Emma Riley

Lakeside Apartments

I couldn't believe it. But there, standing on the other end of the front door, was Ryker Fox. I wasn't entirely sure if he had really good timing..or really bad. For a long moment I couldn't speak, just stood there while he looked me over. If I wasn't still so stunned by the video, the way he was looking at me would have made me blush. Gina was almost as shocked as I was.

"Can I come in? We need to talk." He said, breaking the awkward silence. His eyes were apologetic, and concerned. His usual cocky, laid-back demeanor gone.

"Do we?!" I put my hands to my chin, and squinted my face into a thinking pose. I did very little to hide my sarcasm, and both Ryker and Gina shot me judgmental glances. It's not that I at all thought this situation was funny. But I was afraid if I didn't make light of the situation I would break down completely. I don't think it had even really fully hit me how bad this was yet.

"Just come in." Gina finally gestured him to come inside when I didn't respond further. She was a cross between shocked and upset about the video, and excited that Ryker fucking Fox was actually in our living room. I was quite certain she would be analyzing every stolen glance and every flirty gesture. Storing it away in her "memory bank" for a more appropriate time to tease me about it.

Ryker walked inside and immediately to where I stood, to face me. His approach a bit quiet, and careful. "So..you've seen it? The video?" He asked, studying my face.

I just nodded and gripped the phone in my hand tighter. "Do you..do you have any idea who posted this? And how?" I was surprised to hear my voice cracking, and he took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I think..it might have been Maria." He admitted, biting his lip in frustration. My heart sank, that would definitely make sense. There was a part of me truth be told, that wondered if he had something to do with it. If filming girls without their knowledge was just kind of..his "thing." and he posted it for some kind of publicity or something.

But I really didn't believe that was true. Then again..I didn't know for sure if that was logic talking, or my growing attraction. But Maria, she made more sense to me.

"That fucking bitch!" Gina shouted out behind us. It made both Ryker and I jump and look back at her. I think we had forgotten she was there for a moment. "Maria is that slut you told me about from this morning, right?" Gina shouted.

My face flushed, as Ryker looked back at me. She had just given away I gossiped to Gina about what happened this morning. I tried to send subliminal messages with my eyes to Gina saying "shut the fuck up," but she seemed to be too on a roll to take a hint.

"Where this hoe at? I say we go track her down and take care of this old school. I'll hold her down while Emma kicks her fucking head in. Ryker, you're a guy so you're not allowed to hit her or nothing but you can at least pinch the bitch." Gina hit the palm of her hand with her other fist repeatedly like it was Maria's head.

She was being completely serious, and I can tell you as her best friend she would do it. One-hundred-percent. But even though she wasn't trying to be funny, she was kind of hilarious right now.

Just for good measure, she grabbed a throw pillow off the couch behind her, let it drop on the floor, and began stomping it with the heal of her shoe. Ryker and I were both silent for a moment, watching her intently.

I bit my bottom lip, willing myself to not laugh. It was not the appropriate time for laughter. My life was about to fall apart with this. But I couldn't help it. I found myself snickering at the sight of Gina physically assaulting a throw pillow she had lovingly named "Maria Martinez."

I was relieved I wasn't the only one, when I heard a chuckle escape from Ryker's throat. After I heard him laugh, I couldn't hold it in..and we both immediately started laughing hysterically.

Gina looked up from her throw pillow beat down, confused as to what was so funny. She began looking around the room, searching for what she was missing that would have made us laugh..which only made us laugh harder.

The throw pillow laid on the floor, dented in and looking very pathetic. Here I thought my day was crappy. That throw pillow did literally nothing but sit on the couch living it's best life. Rest in peace throw pillow, we'll never forget.

After our laughter and Gina's confusion was finally dying down, Ryker looked back at me with a huge grin spread on his face and for a moment..we both just smiled at each other. For that split moment, I forgot all the drama that was going on, and could see nothing but that beautiful smile of his with those adorable dimples. If I had a smile like his, I would never stop smiling.

