Wilde Legacy - Chapter 59

After a quick bath, Ryder headed to the motel's office to confirm that Audrey had settled the bill. She had. It was only when he noticed the rundown surroundings that he realized he was in Burwell. He must have been really drunk last night not to realize they had traveled from downtown Portdale all the way to Burwell. He was about to call a cab when he remembered something Audrey said at the nightclub. Something about a new place in Burwell that was hiring staff.

Thankfully Kaleb, the motel's cashier, had heard about the place and gave him very precise directions. "But there's no point in going there now. You'll have to wait for it to open, at 5 pm, I believe."

Ryder thanked the clerk and called a cab to take him home.

Once he was home Ryder picked up his birthday present. He'd begged and pleaded with his parents and they had finally relented. Ryder was now the proud owner of a chopper.

For once he would have liked to skip his karate lesson and just drive around town, feeling the wind on his face and enjoying the freedom riding the chopper gave him.

But Sensei Dan was known for his perverse punishments to anyone skipping class without a very good reason and the last thing Ryder wanted was his body covered in bruises for the next month. So he went to the dojo and dutifully practiced breaking boards. 

After the argument with Audrey, it was strangely satisfying venting his hot temper on the wooden boards.

An hour later he was back on his bike, just driving around with no set destination in mind.

Then something caught his attention.

Ryder had been giving some thought into moving out of his parents' house, so he thought he'd stop and have a look at the listings displayed on the window.

The realtor sensed a potential sale and came out to greet Ryder. "Hi, welcome to Fletcher's Real Estate Agency. I'm Meghan Fletcher and I'd be happy to show you more options than we have on display outside, if you're interested."

Ryder followed Meghan inside and let her know he was interested in renting a cheap apartment. 

"Just how cheap are we talking about?" Meghan asked.

Ryder told her his budget and watched as Meghan frowned. 

"It'll be next to impossible to find something this side of the river for that kind of price. Are you okay with possibly moving to Burwell?"

It wasn't a problem, he told her, since he was hoping to get a job at a nightclub in that neighborhood.

"Perfect!" she said, clapping her hands together. "I have one place in mind for you. Just let me make a quick phone call to see if the person holding the keys is available today."

"Yes!" Meghan said as soon as she hung up, obviously psyched about what she'd heard. "He's free for the day, so you can go and check out the apartment. I think you'll find it a perfect fit for you - and your budget," she added with a wink.

Armed with written directions, Ryder headed towards the bridge. Hopefully, Meghan was right and the Burwell apartment would become his future home.

Wilde Legacy - Chapter 58

Ryder vaguely remembered entering a cab, but he wasn't exactly sure how he ended up in this room. But it didn't really matter. He knew exactly who he was with and what he was doing. 

As usual, Audrey took the lead. 

And Ryder happily followed.

He wouldn't have thought Audrey was a cuddler, but she surprised him by not letting go of him as they drifted into sleep.

Ryder woke up in the morning with the mother of all headaches.

"What the hell...?" It was a first for him, waking up in a strange room, with no idea of how he'd gotten there. The throbbing in his head intensified as he started to recall bits and pieces of last nights activities. 

Then movement behind him reminded him he wasn't alone.

"Hey, you're up already?" Audrey asked.

Ryder had heard of awkward "morning afters," but he'd never realized just how truly awkward "awkward" could be.

Audrey mistook his fidgetiness for something else and tried to comfort him. "Hey, the sex wasn't that bad. You were really okay, you know, for a beginner."

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for that male ego boosting comment," he said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Audrey shrugged. "Sugar-coating the truth isn't going to help you improve."

Audrey started to put on her clothes, while Ryder watched silently. "You don't need to pay for the room, it's taken care of," she said as she finished adjusting her clothes. "So, uh, it's been fun, but I gotta run. See you around, Ryder."

Ryder was pissed. Everything that came out of Audrey's mouth this morning seemed like a direct hit to his male pride. He could pay for the room, thank you very much, and the super clichéd "It's been fun," only served to rub salt on his wound. His temper flared.  "Yeah, sure. Just get the hell out already."

"I can see that you're not a morning person," Audrey replied, sarcastically. "Are you really going to get pissy with me just 'cause we got drunk and had sex?"

Ryder didn't answer.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Audrey spat out and walked out of the room.

-

Wilde Legacy - Chapter 57

They spent a few minutes trying to catch up, but they could barely hear each other over the noise. Audrey suggested they move to the more quiet VIP room. 

Luckily the bouncer was nowhere in sight so they entered without a hitch. They chatted for a bit about Ryder's plans for the future. Or lack of plans. Other than participate in karate tournaments, there was nothing that particularly appealed to him. But he needed money and he couldn't make a living from karate.

Audrey had an idea. "There's a new club that just opened in Burwell. I hear they're hiring staff. Why don't you check it out? I think it's called Scarlet Pit or Cave... Scarlet something."

A few minutes later she left Ryder alone and went to say hi to the blond bartender.

Maybe it was just Ryder's opinion, but the blond seemed less than enthusiastic about chatting with Audrey.

And Audrey, as usual, wasn't very good at dealing with rejection. "Grab a drink and follow me," she ordered. 

Ryder obeyed and followed her into the hot tub.

"Are you sure that being half-naked with me in the hot tub is going to make that guy jealous?" He asked.

Audrey gave him a shrug. "Maybe."

Maybe it was the few drinks he'd had, but Ryder was feeling flirty. "How about I help out? Just pretend you're having fun."

"Like this?" Audrey asked, then giggled loudly.

"So, do you think it's working? My skin is beginning to prune."

"It's working." Audrey answered with a slightly slurred voice. "He's just playing the "I'm hard to get" game. Why do men do that, anyway?"

"Uh?" Ryder asked, trying to open his eyes. 

"You're drunk." Audrey told him matter-of-factly. 

Yeah, Ryder thought, maybe he shouldn't have had that last drink...

-

Wilde Legacy - Chapter 56

Detective Fletcher escorted Theo to his desk. He explained that the interview room was occupied, so they would have to wait for a bit.

Theo tried to control his anxiety as he waited. But all his illegal wrongdoings kept replaying over and over in his head.

Finally, Detective Fletcher lead him into the interview room and explained the proceedings. Theo wondered if it was too late to run.

He stayed. Even if he had to pay for his crimes, he couldn't in good conscience stay quiet any longer about what he'd witnessed Carter do in that alley.

Sensei Dan had talked and talked about a martial arts book he wanted his students to read. Against his better judgement, Ryder decided to give it a try. Bad idea. It wasn't that the book was bad; he just didn't see the point of reading about martial arts when he could be practicing instead.

Since he was at the library anyway, he thought he'd check out the shelves and see if he could find something interesting. 

A mixology book caught his attention. He'd never given the subject much thought before, but knowing how to mix drinks sounded kind of cool.

His birthday came a few days later. As usual, the family got together to celebrate.

Now that he was an adult, Ryder wanted to do something more exciting for the night. Staying home eating cake wasn't how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. 

After hearing various work related excuses from his siblings, Ryder headed to The Brightmore alone. 

What better way to celebrate than drink, then dance the night away.

Hey! Was that...?

"Audrey!?"

"Ryder!"