Chapter 3. Denny's

Sage’s POV

I scramble through my luggage to find an outfit.

Who is that?

Finally pulling out a pale yellow sundress that has thin straps to help hold it up and a boho-like pattern. It stops mid thigh. I pair the dress with brown flip flops, simple, but comfortable.

I hear more of the mysterious voice as I approach the door, slowly sliding it open to catch a peek of who this man is.

“We just bought a load of food for the trip. We will probably have to get more once getting to the cabin.” Kehlani explains to the man who’s back is facing me. She doesn’t seem to notice me as she shows him a few things we bought yesterday.

We will be purely camping for a month then for the last two months, we have rented a cabin to stay in. My knowledge in foraging and living off the land will come in handy for sure. It makes me actually proud to be from a family of hippies.

He hums, moving a kinky curl that has fallen from her messy bun and into her face to behind her ear.

My stomach does a flip. Does she have a boyfriend that she’s never told me about? She tells me everything. Maybe they aren’t together but the blush on her face says otherwise, it just screams love vibes.

“Oh,” Kehlani pops out of her daze, finally noticing me creep behind the door, “Sage, this is Ryker.”

I open the door fully, knowing I’m caught and have no more reason to hide…or so I thought.

As soon as Ryker turns towards me, my whole body feels like cold water has splashed against it. My eyes travel his body, taking note of his dark brown eyes that pierce through me and his perfectly arched eyebrows that I’m a little jealous of.

“Sage,” my name rolls off his tongue, “nice to meet you.”

I nod, trying to paint a smile on my lips in spite of feeling struck by his good looks.

He’s Kehlani’s. It’s obvious he’s into her.

“You too,” I say as I grab his extended hand to shake. His firm grip tightens lightly as we shake our hands but his hand and eyes don’t leave mine until I look at the ground, feeling shy under his spotlight.

Kehlani warps are arm around my naked shoulder, pulling me into a side hug.

“Sage is the one I was telling you about.”

I look at her with raised eyebrows. She didn’t say anything much about him, other than he likes rules and he has a staring problem.

“You were right, she’s very beautiful,” Ryker compliments, making my whole face turn hot in embarrassment,

They both think I’m beautiful!

Ryker’s eyes rake my body. I assume he likes my dress but I can’t tell if it’s a judging stare or a welcoming stare. Hopefully he likes it.

Why do I care?

“Let’s eat and then we can get moving,” Kahlani suggests, pulling three bowls out of the cabinet.

We prepare some cereal for something quick to eat so we can get going.

I pour some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my favorite cereal while Kehlani pours Cinnamon Raisin Bran and Ryker pours some in his bowl after Kehlani.

In my opinion, they both picked really boring cereals. Kehlani has an excuse, being a vegetarian and all. But him? Is he a vegetarian too and that’s why he picked something so dull?

Breakfast was quiet, with only the sound of chewing. I could tell Kehlani was worried about something by the way she kept looking up from me to Ryker. I didn’t want to call her out, but I have to make a reminder to not seem interested in him, for her sake.

I don’t want her to think I want to be a creep and seduce her boyfriend.

“I’m going to go unhook everything outside, will you two get things prepared in here?” Kehlani asks as she slips her yellow Crocs.

Nodding, I grab our bowls to only hand Ryker’s hand touch mine, “let me get it,” he pulls the bowls out of my hand.

My eyes lock onto the few fingers that brush against mine, feeling the warm shocks go up my fingers and into my hand.

What the hell. Quick! Compose yourself like nothing happened!

I clear my throat and turn to hide my hot cheeks.

Grabbing the few bags of ice out of the freezer, I empty them into the cooler while Ryker washes the dishes.

Once the ice is in there, I realize that the meat is still in the fridge and I have to get it all out…meaning I have to walk around Ryker to get it and to get back.

I wipe my cold wet hands on my dress and approach the fridge.

He shuts off the water and begins to dry the dishes with a kitchen towel.

My arm brushes against his warm back, “sorry,” I apologize quietly.

“Don’t be so shy, we’re all friends here,” he turns with a smile reaching his eyes.

He’s not threatening, but his attractiveness makes me uneasy. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because I didn’t grow up around people, especially attractive men. I don’t know how to communicate.