How can he do that? How does he make me forget the world is crumbling just by smiling at me? He bit his bottom lip, and I realized I was still staring. "Friend of yours?" He jokingly asked, his eyes gesturing towards Gina's direction. Who looked like she was wondering if we were on drugs.

I furrowed my eyebrows and stated off in the distance, pretending to think about it for a moment. "..I thought she came with you?" I said with a shocked look on my face.

His eyes widened, as he started to process what I had just said..and his head snapped back in Gina's direction in shock. Who looked entirely done with my shit, by the way.

I laughed and shook my head as he looked back at me in confusion. "Of course she's my friend. Best friend since high school, actually. She's also my nosy roommate." I said, winking at Gina.

He started laughing too, seeming embarrassed he was so gullible. "Ryker this is Gina, Gina this is Ryker." I awkwardly gestured, just trying to be polite. But Gina obviously knew exactly who he was.

A knowing grin spread on Gina's face, and I panicked..afraid she was going to say something embarrassing. But instead, she put her hand out and said "Heard a lot about you, Ryker. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances." Her smile was friendly and I looked at her like she was an alien who had taken over Gina's body.

"Nice to meet you as well, Gina. Sorry again for just showing up like this. But I thought under the circumstances.." He trailed off as he looked at me, feeling awkward again.

Gina cleared her throat behind us, sensing she was in the way. "Well, I've been at the salon most of the day and my clothes are covered in strange people's hair and I really do mean strange so..I'm going to take a quick shower." She didn't even wait for us to respond before she was out of the living room.

Awkwardly so, I picked this moment to realize this was the first time I had been alone with Ryker since..this morning. I groaned, as that brought the video back to the center of my mind.

Ryker Fox

I took a deep breath, and scolded myself to focus. She looked beautiful, and sexy. It didn't help matters that the last time I was alone with her I had her lips between my teeth.

But this situation was very serious. I was more used to scandals, and I had no clue what to do. I can only imagine how she's feeling.

"So..tell me what you're thinking." I said, very plain, examining her face. She blinked and swallowed nervously, seeming embarrassed by my question somehow.

"A-about what?" She studdered, biting her bottom lip. That goddamn lip bite. Ugh. Whyyyy?

"About the video, of course. You haven't really said much." I observed. I was curious where her head was at. I couldn't help but feel responsible. I was wondering..if she blamed me, too.

She tucked a strand of her shiny blond hair behind her ear, and stared off to the distance like she was deep in thought.

Something about her looked different. But that wasn't likely, I just saw her this morning. What is it? Her hair, maybe? If it wasn't such inappropriate timing, I'd just ask her.

"I don't..know what to think, to be honest." She finally said, breaking my train of thought. "I guess it hasn't sunk in yet." She admitted, grabbing a handful of her shiny hair with one of her hands. My mind was instantly reminded how fun it was to grab onto that hair, but I pushed the thought away.

"I'm..confused I guess. Are you sure it was Maria?" She asked, her head tilted to the side.

"I don't know..not for one-hundred-percent fact, yet. But Dexter is working on finding out for sure as we speak." I reassured her.

She breathed in and out, as if trying to stay calm. "There are..no other possibilities? Nobody else has..been over?" She hesitated, and I realized it was her way of asking if any other women had been over.

"The only ones that have been over recently are you, Dexter, and Maria. Dexter has no motive. I don't see you doing something like this either." I cringed to myself, remembering Dexter originally suspected her.

"I can completely see Maria doing something like this." My voice came out angrier than I even intended.

She bit her lip again, giving away she had something to say. I was about to urge her to tell me..one, because I was genuinely curious. Two, because if she bit her lip a moment longer I might be tempted to join in on the fun...again.

Just as I was going to speak, she blurted out what was on her mind. "Why the hell did you hook up with her in the first place?!" She said, bewildered.

