12. Izzy
IZZY
Ryker points at the tree. “Is this the one you want?"
I put my finger to my chin, tilt my head, and look the tree up and down. “Do you think it's too big?"
He comes to stand next to me. “Baby, I think when you first looked at this tree, your whole face lit up. It's perfect."
I nod my head in agreement. “Yep, this is the one. I want it."
I'm about to get my wallet out but Ryker is already handing over his credit card to the man working the tree lot.
“Ryker,” I admonish.
He waves me off. "Today is my treat."
"Mom," Brock says as he walks up to Ryker and me. I'm about to ask him what he thinks about the tree when I notice the teenage girl next to him. “Casey, hey there, how you doing?"
The girl is all smiles. “I'm doing good, Mrs. Curtis." She points at my sweater. "I love your sweaters." She looks up at Brock, and her smile gets even bigger.
Brock points toward the snack bar. “Mom, can I go to the snack bar with Casey? I was going to get us some hot chocolates."
Shocked, it takes me a minute to recover. “Uh, yeah, sure. Let me get some money."
Brock holds his hand up. “I've got money, Mom." He and Casey get a few steps away when he stops and looks at Ryker and me. "You guys want anything?"
I shake my head side to side, and they're off again. Instantly, Ryker holds his arms open. I step into them, and he leans down to envelop me. “You okay, honey?"
I sniff. “Yeah, I mean, I'm fine, but when did he get old enough to date?"
Ryker laughs. “Honey, he's almost sixteen. Do you remember what we were doing around that age?"
I groan. “Ugh, I don't want to think about that. Plus, we were different. We loved each other."
He tenses, and I raise my head from his chest to look at him. “What's wrong?"
He brushes the hair off my face. "So you did love me?"
I put my hands at his waist. “You know I loved you."
He shrugs. “I thought you did, but then you broke up with me."
"There's things you don't know—" I start to tell him, but the man walks up and hands Ryker his credit card. “Want me to load it up for you?"
Ryker, tense now, walks over to the tree and easily picks it up. "I got it. Thank you." He shakes the man's hand and then starts walking to his SUV. He single-handedly loads the tree on top. I stand back and watch him get ratchet straps out of the back and tie down the tree.
As soon as he's done, I walk up to him. "Ryker... We should talk." He searches my face and then nods. "Yeah, we should talk. But today we're going to enjoy. We can talk later."
I grab his hand and am about to ask him to kiss me when Brock walks up, all smiles.
I look around for Casey. “Where's Casey?"
He blushes. “She left with her family... but she gave me her number."
I put my hands to my mouth. “Oh, Brock."
He rolls his eyes. “Don't make it weird, Mom."
I suck in a breath. Right. I gotta be cool. “Sorry."
As we get into the SUV, Brock and Ryker talk the whole way home. We're unloading the tree when Brock's phone rings.
He looks at it. “It’s Dad."
"Go ahead and answer it. We got this."
He walks over to the porch to talk, and Ryker picks the tree up. I run up to the house and unlock the door. "Ryker, I can help you carry it."
He just keeps walking, tree on his shoulder. It's like I have my very own lumberjack.
We are getting the tree set up when Brock comes in.
"Mom?"
"Down here," I call from under the tree. I was setting the base for it to stand on.
“Dad wants me to come to his apartment."
I stand up. “Sure, we can do the tree trimming and the movie tomorrow night.”
He looks at me, unsure. “But we were going to decorate the tree and watch Christmas Vacation ."
I keep the smile on my face. I know Brock wants to see his dad. It's been weeks, and he's missed all his games. “It's fine. We can do it tomorrow night."
Brock looks over at Ryker. “Is tomorrow night okay with you?"
Ryker looks surprised to be included but nods his head. “Yeah, tomorrow is fine with me."
Brock looks back at me. "Mom, are you sure?"
I laugh. "Honey, I'm sure. I'll be fine." I look over at Ryker. “We can grab dinner or watch a movie."
Ryker's eyes darken, letting me know exactly what he wants to do later. But he sounds all innocent when he talks to Brock. “Don't worry about your Mom. I'm going to feed her dinner and try to convince her why we should be together."
"Ryker!" I say.
Brock laughs. He's running to his room, hollering over his shoulder, "Okay, I'm going to pack a bag."
