CH 17 - #gift
Rhys
Song: “The One” by Gary Allan
RILEY’S HEART WAS still mine. I was shocked when she admitted she’d never fallen out of love with me.
Last Friday at Cheers and Beers, Macie and Rachel told me the same thing about her, but I didn’t believe them. At the time, I thought there was no way that it was true; otherwise, Riley never would’ve ended our relationship. I was mistaken, though. She walked away from what we shared while loving me as much as I did her—but she walked back to me this week. I never saw it coming, either. I’d only dreamed about it happening.
Riley and I weren’t officially a couple again, but our feelings were official. They were as strong as they’d ever been, and so was the physical part of our relationship. The only thing missing was Riley’s commitment to me. Mine to her was a given, but I wouldn’t push her more.
I understood she needed time to process everything. She’d been through a lot in the past week, and it didn’t matter to me how long it took her to find her direction in life again. I’d be here waiting for her to tell me she was all mine again for as long as it took. She was worth the wait.
As we left the cemetery, I held her hand again. I had to touch her. I’d gone for so long, unable to, and now that I could, I intended to do it every chance I got.
“What the…” Riley started saying when we’d almost reached my truck.
We looked at each other and then back at the rose on my windshield. After picking it up, I handed it to Riley.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking,” I asked.
“Yes, this is Rosalie’s. It has to be. It’s identical to the one that we gave her.”
“Do you want to check to be sure?”
“You know I do.”
“Then let’s go.”
We had the proof we sought in less than a minute. The silk red rose on Rosalie’s headstone was missing.
“Until now, I have never known the name of one ghost behind all of the paranormal activity I’ve witnessed in Cypress Hills,” Riley said.
“I’m right there with you.”
“I don’t understand why Rosalie gave her rose back to us.”
“Maybe it’s her way of showing appreciation for our gifts. Giving us one that we’d given her was the only thing she could do.”
“That makes sense. But who gets to keep this one? You or me.”
“I say we flip a coin.”
“Do you have one on you?”
“Always.” I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Heads or tails?” I asked.
“Heads.”
I looked down at Riley’s pillowy pink lips and grinned because my mind had just gone back in time to Easter last year. After attending church with Riley, her family, and mine, I took her to her parents’ house so she could change clothes. We’d told our families we were going fishing, but that wasn’t our plan. What we intended to do was to satisfy each other’s physical needs.
It had been nearly a week since Riley and I had sex because she was on her period at the time. She was still on it that Sunday, but we both knew other things we could do and did them after I drove to the outskirts of town and parked in the woods. I took care of Riley first by using my hand to get her off, and then she took care of me by giving me a blowjob that made me see stars.
“You are so bad,” she chuckled, tapping my chest with her fingertip. “I know exactly what you’re thinking about right now.”
“Can’t help it.”
“Flip the damn coin.”
I aimed my flashlight at the quarter and watched it land at the foot of Rosalie’s grave.
“It’s tails. I win,” I said, bobbing my head around to tease Riley.
“Gah! Of course you do.”
She gave me the rose, and I gave it back to her. “I want you to keep it.”
“Then why were you all about flipping a coin?”
“I just wanted it to feel like old times between us again.”
“I like that old-time feeling, too, Rhys. I also like the new one between us.”
After our cemetery adventure, Riley and I went back to my house. We’d been there only a few minutes when she asked if we could sit on my patio again. She loved it, just like the fog rolling in on the lake tonight.
“It’s so mysterious-looking,” she said.
As if on cue, the two owls that had nested nearby began hooting.
Riley giggled. “Listen to them. Do you think they’re mates?”
“Yep.”
“Do they stay together for life?”
“It’s common for them to do that, like staying in the same area for years.”
“That’s amazing. Even owls want something enduring.”
Riley looked back out at the lake and kept smiling. I wanted to ask her a question but waited so she could keep listening to the feathered couple hanging out in the cypress trees.
“I need to know something,” I finally said, grabbing her attention. “How am I supposed to keep my hands off you in front of everyone after all we’ve done today?”
“You’re just going to have to, but feel free to touch me in front of my momma. She’s the only one who knows the whole story about us.”
“What do you mean by ‘whole story?’”
“Our being sexually involved with each other again, and also my never having fallen out of love with you. I told my momma I hadn’t after you dropped me off from kayaking last night.”
“How did that come up?”
“She said my eyes were shining and then asked if I was falling in love with you again. That’s when I told her about my true feelings toward you.”
“I figured Macie knows about them, too, since she’s your best friend.”
“I did tell her about us having sex in my bedroom earlier, but I’ve never confessed to the other despite her pushing me to do it. She knows, though. I’m more easily read than I care to admit.”
“Does Rachel know our whole story?”
“Not about us having sex. But she is aware that I’m still in love with you in the same way that Macie is.”
“How does Macie feel about you and me being sexually involved again?”
“She said she wasn’t surprised. She saw the fire burning between you and me when we ran into each other outside the grocery store.”
“I thought it was just me feeling it.”
“Nope.”
“Are you going to tell your sister how serious you and I are getting again?”
“Eventually. I tread lightly with her on the topic of you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because she’s protective of you, Rhys. You’re like a big brother to her, and she loves you.”
“But you’re her sister.”