“I’m not shy,” I shrug, trying to seem unaffected, “I just needed to get the meat,” I give him a slightly anxious smile. I hope he believes me.

“Why are your cheeks so red?” His eyebrow raises with a smile painted on his lips.

I shake my head, trying to subtly bang my brain against my skull so I know what to say, “I-I’m just hot,” I come up with.

He chuckles and puts the dishes in their respected spots.

The meats are piled on top of each other and I pour another bag of ice on top to ensure it stays frozen. We will have at least a week until we have to use up all this meat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryker’s shirt lift up, exposing his abs as he ties the cabinets shut for the drive.

How does an accountant have abs?

“Okay,” Kehlani opens the front door, “everything is good to go.”

I smile and lock the freezer.

We’re about to leave!

Kehlani walks to me and dramatically throws her arms around my neck, “it’s so hot,” she pants, leaning on me.

I giggle and help hold her up, knowing she always fully commits to a bit once it starts.

“Lynn said she’s driving there with Jayce and Karter,” Ryker informs as he ties the last cabinet shut.

Kehlani scrunches her face, “Lynn will be in a bad mood when we get there. How did you guys get her to agree to brig Karter?”

I look at her confused. Why is Karter coming along if Lynn doesn’t like him?

“I had nothing to do with it,” Ryker holds up the palms of his hands to show his innocence, “apparently, Karter sweet talked his way into it,” he laughs gently.

Kehlani shakes her head, unwrapping her arms from my neck, “some bud will cheer her up.”

She said my boss smoked too. I wonder if they’ve ever smoked together.

“Joe and Jericho have the stash and Corbin bought all the booze.”

Kehlani smiles, “I’ll have to meet up with Jericho and Joe as soon as we get there then!”

She hops into the drivers seat, “take your seats, bus is leaving the station.”

Kehlani has one couch in the living room of her RV that’s across from the table. It’s big enough for three people but men always spread their legs. I’m dammed to feel his leg against my bare one.

When we sit on the couch, I realize I was right, Ryker’s leg brushes against mine a little but not as much as I thought it would.

He reaches around me, arm going around my waist and digging into the seat. My breath hitches at his closeness. I can feel his breath on my shoulder as he brings his hand back around with the seat belt in it.

“Safety is important,” he insures as he clicks my seat belt and tugs on it to make sure it’s locked.

“Tha-thanks,” I tell him, not understanding why I wanted him so close again.

Kehlani puts the RV into gear and begins to drive away from her grounds.

“So,” Ryker smiles, “you have no idea what kind of dynamic we have?”

My eyebrows furrow, dynamic?

He chuckles, “you’re adorable,” he sits his hand on my knee, making my core pulse.

“What do you mean by dyn-amic?” I almost stutter from his warm thumb rubbing small circles into my knee.

He shakes his head, “all in due time,” he pats my knee and stands from the couch, leaving me buckled in.

Why doesn’t he have to be buckled in? I’m offended!

There is a small compartment over the drivers seat and passenger seat that is full of books. Kehlani mostly likes the self help books and the occasional romance. She has maybe two horror books out of her collection which I’ve read both of them. I don’t do well with horror, I get paranoid for days.

He picks out Chasing Red by Isabelle Ronin.

My jaw is slightly parted as he returns to my side and opens the book.

Part of me is surprised that he pulled out a romance, I haven’t read the book myself, but Kehlani thought it was at least decent or she wouldn’t have kept it. The other part of me things he picked it out as a joke but as his dark eyes follow along the page, it can’t be just a joke.

I play Wordscapes on my phone until I hear a small laugh next to me, forcing me to look up at Ryker.

“The characters are so immature, and not in a good way,” he closes the book.

“So,” I giggle, “there is a good way to be immature?”

His tongue darts out, licking his lips before he smiles, “there are many ways being immature is fun.”

His eyes look into mine before looking away to stand with the book.

As he returns it to it’s spot, I try to get my heart rate to return to normal.

It’s been a few hours since being on the road. Only a bowl of cereal isn’t holding me over anymore and I guess everyone else has the same idea because Kehlani pulls into a Denny’s parking lot.

“I’m going to call everyone to see if they want to meet here,” Kehlani says, typing numbers into her phone.

