Chapter 10 #2
“I was sent to another foster home around that time, and because it was kinda far away from where my parents lived, I had to enroll in a new school. That was hard too, because I didn’t know anyone, but I kinda liked it because I didn’t have to deal with my ex-best friend and her new group of mean girls.
When I went back to my parents’ house, I told them I wanted to keep going to the new school, and they actually filled out the paperwork I needed to make that happen. ”
Logan looked up at her then. “I hate my school,” he admitted. “Most of the kids are mean. Not just to me, but to everyone.”
Riley didn’t know what to say. She wanted to tell him that he could change schools, but it wasn’t her place to decide that.
And she didn’t know if he was just feeling sad that he’d had to leave his old school with friends he might’ve had there, or if there really was something more going on.
She felt completely out of her league in helping him with this particular problem, and it sucked.
She scooted closer to the boy and put her arm around his shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I don’t know why kids are so mean to each other.
I’d like to say it’ll get better, but I don’t know if it will.
Maybe you can see which other kids are being treated badly and try to make friends with them?
I mean, if you’re feeling bad, I bet they are too, and they might welcome a new friend. ”
“Maybe,” Logan said with a shrug.
“And, if you truly hate your school that much, I bet if you talked to your uncle, he’d look into seeing if he could switch you.”
“I already told him I didn’t want to go to the school on the Army post,” Logan admitted.
“So?” Riley asked.
He looked up at her, and the hope in his eyes was almost painful to witness.
“I mean, people change their minds all the time. It’s not the end of the world.”
He nodded.
“Think about it. You opened up to me and that went okay, right? Talk to Porter, Logan. He loves you and would hate to know you were unhappy and didn’t tell him.
I’m not saying he’ll be able to magically make all your problems disappear, but sometimes talking to someone makes things seem not quite so bad. ”
“Okay,” he said softly.
“Okay,” Riley agreed. “Now…what should we do this afternoon? Want to go to the park and play catch?”
He opened his eyes wide and shook his head. “Oz told me not to throw the ball with you no matter how much you begged.”
Riley chuckled. “I’m not that bad.”
Logan’s eyebrows went up.
“Right, okay, so I am. But I want to do something with you that you like. And you like baseball. So…what do you suggest?”
Logan thought about it for a moment, then he said tentatively, “What if we set up a target and I practiced throwing balls at it? You could watch and help me gather up the balls after I throw them.”
“Perfect,” Riley beamed. It didn’t sound all that exciting to her, but if Logan was happy, she was happy. “I think we need to go to the grocery store, but for tonight, how does hotdogs smothered in chili, cheese, and baked beans sound?”
Logan smiled. “Yummy!”
“Good. Go get your balls and bat and we’ll head across the street to the park.”
They stood, and Logan headed toward his room to gather his things. But he turned before going down the hall. “Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry your friend did that to you.”
“Me too.”
“And thank you for letting me come back here. I like Gillian. She’s really nice. But she’s not you.”
Riley felt her eyes tear up. “You’re welcome. I missed you a lot.”
Logan nodded then spun and headed for his room.
Riley took a few deep breaths to get her emotions back under control, then went to Porter’s bathroom to grab some sunscreen. If they were going to go outside, even though it was late afternoon, she wanted Logan to be protected.
Later, after she’d watched Logan pitch a million balls (it wasn’t that many, but it felt like it), and after they’d eaten their questionably nutritious dinner, and after they’d watched a rerun of Wheel of Fortune on TV, Riley told Logan it was time for bed.
Tomorrow was a school day, and while she knew he wasn’t excited to go, he still needed to be rested.
“Where are you going to sleep?” Logan asked.
Riley shrugged. “Here on the couch.”
Logan frowned in confusion. “Why? You can use Oz’s bed.”
Just the thought of sleeping in Porter’s bed made Riley yearn for things she wasn’t sure would happen. “I’m okay out here.”
By the stubborn look on Logan’s face, she knew he didn’t like that. “Okay. You can have my bed, and I’ll sleep out here on the couch.”
“It’s fine.” Riley tried to tell him, but he was having none of it.
“No. It’s not fine. You’re a female and should have a comfortable bed. If there’s something wrong with Uncle Oz’s bed, then you should get my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch. It’s not as if I haven’t done it before.”
His words made her proud and kind of weepy at the same time. “There’s nothing wrong with your uncle’s bed. It’s just that…it’s his bed. And I feel weird using it.”
“But he’s not here. What does it matter?”
There was obviously no way she was going to explain to a ten-year-old that the sheets probably smelled like Porter and it would make her want the man more than she did already. But she really liked how concerned he was for her.
Knowing she was going to regret it, she said, “I guess it doesn’t matter. You win, I’ll sleep in his room and you can stay in yours. Okay?”
“Okay,” Logan said happily. “You don’t have to get up in the morning. I set my alarm.”
Sometimes the things he said made her so sad.
She remembered how she’d learned to set her own alarm when she was around his age, because there was no way her parents would be awake after drinking all night to get her up for school.
She figured the same was true of his mom.
After working all night, she probably didn’t get up with him either.
“It’s okay, I’ll probably head to bed not too long after you do. Besides, I want to make sure you get a healthy breakfast and see you off to the bus.”
“Okay.” Logan got up and disappeared down the hall, and Riley heard the water turn on in the small hall bathroom.