The question caught me off guard. I didn't know how to respond at first, so she continued. "Don't get me wrong, I realize she's physically attractive. Even I almost got a lady boner before she started to talk, and then it went limp." She rolled her eyes, her voice full of sarcasm.

I couldn't help but laugh. Yet another thing to add on the list of things to like about her. Even in the most awkward situations, her humor was amazing.

"The point is, I get that much. But, no offense..I literally cannot see one positive thing about her besides that." I could hear a slight hint of jealousy in her voice, and I had to admit to liking it a bit.

"Surely you had to have known she wasn't a nice person. So, why put yourself at risk like that? You invite her into your home because she's hot?" She put her palm to her forehead, disapproval in her voice.

I rubbed my neck, not knowing what to say. She was right, and when she laid it all out like that it sounded even dumber than I already thought.

"Remind me to come over in g-string and pasties so I can rob you blind." She crossed her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow, the sarcasm back in her voice.

She really shouldn't have said that. The thought of her in a g-string and pasties...mmm. I couldn't keep myself from smiling as I stole a glance at her chest, which made her face flush as red as her top.

"You come over to my house in g-sting and pasties..you can have anything you like, Miss Riley." I bit my lip, the statement bringing a very nice picture in my head.

She got adorably awkward and stared down at her feet. My comment had seriously embarrassed her. Perhaps I should feel bad, she's obviously shy.

She hasn't realized what a sex kitten she is. Not yet. But when the time is right, I got a big surprise ready and waiting for her. I'll have that kitty purring in no time.

Goddamnit..there you go again, penis. Just fucking stop already. How many times do I have to tell you that your benched until you accept it?

"To answer your question.." I said, breaking the silence. I was really just wanting a distraction. "This isn't an answer I am particularly proud of, but it is the truth." I warned, wearily.

She studied me with a thoughtful expression on her face, and I wished there was a way to say this without sounding like a prick.

"I was never interested in..dating Maria. When we got together, I made a habit to not do much talking with her." I admitted, internally cringing.

She rolled her eyes, seeming to know where this was going. I continued. "I want to be completely honest with you. I hooked up with her originally because she was hot and easy. She would come right over whenever I called. But it's something I deeply regret, I promise you that." I really meant it.

She sighed, and I could tell by her facial expression she didn't like that answer. "I suppose I am grateful to you for being honest with me." She finally said.

Her expression appeared a bit sad, like her mind was elsewhere. "I..will always be upfront with you, I promise. I'm a lot of things, but fortunately honest is one of them." I tried to ressure her.

She smiled shyly, and nodded. Still seeming deep in thought, so I continued. "I'm..hoping I can expect the same from you."

She looked at me, taken a bit off guard by my statement. "Of..course I'll be honest with you. I think we both should know by now I have a tendency to be a little too honest." She admitted.

"Same." I laughed. Even she chuckled, though still seeming to have something on her mind.

I couldn't stop myself from asking. "So..since we've established that we're both honest people, will you tell me what you're thinking?"

Emma Riley

What was I thinking? That was a very loaded question. My mind splattered into a thousand pieces, where do I start?

On one hand, I appreciated his brutal honesty. The fact that he will tell the truth, even if it's not what you want to hear. It made him seem more trustworthy to me.

All things considered now, I'm sure he would make different decisions if he had to do it over again. Maybe all this will teach him to be more..selective about who he associates with.

Then again, I couldn't help but feel a bit insecure. This is the woman that my boyfriend left me for we're talking about. She's hooked up with not one but two guys I've been interested in.

"I guess..I'm just wondering." I finally said, breaking the silence. He looked at me cautiously, studying my every expression and movement as if afraid but curious of what I had to say.

"Maybe..maybe that's why my ex didn't want me." I admitted, biting my lip when I heard my voice crack. "She is 'hot and easy,' and...I'm not."

I avoided eye contact as he raised one eyebrow at me, a smirk forming his lips. "We're doing this again? This whole nonsense about you not being hot? You remember what happened last time when you said something like that..don't you?"

