34. Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Matt
December
I turned the volume on the Bluetooth speaker playing Christmas music down as I shuffled things around on my kitchen counter. A soft knock on my door caused me to jump, my arm catching on a cold mug of coffee. So that’s where I left that this morning. The mug tipped forward, spilling down the front of my sweater and pants. I muttered a few swears under my breath and tugged off the sweater, rushing to toss it in the load of laundry I just started in the washer. I had my pants pushed halfway down my legs when I heard another knock.
“Matt?” Riley’s cautious voice asked. I kicked off my pants and tossed them in the washer.
I started toward the door. Why was Riley here? I had to chaperone the dance at Grassy tonight. Did I forget to tell her that? The front door eased open, freezing me in place. I look down at myself and remember that I was in only boxer briefs and socks. I didn’t care if she saw me, I wanted her to want to see me naked, but her walking in like this hardly seemed like the right time.
She stammered a few words I couldn’t make out as her eyes found me standing there in the middle of my apartment too frozen to move. Her cheeks turned the same shade of red as her dress and bouquet of roses in her hand, but she didn’t look away. Her eyes dropped briefly, sliding over me in a way that made me ache for her to touch me, and then snapped back to meet mine. It felt like a win. A month ago her reaction would have been different. A month ago I would have been terrified this would be the thing that would scare her off.
I took in the way the velvet material hugged her shoulders and chest before flaring out into a softly pleated skirt that stopped at her ankles. “Hi,” I croaked out with a smile. I fought the urge to rush for her, to risk pushing things between us and greet her with a kiss as I pressed her against the door. To feel her hands roam over my skin. I forced my legs to carry me backwards toward my bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”
In my room I rushed to find a change of clothes, slowing when the urge to find a sweater that matched her dress crossed my mind. I found her sitting rigidly on the couch when I came out, the roses laid carefully across her lap.
“Hi,” I said again, stopping to stand in front of her. I reached forward, running my forefinger under her chin until she looked up at me. My lips were on hers before she could respond. Her hand gripped my sweater pulling me forward until I had to throw an arm out to catch myself on the back of the couch to keep from falling on top of her. I broke us apart. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you might need a date for the dance tonight.” She lifted the bouquet between us with a shy smile. “Rupert Matthew Fletcher Junior, would you do me the honor of letting me be your date to the Christmas dance?”
She was so beautiful, sitting here in that dress asking me on a date like I wasn’t already completely gone for her. I took the flowers from her, pressing a bruising kiss against her mouth to stop myself from telling her how much I loved her. “It would be my honor,” I answered. I looked down at the flowers in my hand. “Wait, what do I do with these? I don’t think anyone has ever given me flowers before.”
Riley laughed as she stood, her hands gently taking back the bouquet.
“I don’t have any flowers for you,” I blurted. I ran a hand through my hair undoing all the effort I had put into coaxing it to lay flat a few minutes before her arrival.
“I figured it was time for me to return the gesture.” She inched past me until she was no longer caught between the couch and me, spinning toward the kitchen in a motion that sent the skirt of her dress twirling around her legs. She was so beautiful. I caught her hand, pulling her to spin back into me, and watched the dress twirl again. I freed the roses from her hands, tossing them onto the coffee table, and looped her arms around my neck. She pressed against me, making me wish that I hadn’t put on clothes. I need her skin against mine. I slid my fingers through the back of her hair and tugged gently until she looked up at me.
Every kiss we’ve exchanged has been cautious, reserved. It’s taken all my self-control to hold back each time, to keep things gentle and unhurried between us. Right then all I could think about was how much I needed her. She was here and invited herself to a work function with me. People would see us together. She doesn’t work at the school, there was no excuse for her to be there.
Before now we’ve kept every interaction at work strictly professional. No one would ever know that we knew each other outside of the few times our paths needed to cross at school.
Tonight, she would be there with me. Holy shit, I felt like I had won the lottery. My Riley on my arm for everyone to see.
My mouth was rough against hers as I lost myself in the scents of her, the feel of her. Her perfume was something with vanilla and cinnamon today. It paired well with the soft scents of her shampoo and body wash. I pulled her tighter against me. Her arms around my neck tightened tugging us even closer.
I couldn’t get close enough. Did we have to go to this dance? Was I too old to fake being sick to get out of school? I needed this dress off her.
I broke us apart, bringing my forehead to rest against hers. “You really want to go with me tonight? It’s probably going to suck.” We were going to be stuck in a stuffy school gym surrounded by preteens, other teachers, and PTA members.
