Finding Her Way

Chapter 27

Rider's fight was Sunday at 7pm. He had a day to prepare, mentally and physically. I solidly believe that Rider was in great physical shape, but he disagreed with me.

"I need to be at my peak performance Sunday," he argued, continuing his sit ups.

"You're just going to tire yourself out for tomorrow," I disagreed.

"Skylar, I do this on a regular basis, I think I know what I'm doing," he replied.

"And when you lose tomorrow you will probably never see me again," I yelled. That was low of me.

He stopped mid sit up. He sat next to me on my couch.

"You don't mean that," he said, looking at me.

"No, I don't," I sighed. "But what if he pulls something on you? What if he- I don't know, stabs you?"

"It's going to be a clean fight, no weapons, just bare hands," he explained.

"I just have a bad feeling about this," I whispered, placing my head on his shoulder.

He pulled me into his lap. I was straddling his hips while he put his hands on my hips. I leaned in for a kiss but he pulled his head back.

"Don't tease me, Rider Lee," I threatened.

He chuckled low and sexy then kissed me.

While his hands stayed firmly on my hips, I wound my fingers through his hair, pulling gently. He slowly trailed his hands up my back, I bit his bottom lip. He moaned gently under my touch.

I reached for his shirt but he stopped me.

"If you take that off, it's all coming off," he told me, husky.

"That was kind of the point," I said, breathless.

"I need to get ready for the fight," he told me.

My heart dropped. Did he not want me? He slid out from under me and went back to doing his sit ups.

I went into the kitchen, fighting off tears. What made him stop? Was I not good enough? I got my self together and went back into the living room. Rider was still going at the sit ups.

I turned on the tv, directing my attention towards that instead of him. After a good 15 minutes, Rider stopped. Sweat was dripping down the sides of his face. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Do you still feel the same way about me as day one?" I asked out of the blue.

Rider stared at me as if I had 3 eyes.

"What makes you think I dont?" He asked.

"You won't go all the way with me," I said, staring him down.

He sighed in defeat.

"I want to, trust me. I want it more than anything. But I'm not going to take something that precious from you. If I don't win, god I don't even know what will happen, but you wouldn't deserve the last thought of us to be naked in a bed or on a couch. I want it to be special," he explained, grabbing my hand.

I just nodded.

"Skylar, I am physically attracted to you. And I want to get 'jiggy' with you, for lack of better words. And I want it to be special. I want to know that I will never lose you before we go that far," he said.

I chuckled at his childish words.

"I understand, but you should have told me that. We should be able to be completely honest with each other," I pushed.

"I'm working on that, I really am. But it's different for me. You know I don't do relationships," he murmured, placing his lips on my neck.

I couldn't help but cave. When you were physically attracted to someone, your mind stops working.

Rider wouldn't allow me to take it any further than kissing. Damn him and his protectivness.

**********
Sunday rolled around way too fast. Rider was pacing back and forth in my room, occasionally running his hand through his hair. Sometimes he would stop and smile.

"Skylar, can I ask you something?" Rider asked.

"Shoot," I replied.

"Stay here tonight," he blatantly said.

I crunched my eyebrows together.

"Why?"

"I just think it's going to be a close fight, I don't want you getting hurt either. Consider staying?"

I walked over to him.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to stay here in the confinements of my home, with my brain on edge? Me being here would be bad for both of us," I argued.

"That's true. But I need you to be careful. The guys are coming and I want you by them at all times, okay?" He urged.

I kissed his nose. "I love hanging with the guys."

"Good, then let's head out," he replied.

********
The closer we got to the fight club, the more nervous I felt. My stomach was clenching and unclenching, my palms sweaty. I was positive that Rider could hear my heartbeat.

He placed a hand on my thigh, making me jump.

"Calm down, okay? Ive got this," he promised.

"He's 48-0, Rider. Don't expect me to be calm," I groaned.

"Those are just numbers," he said pushing that aside. We pulled into the parking lot and got out. He led me into the building, immediately taking me over to the guys.

They pulled me into a group hug to stop me from seeing Rider walking away. That would be the last time I saw him until a later day....

Haha, sorry for the cliffhanger!! Those are my favorites. This chapter is dedicated to one of my active readers, @ashleyfrank3. Thank you for the inspiration Ashley:)