In Riley’s Arms: Part 5

The second I woke up, I knew something was wrong. I felt well rested and the air smelled faintly of the sweetly scented shampoo I had used the night before. My head lay against the pillow on Riley’s bed, and his covers wrapped around my body. The sheets were warm and welcoming. But overcoming me more than any of those things, was the simple fact that I was alone.

I sat up, looking around the room as if it would provide me some answers. No matter what, my eyes kept falling back to the empty spot beside me on the bed. To the void. Thinking that I would not get any answers by remaining where I was, I rolled myself out, resting my bare feet on the carpet and standing.

Bathroom or kitchen. Those were the two obvious options. If he got up and left it had to be for a good reason. After what had happened the night before, after what he had said… The door to the bathroom hung open, light off. I looked inside anyway, but as expected, found it empty. Moving to the end of the hall, the kitchen came into view next, illuminated only by the glow of sun coming through the window.

I turned the corner, already filling with a twinkle of excitement at the thought of seeing Riley standing there. My thoughts flew to him wrapping me in his arms, and my heart gave a flutter. I twirled around the corner, and saw nothing. An empty kitchen.

Everything that had risen inside of me dropped unceremoniously. I was alone. There had to be something. He had to be somewhere, but there was nowhere left to look in the small apartment. I sank into a chair at the table, placing my face in my hands and trying to make sense of anything I could. Just then, I saw it, a yellow paper pinned by magnet to the refrigerator.

Holly, had to go to work. Call Jon so he can bring you home.

That was all there was. No kind wishes or shows of concern. Not even a signature. I read over it again, and then again. No matter how many times I read it, it stayed the same. Slowly, I rose to my feet and walked back to Riley’s empty room. Having no other true options, I dug my phone out of the pocket of my abandoned skirt and dialed Jon’s number.

The boys were all there, running along the beach and jumping through the water, spirits high. It wasn’t the first time I had seen them since the incident, during which time they had all told me every violent vile thing they hoped and planned to do to Dean. It had only been a week, enough time for most of my bruises to fade, but no time at all when it came to my nightmares stopping. Everyone welcomed me back readily, as if I had never left the group, and it made moving forward that much easier. Even so, things did not feel quite right.

Riley had spoken very little to me during that time, cutting my calls short – the times he actually answered them – and not showing up at our house or other outings nearly as often as he normally would have. No matter how much I tried. I couldn’t make sense of it.

I sat at the edge of the water, my feet getting brushed over by the ebb, wearing nothing but my bikini. The late afternoon air was hot, warming the lake to the perfect temperature, but I hadn’t found the nerve to go in any further. My toes pushed through the wet sand, feeling stiff yet smooth. I knew Riley had been avoiding me, but I couldn’t figure out why, though not from lack of a million different scenarios going through my head. He was tired of helping me. He was fed up with all my crying. He was angry that I hadn’t listened to him for so long. The worst though, by far, was that he was disgusted by being around me. He knew what Dean had done to me, he knew what Dean and I had done in the past, and it nauseated him.

Listening to the boys splash around in the water, I dropped my head to my knees, wanting to keep my thoughts from going back there. I knew how much I cared about Riley, but I hadn’t truly known how much I needed him until he wasn’t there anymore. Taking deep breathes, I began to think it would have been better if I’d just stayed home. “Now, Holls, you can do this the easy way or the hard way.” The voice behind me made me jump, and I felt the onset of panic as confusion riffled through me. “Easy way you walk in, hard way I throw you.”

It took me a moment before I could turn around and face him, needing to hold my composure. “I don’t think today’s my day for swimming.”

He gave me a small mischievous grin. “Wrong answer punk.” He scooped me up over his shoulder and jogged us into the water, throwing me down as soon as it was deep enough.

“Now it’s war!” I jumped to him and pulled him with all my strength. Laughing, he dragged me down with him. Splashing, throwing, dunking, we joined the others in their fun. For the first time in a long time, I felt truly happy and perfectly at ease.

The fire started a few hours later as the sun went down and the temperature went with it. I pulled a black cotton pool dress on over my bikini, keeping the cool breeze from chilling me too much. I sank down into the sand a few feet from the fire, enjoying the heat on my face. “Having fun is exhausting, huh?” Riley lowered himself down next to me, his hair thrown in every direction.

“I forgot how exhausting it can be.” He laughed with me. We both sat watching the flames. “Hey… you haven’t gotten in trouble for… you know?”

To my relief, he shook his head. “No. It doesn’t look like he said anything about it to anyone, so I’m good. He gets in enough fights that no one would really think anything of it anyway. Don’t worry, okay?” He knocked his shoulder into me gently, smiling.

“I’ll try not to.”

“He hasn’t tried getting a hold of you or anything has he? I’m still willing to beat him up more if necessary. Even if not so necessary, I’d still be more than happy to. Felt a lot better than I ever imagined it would.” The smile faded a bit as he looked into the fire and then finally back to me. “Your bruises look like they’ve… softened up a bit.” His fingers moved to my cheek bone, tracing it gently.