Ryker and I wait until she contacts a a few people then we walk inside the restaurant.

The cool inside air washes away the muggy North Carolina heat.

“Are you excited? I’m excited!” Kehlani exclaims as Ryker walks in front of us.

My arm curls around her shoulder, “I’m super excited,” my feet shuffle to do a little dance.

Ryker gets us two tables that the waitresses pushed together for us since Kehlani mentioned that the whole party hasn’t arrived yet.

I hope Lynn is coming. She’s the only other person I know.

We only wait a few minute until I see the tall blonde walk in with two other gorgeous men.

One is really tall, maybe about 6’3 with shaggy blond hair, bright blue eyes, a few tattoos on his arms, and a very defined cupids bow. The other is shorter. A lot taller than me, but I’d say he’s about 5’10. His hair is very dark brown and his face has a little bit of stubble but it doesn’t take away from the sharpness of his jawline.

Lynn sits next to me while the other blond sits next to her.

All of them are like models! I thought Kehlani was the most beautiful girl in the world but all her friends are equally just as perfect looking.

“You look pretty,” Lynn compliments me, shocking me since I was just thinking the same about her.

I smile and flatten my dress, feeling the dryness of my throat that only water can relieve.

“This is Jayce,” she refers to the other blond next to her to which he smiles softly with a nod.

“And I’m the favorite.” The other butts in with a wide, forced smile on his face.

A laugh makes its way through my lips at Lynn’s reaction, “that’s Karter, he likes to think of himself as the favorite.”

Karter scoffs, pushing his wavy hair out of his eye, “she likes to think she doesn’t love me but alas,” he puts his hand over his heart, “she does.”

Jayce chuckles and elbows Karter to get him to shut up and not piss Lynn off.

The waitress takes our orders while we wait on whoever else is coming.

I can’t keep up with all these names. How many people are coming again?

The waitress brings our food, there is so much that I don’t understand how she balances it all.

I ordered the cinnamon roll pancakes with two strips of bacon, two scrambled eggs, and shredded hashbrowns, almost everyone else ordered burgers, except Kehlani. She orders a salad with eggs, croutons, shredded cheddar cheese, walnuts, and she sprinkled on some of her own sunflower seeds. She also drowned it in Catalina dressing.

“Corbin! Over here,” Lynn waves her hand to catch the attention with the six foot tall man. His golden skin makes the brown highlights around his black hair pop. His hand curls down just above his shoulders, styled in a distinct curls.

He walks over, sitting across from me.

“Sage, right?” His deep, husky voice graces my ears.

It feels like cold water was splashed across my body, making me tighten my legs together with a nod.

His full lips don’t peep another word until the waitress takes his order.

Did his voice make me wet? Seriously?

“Jericho texted me. He said that him, Thiago, and Joe are going to Bojangles instead. I guess they were in the mood for chicken,” Kehlani informs us as she stabs some salad on her fork.

I feel bad that she had to order a salad. I mean, she loves salad but if they had more vegetarian and vegan options, she could’ve gotten something better; something more filling.

The cinnamon roll pancakes are to die for. They are so good that I ate all three pancakes before even touching my other food.

I notice Lynn eyeballing my bacon. Now, I love my bacon, but she just looks so pretty that I swipe up my bacon and put it on her plate.

She squeals and hugs me and I can’t help but laugh at the exchange of presents.

I like hugs, even though her and I aren’t close like Kehlani and I are, I feel close to her.

Karter jokes around the whole dinner, only pissing Lynn off a little but every time she looks at me, I give her a smile and her eyes soften.

I on the other hand, love Karter’s humor. He just makes weird dad jokes sometimes and Lynn finds those the most annoying.

Jayce feeds the fire though, he encourages the jokes and sometimes he catches Ryker off guard, making him laugh along.

Maybe this is what Ryker meant by fun immaturity.

Once we’re all done, we pile back into our cars and resume the road trip.

Lunch was nice, I need to get more cinnamon roll pancakes in the future.

Kehlani gets back into the drivers seat and Ryker sits at my side.

His leg still brushes against mine, but I’m a little less shy about it. Now I secretly want his leg to touch mine.

My breath halts as I feel him lean into my ear, “you’re so beautiful,” he whispers.