Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
LET’S PLAY A LOVE GAME
Caroline
Tightening my coat around me, I questioned for the fifth time since I’d left my house what the fuck I was doing. But none of those questions made me consider turning around.
My knuckles collided with the green front door, and I glanced down the exposed apartment hallway. Luckily, it was empty of curious, prying eyes. I would have looked strange to anyone wearing a trench coat in the summer. Strange and stupid since it was so hot, but I’d do anything for the bit.
On the other side of the door, I heard movement, and I silently pleaded for him to hurry the hell up. I didn’t have to wait, though. A second later, the door swung open.
Neither of us said anything, and Ryder froze the moment he saw me. A half-eaten bowl of cereal in his right hand, the other was braced on the door to keep it from swinging shut. His tan torso was bare, and the only thing he wore was a pair of gray sweatpants that were slung low on his hips. His apartment behind him was mostly dark but for the little lamp in the corner and the TV that cast shadows over his skin.
“What—what are you doing here? ”
I tilted my head and took a deep breath. The nerves causing chaos in my stomach were new, and I wasn’t used to the feeling. I shouldn’t have been nervous.
“Currently, I’m standing at your front door where anyone could see me,” I said, which made Ryder jump into action.
He stepped aside and waved his bowl of cereal toward the room. “Umm…yeah, come in.”
Walking through the doorway, Ryder closed it behind me. He set his bowl on the counter and flipped on the light right above the small bar top. I tossed my bag by the door. The air conditioning was glorious on my warm skin.
“I’m so fucking happy to see you, but what are you doing here? And why are you wearing a coat?”
I spun around and appraised the rest of the room. It was almost what I expected of a twenty-three-year-old guy who just graduated. The walls were mostly bare, but there were photos placed around the room. The couch was one I recognized from Natalie’s house years ago, as were the pillows tossed in each corner.
Turning back around to face him, I tucked my hands in the pockets of my coat and glanced down at my white sneakers.
“Are you busy?” I asked, and he shook his head.
He motioned to his empty apartment. “Nope, I was watching reality TV and eating cereal. Are you going to answer my questions now?”
“I’m here to give you your graduation gift.”
His eyebrows shot to his hairline, and he crossed his arms over his chest, inadvertently flexing his biceps and showing off his defined forearms.
“A gift? For me?”
I nodded and walked toward him. He dropped his hands to his sides and straightened, readying himself for what I was about to do. I offered him my hand, and he didn’t hesitate to lace our fingers together. Ignoring the electricity that traveled from my fin gers up my arm at just the smallest touch, I led him over to the couch and pointed to the middle cushion.
“Sit,” I commanded. Like I expected, he plopped down without hesitation. I stepped around the coffee table as he braced his elbows on his knees and watched me. On the other side of the table, I toyed with my coat ties and slipped my fingers between the knot at my stomach.
“I had to get creative with your gift,” I said. “I wanted to get you something original. Something only I could get you and that you’d remember forever.”
He licked his lips as his eyes slowly raked over my coat. “I swear if you have on what I think you do under that coat…”
I smiled and undid the first knot then took my time with the second, maintaining eye contact with Ryder who looked like he was ready to leap off the couch. The ties fell to my sides and all that was left was a single black button.
As much as I was teasing Ryder, I was teasing myself, too.
I’d been contemplating his reaction, hyping myself up for the moment, since we were sitting at lunch after his graduation two days ago. Natalie and Mark both got him gifts, and even Theo had something for him while I was empty-handed. Ryder acted like he barely noticed, but I did. And it hadn’t been for lack of trying. I just didn’t know what to get when everything had recently changed.
What did I get my best friend’s son who I’d started hooking up with? A gift card? Socks?
Nothing felt right. Until I thought of this.
I popped open the button and let the coat fall open. Not wasting any time, it fell down my arms, and I tossed it away. Leaving nothing between Ryder’s hungry eyes and the outfit I wore underneath.
The red, white, and blue bikini Ryder couldn’t stop talking about, the same one I was wearing the first time I met him, was a little smaller than it was almost a decade ago, but I managed to get it on. Although I didn’t think Ryder minded that the triangles coveri ng my breasts were smaller and more of my ass would be on display. At least it would be once the light wash denim cutoffs came off.
“Holy… fuck ,” Ryder groaned, rubbing his hand over his mouth and sitting back in the couch. He stared up at the ceiling and said, “You’re gonna have to give me a minute because if I look at you right now, I’m going to come in my pants.”
Suppressing my laughter, I readjusted the swimsuit. “Okay, Trouble, take your time.”
