Chapter 6 River
River
Iwatched Asher speed out of our driveway and down the street before heading into the kitchen.
He had mumbled something about still being a teacher and needing to do some stuff at school.
I couldn’t imagine heading back to school right now.
Even though it was only closed for two days, Mystic Riegan would do what it always did: it would rally.
We would be a little awkward going back to the normal everyday college student things, but somehow everyone would eventually end up acting like it was old news.
The university did the same thing with Riley’s dad.
It kind of made sense now that Chancellor Fowler had been revealed to be her actual dad.
He had more pull than most and never had to really show his face.
If I was being honest, I didn’t even know our school even had a fucking chancellor until my junior year.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, shuffling over to the coffee maker.
I leaned against the granite counter while I listened to the machine rumble and pulled out my phone.
I’d woken up to a text from Riley’s mom, thanking me for finding her daughter and letting me know she was at Corrin’s.
I planned on heading over to Corrin’s house today and giving her back her phone, then taking her back home—or maybe bringing her back here.
She had run away from her house, so maybe going back to her mom wasn’t something she wanted.
What the fuck happened between us leaving that night and her ending up sleeping at her roommate’s house? We would unpack that later.
I grabbed a mug, ironically it happened to be one with the school’s name on it, from the top cabinet and poured my coffee into it.
I sighed looking towards the open entryway to the kitchen, knowing that around the stairs near the laundry room was the spare bedroom.
I knew my best friend was in there and I hadn’t talked to him since Asher threw him in there and threatened to beat the shit out of him if he tried to shadow himself out of here.
All Grayson had done was nod and make his way to the air mattress we had since neither of us had made time to actually turn that room into a proper guest room.
I groaned, tapping my fingers on the counter before I started making another coffee, thinking about the first time he met Riley and how even then I knew there was something between us— all of us.
“Is your friend always this late?” Riley asked, kicking her legs as she checked her phone.
Grayson was running a little behind, but I would give him shit for it later.
It was July in San Francisco, and the fog was more than apparent which told me that he was probably driving five miles an hour.
I didn’t know why I was so nervous about him meeting her.
She had been a big hit with all my other friends, but none of them were my best friends.
He had heard me talk about her for the last two months, I’d shown him pictures and he’d promptly stated that she was out of my league.
I’d picked Rheya’s Kitchen, which was a small but well-known restaurant.
Grayson and I had eaten here a few times and I’d brought Riley once about a month ago—where she admitted she enjoyed this place much more than where I took us on our first date, so I knew it was somewhere we all liked and would have no trouble finding something on the menu.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be here, okay? Stop fidgeting.”
“I’m not fidgeting.” She played with her ruby necklace that her mom had given her years ago, chewing on her bottom lip. “You just talk about Grayson a lot and I don’t know, if he hates me then how am I supposed to come back from your best friend hating me?”
I laughed. “He isn’t going to hate you, gorgeous. No one in the history of the world could ever hate you.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “You underestimate the world.”
“Perhaps, but don’t worry, if you’re a good girl tonight, then I’ll show you how much I don’t hate you later.” I leaned in and gripped her chin, tilting her head up so I could kiss her.
She molded her mouth to mine and moaned a little.
It was the most enticing sound I’d ever heard and it took every piece of restraint I had to not get down on the floor and bury my face between her legs.
We’d been taking things as slowly as she liked and although we hadn’t slept together yet, she had let me taste her and I was more than satisfied with just that.
We’d celebrated her nineteenth birthday a week ago and I’d made sure she and her body were taken care of.
Riley pushed against my chest, giggling. “Okay, okay. I’m calmer, thanks to your distracting mouth.” She pecked my lips and looked around. “I’m going to find the bathroom.”
She got up, giving me a perfect view of the dress she had on.
I knew she had little shorts on underneath so the wind that picked up this time of year didn’t completely expose her if it decided to whip her dress around.
It was burgundy with a sweetheart neckline, a lace bodice and short sleeves.
The hem was mid-thigh and moved when she walked.
She must have felt my eyes on her because she turned around before she turned the corner and wrinkled her cute nose at me, her nose ring sparkling in the overhead light.
