7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Matt
R iley told me she didn’t want me to stop touching her, the words made it harder for me to remind myself that today was just a one-time thing. I switched to telling myself that if I was only getting one day with her I would make the most of it. I was already attached so there was no use in fighting it. Our hands stayed locked together as we walked around the festival, letting go only long enough to take a bathroom break.
My hand was sweaty in hers from the early June heat and from nerves. I kept sneaking glances at her fingers intertwined with mine to check if she was giving any sign of disgust from it.
After a while of walking around she asked for a break. We sat on a bench close to the entrance of this hodgepodge of a festival. She pulled my arm around her shoulders and leaned against me, her hand holding mine against her shoulder.
She grinned as she pointed to a group of kids fighting with foam swords. Her small purse trapped between us started to vibrate against my leg. I tried to focus on the words she was saying, her voice soft with a Georgia accent that became more prominent as the day went on. The vibrating stopped and then started again.
“Riley,” I said, giving her hand a long squeeze.
“Hmm?” She asked.
“I think your phone is ringing,” I tapped her purse with my free hand.
She pulled out her phone, holding it up in a way that I could easily see the screen from the way she leaned against me. She had two missed calls from someone named Emery and a text message. She opened the message and a photo of the two of us filled the screen. In it her face was tilted up to me, her body relaxed against mine as we spoke. We looked good together. If someone showed me that photo I would have guessed that those two people had been together for years.
I was so fucked.
I should ask her to send that to me.
“Shit,” she said under her breath as she pressed the call button on her phone. I pulled away so I could see her face, the corners of her mouth pulling down as she chewed her bottom lip. I could hear the phone ringing between us.
“You two look cozy,” someone said in a whispered voice. I leaned closer worried about what was happening.
“Please, please tell me you’re the only one here,” Riley said, panic filling her voice.
There was rustling that sounded like a hand covering the phone and I heard a muffled, “I’ll be right back.”
“Em, seriously.”
“We’re all here,” the voice on the phone finally said. “Jenna heard someone in town talking about this festival today. Apparently, they do fireworks every night and you know how much Aaron loves those.”
“We have to go,” Riley said, tilting her face to me.
I squeezed her hand and stood up, pulling her up with me. “What’s wrong? Is your family okay?”
“Ooh, he-”
“Not now, Emery,” Riley snapped. “My family is here,” she said, shifting her focus back to me. “We need to leave before they see us.” She shifted so the phone was pressed between our heads allowing me to hear.
“It’s not that big of a deal, Riley. I told everyone that you ran into a friend while we were in town and wanted to catch up. Just get a little less cozy and they won’t know the difference.”
I looked down at our fused hands. Even if we were to “get a little less cozy” I knew that they would figure it out. Based on the photo this Emery person had sent I would say it would be obvious to anyone that saw how we looked at each other what was going on.
“No, just get them as far back from the entrance as you can. We’re going to leave.” She shoved her phone back into her purse and sprinted toward the parking lot, pulling me behind her.
We were both wheezing when we made it to her car.
“My legs are still too sore from that hike for running,” I said leaning against the side of her car, holding my side with my free hand as I fought back a smile.
She burst out laughing. She had a sing-song laugh that was louder than I expected from her speaking voice. “I can’t believe I’m hiding from my family like this.”
“What was that you said about feeling like a teenager again?” I brought our still joined hands up to my mouth, planting a kiss on the back of hers. A blush crept over her chest and cheeks as I did, her eyes turning heavy. “Your laugh sounds like-”
“You better not be able to feed me some cheesy line about my laugh sounding like music or some shit like that,” She cut me off in a stern tone.
“Do you always interrupt people this much?” I asked with a laugh. I brushed my lips against the back of her hand again, the way her blush deepened sending a wave of joy through me. I dropped my eyes to her mouth where she bit her lip. I wondered if she would blush the same way if I kissed her.
“It’s one of my finer qualities,” she cleared her throat and smirked.
I pulled my eyes away from her mouth, glancing at my watch. It was eight o’clock already. “I think it’s time to feed you some dinner. It’s been a while since we had lunch.”
Her stomach growled on cue. “Now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry.”
“Where to? I believe based on our bet you choose the next destination.”
“Drive thru hamburgers and then I want to watch the sunset with you,” she answered without delay.
I pulled her into a hug, her soft body pressing into mine like we had done this a million times as I wrapped my free arm around her, my left one still clutching hers by our sides. She rested her face against my neck. “I like the way you think,” I whispered against the top of her head.
“Follow me this time,” she said. “I know the perfect spot.” Her free arm wrapped around me, pulling us closer. Neither of us wanted to let go. The time ticking away weighed on my shoulders. We were running out of time.