CHAPTER NINE
“S o...you ran?” Bella was smiling again as she crossed her arms and fell back into the leather cushioned couch.
Did she not just hear what Riley had said?
Maybe you should say it again.
Yes. Maybe she’d jumbled her words again.
“We were about to have sex. My top was off. And I-I just froze. And, and, his hand was down...”
“So, you ran?” Bella repeated.
Technically she had ran. Again. And Wade let her. Made it easy even. Wait. Was that a bad thing? Was there a chance he’d changed his mind?
“Hold on,” Bella said as she shook her head. “Where did he have his hand?”
“Whose hand was where?” Luke’s booming voice was in the room before the man himself. And he was shortly followed in by another man.
This was exactly what Riley was afraid of when she agreed to come over for drinks.
More awkward social interactions. So much for girls’ night.
It wasn’t Bella’s fault though. Riley should’ve known this would happen.
When she’d met Luke at the Evans wedding, it was damn clear the man couldn’t stay away from his girlfriend for long. And here he was. With a friend.
A hot friend.
Yes. Hot. Which meant she’d likely act even more stupid than usual. Great. What was going on with the men in Woodvalley? Was there something in the water here? Why was everyone so good-looking?
“Well hello there.” The hot friend grinned, before bumping Luke’s elbow. “Luke...you going to introduce me to your beautiful guest?”
Suddenly her cheeks set on fire. There was no doubt she was red. Bright red.
Luke simply sighed. “Riley, I apologise in advance—”
“Hey!” The other man smacked Luke’s arm. Hard.
“Ow. Okay. Fine. Riley, this is Benny. Benny, this is Riley.”
Bella was next to speak. “Benny works with Luke, he’s a firefighter too.” Of course he is.
Why the women of Woodvalley didn’t spend their days just lighting fires, she didn’t know. Even she was tempted.
Riley didn’t say anything. It was better that way. She simply nodded and internally begged her face to cool the hell down.
“It’s nice to meet you, Riley.” Benny sauntered over and extended his hand.
Does he want me to shake it?
In her panic, she extended her hand too. But she didn’t shake his hand. Because it was the wrong one. Two right hands don’t shake. Something she realized mid-lift. So there her hand hovered. Looking limp. And directionless.
Oh my God. I hate myself.
Benny didn’t seem phased, he took her hand and brought it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her skin.
“May I?” he asked, nodding to the cushion next to her.
May he what?
She looked to Bella for help.
“Back off Benny, she’s taken,” Bella announced.
Oh. That wasn’t the kind of help she’d been seeking. If anything, she felt more uncomfortable now.
“Well, that’s a darn shame.” Benny was still smiling. Abnormally wide. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“It’s Wade’s woman,” Luke announced.
Wade’s woman.
Was it wrong that she kind of liked that?
“Lucky guy.” Benny flashed that charming smile back her way. “He swooped in quick I’m guessing. I mean, you’re new to Woodvalley, right?”
How did he know she was new in town? Surely Woodvalley Pines wasn’t so small that everyone knew each other?
Bella’s snort pulled her from her thoughts. “Benny here knows all the females in town. Intimately .”
Riley watched on as Benny rolled his eyes at Bella’s comment. “Don’t listen to her, darlin’, she’s new in town too.”
Another snort emitted from her friend. “I’m not that new! And I’ve been here long enough to know you’re the town bike.”
Town bike?
Riley was so curious, she broke her comfortable silence to ask, “You’ve had a lot of girlfriends?”
Both Luke and Bella sniggered as Benny attempted to give them both a stern look.
“I wouldn’t use the word girlfriends exactly, more like—”
“One-night stands?” Bella chimed.
Oh . Riley understood now. He was a player. She finally got the whole bike reference. Clever.
“You realize that your boyfriend wasn’t exactly a choir boy either?” Benny was quick to shoot back.
“Okay, okay.” Luke’s hands went up. “Let’s all calm down, we’re all friends here. Bella is well aware of my past, and Benny, you just haven’t found the right woman yet, right?”
“Exactly.” Benny turned his attention back to Riley, sporting his mischievous grin. “You sure you don’t want to ditch Wade and try me out instead—you could be the one I’ve been waiting for?”
Riley didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t used to men showing interest in her. And she definitely wasn’t used to all eyes being on her. Expectantly. Her palms were beginning to sweat as panic set in.
What do I say? They’re waiting for me to say something. Think of something.
“You’ve, uh, you’ve never...um, you’ve never had a girlfriend?”