“Y-yeah,” my heart was sped up unceremoniously. “Doesn’t really hurt too much anymore.” All at once, the wind was cooling me, raising goosebumps on and leaving me shivering.

“Are you cold? Here you can…” His eyes went back to the fire as he cut his sentence short. He had started to open his arms to me, but they came together again. I wanted to say something to him, but no words came to me. The crackling of the fire and the boys still splashing off in the distance were the only sounds to break the silence. Finally, he opened his arms again, “You’ll get yourself sick if you stay in the wind like that.”

“I’ll be fine. You don’t have to…”

“You moving three feet now will save me from having to make chicken noodle soup later.” His smile was inviting, though not as bright as I had known it to be. Even so, I scooted toward him, and the second I was within reach, he pulled me to him, bringing me between his knees and wrapping his arms across my chest.

There was the smallest degree of stiffness in the way he held me, so small that I would never had noticed if not for all the hours I had spent thinking about his arms, knees, chest, fingers… everything. Even so, my body relaxed into him. The warmness of his skin perfectly contrasted the cool night air. “You’re amazing, Riley.” I whispered the words, not quite sure if I should be saying them, but needing to.

He exhaled shortly, shooting the air from his lungs and leaning his chin against my head. “About time you realized it,” he whispered in response. “You know, Holls, I never thought…” Again, he stopped, shaking his head and looking to the fire. “I have to go.” He stood, releasing me from him arms. “I just… I need to go.” Just like the week before in his bedroom, he was walking away.

“Riley? Riley!” Scrambling to my feet, I took a few steps after him.

“Just… I… I don’t know…. I need some time.”

“Riley!” He did not turn around, but walked quickly toward his car at the side of the beach. If my pulse slowed for even a moment, it may have allowed my heart to sink in my chest, but it simply beat frantically and unsteady. I couldn’t move, even to chase him. His car door slammed, headlights scanning over the sand as he pulled away.

“Boy trouble?” I turned to face Jon, seeing a knowing look on his face as he stood just a few feet behind me.

“Riley troubles.” I corrected.

“Is there a difference?” Moving toward me, that same expression did not leave his features. To an extent, he was right. Riley troubles were boy troubles, but they were also so much more. They were best friend troubles. Life troubles. I felt empty without him. “He’s hurting, you know.”

“I don’t understand what just…”

He stepped forward until he was almost uncomfortably close to me, looking down into my tearing eyes. “Holly, you’re my sister, and I love you, but you can be so stupid, and you don’t even realize it.” His voice wasn’t harsh, but the words burned me nonetheless. The softness in his eyes said that he didn’t mean to hurt me, but tough love was the only option left. “You know Stacy broke up with him because of you.”

Shock and confusion filled me, raising goosebumps along my arms and neck. I thought of all the times he talked about her, how in love with her he had been. “No. No, he said…”

“You thought that she broke up with him because you took too much attention away from her, but that wasn’t it. She saw how he acted around you and how he took care of you, and she also saw something that he didn’t see then. Holly, Stacy broke up with Riley because she knew that one day he would stop seeing you as a little girl, and when that day came, she wouldn’t be able to compete with you.”

Frantically, I shook my head. “Well she was stupid and wrong, and…”

“Holly. Listen to me, okay? Riley asked you to prom because he knew he would have a great time with you, and with Stacy refusing to go with him, there was no one else he would have rather taken than you. But there was another reason, too, way in the back of his mind. He needed to prove her wrong; he needed to prove to himself that he could be with you in an intimate setting and feel nothing. It backfired completely.”

As calmly and clearly as he spoke, the words still refused to connect properly. “He calls me his little sister, Jon! He’s introduced me to people as his little sister. That isn’t the way that a guy would act toward a girl he’s supposedly…”

“Since prom?”

“What?” My head was spinning.

“Has he introduced you to anyone as his little sister since prom? Has he dated anyone or even so much as been on a date since prom?” I didn’t need to think. As soon as he asked the question, I knew the answer. I dropped my gaze back to the fire, no longer able to look my brother in the eye. “And before you start reasoning that prom was years ago, think about it. Think about how he’s held you and the things he’s said to you. Are those ways guys act toward girls they just want to be friends with? And then, of all the stupid, ridiculous, heartless things you could do, you start dating Dean, the one guy Riley told you to stay away from. The guy everyone told you to stay away from. Even then, Riley was always there for you, while you were making him sit there and wait. How heartlessly naïve could you be?” His voice started to raise. I turned my eyes further away.

“I never meant to hurt…”

“You lied to him, continuously. You insisted on dating someone who treated you like shit, and you were perfectly content with having Riley on the sidelines to pick you up every time Dean knocked you down.”

“It wasn’t like that at all!” I was facing him fully, anger and pain filling me.

“That’s exactly how it was, Holly! Exactly! He has every right to be mad at you, to avoid you, and you sure as hell don’t deserve his sympathy. He could have lost his job after attacking Dean the way he did. He could have made you go home and spend the night alone. He should have told you how stupid you were and said ‘I told you so’ a million times over, but do you think any of that crossed his mind for even a second? Most girls would give every inch of their heart to a guy willing to love them the way he can’t help but love you, and you not only avoided it, but shoved your relationship with Dean in his face, whether you meant to or not. You’ve hurt him so much.”

