest, most tender kiss. It feels like everything I've been waiting for— gentle but filled with so much promise.

His hand moves to cup the back of my neck, deepening the kiss just enough to make my knees weak, but he keeps it slow and patient, like he's savoring the moment as much as I am. It feels like he doesn't want this kiss to end, which is lucky because neither do I.

My hands fist in his shirt, and I cling to him as his mouth moves over mine. His lips are so soft and firm against mine and I find myself leaning into him more. His grip on me tightens, and I love the feel of his hard body against mine.

When we finally pull apart, we're both breathing a little heavier. Our foreheads resting against each other as I try to catch my breath. Ryder's thumb traces my jawline as he whispers,

"I've wanted to do that all night. A lot longer than just tonight."

I can't help but smile, my heart soaring as I look into his eyes.

"Me too," I admit, my voice soft but certain.

He grins and drops one more kiss on my lips before he steps back.

"We should do this again sometime," he says, and I nod. "Night, Maple. Sweet dreams."

I smile as I let myself into my apartment and lock the door behind me. I smile as I get ready for bed and even as I slip under the covers, and as I drift off to sleep, I smile as I dream of Ryder.