21. Ryan
The moment I make it out of the path and onto the beach, I see her stomping in my direction. She doesn’t smile or greet me the way she usually does. In fact, she almost looks pissed.
What the hell did I do?
Without stopping—like a normal person would, in one fluid movement she marches right into my personal space, lifts up on her toes, and reaches for my face. Her eyes are heated and her voice coarse as she demands, “Kiss me.”
Yeah, I don’t need to be told twice.
Much to my dismay, we’ve been sneaking around her sisters all week. She’d been afraid of her sisters getting the wrong impression.
Apparently, she no longer has any fucks to give.
I’m not sure what’s changed, but you won’t hear any complaints from me.
Her tongue sweeps against my lips and I part them to invite her in. Her kiss is greedy and filled with need. It’s sexy as hell to see this dominant side of her. I love a woman who takes exactly what she needs.
Hell… I love this woman… period.
Whoa… where did that thought come from?
She may have started this kiss, but the moment my body realizes what my brain just revealed, I quickly take control—and I don’t hold back.
I kiss her like a man in love—because I love this woman.
Lifting her off the ground, I stand to my full height. With her in my arms, I feel as if I can accomplish anything. I no longer want to sit back and wait for life to happen. I want it to begin fight fuckin’ now—and I don’t care who’s around to see.
When the beach fills with cat calls and a loud, “Get a room,” I realize maybe I do care—and this isn’t the best place to have my sudden epiphany about Lanie.
Slowly I let her body slide against mine as I set her back on the sand while the crowd goes wild with hoots, hollers, applause, and even some whistles.
Lanie’s face is tomato red and I’m fairly certain my cheeks are, too, if the burning I feel is any indication.
Running a hand over her mouth, she impishly shrugs. “Sorry. Got carried away.”
“That was….” I peer at the crowd loosely formed around us, “one of the fucking hottest kisses I’ve ever experienced. Don’t you dare apologize,” comes out fierce and demanding.
“In fact, if you ever feel the need to do it again, I’m the only one you’d better be kissing like that. M’kay?”
Her lips quirk as her tongue runs slowly along her teeth .
“I’ve got an idea.” She purses her lips and I can see her wheels turning.
“Does it involve more kisses like that?”
“Yeah, but first. Let’s go officially introduce you to my sister, Lizzy. Then what do you say we get out of here and finish what we started?”
Leaning in so only she can hear I whisper, “I’ve stocked up on condoms.”
Before Lanie can respond, a girl I recognize from pictures around the house approaches.
“So… you must be Ryan…” Lizzy holds out a hand to shake. “This one…” she points to her sister, “won’t tell me a thing about you, but that ovary popping kiss she just laid on you spoke volumes. Hell, I think I could get pregnant from just watching the two of you from afar.”
“That’s not how it works.” Lanie laughs at her sister.
“It will for you if you’re not careful.”
Damn, her sister’s a spitfire. I like it.
“Well, on that note…I guess you’re officially no longer a baby, so I don’t need to shield you anymore.” Lanie tugs at my arm. “We’re gonna go be very careful —and prove your theory wrong.”
Did she really just tell her sister and anyone who is listening we’re leaving to have sex?
The next thing I know, we’re walking down the path back to her house.
Once we’re out of sight from everyone, she stops and doubles over with laughter. “That little shit.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My sister’s as manipulative as they come. She knew I had feelings for you, but I wouldn’t admit it. So, she laid down a summer dare—and damn… she got me good.”
“Summer dare?” I ask, completely confused.
“Extremely long story short, I either have to tell the truth or take the dare… it’s how I’ve always gotten my sisters to spill the beans when I wanted to learn something about them… but damn, the student has become the teacher.”
“And this dare was…” I draw out, hoping she’ll fill in the dots to her cryptic thoughts.
Eventually, she admits, “To kiss the next guy who walked up to the party.” Then she tilts her head to the side and asks, “Wait… how did you know I was here?”
“Uh, your sister Raven told me.”
“Oh, that brat, I’d bet anything they were both in on it.”
“Wait… was that all done on a dare?” I ask, feeling very defensive at the moment.
Pointing to the beach, she laughs again. “That was exactly how it was supposed to be. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you this week. Now we don’t have to sneak around because apparently, I wasn’t fooling anyone.”
Feeling a little on edge, I ask, “Am I just a pawn in this game of yours?”
“Oh, god, no.” She stops and looks me dead in the eye. “I was. I really like you, Ryan. It just took a push from her to admit it.”
Relief washes through me and she notices .