Something in his eyes changed, became wild..as he looked at me up and down. I flushed, remembering exactly what happened last time.

I bit my lip again, silently kicking myself for saying anything. "What did I say last time? About you talking negatively about yourself?" He challenged, his voice playful but his eyes serious.

"You..you.." I struggled to find my words, the way he was staring at me, his eyes burning into me..made me feel very nervous.

"I...I..what?" He asked, daring me to say it. I breathed in and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You..know what happened. You were kind of there." I challenged, being too shy to say it outloud.

"I want to hear you say it." He said quietly. There was an authority behind his voice that told me he wasn't budging on this.

Oh, for crying out loud..hes going to give me a heart attack before the day's even over. I rolled my eyes, he smirked when he saw I was caving..showing his dimples.

"You..spanked me." I admitted, red as a tomato and avoiding eye contact. "You said..if I talked negatively about myself again--"

He interrupted me. "--that there would be plenty more where that came from." I stole a glance at his face, and his eyes were looking over my body.

"So tell me, Miss Riley." He continued, something in his voice driving me crazy. "Do you want to be spanked? Is that it?"

I gulped, before I embarrassingly began to studder. That same devlish grin spread across his face as before, and something in his eyes told me he wasn't joking.

If I was to answer honestly? The answer would be, "why yes, Mr. Fox. I would love some more." But I wasn't feeling brave enough to say that.

"I still have a red mark on my ass from last time, thank you very much." I said, in a sassy tone. I finally went with sarcasm to try to lighten the suddenly intense mood, but his grin across his face remained in tact.

His voice got quiet, but still just as playful. Something in his eyes shifting. "Show me." He said, very plainly.

I blinked in shock and just stared at him for a moment. "Huh?!" I shouldn't be surprised by his bluntness by now, but it still threw me every time.

"You said I left a mark. Show me." He began to step closer, closing the space between us. I gulped. Oh my God..is this actually about to happen...again?!

As if fate, Gina picked that particular time to enter the living room. Her hair still wet from her shower and in plain blue jeans and a pink top.

She spoke while staring down at the phone in her hand, the sound of her voice breaking the building tension and startling us both.

"Guys..I think the video got taken down. I can't find it now." She said, while scrolling through her phone.

She looked up at us when we didn't respond, her eyes widened and shifted to us both. We must have given away somehow that she had interrupted a moment..because looked like she felt awkward.

"Oh my God..did I..you know, walk in on the two of you about to fornicate or something?" She put her hands up defensively, but a smirk started to form on the corner of her lips.

She shot me one of her knowing looks that warned me I would be hearing about this when we got alone. I glared at her, begging her to shut up.

"Dexter must have got the video removed. That was pretty fast work." Ryker said, responding to her first statement and ignoring her second.

I turned back around to face him, and found him staring back at me. His phone in his hand. "I should probably call him, and see if he has any updates for me." He said, a slight irritation in his voice. My guess being because we were interrupted.

I nodded, as he excused himself outside for a moment..closing the door behind him. Whew, that was a very close call. I didn't know whether to be relieved or pissed.

I turned back around to face Gina and found her staring at me, with the grin of a cheshire cat. Oh, God. I can already see her mentally doing cartwheels.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, still grinning from ear to ear. "That was quite a moment I walked in on, wasn't it?" She winked and shimmied her shoulders back and forth.

I could feel myself blushing and I knew I couldn't fool her, but I had to give it a try. "Not really." I shrugged and brushed off my clothes, avoiding eye contact. But I knew without looking at her, she could tell I was full of shit.

"If I had come in just a few moments later, you would've been banging so hard our neighbours would call the cops." She said, not at all kidding.

I sighed, giving in. "It's always like that whenever we're around each other. It's kind of ridiculous, actually." I said honestly.

"Look at us now, we're in the middle of a disaster and we're...well, I don't know what we're doing." I continued, wiping sweat away from my forehead.

She grinned again and wiggled her eyebrows. "Oh..I think I know what you're doing. Or at least..what you were about to do."