My shoulders literally sank into my chest. “I love Riley, Jon, but I never thought he could love me back, not in the same way. Any time he put his arms around me, I thought about him calling me ‘kid’, and didn’t think he could ever…What should I do?”

Jon’s face was light and loving. Any degree of anger that had shown there was gone completely. Despite his harsh reality check, he truly meant well and meant to help me. “That’s up to you, but if he wants you to leave him alone, really wants you to, you’re going to have to respect that.” I nodded, understanding but deeply hoping that would not be the case. With a final reassuring smile, Jon turned to walk back towards the water. “Oh, one more thing.” His knowing look was back. “My keys are in the ignition.” I needed no more permission.

Completely forgetting about my sandals lying by the edge of the fire, I ran barefoot to Jon’s car and got in, starting the engine and pulling away before I could give it any more thought. The path to Riley’s house was difficult to remember in the dark, as he normally came to our house or we went out somewhere. I found it, though, quickly enough, and brought the car to a stop in the empty spot next to his own car in the parking lot. It wasn’t until I pulled the key from the ignition that I started to think about what I was doing. I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle it if he turned me out or showed anger towards me. I would have to take it though. Jon’s words came to me, and I knew that if Riley had given up on me, I would have to let it be.

Opening the door, I stepped barefoot onto the cool blacktop, shifting my black dress back up under my arms, my bikini top peeking out from underneath it. My feet carried me toward the building and then to his door. I stood there, staring at the brass number, for a few minutes before I could bring myself to knock. “One second!” His voice came from inside, and I felt the strong pull to run away. Before I could consider it a true option, the door opened, and Riley was looking down at me. “Holly?” Obvious surprise, on the verge of confusion, surrounded his words. It then traveled to his face. “Where are your shoes?”

“Oh… I…forgot them at the beach.”

He nodded, and an awkward silence followed. “What are you doing here?”

“I was hoping I could talk to you, for just a little bit.”

“I don’t really think now is a good time. Maybe in the morning, at your house… when Jon’s home.” I couldn’t understand what that meant, why Jon needed to be there. “You should go, Holls… Holly.”

Despite my promise to myself and Jon’s words playing in my head, I couldn’t give up that easily. “Just one minute, Riley, and then I’ll leave you alone. I promise.” Defeat was thick in my voice.

Even more defeat lay in his eyes. “One minute, but only because it’s cold and I’m pretty sure you would just stand out there waiting if I said no.” He stood back from the door, letting me in. I walked only a few feet into the living room, not inviting myself to sit down, or travel any further in. “What did you want to talk about?” He closed the door but did not move far from it.

“I wanted to apologize for everything stupid that I’ve done over the past year. You’ve been amazing all this time, and I’ve just…”

“Holly, just… don’t right now.” He crossed to the other side of the room, moving further away from me. “You should go.”

I was suddenly desperate. “Riley please! Whatever I need to do to fix this, please just tell me. I’ll do anything, say anything.”

“You don’t need to do or say anything…”

“You’re mad, Riley, I know you’re mad at me. I know I’ve done stupid things, and I…”

“Stop, Holls, just stop. I can’t do this right now.” He stopped my words in my throat, and the pain in his eyes was impossible to miss. “I’m not mad at you.”

“You’ve been avoiding me, how are you not mad? You barely talk to me, you don’t look at me the same, and you literally ran away from me today.”

“I’m not mad. I just can’t deal with… you should go.”

Jon’s words came to me. “You really want me to go?”

“You should go.” He started to walk away again, heading further into the apartment toward his bedroom.

“Riley wait!” Before I could stop myself, I ran forward toward him, grabbing him by the elbow. “Please don’t walk away from me. You can’t tell me you’re not mad if you’re walking away from me right now.”

He pulled himself from my grasp. “I’m not mad.”

I grabbed him once again, promising myself that this would be my last attempt. “Then what is going on?”

With no warning, he grabbed my shoulders and spun me around with him, bracing me against the wall gently. “I can’t deal with this right now.” His words were soft with an air of defeat.

Our bodies were too close together, making it hard to think, hard to breathe. His green eyes gazed deeply into mine. He braced himself against the wall. My heart refused to slow. “Can’t deal with what?”

“You.” My heart dropped. “I can’t think straight when you’re around.”

It was the last thing I expected him to say, and his warm breath on my cheek only made his words more intoxicating. “What…what are you talking about?” I had forgotten how to breathe.

“I don’t trust myself with you. Holly, I…” His hand dropped to my face, cradling my cheek. “I… can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Why is that bad?”

“Holly… you…” He looked frustrated with himself. “Your boyfriend attacked you last week and a couple hours later I was… I had you in my bed, and I… Holls, I don’t think I can control myself around you!”

“Then stop trying.”

“You just… you don’t get it.”

“What don’t I get? Explain it to me!”

He stepped closer, closing all space between us. My heart was out of control in my chest as I looked straight into his eyes. “I want you, Holls.”