“But Rachel saw what you went through after I ended us. Jackson did, too, but unlike Rachel, he never said anything to me about it. My sister blessed me out for hurting you like I did. She also told me that if I ever realized my mistake in letting you go and decided I wanted to ask you for a second chance, I’d better be certain about it. Otherwise, she was going to kick my ass if I hurt you again. Quote.”
“I hate telling you this, but she could do it. She’s shorter than you but like a Tasmanian devil whenever she gets angry. It rarely happens, but when it does, Rachel is scarier than Macie.”
“She really is. However, I won’t have to worry about her getting ahold of me because I’ll never hurt you again.”
I squeezed Riley’s hand. “I’m not concerned about it, but I wonder about something. Since Macie and your sister have known how you really feel about me all this time, did Chad?”
“Not until I called him by your name.”
“I called Trisha by yours several times.”
“How did that go over with her?”
“She didn’t like it, but I didn’t care. How’d it go over with Chad?”
“He told me that he understood and thought my saying your name was nothing more than a habit that would eventually go away. It never did, though. I kept slipping up.”
“What did Chad do?”
Riley half-laughed. “After that first time, he gave me his death stare, stomped off, and sulked on each occasion.”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
“It’s not the only thing I dealt with. One night, Chad videoed me with his cellphone while I was asleep beside him in his bed. I was dreaming about you and kept saying your name. I also told you I loved you and missed this.”
“This?”
“Rhys, you and I were having sex in my dream. Chad showed me the video the next morning while we were in the middle of eating breakfast, and I watched myself cum. Hands pressed against the headboard, arched back, heavy breathing—everything. I also moaned your name when I peaked.”
I stared at Riley, growing angrier by the second.
“Did I tell you too much?” she asked.
“No, Chad did too much. His videoing you crossed a big line. He took advantage of your vulnerable state to use against you and make himself feel better. What a sick fuck. He needs some serious help.”
“I agree, and I hope he gets it before he gets involved with another woman. Otherwise, she’s going to end up in the same position that I was in with Chad and deal with the same bullshit.”
I rubbed my jawline. “About you coming in your dream… I’m surprised you didn’t wake up when it happened.”
“I had quite a bit of wine that night and was out.”
“I’ve dreamed about having sex with you countless times, but I always woke up right before I started coming. Whether I was sober or had whiskey flooding my system didn’t matter. Afterward, I laid in bed with a sticky mess to clean up, my head spinning, and my heart still loving you.”
Riley’s eyes welled up. “I’d like to believe we really were together during all of my dreams about you and yours about me—that our souls touched for a little while. I think that’s why my dreams felt so real.”
“I think that’s why mine did too.”
We both paused and took a needed deep breath. Then, I asked Riley what she did after watching Chad’s video of her.
“I got up from the table and left his house,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Did he try to stop you?”
“No.”
“Did you go back home or what?”
“I walked around the botanical garden in Fort Worth for almost three hours. Chad started texting, calling, and leaving me voicemails while I was there, but I ignored him until I got home. I called him, and he apologized profusely for what he’d done. He admitted it was an invasion of my privacy. He also said knowing you were still in my head and heart to such a big degree was hard for him to take.”
“What did you say?”
“I was done discussing the matter. Chad and I moved on like nothing had happened. It was just easier.”
I nodded.
“Enough with the heavy stuff, okay?” Riley asked.
“That’s fine by me. What would you like to talk about now?”
“Jackson. Does he know about us?”
“No, I haven’t said a word to him or anyone.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to hang on to our privacy for a little longer.”
“Okay.”
“If we started openly showing affection to each other in town tomorrow, folks would question it, and then their judgments would follow. I’m not up to dealing with anyone making a snarky comment about us. I know they would, considering how recently you were engaged to Trisha, and I was engaged to Chad.”
“Riley, you’d hear nothing but words of support from ninety-nine percent of the folks around here. They know you, me, and what we’ve been through. Since you and I split up last year, I cannot tell you the number of them who’ve come up to me to see how I was doing and also to tell me they hoped God brought us back together because they believed you and I were meant to be.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. Have you been gone so long that you’ve forgotten how much you’re loved and adored around here?”
“Even after I broke your heart?”
“Yes. You can’t be faulted for following your dream. No one can.”
“I never imagined it leading me back to you, but I’m grateful that it has.
“So am I. As far as being open with my affection toward you goes? I’m happy to wait until you’re comfortable with letting me hold your hand, hug you, kiss you, and grab your ass in public.”
Riley threw her head back and laughed. “Oh my God! You’ve always known exactly what to say to make me feel better.”
“You too. And I’m hoping you’re about to tell me that you’ll let me hold you in my arms before you leave. I know you’re thinking you need to get home.”
“I am because it’s late…but I don’t want to leave. I would love for us to fall asleep together in your big bed and then wake up in the morning with our bodies still entangled. We’ve only done that twice in all these years.”
“When your parents and mine went to Fredericksburg that weekend and left you, Rachel, Jackson, and me to keep watch over everything when we were all in high school. Big mistake!” I chuckled.
“I know! You and I played house at your house, and Rachel and Jackson played it at my momma and daddy’s.”
“You and I did much more than play house, mia bella.”
“We certainly did.”
“Come on,” I said, holding my hand out for hers and getting up from the table.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
When she got on her feet, I scooped her into my arms and carried her inside my house to my bed. Then, we lay down and held each other while I watched the clock on my dresser.