Chapter Twenty-one âSecrets
Ryder and I had been dating for almost two weeks. We went on many dates, consisting of amusement parks, water parks, and even laser tag (again). We also had normal dates, but we usually did something that made it a little more interesting. Like when we went out for ice cream in three different ice cream stores and taste tested every ice cream in each one. The people working there probably hated us, but we're teenagers, so nothing new.
I learned things about him that I didn't know before, and he learned things about me.
He'd also started coming in the house, because he usually dropped me home after school now.
But today I was nervous. Because today I was meeting Ryder's family.
I thought it was too soon, but he insisted that they would love me and that they were dying to meet me.
Yes. He'd been talking to his family about me.
After still showing hesitation, he guilt tripped me by saying that he already met my family, and that is was only fair that I did the same too. Which was true.
Ryder had obviously already met Wes, who warmed up to him a bit more, but he met my parents for the first time by accident. We just went on a date and he came in the house so that we could be together for longer, except we both didn't realize that they were home. They insisted that he should stay and he was happy to. Which is when I realized that he wanted to meet my parents.
So they interrogated him and my dad faked acting all tough, as a joke. He wasn't really overprotective to the point that he would stop me from having a boyfriend. Ryder was a little nervous in the beginning; he wanted to make a good impression and didn't realize that my dad was joking. He handled himself well though, until my dad couldn't keep up the act anymore and just talked to him like a normal person.
I look at the time, then tap my foot in nervousness. Ryder is going to be here in 5 minutes. I check my outfit again. I'm wearing a cute sundress that I think is completely appropriate for a parent meeting. It covers everything besides my arms and the length is almost to my knees. It manages to do this while still looking cute. My makeup is minimal and not overdone and I straightened my curly hair to make it look more neat. I think I look okay. At least from a parent's point of view.
Ryder pulls up a couple minutes later and gets out of his car to open the door for me. He kisses me. "Angel, you look beautiful. And nervous. Are you okay?"
He gives me another kiss after I nod. Two weeks hasn't changed his obsession with my mouth. He still kisses me every chance he gets.
He holds my hand the whole way there, occasionally giving me words of encouragement. When we pull up in front of his house, I almost have a heart attack from the size of it. It's a mansion. My family has money, but it's nothing compared to this. He sees the look on my face and pulls me into his lap.
He slides his hands in my hair and starts massaging my scalp to calm me down. It works. In just a few minutes I'm practically melting in his lap.
He kisses me again, murmuring against my mouth about how perfect I am, how much they're going to love me, how amazing I was, and how he'll never leave my side, until I have to go inside just to get him to shut up.
Even though I don't really want him to.
Before we get out of the car, I wrap my arms around his waist and whisper thank you, purposefully brushing my lips against his ear. His shiver makes me laugh and I realize that five minutes of being with Ryder calmed to the point where I don't feel nervous anymore. Because no matter what happens, I know he'll be there.
I take his hand and he leads me to his house. As soon as we reach the front door, it opens.
"Hi, you must be Emmaline. I'm Alena."
"Hi, yes, but Emma's fine." Standing in front of me is who I assume are Ryder's parents. His mother, who is the one who spoke to me, is amazingly beautiful. Her eyes are the same color as Ryder's and her hair is a dark, shiny brown. Her smile his straight and white, and I feel an aura of warmth and kindness radiating from her as she hugs me.
"Amazing isn't she?"
Those words were spoken by Ryder's father, and as I bring my attention to him he's looking down at his wife with affection and pride. Aww. I guess being charming was a gene in the family.
His eyes and his hair are deep brown and although he still looks kind, there's a roughness to him. Except when he looks at his wife that is. He's still very handsome for his age, but unlike Alena he has a few wrinkles on his face.
Alena bats him on his shoulder and tells him to stop playing around. He just laughs and turns to me. "It's lovely to meet you. Although I feel like I already know you because Ryder's talked about you so much. I'm Ezra."
I hold out my hand for him to shake and I'm surprised when he also pulls me in for a hug. "It's great to meet you too."
Ryder's hand is on my lower back as he leads me inside and my eyes are wide as I take in how beautiful the house is. "You're house is amazing."
"Thank you. There's usually a lot more people staying here, but we cleared the house so we could finally meet you," Alena smiles.
"Abel's not here right?" Ryder asks, glancing at me in worry.
What the heck was that about?
"Don't worry, son. We made sure he was gone. Let's eat. I'm sure you guys are hungry."
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Lunch was fantastic and Ryder's parents were a dream. The only thing that felt off was the fact that I remember Ryder telling me he had an older brother. Was that who Abel was? If so, why wouldn't they want me to meet their son?
As we were leaving, instead of getting in the car Ryder walked me into the forest near the house. I would have been more uneasy about going in there if it wasn't for the fact that it was daylight and Ryder was with me.
"Where are you taking me?"
He didn't answer as he walked further for a couple minutes.
He finally stopped in a clearing and the nervousness on his face scared me. "Emma. I have to tell you something."
My heart was beating in my chest and an uneasy feeling was creeping in my stomach. I knew he wasn't joking around. The fact that he called me Emma only confirmed that. "What's wrong?"
A quick thought about whether he was going to kill me and bury me in the forest crossed my mind, but I pushed it out with a laugh. He would never.
"I'm a werewolf."
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