It's not thirty minutes later and Brock is running out the door to meet his dad. I stay inside, not wanting to get Allen riled up.
"You okay?" Ryker asks.
I nod. “Yeah, I'm okay."
He grabs my hand and pulls me over to the couch. He sits down and then pulls me to his lap. I laugh and lean into him.
He rubs my back. “What do you think? You want the Peddler for dinner?"
I open my mouth and then close it, but Ryker is not having it. "What is it? Would you rather have something else? I can eat anything."
I bite my lower lip and look into his eyes. I'm not sure how to do this, but what I want is to be with Ryker. I don't know what he's going to think, but if everything he's said is true, then he should be good with it.
"Uh, I think I want to order in... later." His eyebrows lift, and his hand stops caressing my back.
“Okay." He's searching my eyes, and I know I can't do this looking at him, so I lean my head against his chest and start to ramble.
“Gah, this is embarrassing, but life as a single mom—well, there's never alone time, and well, I've learned you gotta take full advantage when you have it. I usually open a bottle of wine, take a bubble bath, and read a book, but..." I let my voice trail off.
Ryker shifts underneath of me and clears his throat. “Uh, so you want to read a book? Is that what you're saying?"
Oh my gosh, I'm messing this up. I lift my head and look into his eyes. "No, I'm not saying that."
He slowly breathes in. "What are you saying?"
I lick my lips. "I'm saying that I want you, Ry... I mean if you want me."
His body shudders around me. "If I want you? Baby, I never stopped wanting you."
I put my hand to his cheek. "And I don't want to wait."
I don't know which of us leans in first, but as soon as our lips touch, my body comes alive.
The kiss is everything, but I want more. I pull away, panting.
I stand up, and with butterflies in my stomach, and I start to undress. He watches my every move.
I kick off my shoes and pull off my socks. Then I grab the button of my jeans, unsnap them, and then slip them down my legs.
I remind myself that this is the same man I lost my virginity to. He's the same man that cherished me and made me feel like I was the most loved woman in the world.
I reach for the hem of my Christmas sweater and pull it over my head. Standing in front of him in only my bra and underwear, I let my hands hang to my sides and wait.
He pulls me by the hips onto his lap. I straddle him, sinking down so I can feel the bulge of his manhood pressed to my core.
His fingers dig into my hips. “Fuck, you're beautiful."
I pull at his Christmas sweater. “And you have too many clothes on."
He sits up, pulls the sweater off, and then leans back. His chest is carved with muscles, and I caress my hands over his bare skin. I dip down to his abdomen, and he grabs my hands. “I need you, Izzy."
"I'm yours," I tell him.
He scoots to the end of the couch and then stands up with my legs around his waist.
"Ryker." I laugh.
"Bedroom?" he grunts.
I cringe." Upstairs. But I can walk."
He turns to the stairs, carries me up them, and once he's at the top, I gesture toward my bedroom door. “There. That's mine."
He walks into my bedroom and stops. His expression changes when he looks at the bed, and I know exactly what he's thinking. "I bought a new bed after... ya know."
He lets me slide down his body and then cups my face in his hands. "From this moment... it's just me and you, Izz."
I blink up at him. “I like that."
My hands go to his waist, and I unbutton his jeans. I push the denim down his hips, and he steps out of them. The bulge in his shorts is impressive, and I cup him in his briefs.
His hips rock toward me, and his groan is loud in the room. He undoes my bra, slips his fingers into the waistband of my panties, and then pulls them down my hips.
He slides a finger through my wet folds. My head falls back, and I widen my stance. "Oh, Ry," I moan.
He picks me up, carries me to the bed, and gently lays me down.
He kneads my breast and sucks a nipple into his mouth.
My back arches off the bed, and I wrap a hand around the base of his neck, holding him to me.
He kisses down my stomach, and I lean up. “Ry... you don't have to do this.”
He smiles. “Oh, I want to do this."
He kisses my mound, holds me open, and his tongue swipes along my slit. He sucks my clit into his mouth, rolls it with his tongue, and pleasure like I've never felt before consumes me.
The orgasm hits me hot and hard, and I buck my hips. Ryker is relentless. Over and over, he brings me to the edge, and it's like flying off a cliff. My whole body is pulled tight as the orgasm takes over.