“Ugh,” he moaned. “Don’t talk either.”
So, I stood silently and tried to refrain from crossing to him. Every time we were in the same vicinity, it was startling how hard it was to fight that pull. Like we crossed that godforsaken line, and my body had to remind me every single time we were together or when I heard his voice.
Staring at the very obvious growing erection behind his sweats wasn’t helping either.
“Okay,” he sighed and rubbed his palms against his thighs before leaning forward once again. “I think I’m okay.”
With one brow raised, I stood there as he slowly, finally looked at me.
“As good as you remember?”
He shook his head. “Better. So much better.” He stood from the couch and watched me as he stepped around the coffee table. I turned to face him, and he stopped right in front of me. When he raised his hands, I was surprised to see they were shaking.
His exposed chest quickly rose and fell as he pushed my white cotton shirt off my shoulders. The fabric fell down my arms and pooled at the ground below me. When he dragged his fingers down the back of each arm, I fought the urge to shiver.
“You’re perfect. This is the best gift ever,” he said quietly. He entangled our fingers, and I wanted to sigh. It had been too long since he’d touched me. “I don’t know where to start.”
Taking his left hand, I raised it to my neck and placed it agains t my collarbone. “Start wherever you want,” I said. “We have all night, so play out every fantasy you’ve ever had.”
He wrapped a palm around the side of my neck and used his thumb to tilt my head higher. “You know, my fantasies are never ending, but I’m sure we can get through a few tonight.” I nodded, and he ran his thumb over my lower lip. “And they include me being deep inside your perfect, little cunt until we’re both crying out and begging for more.”
My heart pounded double-time, and I suddenly found it harder to breathe. I’d known that was what the night would lead to, but that didn’t make it any easier. The two sides of my brain were in a never-ending war when it came to Ryder. One side—the logical side—telling me to grab my coat and run before we were well and truly fucked. While the other side—the one that held my heart and my cunt—said our fate was already decided with the first time I’d answered the phone on his birthday.
What was one more step in that fateful direction?
I wasn’t strong enough to deny either of us what we wanted anyway. So, I nodded. Decision made.
“Your gift, your fantasy,” I said. “Do your worst, Trouble.”
The smile that slipped across his lips was slow and devious. And made my already pounding heart feel like it was about to leap from my chest. His smile didn’t linger, though. It couldn’t when he was determined to kiss me.
The second our lips touched, I felt my entire body relax. If I’d been in my right mind, that reaction would have scared me. But I was too lost in every graze of his tongue and brush of his lips.
“Bedroom,” he whispered, but didn’t wait for me to go on my own. He gripped my hand in his and tugged me across the living room. Although he was leading me along, he looked back like he wanted to make sure I was really following. The smile playing on his lips was unencumbered and disarming.
He dropped my hand long enough to flip on a lamp in the corner of the room, and I saw his bedroom for the first time. I was happy to see that his mattress wasn’t on the floor, that there was a boxspring and a bedframe. And he even had a green comforter and matching pillows. Similar to the living room, it was a little bare but somehow homey. There were a few knick-knacks and framed photographs like they’d been specifically selected.
A careful finger slid across my shoulders as he stepped around me. His slow, deliberate steps were muffled by the carpet beneath his feet. The pile was a little thicker than the one I made him crawl across in my own bedroom. The image of his muscled back and arms working to propel him across the floor was one I’d replayed over and over again since it happened.
And as much as I wanted to sit on the edge of his bed and demand to see it again, I didn’t. I knew he would—he’d immediately drop to his knees and willingly crawl to me. Looking up at me through dark lashes and trying to contain the smile threatening to break free. But tonight was for him. I wanted it to be everything he wanted.
“Anything I want?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed. A slight nod of my head, and he reached beneath his waistband. “This may sound strange, but I just want you to…stand there.”
I shrugged and let my hands fall to my sides, standing up straighter and watching Ryder tug his sweatpants down just enough to let his cock spring free. At the sight of his swollen, rounded head, I inadvertently licked my lips at the memory of how heavy he felt against my tongue. I hadn’t realized I’d done it until I saw Ryder’s crooked smile.
But he always appeared cocky. It was nothing new, so I went back to staring at his fist wrapped around his engorged length. Swollen veins so close to the surface peeked out from between his fingers as he slowly slid his fist up and down. He, too, forgot about my outward display of desire at the mere sight of his cock. He was too busy raking his eyes up and down my body, devouring every inch and taking his time doing it.
“It’s not often I get to just look at you without distraction. Without worrying that someone else might catch me. Even last time, you took away my view with that damn blindfold,” he said through heavy breaths.