Riley nodded, knocking our heads together.
I pulled back enough to look into her eyes. “You’re okay with my coworkers seeing you and knowing that we’re…whatever we are?”
“Yeah, I think I am.”
I fought the smile threatening to spread across my face. “What are we telling them?” I cringed at the edge of hope in my voice. This was it. It was happening.
“That we’re figuring it out,” she answered.
My stomach dropped and my heart clenched. We were right there. So fucking close, yet still so far away.
Progress. It was progress. A lot of progress happened in the past few minutes. I smiled brightly at her. “Okay.” I patted my pockets with both hands. “Just need to find my wallet and keys.” Right, that’s what I had been working on before I knocked over the mug.
Riley rushed over to the door, swinging it open and motioning to the keys dangling from the doorknob. That was the second time this week.
***
The principal directed me to a laptop connected to the sound equipment as my assignment for the dance. My only job was to make sure that the playlist of approved songs continued to play for the duration of the dance and that no one tried to change the music. It was a boring assignment, but it gave me plenty of time off in a corner with Riley next to me. Plenty of time to look at her. The kids mostly stood in groups around the gym with only a handful dancing at a time. It brought back a lot of traumatic memories of being that age. Mostly of being terrified to ask a girl to dance and getting turned down the one time I managed to psych myself up.
A few of the students recognized Riley from her years spent as a sub. Watching her with them filled me with pride. She was the teacher I wanted to be, the teacher that Mr. B was. A few asked why she was there. Her favorite response was telling them all that Mr. Fletcher couldn’t be trusted with the music choices so she had to help me. I rolled my eyes dramatically each time.
“You know I was just starting to get past the phase where they make fun of me,” I said halfway through the night. Riley stood behind my chair and leaned forward to rest her chin on my shoulder.
“I’m trying to make them think you’re so cool you would pick better music than what we’re allowed to play.”
I scoffed. “The bad thing is I’m so uncool that this is the music I would have picked.”
She snorted. “Gah, you’re such a nerd.”
I pushed my glasses up on my nose and tilted my head back, so my lips brushed against the shell of her ear. “Last I heard you were into the hot nerds,” I whispered. I thought about the way she looked at me standing in the middle of my apartment in only my underwear earlier this evening, the way she sometimes stared at my hands as she brushed her tongue over her bottom lip. I could feel the heat radiating off her body as she reacted to my words.
She shifted her position to whisper in my ear, “I think I’m just into hot, nerdy Matt.”
If we were anywhere else, I would pull her down onto my lap right now. Forget all the rules. I needed to touch her. Have her. Feel her. Fuck waiting on her to decide what this was. I needed her. I cleared my throat, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees so my arms covered my lap. I felt a blush climbing my neck and avoided looking back at Riley to check her reaction. Across the gym someone waved at Riley. Her hand dropped to my shoulder, and I looked up to see her give me a quick wink before she walked away.
I think she was trying to kill me.
I watched from my corner as she caught up with the group of teachers around her.
“Mr. Fletcher, is that your girlfriend?” Four of my seventh grade students crowded around the laptop blocking Riley from my line of sight. The one that spoke was one of my more difficult students. He always had a comeback ready in class, always acted like he needed everyone to know he was cool. He reminded me a lot of Oliver at that age. My brain itched with the need to shoo them away so I could see her again.
“Almost,” I answered. The sound of my voice was pitiful. I was gone for this woman and couldn’t hide it.
“Are you going to dance with her?”
I motioned to the set up around me. “Can’t, I have a job to do. Why don’t you guys go ask some girls to dance?”
The kid crossed his arms across his chest. “They all just want to dance with their friends,” the boy next to him said, looking down at his feet.
“We’re nervous,” one of the others whispered at the same time.
I remembered all the times this kid had made fun of me in class for being a nerd. “Come on, if someone like me can talk to a girl then you guys should have no problem.”
“Prove it.”
I waved a nearby chaperone over and asked him to watch the station for a few minutes. Sweat prickled my palms as I walked up behind Riley. I swiped them on my slacks, my ears perking up as I heard their conversation. I slowed my pace as they asked her what was going on between the two of us.
“Riley, come on, that is not the look of a man still figuring things out,” one of them said. “The man really does wear his heart on his sleeve,” another added. My whole body tingled. I knew I wore my heart on my sleeve, always had. My chest felt tight at the thought of everyone seeing how head over heels I was for Riley while she was still caught in limbo figuring things out.
