My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84 A Movie Night That Felt Too Close

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The window slid upward. The freezing night air rushed into my cramped room, carrying the scent of damp earth and crushed pine needles.

A massive silhouette filled the frame, blocking out the pale light of the streetlamp.

Ryder ducked his head. He swung his long legs over the sill. His combat boots hit my cheap carpet without making a single sound.

He stood near my desk. He wore his scuffed leather jacket and a dark henley. He looked too big for my ordinary bedroom.

“You came, I breathed.

“I told you I would,” he replied. His voice was a rough scrape, a whisper meant to stay between these four walls.

He crossed the room. He did not hesitate. He shrugged off his leather jacket, tossing the heavy garment over the back of my desk chair.

He kicked off his boots, leaving them near the hissing radiator. He climbed onto the edge of my mattress.

The metal springs groaned under his weight. I cringed. I shot a panicked look at the wall shared with my mother’s bedroom.

Ryder noticed the panic. He reached out. His warm hand wrapped around my ankle.

“She can’t hear us,” he promised.

I grabbed my laptop from the nightstand. “I queued up a movie. If we keep the volume low, the dialogue covers the floorboards creaking.”

He shifted his weight, leaning his broad back against my wooden headboard. He stretched his long legs out, crossing them at the ankles. He patted the empty space beside his hip.

I hesitated. The air in the room felt thick.

I crawled up the mattress. I settled beside him, placing the laptop on our knees.

“What are we watching?” he asked, staring at the screen.

“An old sci-fi movie. It focuses on a crew stranded on a dying ship.”

“Sounds uplifting,” he noted.

“It is quiet. No loud explosions to wake my mom.”

The opening credits began to roll. I did not care about the plot. I just needed a distraction. I needed a buffer to process the overwhelming

reality of his presence.

Ten minutes passed. The tension in my spine refused to unravel. I sat rigid, leaving a three-inch gap of empty space between our bodies. I

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stared at the screen, but I only saw the reflection of his profile in the dark glass. I focused on his steady breathing. I focused on the heat

radiating from his shoulder.

Ryder let out a low sigh. He reached over and snapped the laptop shut.

The room plunged into deep shadows.

“Hey, I protested, keeping my voice a breathy whisper. “I was watching that.”

“No, you weren’t,” he countered. The mattress dipped as he shifted his weight. “You are wound so tight you are about to snap. Stop

overthinking.

“My mom is sleeping thirty feet away.”

“I know.” He reached out in the dark. His fingers brushed the edge of my oversized hoodie. He hooked his arm around my waist and

pulled.

I tumbled sideways. My shoulder hit his chest.

Ryder adjusted his position. He slid down the headboard, pulling me with him until we were both lying flat against the mattress. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking my head beneath his chin. He caged me in, surrounding me with his heat and his scent.

“Breathe, Raisa,” he murmured.

I closed my eyes. The scent of cedar and sharp peppermint filled my lungs. The frantic drumming of his heart beat a steady rhythm against my cheek. I let my hands relax. My fingers curled into the soft cotton of his henley.

The remaining adrenaline from the chemistry lab drained out of my system. The fear of my mother waking up faded into a dull background noise. The sheer, overwhelming comfort of his presence anchored me to the bed.

He did not try to kiss me. He did not push for more. He just held me. He offered a profound safety I never experienced before.

“You terrified Hayes today,” I whispered into the dark room.

Ryder’s chest rumbled with a scoff. “He needed a wake-up call. He thought you were a target.”

“He thinks you are using me.”

“Let him think whatever he wants. He won’t touch you again.”

I traced a small circle against his shirt. “You marked your territory.”

“I claimed what is mine,” he corrected. The rough gravel in his tone sent a shiver straight down my spine. His hand moved from my shoulder. His long fingers tangled in the dark strands of my hair. He massaged my scalp. “I spent three years watching guys like him talk

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Chapter 84 A Movie Night That Felt Too Close

to you. I spent three years digging my nails into my palms so I wouldn’t walk across the room and break their teeth.”

My breath caught. I tipped my head back, trying to see his face in the shadows. “You watched me?”

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“Every single day,” he confessed. The dark admission hung in the quiet room. “I know you chew on the cap of your pen when you are stuck on a math problem. I know you hate the cafeteria pizza. I know you tap your left foot when you are nervous.”

“I didn’t know,” I said.

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