“Shit. I really fucked this up, didn’t I?”
Fuck. She’ll never understand my reaction unless I start from the beginning.
Taking her hand, I lead her on a path parallel between the house and the beach, away from anyone we know. “Let’s go for a walk and I’ll explain.”
We walk in silence until we can no longer hear any of the partygoers. When we get to a large log, I sit down and pat the spot next to me, hoping she’ll do the same.
She worries her lip as she massages her hands. Wanting to put her out of her misery, I take her hand and link my fingers through hers and I lay out my truth.
“First. You haven’t fucked anything up, or at least not as far as I’m concerned. But there’re some things that are non-negotiable with me, and I need you to be aware of them, so we can hold each other accountable.”
“Okay,” she draws out and waits, slightly calmer than before for me to continue.
“You see, I don’t have a lot of experience with dating.
I was that quiet, shy guy who was always the friend, but never the boyfriend.
If I crushed on someone, I did it from afar.
I was the friend they could count on, and I didn’t want to add any pressure to them because they were going through a lot and the timing was never right. ”
“Okay….” she draws out again, but I can see questions turning in her head.
“But over this last year, I’ve decided I’m no longer gonna be that guy on the sidelines. If I like someone, I’m gonna tell them. If they feel the same, great. If they don’t, then I’ll move on.”
“I guess…” She starts staring at the sunset, then turns to face me. “I don’t understand what this has to do with us?”
“Freshman year, I met this girl…”
“So this is really about someone specific.” Christ, she’s already drawing her own conclusions, so I’d better just spit it out.
“Yeah. I guess it is…”
“Did she hurt you?”
“Not in the way you think… she was actually innocent in it all, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t hurt in the process.
“You see, I met this girl freshman year. She was going through a rough time, so I started out being just a friend she could count on. But as the years went on, she essentially became the girl I compared all others to. She’d been through a lot and wasn’t ready to date, so I just sat back and waited. ”
“What changed?”
Shrugging, I rip the Band-Aid off, “She met someone who got her attention and I watched her fall deliriously happy in love.”
“Wow, that had to hurt.”
Leave it to Lanie to empathize with me.
“Yeah. It wasn’t the easiest thing—that’s for sure.”
“The point I’m trying to make is that if you have feelings for me—tell me.
Don’t make me wait and wonder. I’m not making the mistake of sitting on the sidelines ever again.
I like you. I wanna be with you. I don’t want you to have to be tricked into telling me how you feel.
Please shoot from the hip and give it to me straight. That’s all I ask.”
“I do like you, Ryan. I’m just used to being the oldest sister—who’s kept her business to herself when it comes to guys.
You’ll soon find out when you meet my dad, he’s a straight shooter, too, as you say.
If you come sniffing around and you’re not sure about staying—he’s been known to run guys off.
It’s been engrained since I was old enough to know better, to keep my private life private until I knew they were in it for the long haul. ”
“I get it,” I offer when she finally takes a breath.
Then another thought hits me.
“Just how many guys were in it for the long haul?”
“That’s what you pick out of that ramble?”
“Well, are we talking a handful or dozens?”
Her eyes bug out as she laughs. “Dozens? Yeah—No. I’d say three made the cut. Two were in high school—so those don’t count—we were young and innocent. Only one since college.”
“And were there many that didn’t make the cut with your dad?”
Blowing out a long breath, she shrugs. “I’m not overtly promiscuous—but as you well know, I’m not a virgin either. But to answer your question there’s a few that Dad doesn’t know about.”
Turning the table, she asks, “Where do you fall? You said you had a crush on this girl for years, so were you holding out for her? Or were you just keeping her as a place holder on your heart while you fooled around with other women? ”
Okay. She’s definitely shooting straight—but I asked for this.
“For the longest time, she was it for me. Sure, I dated others and some led to sex and I, too, am not a virgin, but I wasn’t a man whore or anything.
“So where does all this leave us?”
“Well, I like you. You like me. I’m… not ready for a family.” She shivers. “Sorry, that brought flashbacks of Barney, but I am open to the possibility, and if what you say is true, I’d like that possibility to be with you to see where things go.”
Chuckling at where her brilliant mind went, I agree with her. “I’d like that, too.”
“And… there’s something I’d like you to do tonight before you go home.”
“Anything…” I say without hesitation.
“I think it’s time for you to meet my family—as my boyfriend.”
As I process the meaning behind her words, I grin. “I most certainly think that can be arranged—on one condition…”
“What’s that?”
“You come home with me to meet mine.”