“Then take me.” The words were barely out of my mouth before his lips connected solidly with mine. There was a desperation behind his kiss, as if it were his last chance. His fingers laced behind my head, holding me against him. I parted my lips and welcomed an even deeper kiss, reaching my hands out to grab onto his arms, the nearest part of him I could reach. Unlike the time before, there was no trace of shyness in his kiss. His tongue slipped past my lips and ran along my own, sending a surge of electricity through my body. I wanted him. I needed him.

His free hand began to explore my body through the cotton of my dress, down my side, across my spine, over my stomach. My breath came heavy against his mouth; I couldn’t get enough. Just as my own hands began to explore his firm body, he grabbed it, intertwining my fingers with his own. His lips dropped to my neck, the small stubble scratching gently. “Riley…” I pulled on his hand, stepping slightly to the side and taking him with me.

He followed blindly for a few steps, lips not leaving my body, until he realized where my path was leading: backwards toward his bedroom. “Holly…” He breathed the word heavily against my jaw. “I don’t think I can handle that kind of temptation.”

“I’m counting on it.” Together, we stumbled backwards through the doorway from the force of his kiss. We were in the hall, only a few steps from his room. His tongue danced across my lips, his fingertips brushing the sensitive skin on my neck. No longer needing my encouragement, he guided me to his room, never allowing an inch of his body to stray from mine.

The back of my knees hit his mattress, almost throwing me off balance, but he held me too solidly against him. I began to lower myself to the edge of his bed, bringing him with me.

For a moment, I was afraid he might protest, pull away and tell me to go home, or tell me it wasn’t right. Not only did he continue kissing me, he grabbed me around the waist, lifting me and sliding me further back on the bed. The room was soon filled with the sound of our heavy breathing. I was on my back within seconds, his weight hovering above me as he kept himself propped up on one elbow.

His free hand continued to explore me above my clothing, still with that hint of desperation. Even so, the second he neared the places I wanted him to go, he would pull back and slide his hand elsewhere. One of his legs slid in between mine as I laid my hands on his lower back.

Our kissing intensified, our tongues mixing together. A small groan escaped his lips when my hands slid under his shirt and onto his bare skin. His hand gripped me tighter as I pushed upward, trying to work his shirt off.

Only allowing our contact to break for the smallest fraction of a second, he leaned his weight away from me and pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it behind him, not wasting a second before coming back to my lips. More of his weight dropped down on me, and I savored every inch of bare skin.

As it had a week ago, his hand found my knee and began sliding upward to the bottom of my already heightened dress. His fingers set my skin on fire, and I moaned into his mouth, trying to pull him closer to me. The moan seemed to set him off even more; his bottom half rubbed against me slowly yet firmly, the bulge that had formed in his trunks grazing through the thin fabric of my bikini. He pushed the dress up further, baring my stomach and uncovering my bikini top. Finally, he pulled it off over my head, dropping it to the side and leaning back to look at me.

His eyes moved up and down, taking in every inch of my exposed skin. Slowly, a blush that made no sense started to creep into my cheeks as I wondered how I looked to him. Dean and I always had sex in the dark, usually in the back seat of his car, and he never did anything more than grope at my naked body.

Riley’s eyes locked onto mine, and he smiled that sexy crooked smile. “Wow.”

“You’ve seen me like this before.” I reasoned, if for no other purpose than to keep myself calm. He had seen me in a bikini a number of times through the years. He had thrown me around in the water wearing nothing more than this only a few hours earlier.

His fingers brushed over my ribs and down my stomach, stopping right at the edge of my bottoms, sending a shiver through my body. “Not like this,” he breathed, “never like this.” His lips were on my neck, small stubble scratching even more, but I loved the feeling. Even more shivers came when his tongue tickled the sensitive skin. Slowly, the kisses moved downward.

The muscles in my stomach tightened sharply as my breathing grew shallower. When the kisses landed in between my breasts, he looked up at me. Our eyes locked and did not break.

His fingers slid underneath the fabric covering my chest, pulling the cup to the side. The cool air struck my exposed nipples, but his touch warmed it immediately as he caught it in his fingers, kneading it gently. My hips ground against him, both of his legs now between mine. His other hand moved along my skin, over my side and along my back until he came to the small string keeping my top on. At the same time his kisses worked their way to my right breast, his fingers pulled free the knot.

Warm lips entrapped my breast as he flicked his tongue over my nipple, sucking on it gently. I moaned shallowly in my throat, running my hands through his hair. His tongue worked back and forth, moving in perfectly sized circles over my skin. Slipping my top fully off, he used his free hand to massage my other bare breast.

He worked a few more circles before giving a final suck and moving his kisses over, replacing hand with lips and lips with hand. Working the same pattern around my left nipple. It was all I could do to stop myself from digging my fingers into his head, reveling in the new sensation. His eyes never broke from mine. After a short time, he continued downward again.

My stomach shook more as he moved closer to my belly button, running his hands along my sides. Finally, his lips were directly above the thin fabric of my bikini, kissing from hip bone to hip bone. I let out an ecstatic whimper and ran my hand through his hair, our eyes still locked. His fingers slid inward until they met, and then back outward again, hooking around the thin strings at the side of my bottoms, beginning to pull them undone.