There was something decisively erotic about the idea that just the sight of me, in nothing more than cutoffs and a bikini was enough to get him so turned on. That all he wanted to do was look at me and take the image in. Commit every part of it to memory so he could likely replay it later. It was on the tip of my tongue to suggest he take a photo, but I knew well enough that would be a horrible idea.
So, I stood there and let him look for as long as he wanted while he jacked himself off to the sight of me. Each rise and fall of his chest grew quicker as did the pace of his hand. His jaw went slack and the tension in the room climbed higher.
I could see in the way his muscles tensed, and his eyelids began to flutter, that he was close. Just as quickly as the thought crossed my mind, Ryder jerked his hand away and stared down at himself like he was amazed what had almost happened.
Inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, it was several long seconds before he looked back up at me. Like he was nervous to touch his cock, he cautiously replaced his hand.
“I really want to know what you’re thinking as you stroke yourself. As you watch me,” I said.
He dragged his thumb over the head and through the pre-cum that was collecting every second. A stuttered breath was followed by a muffled groan, but he was able to collect himself, leaning most of his weight on his free hand propped behind him.
“I’m thinking a lot of things. None of which are coherent at the moment.”
“Try me,” I pushed.
He licked his lips and captured his lower one between his teeth as I slipped my fingers beneath the ties peeking out from above my cutoffs.
“I’m thinking about how fucking good you look and how much I want you to take off those shorts,” he admitted, and I unbutt oned them and slowly slid the zipper lower as he continued. “When I first saw you at that party, I hoped I’d get to see you dripping wet. I wanted to know if the white fabric was as see-through as I imagined.”
My short laugh met his smile, and I let the shorts fall down my legs. Similar to the little triangle top, the bottoms also seemed to shrink with time. The flimsy material did enough to cover between my thighs and less than half my ass. That was it, and I was likely never going to wear it outside of that room again, but I was glad I’d kept it all those years just to see his reaction.
“I haven’t worn this in a while, so I can’t tell you if it is. But I can go jump in the shower really quick, if you want to know.”
He shook his head. “I have another idea,” he said and stood, kicking his sweatpants off. “Another, more pleasurable way to get you wet.”
In two quick strides, he ate up the space between us. His large hands gripped my waist, and he ducked his head. Licking over the curve of my breast, he kissed the skin that ran along the edge of my suit. I tossed my arms over his shoulders and ran my hand through his thick, unruly hair at the back of his head.
“Fuck,” I muttered quietly when he sucked one of my nipples through the fabric. Pleasure rippled through me in increasing waves with every flick of his tongue and bite of his teeth. He switched to my other breast and shifted until he’d wrapped one arm around my back, holding me impossibly close while the other hand blazed a path down my stomach.
His movements were intent and directed. He wasn’t going to tease me or draw anything out longer than necessary. And truthfully, I loved his urgency.
Dexterous fingers slipped over my bathing suit bottoms and brushed against my slit. Widening my legs, Ryder’s forehead dropped to mine, his panted breaths fanning over my cheek.
“You’re already so wet, pretty girl. Let me play with your pussy just a little bit more, and I bet I’ll be able to see the outline and pink of your cunt through the fabric.”
I tilted my head and captured his lips in a heated, frenzied kiss. There was too much fabric for his touch to be truly satisfying, but it felt so good to be touched by him. I could still feel the heat of his fingers as he found my clit and began rubbing it in tight, tiny circles. The brush of his tongue against mine, both of us mercilessly fighting for the upper hand, only amplified every sensation.
Ryder pulled back. “Get on the bed,” he ordered with a dominance in his voice I hadn’t heard before. I slipped from his hold and crossed to the bed, climbing onto the mattress and turning on my knees in the center.
He shook his head and raised one finger, spinning it in front of him. “Turn around. On your hands and knees.”
Rolling my eyes, I spun around and dropped to my elbows, letting my legs spread a little wider, and arched my back. The measly fabric covering my ass pulled to the center, exposing even more of each cheek.
I felt the bed dip, and I peeked down my body to see Ryder behind me. He grasped his cock and massaged up and down his shaft effectively spreading the pre-cum beading at the tip and using it to lubricate each pass.
But so much was leaking from the swollen head, more dripped onto the bed below him and between my legs.
“God, you’re making such a mess,” I murmured, propping up on my hands to peer over my shoulder. “Is all that pre-cum for me?”
He hummed low in his throat and dropped onto his haunches. One firm lick of his tongue against my pussy, and I fell back to the bed.
“All for you, pretty girl. It’s all for you.”