I sat back, readjusting her oversized jean jacket that she had thrown on the back of her chair
“Did she get tired of you and leave?” Grayson joked, pulling a chair out across from me and sitting down.
I chuckled. “Unfortunately for you, no. She’s in the bathroom.”
“Unfortunately for me?” My best friend raised one of his eyebrows.
I nodded, leaning forward and brushing a piece of his hair from his face. “Yeah, you can’t have me all to yourself.” I winked at him, before I settled back in my chair again.
Grayson gave the waitress his drink order when she came back over which I followed with an order for an appetizer.
“She’s really not going to Mystic Riegan for college?” Grayson asked, removing his jacket and placing it on the seat next to him.
I shrugged. “Nope. She’s pretty set on community college. I’m not going to push a school on her that I didn’t even want to go to at first. Seems a little hypocritical don’t you think?”
“Ah, well fair enough. Look at you being all mature. Big brother must be so proud.”
I rolled my eyes at the mention of Asher. “Oh yes, very proud. He’s thoroughly impressed that my GPA is still sitting at a 3.8. He hasn’t said much to Riley though, which you know, isn’t surprising from Professor St. James.”
Grayson laughed, nodding in agreement. “And she’s a person you immediately mentally locked onto at the bar?”
I ran my fingers over the tattoos on my arms. “Her thoughts were the first thing I noticed about her. They were so frantic and chaotic but like in a cute way. It didn’t hurt that once I got over there, she happened to also be gorgeous. I liked her for her rambling thoughts first and foremost.”
He started laughing again but stopped when he looked over my shoulder. He sat up a little straighter, interlocking his fingers together and placing them on top of the table. I looked to my left, seeing Riley pull her chair out and slowly sit down.
“Grayson, right?” she asked, smiling that casual smile she gave anyone she didn’t know very well.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s right. It’s nice to meet the girl that River never stops talking about.” Grayson said, nodding his head towards me.
The waitress came back with his drink and our starter. “Are you guys ready to order or do you need a minute?” She started to reach for her notepad.
“Can you give us a minute?” Riley asked, tapping her fingers on the menu.
The waitress gave us a small nod and sauntered off to another table.
“Well, River never stops talking about you either by the way. Should I be jealous?” Riley snickered, nudging my shoulder with her own.
I let out a cough, flicking my eyes to Grayson, who was grabbing a breadstick and hadn’t taken his eyes off of her.
My best friend bit off a piece of bread. “Oh no, he loves you. Believe me.”
Riley had started chewing a piece of her own bread, but his words caused her to end up in a coughing fit.
I narrowed my eyes at him because as much as his words rang true, I hadn’t exactly said ‘I love you’ yet.
It was early and I didn’t want to scare her off, but I may have admitted that to him at two in the morning, at a bar where I spent hours unloading how much I enjoyed her very existence.
Grayson pressed his lips together, flinching. “Heh, I’m just kidding. He doesn’t love you at all. I’ll shut up.”
“Yes, shutting up would be a good thing right about now,” I scolded.
Riley placed a hand on her chest. “It’s okay.” She slapped my arm. “Are you saying that it’s not true?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it, running my index finger over my forehead. “When did this entire night become about me? I will not be ganged up on, thank you.” I looked at my girlfriend, giving her a small smile and kicking her foot under the table.
Grayson cleared his throat. “Fine, we’ll talk about something more interesting. Someone just had a birthday, hmm?”
Riley lifted her menu up, so it hid part of her face. “Yes, but that was last week. We are done celebrating me.”
I ducked behind her menu and kissed her cheek. “You should always be celebrated, gorgeous.”
I scoffed when I heard Grayson mutter the word ‘obsessed’ into his hand.
Riley’s giggle brought music to my ears.
They both started talking at the same time, laughing and finally got to the topic of books, which sent them into even more frantic rambling.
She got distracted by something on her phone, giving me some relief from trying to keep up with their conversation, when I heard a familiar voice tapping against my mind.
Out of your league. Grayson thought to me.
I side-eyed him but he was engrossed in his menu.