Just as the fabric pulled away and he dropped it to the floor, I began getting nervous. “Riley,” I breathed through my panting. He was kissing my inner thigh, working his way up. It was a sensation I had never felt before. That was where I stopped him. “You don’t have to.”

He looked up at me, first in confusion and then understanding. “You’ve never felt this before, have you?” I shook my head with some embarrassment. As I had said before, Dean was never too concerned with my pleasure. “You smell so good.” He was even closer then. He blew gently against my pussy, leaving me gasping quietly. With the single act, he had me desperate for him to keep going. With no further warning, his tongue split apart my pussy lips and he licked slowly, all the way up.

I almost screamed from the sensation, gripping onto his hair with one hand and a fistful of blankets with the other. Three more times he run his tongue all the way up, each time causing a low moan to form in my throat. “Mmm, I’ve been wanting to do that for so long, Holls.” His tongue flicked against me again. He was looking up at me, and it was the most amazing sight I had ever witnessed. Quickly, his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in place, while the hand of his other arm moved closer to his body. His tongue flicked my sensitive clit over and over again. As he licked, his other hand moved upward. He slid his middle finger inside of me.

“Oh God! Mmmm.” The feeling was intense and like nothing else. I shoved the heel of my hand against my lips, muffling my moan as best I could. Slowly, he started to work his finger in and out while keeping his lips wrapped around my clit. My moans tried to grow, but I reigned them in, doing everything I could to keep from yelling out completely. My back began to arch, pushing me closer to him. His arm around my waist kept me from moving too far.

Too quickly, he pulled away, but moved up toward me. His finger stopped moving inside me, but remained inside nonetheless. He put his lips again my ear. “Don’t you dare keep quiet,” he whispered in a breathy voice, giving me a wanting shiver. His finger began to move slowly, working its way out – “I don’t care who’s listening…” – then back in – “…I want to hear every…” – slowly – “…last…” – kisses moving him downward again — “…breath…” – his finger sliding in and out – “…moan…” – arm securing me around the waist – “…beg…” – my fingers dug into the blankets – “…everything.” His lips clasped back down on my clit, making me call out loudly, exactly as he’d wanted.

My abs drew in. His finger inside my pussy curled giving a whole new feeling as he massaged an entirely new place. My legs started to shake. His tongue moved frantically against me. “Riley,” I managed weakly between moans. “Uh… yes…Riley!” Still he sucked, licked and fingered. I didn’t know this sensations, like my insides were about to erupt. “Oh… oh… Riley.” In and out. In and out. Every movement left me moaning and bucking against him. My insides were tightening.

As if on instinct, he quickened his pace, sucking my clit in between his lips and flicking his tongue over it with more speed. His finger slammed in and out of me.

Then, right as it was about to become unbearable, my toes curled up against the mattress and I felt a release more amazing than anything I could have imagined. He didn’t lose speed until the wave passed. His tongue slowed and then stopped as he slipped his finger out. Dark spots came in front of my eyes, and I thought I might pass out.

The bed shifted as Riley moved up next to me. I tried to look at him, but I couldn’t see clearly. I was trying desperately to catch my breath. “Holls?” He, too, was panting, but his concern showed through. “You okay?” I nodded slightly, still trying to come down. “Come here.” He pulled me against his bare chest.

“That was… that…” I gathered as deep a breath as I could manage. “Oh my God.” Riley had just given me my first orgasm, and nothing could have made me happier. Adjusting myself, I looked up at him. “That was more than I ever imagined it would be.”

I leaned forward to kiss him, but he pushed me back a little. “You might now want to,” he chuckled. “I love how yo taste, but you might not like it that much.” Regardless of his warning, I kissed him solidly, running my tongue over his lips which were coated in my juices. It wasn’t a wonderful taste, but there was a sweetness to it, and at that point, I would do anything to keep myself close to him.

“You are amazing, Riley.” Our kissing sped up slightly. My hands slid down over his perfectly toned chest and across his tight, muscular stomach. Undoing the string of his trunks with a single flick, I pulled on the flap to loosen the hold of the fabric. His breathing sped up and he pulled me closer.

I pushed my hand underneath the band of his trunks until his warm, hard cock was wrapped in my fingers. For a moment, he was unable to kiss me as his mouth dropped open in a moan. “Oh… mmm…” I stroked him beneath his thin bit of clothing lightly and pulled him back into the kiss; he was rock hard. Releasing my grip, I hooked my fingers inside his shorts and started pushing downward. Without hesitation, and without breaking away from my lips, he reached a hand down and helped me to push before kicking them to the floor. Again, I wrapped my hand around the soft skin of his cock.

I leaned toward him, pushing him to his back and started snaking downward, stopping the kiss and planting my lips instead on his solid chest. Gentle kisses moving downward until I left one right above his belly button. “Hold on,” He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back upwards. With one hand on the small of my back and the other behind my neck, he kissed me softly. “I want this to be about you.” Just as I had done to him, he was pushing me backwards until I was flat on the mattress.

