Book: The Problem with Forever
Quotes of Book: The Problem with Forever
What does... mean?"Rider blinked and his lips slowly parted. Surprise splashed across his face. Yeah, I'd spoken in front of Hector. I felt sort of giddy. Might've only been a handful of words, but it was the first time I spoke to him. It was the first time I'd spoken to anyone in front of Rider since we crossed paths again. He'd never been around when Jayden had.Biting down on my lip to stop from grinning, I dared a peek at Hector.His light green eyes were wide, then he smiled broadly. "Means, uh, baby girl.""Oh," I whispered, feeling my cheeks heat. That was kind of nice."It also means something he doesn't need to be calling you," Rider added, and my gaze darted back to him.Hector chuckled, and when I glanced at him, he was grinning. One arm was flung over the back of his seat. "My bad," he murmured, but nothing about the way he looked suggested he felt any guilt.My lips twitched into a small grin.Rider cocked his head to the side. "Uh-huh. book-quotetalkmallory-dodgerider-starkYou're breaking my heart."At the sound of Rider's voice, I wheeled around, clutching my bag to my side. First thing I noticed was the faded Ravens emblem stretched over his broad chest, and then I forced my eyes up. The slight scruff along his jaw was gone. Nothing but smooth skin today.No notebook. Hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, a familiar, crooked grin pulled at Rider's lips, causing the dimple in his right cheek to pop. He stepped forward, and my heart did a backflip as he dipped his chin. I felt his warm breath on the side of my cheek as he spoke."You didn't respond to my text last night," he said, and there was a light, teasing tone I didn't remember from before. "I thought maybe you didn't realize it was me, but that would mean someone else would be texting you good-night and calling you Mouse. I'm not sure how I feel about that. book-quotemallory-dodgerider-starkmouseI don't want you involved in any of that.""Because you care about me?""Of course." I narrowed my eyes. "I don't want to worry about you getting hurt."He stepped in and his other hand settled just above my hip. "Because you want to be with me?""Yes." That word was easy to speak.Rider smiled then and the right dimple appeared. "You want to be my girlfriend."I opened my mouth and then I laughed. It sounded strange after the seriousness of our conversation, but the statement was sweet and silly.His cheeks pinked. "Not sure how I feel about that laugh," he teased. "But I do love the sound of it."My breath caught at the word. Love. Oh, gosh, was that what was happening here?"So do you? Want to be my girlfriend?" he asked, and then chuckled. "Probably should've brought this up before I kissed you, but I want...I want to see where this goes, Mallory. I feel like we got a second chance, you know? I've been thinking that since I sat down in speech and saw you sitting there. We have a second chance. And who gets second chances?"I searched his gaze, feeling a rightness deep in my chest. I had thought the same thing before, about second chances."I don't want to pass that up. book-quotecaremallory-dodgerider-starkHector laughed as Rider shook his head. Ainsley stiffened across from me. She was pretty fluent in Spanish and even though Hector was Puerto Rican, I had a feeling she was getting the general gist of whatever he was saying and she was not happy about it. Ainsley cocked her head to the side as she brushed her long, blond hair over her shoulder. Hector's eyes widened.Rider threw his head back and burst into laughter. "Oh, shit. Priceless.""What?" Ainsley blinked big eyes at the stunned Hector. "You think some white chick can't possibly understand another language so you're going to sit in front of me and talk about me like I'm not here?" Her smile was brittle and fake. "Bitch, please.""Man..." Hector sat back, slowly shaking his head as he stared at her. "You're...brutal.""Damn straight," she replied, her eyes like chips of blue ice. Whatever yumminess she'd seen in Hector was completely out the window now. "And you're a Hector's eyes narrowed."I really like your friend, Mouse." Still chuckling, Rider winked at me. "She basically called him a classless ass, and I agree. book-quoteinsultspanishtranslation
