Chapter 28

I yawned in the stream of daylight pouring through my window. It was a lovely sunny day with birds chirping like in Snow White.

Well, maybe not that perfect.

But it was good. The sun peeked over and welcomed me. It was my birthday.

It was a Saturday at 10:36 a.m. Why I didn't sleep in late, I have no clue. My body alarm clock just naturally woke me up. Thanks.

My mom was probably at work already. She had started to go in more because of her promotion-raise-thingy.

I snatched some clothes and put in my contacts. I blinked a few times and finally adjusted from the blurry sight I had to clear vision.

Pulling my hair up in a bun while I walked down the stairs was a task. It sounds easy, but buns can be frustrating.

I heard some rustling in the kitchen and frowned. Was there a burglar here?

So I grabbed the closest thing I could find.

A stapler.

Holding it out in front of me while I walked, I slowly walked to the kitchen and almost had a heart attack when my mom came popping out of the pantry.

"Happy Birthday Ruby!" she screamed and I dropped the stapler on my toe.

"Ow!" I said but my mom didn't notice my throbbing toe.

"My sweet baby's turning seventeen..." She pulled me into a hug and squeezed me until my cheeks were squished against her.

"Thanks mom." I chuckled and she let go.

"I made your favorite blueberry waffles because I know you love them, and there's some fruit salad on the bar if you want some. What else..." she rubbed her chin in thought.

"This is amazing mom. Thank you so much." I hugged her again and started eating.

I always have loved blueberry waffles. They were my absolute favorite breakfast meal. Along with dipping them in some syrup.

"Oh, and you need to go to the park today." My mom said.

I stopped eating. "Why?"

"Oh, just because. I need you to...to...to help the children!" She lied. And I could tell.

"Mom...?" I questioned.

"Don't ask questions, just do." She finalized and went to cutting more pineapple slices.

So I didn't question for the rest of the morning. I thanked my mom for an amazing breakfast and she handed me a neatly wrapped present.

It was flat, and the shape of a rectangle/square. I placed it down on the table and began unwrapping.

She got me a brand new laptop.

"Aww, mom! This is the best!" I hugged her. "You're the best."

I felt her smile and smiled myself. After thanking her a million more times, I climbed back up the stairs and set my laptop on my desk. I would mess with it when I got back from this mysterious park mission my mom had assigned me to.

I changed into some leggings and a dark blue shirt. Slipping on some plain tennis shoes, I said goodbye to my mom and rode my bike to the park.

The air was getting warmer since it was February and I watched in happiness as parents strolled their babies down the sidewalk near the pond.

I sat on a bench and waited for whatever was supposed to happen.

am I just supposed to sit here and wait?

yes sweetie. trust me on this. Love you bunches! xoxo

So I sat and waited for what seemed like forever but was actually just five minutes.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!" someone screamed in my ear and I fell off the bench and onto the woodchips. They were poking into my sides but all I cared about was killing the person who had scared me.

I looked up and saw a hunched over, laughing his eyes out Ryder.

"What the fuck Ryder?!" I screamed at him and picked the chips out of my hair.

He stopped laughing for a few seconds and smiled. "It's what you get for scaring me the other day. Karma's a bitch."

"You're so dead." I said, dead serious.

"You'll have to catch me first." He teased and walked backwards behind the slide.

I ran towards him but he climbed the slide effortlessly.

He chuckled and I growled. "When I get you, I'm going to make sure you never have mini Ryder Daniels." I threatened.

"I highly doubt that." He said and slid back down the slide right to me. I was standing in between his legs and he grinned innocently up at me.

I started to hit him on the chest. "What. Is. Wrong. With. You?" I yelled over and over.

"Whoa! Hold on!" he said and grabbed my wrists, pulling me down so I was sitting on his lap, his mouth went straight to my ear. "Happy birthday Ruby." He whispered, sending more thrills down my body.

"Did my mom set you up to this?" I asked, looking at him skeptically.

"No, but when we were at the hotel and you were asleep, I may have looked at your driver's license."

"Seriously?" I said.

"Yeah. You never told me your birthday so I had to investigate for myself. I should be a cop."

Please become a stripper cop.

WHAT THE FUCK RUBY!!??

I scoffed. "Yeah, a cop that breaks all the laws."

Ryder suddenly lifted me up in his arms and carried me towards the road. "Ryder? What are you doing?"

"Just relax." He answered.

"Are you going to throw me out on the road?"

"You betcha." He said sarcastically and I rolled my eyes, still grinning and shaking my head.

We stopped at his bike and he sat me down on the back seat. "You know that I brought my motorcycle here, don't you?" I stated.

"I know, but we're going together."

"Going where?"

He winked at me before revving the engine. "You'll see."

We kept driving to a familiar road. The road that lead to the secret meadow Ryder had showed me.

He stopped by the peaceful clear pond and I saw that there were some large fish swimming around.

I followed Ryder through some flowers and my eyes laid upon a checkered red and white picnic mat and a basket that was undoubtedly filled with food.

"No way." I said, excited.

He chuckled and I sat down on my knees in front of him. Inside the basket, there were bottles of tea, grilled cheese sandwiches, a fruit salad in a glass bowl, and some more foods and snacks.

"You shouldn't have..." I started.

He shook his head. "It's your birthday, something important...the day when you emerged from your mom's va-"

"Okaayy," I interrupted him before he could end that sentence, "let's eat!"

Ryder chuckled and we pulled out our food. The meadow today was sunny and the clouds were whiter than snow. February in its beauty.

"So," Ryder said, pouring me a cup of tea, "I was thinking maybe we could do something to celebrate."

I swallowed. "Yeah, that sounds fun. What were you thinking of doing?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we could fly down to Florida and go to the beach for the weekend?"

"I guess, but I don't think my mom would let me buy a plane ticket there."

He shrugged again. "It's okay. We'll use my mom's miles. She's out of town for the weekend."

"So you'd rather go to the beach with me than throw a huge party at your house when your mom's away." I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

I wiped my hands on a napkin. "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why would you rather spend time with me?" I said softly.

He was silent and had a small smile. "Because, you're fun to hang out with and..." he winked. "You're a pretty cool friend."

I felt kind of sad when he said 'friend' but then cursed at myself for thinking that. I shouldn't be mad, what the hell?

I smiled. "A beach weekend it is."