He kissed me on the neck again as his fingers brushed from his lips to my hips, sending shock waves through me. “Will you make love to me, Riley?” I blurted.

“Is that what you want?” He spoke straight into my ear, barely lifting his lips from me.

“Yes,” it was the complete truth. The mattress shifted slightly as he moved his legs in between mine again. His kisses on my neck became a little more intense.

“Are you sure?” He teased, rubbing his body against mine.

I needed him. “Yes,” was all I could moan.

His tongue flicked against my ear lightly. “You want me?”

“God, yes!”

A small chuckle crossed his lips, but then he asked seriously, “Do you want me to wear…”

“No.” His was still kissing and gently biting me. I moaned softly. “I want to feel all of you.” I had made Dean wear one every time, and he even did the time a week before. Riley knew this. It was something he always asked. The kiss moved to my lips as his hand wound through my hair. With his other hand, he started to aim his cock toward me, teasing me gently with it until I was moaning and arching my back toward him.

When I couldn’t take it anymore, I lowered my hand to him and positioned him perfectly, urging him forward. He braced himself against the headboard, not letting me coax him into me. His face showed the strain of the action. “Are you sure, Holls?” It was easy to tell that he had to force his voice to stay even. It was a different feeling to have someone care about what I wanted or how I felt. It made me love him and want him even more. His breath against my neck had been warm and real.

I placed a hand gently on the side of his neck, propping myself up to move closer to him; he sat almost straight up and I met him where he was, kissing him softly, without tongue. Lifting myself further, I wrapped my legs behind him. We were now both sitting, though my weight was suspended above his thighs. We both sighed simultaneously. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way…” I whispered against his lips. His mouth crept into a smile before pressing more firmly against my own.

While we kissed, he eased himself upward, his arms wrapped tightly around my back. Slowly, I lowered myself down toward him. A gasp escaped my lips as he pushed into me, a fraction of an inch at a time. I was clinging to his back, unable to refrain from dragging my nails against his skin. His face dropped to the nap of my neck, breath heavy. More and more I relaxed my knees, feeling him spread me open. “Oh God…” He moaned, deep in his throat.

Finally, he was all the way in. Without a word, I began to push myself upward until he was almost all the way out, before lowering myself back down, only slightly faster than before. It stayed exactly like that for some time. His lips against my neck, not kissing, my fingers pushed into the skin of his back and me moving up and down slowly. Riley allowed me to move at my own pace, keeping his arms wrapped around my back, but not gripping or helping as I eased myself up and down his cock. The skin of our chests rubbed together, and I had never felt so comfortable in his arms

Everything with Dean was always fast and hard, there was no easing into it. No emotion. This was better than anything. Finally, he shifted his arms from across my back, and gripped me at my waist, guiding my movements to quicken the pace, at first moving up slowly, then back down with more force. “Yes…like that…yes…” My inhibitions were gone, and I made no effort to quiet myself. He groaned each time we smacked together, sliding his hands up a bit at a time until his fingers clutched my shoulders, allowing him to pull me down with more vigor. His body was sliding over my clit, making my fingers dig harder into his skin.

I leaned back from him a little, still rising and falling on him. We both looked down between us and watched as his cock slid in and out of me. The sight was intoxicating. I began gyrating my hips, moving in every direction. His mouth fell open and he groaned slowly but deeply. “Oh! Holly… oh God…don’t stop.” Moving faster, I couldn’t help but smile at the lust in his eyes.

I brought myself toward him again, pressing my body against his own and my lips against his ear. “How does it feel being inside of me?” My voice was thick with lust. He could only moan in response. “Being inside my tight wet pussy…” I was rotating in small but firm circles on his cock.

“Oh God…”

“Do you want more of me?”

“Yes.” He gasped, “Yes!”

“Then take me.” With those words, he dropped me backwards and took over completely, sliding in and out even faster than before. One hand landed on my hip, pulling me back toward him with every thrust. The other was on the side of my neck as he brought himself in to kiss me. Our kisses only lasted a few seconds before one of us broke it to let out a moan.

“Oh, God… yes… yes.” The bed started to bump against the wall and our moans and cries grew louder, but we didn’t notice. He thrust harder, still. Pulling out quickly and hovering for the smallest fraction of a second before pounding back in.

“Mmm you feel so amazing, Holly. Every last inch of you.” Dragging my nails down his back, I heard him moan in approval. I pulled my knees closer together around his body, tightening my pussy’s grip on his cock even more. The bed smacked against the wall with each thrust. His skin was glistening with sweat, and I had no doubt that my own was doing the same. His full weight was on me, no space between our bodies, and he bit gently on the skin of my neck.

His warm body slid over my clit. “OH!” I pressed my face against his shoulder, muffling myself.

“I want to hear you… Let me hear you.” His voice was heavy and broken through his panting and punctuated movements.