I really hate her sometimes. "Did you miss the part where I said we're in the middle of a disaster?" I said in a judgmental tone, crossing my arms.

The truth is, it was a lot easier to concentrate on the seriousness of the situation when he wasn't in the room with all his charm and deliciousness.

It was sinking in...it was finally sinking in. I was all over social media. What if someone recognizes me? What if...Oh, God. What if my boss, Carl sees it?!

I felt my breath quicken and my head felt lightheaded. It was only a matter of time before someone knows it was me with Ryker Fox. This makes me look like such a..well, I think you know what it makes me look like.

"Whoa! Breathe, Em! Maybe you should sit down." Gina began approaching me with worry in her eyes.

"I'm f-fine, Gina. Just give me a minute." My voice sounded weak, and definitely not fine. But I put my hands up defensively, asking her to give me some space.

This wasn't the first panic attack I ever had, there was a time I was getting them several times a week, actually. This was just the first time it's happened in a long time.

From the look in Gina's eyes, I could tell she knew what was going on. She had seen this before. She knew I used to have panic attacks, and she knew why.

"You're stronger than this moment, Em. You're stronger than some fucking video." Gina said, keeping her distance. I continued to try getting my breathing under control.

Gina made sure she kept her distance, in fact..she took a few steps back. "Keep your eyes on me, Em. Focus on me." She said in a calming voice.

I focused on her, and it started to help. Sometimes choosing a particular thing in the room to focus on can remind you that you're here in the now, help ground you back down to earth.

I felt my breathing beginning to return to normal, and Gina smiled at me sweetly. "Look at you, making this panic attack your bitch." She teased.

I would have laughed if I still didn't feel so light-headed. She tilted her head and studied my face. "Want me to get you some water or something?" She offered.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed at the suggestion. "I'd much rather have a whiskey." I mumbled.

She grinned a mischievous grin and began walking towards the kitchen. "That's more like it."

Just then I heard my phone go off in my room, and reluctantly went to go see who it was.

Ryker Fox

I knocked a few times to be let back in, because I felt a little strange just letting myself in a house that wasn't mine.

Finally, I heard what sounded like her friend Gina's voice shouting at me to come in. So I cautiously opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me.

I entered the living room and found I was now by myself. "I'm just making a couple of drinks, do you want one?" Gina called out from the kitchen.

Um, hell fucking yes I want a drink. Several, if possible."I'd love one, thank you for asking." I called back as I walked towards the kitchen.

She was at the kitchen island with three tall glasses and a bottle of scotch. She turned around and smiled at me, gesturing towards the bottle. "I hope you don't mind, it's what Emma drinks." She said, pouring the glasses.

Emma is a scotch drinker?! I wouldn't have pictured that. God, there was something about that..that was really sexy to me. Which honestly fucking figures.

"So..where is she?" I asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

Gina gave me a weary looking look. "In her room. I think she had a phone call." She said, a sound of concern in her voice.

The tone in her voice made me wonder. "How is she? Really?" I asked, hesitating while she poured the three glasses to the rim.

"Honestly? How do you think?" She sighed, still looking at the glasses. "I think it's finally starting to sink in, you know."

I closed my eyes, feeling very guilty and very helpless. I wished there was someway I could shelter her from this. But I know from experience it's really hard to make these things go away.

"How did your phone call go, did you...find anything else out?" Gina asked, sounding hopeful.

Just then Emma Riley walked in the room and we both turned around to face her. The color was drained from her face and she looked like she had been crying.

"Everything okay?" I asked her, knowing what a silly question that was.

Without another word, she sighed and walked over to the kitchen island, where Gina still stood with the drinks.

We both watched her as she picked one up and began swirling the liquid around in the glass as she spoke. "Well, I don't have to worry about calling into work tonight."

"Why do you say that?" Gina asked, confused. Emma took one very large drink, clearing the entire glass.

"Because I just got fired."

author's note: please don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter! :)