She did it. She segued successfully. Like a goddamn conversation master. And she was feeling extremely pleased with herself, until she caught a look at Benny. His cheeky smile had been wiped clean off his boyish face.
Said the wrong thing again. Idiot.
“Um, sorry,” Riley started but then stopped. She couldn’t think of what else to say.
Luckily for her, Benny was quick to replace his frown with a shiny new smile. A less genuine one. “No need to be sorry, darlin’. Of course I’ve had a girlfriend before.”
“Since when?” Luke heckled.
“Not all of us are emotionally stunted, Cappelli,” Benny shot back at his friend, before turning to Riley. “We all had a high school sweetheart, right?” No. “Well, I did too.” He shrugged. “Together all through high school, even made it for a year after, too.”
“What happened?” Riley and Bella asked at the same time.
“Same thing that happens to every high school relationship...it ended.” He laughed, rather unconvincingly.
Riley may not be the best at reading people, or be good at anything remotely related to socialising, but even she could see the sadness radiating off this man. There was a story there. One he clearly didn’t want to talk about.
Bella rose from her seat and grabbed Riley’s hand. “Okay. We’re going.” Riley was up now, too and being dragged out of the room. “We’ll be upstairs if you need us. You boys have fun.”
And upstairs they went, straight into Bella and Luke’s bedroom, where her new friend gestured for her to take a seat on the bed. The décor was much more masculine than she was expecting. She watched Bella rummaging in the fitted wooden wardrobe.
A paper bag was placed in front of Riley a moment later. “So, I went shopping in Goldacre the other day and I got you something,” Bella said. Looking apprehensive. “It’s lingerie. For your date.”
“Lingerie?” Riley was so confused.
“Yeah. For you, not for him.”
Okay. Now she was even more confused. “What?”
“You know, to make you feel more confident. You’d be amazed what wearing sexy underwear can do for your confidence.” Bella pushed the bag at her, urging her to open it.
“Other than me, my mom is the only person who has ever bought me underwear.”
“Well, I doubt you or your mom have bought this kind of underwear.” She giggled as Riley pulled the lacy material from the bag.
She stared. Her fingers going to the waistband of the panties and pulling them wide. Her gaze then dropped to the tag. And the price.
“You paid thirty dollars for this?”
Bella quickly snagged the tag. “Ignore the price. So? What do you think?”
“I think you need to get your money back; there’s a string where the material is supposed to be.”
Laughter filled the room. But only until Bella realized Riley wasn’t joking.
“It’s a g-string, honey. Tell me you’ve heard of a g-string.”
She’d heard of one. Seen them. And actively avoided them. The idea of a string up her ass wasn’t very appealing to her. Which is exactly what she told her friend.
“You don’t have to wear it,” Bella reassured her.
“I just thought it might help booster your confidence on your date. Make you feel sexy. It’s always helped me.
Way before I even met Luke, if I was having a bad day or feeling low, I used to treat myself to new lingerie.
It didn’t matter that no one but me would see it, it made me feel good about myself. ”
Riley looked at the red material again. In a new light. If she was going to have sex with Wade on their next date, she would need some of that confidence Bella was talking about.
Let’s face it, you need all the help you can get.
That was true. She did. Even if it came in the form of a string up her butt.
***
I t was Saturday night . Date night. And the night Riley would finally lose her virginity.
“I think I’m gonna hurl,” Riley muttered to herself as she high tailed it to the bathroom.
No. False alarm.
Thank God. The last thing she needed was to get sick and ruin the results of two hours’ worth of preening and plucking. But she still felt nauseous. Very, very nauseous. No matter how ready she was to finally go to bed with someone, it didn’t make it any less terrifying.
Two bangs on the trailer door caused her to jump. Wade was here.
Pulling herself up from the cold tile, she quickly checked her face in the mirror before scurrying through the living room.
“Hi,” she squeaked as she swung open the door.
“Petal.” Wade used his index finger to nudge up his cream Stetson. “Looking beautiful as always, darlin’.”
Riley nodded. Not in agreement, just because she didn’t know what else to do. Or say. So nodding it was.
Why are you still doing it, though?
Okay. It was a long nod. One that she stopped abruptly.
“Shall we?” Wade’s hand was out, waiting for hers.
More nodding ensued as she took his hand and was led outside. As usual, he didn’t push for conversation as he ushered her inside his truck and rounded the front. Even as they drove through the ranch’s dirt roads their silence remained comfortable.