Needing no further encouragement, I did not hold back. “Yes! Riley… uh…oh… don’t stop. Don’t stop, Riley!” His lips raised to my mouth and he kissed me hard, releasing his tongue against mine. We both moaned deeply into the other’s mouth as he slammed himself into me, the entire length of his body rubbing against my own. I lowered my hand to his neck, and he caught it, planting a kiss on my palm and intertwining his fingers with mine before pinning it against the bed. I squeezed his hand as he moved deep inside me.

“Oh God, Holly. Mmm, you feel so good!”

I could feel his cock tense inside of me. My pussy responded with the same sensation as before, and my insides began to shake, along with my legs and every other inch of my body. He thrust even faster.

“Riley…” I moaned against his mouth, “Riley, I’m going to… oh… OH! I’m… I…”

“Come with me.” He placed his forehead against mine and looked deep into my eyes. “Come with me!” Seeing his eyes almost pushed me over the edge, but kept my thoughts in the way until I felt him reach his peak. Just before he did, he set up one more trick. He set his eyes on mine. “I love you, Holly.” His lips clasped down on mine, as he made a final thrust and held himself as deeply inside of me as he could.

Hearing his words, the ripple worked its way down my body. Just as I felt his release, my own started. He continued to kiss me as we came, dulling my screams against his lips. After the longest few seconds of my life, my body involuntarily relaxed and I sunk deeper into the bed, falling away from him. He started to do the same, but caught himself on his forearms so he didn’t put too much weight onto me.

With his right hand, he pushed some hairs off of my face. We smiled at each other, and our lips met in small pecks. Slowly, he slid his softening member out of me before rolling to the side and collapsing onto his back, still breathing heavily. For a moment, we lay next to each other, not speaking, but trying to get control of ourselves.

He reached out towards me with a smile on his face, inviting me closer. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me against him, and I rested my head on his chest, listening to his calming, yet rapid heart beat. We were both completely naked, but completely comfortable. His hand stroked my back, tracing over every last vertebrae. “Was it…” I started, but decided not to ask.

Even so, he answered. “That was amazing, Holls. Wonderful.” He kissed the top of my head. “Perfect. It was better than anything I ever imagined, and I’ll be honest with you, Holly, I’ve imagined that a few times.”

“Glad I could rise to your expectations.”

He rolled to his side, closing my hands in one of his and stroking my neck with the other. “I wouldn’t call them expectations. I never actually thought I would get to… that we would…” He shook his head and collected his thoughts. “Holly, I’ve been wanting to make love to you since prom, but I never thought we actually would. And this far surpassed anything I could have ever even have begun to imagine. Thank you.” Our lips met in a small kiss that sent a shock to my stomach.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a bit lost. Was that all he wanted from me? It went from imagined to real so there was no reason for us to become more than just friends, as we had always been. “…So…” I started, but cut myself off, not sure how to ask.

“So?” He twisted his hand around mine and locked our fingers together between our chests. His eyes were on mine.

“So, was this just, you know, a one time thing?” It was a question I had to ask, but one I did not want the answer to.

He smiled a little more, his eyes shining. “I hope not.” This answered the question I had asked, but not the one that was truly going through my mind. He was smiling, though, so I did in return. I was watching him, my eyes never leaving the deep green of his. “I know all this stuff with Dean is still really fresh…” it was the first time in my memory that I had heard Riley say his name out loud, other than the first night I saw him. “…and you two were together for over a year, but… oh.” He stopped and his expression warmed. “Did you think I meant… Holls, when I said I wanted to make love to you… I’m sorry, I did this all wrong.” With a deep breath, he tried again. “Do you remember that night on the porch…” Without any more description, I knew exactly what night he was talking about; I nodded. “Do you remember what you said to me?”

“I said I loved you.”

“Did you mean it?”

I lowered my head back against his chest, still looking up at him, but needing to hear the rhythm of his heart. “Of course.”

“Did you believe me when I said it?”

For a moment I thought, wanting my answer to come out just right. “I’ve always known that you loved me, Riley, I just never understood in what way… Jon told me about Stacy.”

His smile was soft and delicate as his arms tightened around me, fingertips tracing gently over my skin. “I told her she was being ridiculous, but the second I saw you in that dress… and I got so jealous every time one of the other guys tried dancing with you… she was right. I thought I loved Stacy, but the way that I felt when I looked at you, when you laid in my arms or when your number showed up on my phone, just hearing your voice or your laugh…the absolute, unconditional happiness that I felt when you told me you loved me, there was no comparison to that.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

He chuckled, and I couldn’t help but to feel as though I were standing on the outer edge of an inside joke. “Two reasons. One… it was kind of scary looking at you and knowing that I desired you in every possible way. I had always thought of you as a little sister, and then out of nowhere you weren’t a little kid anymore. Jon may have had the title of my best friend, but you were the one I could tell anything to and the first one I wanted to tell everything to. Admitting those feelings to you meant risking you not feeling the same and then things not being the same ever again. When you started dating Dean, I wanted so badly to tell you and have you be with me instead of him, but I didn’t want it to seem like I was only admitting those feelings because I didn’t want you to be with him…”

“So Dean was reason number two?”

He chuckled again, “no, not exactly.”

“Then what was it?”

