Chapter 20
TWENTY
FOOTSIE
Ryder
I was the last one to the restaurant, but the seat saved for me was next to Caroline, almost like it was meant to be.
The air conditioning felt amazing after being out in the heat for hours. But I was a college graduate. Finally .
When I sat down, there was already an array of appetizers on the table. I popped a piece of bread in my mouth and was happy to see that my parents and their partners were engaged in friendly conversation. There wasn’t much animosity between my parents—there hadn’t been even when they’d divorced several years ago, but it wasn’t always easy between them either. Which I expected.
Still, it had been a while since we’d all been together, and I was happy to see them getting along.
Caroline readjusted in her seat next to me as she reached for her wineglass.
“You get to sit next to me,” I whispered.
She tossed me a withering side-eye that did nothing more than make my cock harden. She liked to pretend that I annoyed her or that she couldn’t stand me, but I knew it was only a game .
“Or,” she said without looking at me. “You get to sit next to me. ”
Containing my smile was pointless. I let it slip across my face and took a cursory glance around the table to make sure everyone else was still occupied.
“You’re right. You are the prize, Caroline.”
She swallowed, and I was mesmerized just by her perfect profile when my dad started speaking, and I had to drag my eyes away.
The rest of lunch went well. The food was good, and the conversation carried on as we ate and drank. Although I couldn’t tell you one thing that was actually discussed beyond graduation. I was too preoccupied with the gorgeous blonde next to me. Watching all her reactions and movements was mesmerizing.
But being preoccupied with Caroline was nothing new to me. It had been that way since I could remember. Although it had gotten worse now that I knew what her pussy tasted like and how well she fit my cock in her mouth. How I’d managed to study, let alone pass my finals, when she was all I could think about, I didn’t know.
Since that afternoon at her house, we’d talked and texted almost every day. But I hadn’t seen her in person, and the first glimpse of her I got in that royal blue dress standing under the tree in the courtyard would be forever burned into my memory.
I wanted to kiss her so bad, that was my first thought. While my second had been that I couldn’t do that with both of my parents standing there.
Letting my intrusive thoughts win, I widened my legs until the outside of my calf brushed against Caroline’s. A quick glance was all the reaction she offered, not skipping a beat in her conversation with Jessica. I just wanted to touch her. Even if I couldn’t touch her the way I wanted to, I would take what I could get.
I ate my last bite of food and dropped my other hand beneat h the table. My fingers wrapped around the smooth, exposed skin of her thigh right above her knee. She jolted but hid her reaction by adjusting in her seat. We were close enough together, all of us squeezed around a table made for four people, that it was impossible for anyone else to tell where my hand had landed.
Another quick glance my direction, and I had to lick my lips to suppress my smile.
She didn’t try to move away, and I leaned back in my seat, letting my hand casually slip higher as I moved. The fabric of her blue dress caught on my hand and slid with me until it was tucked around her upper thigh. Her hand shot out and covered mine to stop my ascent.
A silent warning that I heeded. I didn’t want to stop, but I wasn’t dumb enough to push too far while my family was sitting around the table. Although I could feel the heat emanating from between her legs against my hand, and my cock heartily disagreed.
Ignoring my growing issue, my phone buzzed, and I glanced down to see a few new texts with photos we’d taken earlier. I saved them all and found the ones I’d had Theo take of me and Caroline in my camera roll. The first one looked forced, as did the second. But as I swiped through, Caroline’s smile relaxed, and she leaned closer into me.
My favorites were the ones where I’d asked her to kiss me. She’d decisively objected to my request, but she’d still looked up at me like she was imagining what my mouth felt like on hers.
All that confusion and desire was captured in the photo.
My phone buzzed again, and a new text flashed on the top of the screen.
Caroline: Remove your hand. Now.
Me: Why, pretty girl? Is it turning you on?
Barely holding back my smile, I looked over to find her hiding her phone beneath the table like we did in high school hoping the teacher wouldn’t catch us.
Caroline: I hate you.
Me: This photo doesn’t look like you hate me.
My response included one of our earlier pictures. Me looking down at her wondering how I’d found myself to be lucky enough to even be in her orbit and her looking at me with both frustration and craving. It was addictive and undeniable.
Caroline: You should delete those.
Me: Not a chance in hell. I will cherish them forever.
She read the message and crossed her legs. Except she crossed left over right and squeezed the tip of my fingers between her thighs. My breath caught in my throat, and I set my phone over my thickening cock, trying to hide the evidence. I caught a glimpse of Caroline’s small smile before my dad asked me a direct question.
Shaking my head, I glanced up at him and quickly apologized. “Sorry, I zoned out. What did you ask?”
He licked his lips and glanced at my mom like he was annoyed. “How are your interviews going? Do you have any offers yet?”
I cleared my throat and tugged my hand free as casually as I could from between Caroline’s legs. Picking up my glass, I took a sip and rested my elbows on the table.
“They’re going, but the job market is pretty rough right now.”
The table was silent like none of them really believed me. On my right, Theo nudged my knee under the table and gave me an incredulous look. Theo and Caroline were the only people who knew the truth—that the job market was rough, but I’d someho w managed to secure two offers. One locally and the other several states away.
“It might be rough, but Ryder’s done pretty well,” Theo stated. I shook my head and blew out a breath.
“Has he?” My dad asked, and my mom perked up, too. “Tell us.”
“If you want to,” my mom added with a soft smile.
“Sure,” I began, still unsure how they would react about the news. But if I did take the job, they’d find out eventually when I no longer lived in the same city. I just hadn’t planned to tell them until it was done. “One of them is local, an engineering firm with really great benefits. They’ve even offered to help fund a master’s degree if I choose to pursue it.”
There was a chorus of congratulations and remarks about how perfect it sounded. Staring down at the table, I held my breath as I prepared to continue.
“Yeah, it’s pretty perfect. And the second one is just as good, only they’re offering me a little more money and are willing to pay for me to relocate.”
When silence followed, I couldn’t help but look up. My dad’s brow was furrowed, and Jessica’s eyes were wide. Caroline was staring down at her plate, and Theo wore his usual unaffected expression although I knew by previous conversations, he wasn’t excited about the idea of me possibly leaving.
It was my mom’s expression that rocked me. She was putting on a brave, smiling face, but I could see the tears welling in her eyes. Fucking hell. Watching her try to hold it together was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to bring it up right then. I’d completely killed the mood.
“Nothing’s set in stone yet. I haven’t told either of them yes or no. They’ve been kind enough to give me…time to respond.”
“How long?” My dad asked.
“Two more days. Then they go with the next applicant.”
More silence, and I could feel it crawling across my skin. It was lo aded with unknowns and concern. It was uncomfortable, and I wanted to be anywhere but there.
Until I felt Caroline’s leg brush against mine. At first, I thought it was an accident, but when she pressed harder and didn’t move away, I realized it was intentional. It was a show of support.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” I added.
“But it’ll be the second, right? Of course, it has to be if it’s more money and a better opportunity.”
I was shaking my head before my dad even finished speaking. “The opportunity is about the same, and the money isn’t enough to make a huge difference. Besides, I have…reasons why staying here sounds better.”
My attempts at being non-specific only worked so well because both of my parents descended into arguments about how I shouldn’t not pursue an opportunity because of them. The issue was that, although I would miss them terribly, I knew they would be fine. I wasn’t worried about moving away and how it would affect them.
I loved them, and I would miss them, but it wasn’t my parents I couldn’t bear to leave behind.