Closing her eyes, she tried to get herself together. It was too late to do laundry. She should’ve done it when she’d first come into the apartment with Logan. Now she was going to have to sleep in Porter’s bed, under his sheets, and imagine how awesome it would be if he was there with her.
She took her time cleaning up the already clean kitchen and putting everything back in its place before she headed down the hall. She knocked lightly on Logan’s door.
“Yeah?” he asked.
She peeked her head in. “All good?” she asked.
He nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Okay. Sleep well. I don’t know if I snore or breathe loud, as I’ve never had anyone tell me I do, but I’ll leave my door cracked open so if you need anything in the middle of the night, you can come get me.”
Logan hesitated, then nodded. “Thanks. I…I know I’m being a pain, but I just like it here.”
“You aren’t a pain,” Riley told him. “Promise. And I like you being here too. Now, go to sleep. Pancakes okay for breakfast?”
“Awesome,” he said with a smile.
“Good night, Logan.”
“Night, Riley.”
She shut the door, leaving it open a crack before taking a deep breath and heading down to Porter’s room. She’d put her bag inside earlier, and when she pushed open the door, she had to take another calming breath.
It looked as if Porter had just left. The covers on the bed were pulled back, as if he’d thrown them out of his way when he’d woken up the day he’d left to go off and save the world.
There was an easy chair in one corner of the room and the top drawer of his dresser was partway open.
She wandered into the attached bathroom and couldn’t keep a smile from her face.
Porter might be a hotshot special forces soldier who was meticulous in most aspects of his life, but he was anything but stereotypically neat with his bathroom.
A towel was thrown over the shower bar instead of being hung up neatly on the rack on the wall. Shaving cream remnants were in the sink and his toothpaste didn’t have the cap on it. It was weird, but seeing how messy the sink was made her feel better somehow.
Riley worked quickly, cleaning up the room, lining up the mouthwash bottle, shaving cream, and bottle of vitamin C on the counter.
She closed the toothpaste so it wouldn’t dry out and put his toothbrush back into the holder thing next to the sink.
The towel over the bar was dry, so she folded it and hung it on the rack next to the shower.
It felt a little awkward being in Porter’s personal space, but she couldn’t deny she liked it. She went out into the room and grabbed her bag, digging inside to get the oversized T-shirt she liked to sleep in. Then she went back into the bathroom and changed.
If it felt weird being in Porter’s space, stripping in a room where he was frequently naked was even more strange.
Closing her eyes, she could picture Porter easing his underwear off before stepping over the bathtub into the shower.
Could almost see him rubbing the towel over his body, probably impatiently and not very thoroughly, to dry himself.
Shaking her head, Riley did her best to get control over her imagination. She was here to look after Logan, not lust after her neighbor. She managed to brush her teeth and find a clean towel for the morning before heading back into the bedroom.
Riley climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.
The mattress was comfortable and his sheets were extremely soft.
She made a mental note to ask him where he’d bought them, then immediately rejected that idea.
She wasn’t going to tell Porter she’d slept in his bed—no way.
Of course, Logan would probably let the cat out of the bag at some point, but she wasn’t going to volunteer the information.
It felt too…intimate. She didn’t think he’d mind her staying in his apartment while he was gone, especially since it was in Logan’s best interests, but she didn’t want him to get upset that she’d invaded his personal space.
Then again, he certainly hadn’t seemed reluctant to invade her personal space the other night. When he’d had her up against the wall and his hands had roamed under her shirt.
Inhaling deeply, Riley felt surrounded by Porter.
His slightly musky and earthy scent was all over his sheets and pillows.
She knew when Logan had suggested she sleep in here, this was what would happen.
That she’d get turned on simply by being in Porter’s space.
By lying in his sheets. Where he’d probably jerked off…
She refused to think about him being with another woman here. He’d told her that he hadn’t dated anyone in a very long time.
As she pictured him, her hand moved without her really thinking about it. Brushing over her hard nipple before resting on the waistband of her panties. She glanced at the door, then closed her eyes. Logan was fine. He was asleep. She could do this.
Slipping her fingers under the elastic, she opened her legs wider and turned her head into the pillow. Once again, Porter’s scent engulfed her. She began to stroke her clit, thinking about how amazing his hands had felt on her the other night.
It didn’t take long. It had been a while since she’d masturbated, and being surrounded by Porter’s scent seemed to push her over the edge even faster.
Riley imagined what it would be like to be in this bed with Porter.
To have his hands between her legs, to stare up at him as he ever so gently entered her, being careful not to hurt her.
He’d take her slowly at first, making sure she orgasmed before he took his own pleasure.
Then he’d fuck her hard. Pounding into her, each thrust pushing her farther up the bed until she had to put her hands over her head to keep from hitting the wall.
He’d throw his head back, and she’d see the veins pulsing in his neck as he exploded deep within her. He’d growl out her name as he came, holding her hips in place as he pressed himself as far inside her body as he could get.
That was all it took. Riley’s vivid imagination, and the frantic strumming of her clit, pushed her over the edge, and she let out a small whimper as she came. Her body shook with pleasure and she panted with exertion.
She removed her hand from between her legs and closed her eyes as she lay there, replete…and feeling extremely guilty. God, she’d just masturbated in Porter’s bed.
But she couldn’t deny she felt amazing.
And sleepy.
It had been a long day, and Riley was exhausted.
She fell asleep with Porter’s scent in her nose, feeling content that Logan was safe. She prayed that Porter would return uninjured as well. She’d gotten used to both man and boy, and was looking forward to another date with Porter.