“Jon… Jon may or may not have threatened to castrate me if I did anything that could potentially hurt you… which is ironic because he vehemently refused to let me castrate Dean on the numerous occasions I offered to.”

“Also ironic since he all but told me to chase after you tonight.”

“Hmm…” A cute, boyish grin spread across his lips. “Remind me to thank him for that.” Leaning down, he gave me a quick kiss. I snuggled up closer to him, reveling in the warmth of his body. “You probably want a more complete answer too your original question, though… the one you didn’t ask.” His fingers continued along my spine, softly brushing up and down, while is other hand clasped over mine, bringing it to his lips. “I want to be with you, Holls, for as long as I possibly can be. I would ask you to marry me right now, but I’m pretty sure you would refuse…”

“I don’t want to get married at eighteen.” We said together. His words, of course, in a mocking tone.

“So until you change your mind about that, I want to be with you in whatever way you’ll let me.”

My heart was fluttering in a way I never knew it could. “Say then, hypothetically, I wanted to be your girlfriend…”

“Then you should say ‘yes’ when I ask you. And before you ask ‘how long do I have to wait for that’…” he stole the words straight from my lips, “… all I can say is that it won’t be long. I would ask you right now, but I want to do it right, and at the perfect time… and when I’m not half distracted by the fact that you’re naked and almost on top of me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the playfully accusing way he said this. “Would you like me to get dressed?” I made as if I was about to roll away from him.

He clutched me tighter to his chest, rolling me around so I was trapped between him and the wall. “Don’t even think about it.” Those green eyes sparkled at me as he smiled and rubbed his nose against mine. “I’m never letting you go.”

“Promise?”

“With all my heart.” His lips pressed gently against my forehead, making me feel light. I let my body fall deeper against his, closing my eyes and focusing only on the beat of his heart and the feel of his arms around me. My breathe began to steady. “Always so sleepy.” He teased, his words so soft I couldn’t tell if he was speaking them to me or to himself.

“We’ve been through this.” I whispered just as softly, “it’s your fault for being so comfy and warm… and, no, you will not stop that immediately.” He laughed and his chest shook lightly, rolling me along with it.

“Go to sleep, Holls. I promise, I’ll be here when you wake up and for a very long time after that.”

“You better,” my words began to jumble together, “or I’ll castrate you myself.”

“But on the off chance I happen to need to pee right before you wake up…”

“Sucks for your boys.” He laughed once more, the sound wonderful and relaxing. “I love you, Riley.”

His lips pressed into my hair. “I love you, Holls, so much.”

The second I woke up, I was aware of the bed sheets wrapped snugly around my body, the only fabric covering me. I was aware of the warmth radiating next to me. I was even more aware of Riley being the source of that warmth. His arms were still firmly around me, his fingers continuing their pattern across my skin. Lifting my head slightly, I shifted to look at him. He was awake and watching me with a look of interest. “Good morning.” His voice was pure honey. The vocalization of perfection.

“Morning.” My own voice was still laced with groggy slur. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

He smiled, that innocent, boyish smile. “I love watching you sleep, listening to the way you breathe…” Just by the way he spoke, I knew he was being completely honest. His hand brushed over my body. “I could get used to this.”

“What? Waking up with a naked girl in your arms?”

His smile tilted to one side, that crooked grin I loved. “Waking up with you in my arms,” he corrected. “Having you in my arms, period. Holding you, kissing you just because I want to.”

“Do you want to?” He slid his hand up my spine, around my shoulder and to my neck. His fingers touched me as if I were fragile, pulling me up toward him. Warm breath cascaded over my lips until his mouth formed gently around mine, spreading goosebumps over every inch of my body. The kiss was slow and soft, completely without urgency.

As he pulled away, I felt a smile crawl on his lips and couldn’t help but smile myself. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He nodded, kissing the tip of my nose. “Yes.”

I rested my head back down against him, enjoying the feel of his skin. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the thin layer of sweat that covered both of our bodies and that bit of sand that had clung to my hair. “Hey, Riley.” He gave me a ‘hmm?’ in reply. “Mind if I shower? It feels like I brought some of the beach with me.”

“You know, I wasn’t going to say anything about all the sand you left in my bed, but now that you mention it…” He bumped me gently to show he was joking. “Go ahead.”

Crawling over him, I dragged the top layer of blankets with me, leaving a layer covering his waist. Tiptoeing around and over the random articles of abandoned clothing, I made it all the way to the doorway before turning back. “You coming?” I tried to keep my tone innocent, but let a hint of playfulness creep into it.

Once again, a sly smile danced to his lips. He stood and was by my side before I had time to blink. His hands caressed my bare shoulders and neck as he looked down at me, moving closer. “On one condition.” I cocked my eyebrow, telling him to go on. “You’ll agree to be my girlfriend when I ask.”

“Are you doubting that I will?”

“I just want to make sure.”

“Okay, I’ll say yes on one condition.” He cocked his own eyebrow in return. “You have to tell Jon.”

For a moment, he could only set his eyes deeply on my face, until that smile reclaimed his features. “Done.” Pulling me against him, he brought our lips together and danced us backward toward the shower.

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