Victoria stared at Ryan and Cassidy laughing together and gulped down more alcohol to make the pain in her heart to subside. He didn't like her; she knew it. He liked Cassidy better. They shared a common interest after all! Victoria closed her eyes and looked away from them. She realized that coming back to Houston was a mistake. Nothing has changed here. Ryan still didn't like her and she still hadn't been able to move on from him. Her whole life she had wanted only one thing from God. She wanted Ryan to acknowledge her and like her more than a sister but sadly it didn't happen and she realized that it was an impossible dream actually. 

She stood up and staggered towards the door to leave the party. She didn't want to stay and watch them any longer. Dylan and Cameron were too drunk to notice her. So she decided to take a cab and just go home. She opened the door and walked out, taking a deep breath of the fresh night air. Closing her eyes, she tried to get a hold over herself. 

"What are you doing here all alone, Victoria?" Growled an angry Ryan, standing right in front of her, scowling at her. Victoria's eyes flew open hearing his voice so close to her. Was she hallucinating? 'He was busy with Cassidy, silly girl,' she mentally chided herself and started walking slowly towards the road. 

"What's wrong with you, Victoria? Where do you think you're going?" He ran after her and caught her by the arm. Swinging her around to face him, he noticed her glassy, unfocused eyes and her flushed face. He knew that she was excessively drunk. 

"Leave me alone. I'm sure you have other important people waiting for you inside," she said, trying to extract her hand from his hold. 

"I can't let you go out alone in this condition," said Ryan, picking her up on his shoulder and walking towards his car.

"Like you care. I don't need you, Ryan. Go back to Cassidy. I'm fine, I'm alive. I'll go back to granny's house, forever. I shouldn't have come to Houston at all," she mumbled incoherently. 

"Of course I care," he said, feeling hurt.

"No you don't, " she insisted, trying to push him away.

"Are you jealous, Victoria?" He asked her tenderly. Her words pierced his heart and he felt his anger disappear. 

"Yes, " she said as Ryan opened the door of his car and deposited her on his passenger seat. "I'm not a pre-med student. I'm not good enough, " she mumbled, closing her eyes and laying her head on the headrest. Ryan shook his head and walked towards the driver's seat. 

"You're perfect just the way you are, Victoria, " he said softly but when he looked at her, he knew that she wasn't in her right senses and maybe not even conscious. She looked so beautiful even in her inebriated state that he couldn't  take his eyes away from her. Her  If only he could tell her how much he liked her. Sighing he drove towards his house. She was unconscious and he didn't have the keys to her house. His parents along with his uncles and aunts had gone to visit Messina Hof, one of the best Texan wineries and would spend the night and return home the next day. Nate and Queen were staying over at uncle Henry's place for the night and would return when their parents did. 

He drove an unconscious Victoria to his house, feeling guilty to be the cause of her unhappiness. He had visited Cameron's house only because of her but the moment he walked into his house, the horrid and creepy Cassidy caught hold of him. He wanted to go and stop Victoria from drinking too much but everytime he tried to get up, Cassidy somehow prevented him. With Dylan right in front of him, he was unable to do what his heart desired, which was only to be with Victoria. 

He reached home and parked his car right in his garage. Then he carried Victoria into his house and straight up to his room. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lay her head on his shoulder, cuddling up to him. Ryan noticed that she didn't open her eyes which only meant that she was still not in her senses. He opened his door and walked inside with Victoria, thankful that his family wasn't around tonight. Laying her down on his bed he was about to go into his closet to change when she caught his hand.

"Please," she whispered with her eyes closed. "Kiss me, " she gasped. Ryan's eyes widened with disbelief. Did he hear her right? Did she ask him to kiss her? His eyes fell upon her deliciously red plump lips. He would go mad trying to control the urge to kiss her but he had to. He couldn't take advantage of her! He sat down beside her on the bed till she calmed down and went back to deep sleep. After five minutes, ensuring that she was fast asleep, Ryan got up and went to change into a pair of sweatpants to sleep. He sent a message to Dylan stating that Victoria was at his house since she was too drunk to go home alone. Of course he didn't mention that they were all alone at his house. 

Changing into his sweatpants, he climbed onto the bed and lay down without making any noise at all but the moment he closed his eyes, Victoria rolled over to his side and placed her arm around his torso, cuddling up close to him. Ryan's eyes immediately widened and he lay still like a statue. Peeking at her, he saw that she was still asleep. Smiling at her cuteness, he turned towards her and gave in to his urges for once. Pulling her closer to his body, he stared at her beautiful face. 

"How will I resist you, Victoria?" He whispered, kissing her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks. He stared at her mouth and sighed. Could he just sneak a taste of her? But that wouldn't be fair on her. After a lot of difficulties to keep himself sane, Ryan finally went off to sleep. 

The next morning, Victoria opened her eyes and blinked twice to understand where exactly she was. Last when she remembered, she was standing outside Cameron's house and talking to Ryan. Was that a dream? What about the kisses that Ryan showered all over her face in the night? 'Of course, everything was a dream, silly girl,' she chided herself, looking around her. It looked like someone's bedroom. Where was she? Wide awake she tried to get up but felt herself being clamped to the bed. Turning around, her eyes grew round with disbelief seeing a shirtless Ryan fast asleep beside her. With his arm clamped around her, getting up was almost impossible. 

So this was Ryan's bedroom? Oh God! What was she doing here? Did they do anything fishy last night? She checked herself and breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was fully clothed in the same clothes that she had on the evening before. She quietly removed Ryan's arm and slipped out of his hold. 

She had to get out of here before he woke up. She didn't remember anything that might have happened between them last night. Had she said or done anything embarrassing? She had no idea. It was better she left quietly else how would she face him when he woke up?

She quietly slipped out and took a cab home. However as luck would have it, the moment she stepped inside her house, her parents who had just returned home, gave her a look of disapproval. 

"Where were you, young lady?" Asked her dad, Dennis Gardner, looking very displeased. Victoria was at a loss for words. What could she say? She couldn't tell him the truth. He would go mad and send her back to her grandparents house. 

"I..," she started but her mom interrupted. 

"Where's Dylan?" She asked, pinning her with a questioning look on her face. 

"Actually, we were at Cameron's house last night," she started. Her dad shook his head with disappointment. 

"Once in a while all this is fine but you cannot do this everyday. When will you study? I can see that Dylan is being a bad influence on your Vicky. You need to get a grip over your life. You cannot just blindly follow your brother and his friends around. I'll talk to Dylan. Neither of you are being serious about your studies, right now and it really hurts me to see you wasting your lives like this, " said her dad.

Victoria stood in front of him, looking guilty. "I'll not go to Dylan's parties any more, dad," said Victoria. Her head was feeling like it would burst due to a horrible hangover from all that drinking that she did last night. 

"I think it's best to send her back to San Antonio, Dennis, " said her mom, Jenna Gardner.