Riley jolted and then relaxed back against me as I rested my hands on her shoulders. “Hi ladies, sorry to interrupt. I was hoping I could steal Riley for a dance.” Riley’s ears turned pink as they all wiggled their eyebrows at each other.
“I’ve got a break for a few minutes. Would you make me the happiest man here and dance with me?” I whispered in her ear. She nodded softly, one hand coming up to cradle mine. I twined our fingers together, pulling her away.
As we swayed in the middle of the gym with an agonizing amount of space between us, I gestured to the group of my students. “Those boys told me they were too nervous to ask the girls to dance. I told them if I could get you to dance with me, they should take the chance.”
Her lips lifted in a teasing smile. “So, you’re using me to teach some preteens how to talk to girls?”
While, yes, that was what was happening, it wasn’t it at all. I could have put up more of a fight with the boys, made them pressure me a little more. The truth was I had been going crazy all night needing her in my arms. I couldn’t stop thinking about how that dress would look twirling around her legs while she danced. How it would look pushed up to her waist. “No, I just wanted an excuse to dance with you.”
***
Riley insisted on coming up to my apartment when I tried to walk her to her car after we got back. Somehow we ended up here, me on the couch while she stood in front of me twisting the fabric of her dress in her hands. She dipped her head and her hair fell across her face. "Can I tell you a secret?" she asked.
"Always, sweetheart." I wanted all her secrets. I wanted to gather any she would give me and tuck them away somewhere safe for her.
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about earlier all night."
I covered her hands with mine. "What about earlier?" I tugged her hands slightly to pull her closer to me.
She didn't just step closer. Instead she surprised me by lifting her skirt and straddling my lap. Her dress spread out around us on the couch still covering everything I wanted to see. I fought the urge to slide my hands under the puddle of fabric, digging my fingers into the fabric at her waist to hold my hands still. Riley dipped her face closer to mine. "You were naked when I got here. I can't stop thinking about what I wanted to do when I saw you."
Her hands bracketed my face bringing me closer to her. I couldn't help the hum of approval that escaped me when our mouths met. My fingertips dug tighter into the velvet of her dress. I let her control the pace of our kiss, opened up to her when her tongue coaxed my lips to let her in. The smell of her surrounded me. I think this perfume was my new favorite of hers.
Riley's hips rocked against me and my hands couldn't help guiding her. "Did you like what you saw?" I mumbled against her mouth. Her underwear was soaked enough that I could feel the dampness through my pants. She must have really liked what she saw. I couldn't believe she was this wet just from thinking about seeing me for a few seconds.
She nodded making her curls bounce around her face. I peeled one hand from her waist to brush her hair back. My fingers tangled in the strands keeping her close. She rocked one more time and I gritted my teeth to hold back the noises I wanted to make. I took in the sight of her above me flushed with her eyes clenched shut. I liked what I saw too.
This was it. This was the moment when things would change between us.
Best night of my life.
I met the next roll of her hips with a thrust of my own. Her breath came in hot pants against my mouth and soft noises tumbled out of her. My grip in her hair tightened as I took over. I tugged her bottom lip between my teeth. My mouth turned hungry against her, our bodies taking over as we moved against each other. "Can you come like this, sweetheart? Are you going to make yourself come grinding on my lap?" My questions came out as pleas. I should have stopped myself, kept my thoughts in my head. But I couldn't think about how they might scare her away when she felt this good against me. "Do you want me to touch you?"
Jesus Christ, I hoped she said yes. The thought of her riding my hand, of those soft noises she made growing louder almost made me come in my pants. Riley's hands dropped to my shoulders and she pushed herself away breaking the spell. "The rules…we should stop," she said out of breath.
My throat caught as I swallowed. Right, the rules. The one big fucking rule. I was such a dumbass for creating that one. There were other ways we could have established boundaries. "Do you want to stop?" I asked.
She shook her head and then nodded. "This feels so good," she explained rocking against me for emphasis. "But we should slow down."
I wanted to ask more questions, figure out what exactly made her want to stop. But I didn't want her to feel bad, to have to explain herself to me. I've been telling her this whole time I would respect her decisions without pressuring her. I smoothed her hair down while I studied her face. "Yeah, okay, we should slow down."
She adjust her position against me, raising up to put space between us while she still straddled my lap. I whimpered at the loss of contact. "It'll be worth the wait?" I didn't know if she was trying to reassure me or herself. The words came out like a question and a statement at once. Her heavy lidded eyes stared down at me.
"Of course, sweetheart, with you everything is worth the wait."