Three's a crowd

65

Two days to go.

Two more days until we say goodbye and ultimately drift apart like all the other couples that never make it after high school.

We spent the past couple of days taking a bunch of pictures and just being together, hiking and spending time with his siblings.

It was nice, calming, distracting. Everything we needed to avoid the awkwardness of reality.

Today we were taking a picnic up to the mountain lookout that I loved. It was a winding drive to get there but the view was phenomenal from the top.

The red dirt flattened out, overlooking the small city below and only the locals knew this parking area and lookout existed.

Riley grabbed everything once we got there and laid the red blanket down over the dirt before setting down the cooler with our home made sandwiches and water bottles inside.

I sat beside him and leaned back on my arms resting my head on his shoulder as we let the view and sounds of nature consume us.

Eventually I moved away and sat facing him as we ate our food and laughed about Anna's first date experience.

She had told us that she had gone on her first date with a guy from school, and while he was the perfect gentleman she couldn't calm her nerves down.

She had said that he took her to a really nice restaurant and that she had knocked over her drink, and then fell onto him as they left.

It was pretty funny especially since she said that he still gave her a kiss before he left her house, not to mention he asked her for another date an hour later. Apparently clumsy is the new sexy to some.

Once we were done eating I leaned back on my arms again looking at Riley, taking in every inch of his face, his body, him. He was leaning back with his eyes closed and his face up at the sun.

I followed his lead and closed my eyes, letting the warmth of the sun dance across my face. The sound of chirping birds in a symphony of song ringing in my ears, before something hit my face.

I opened my eyes to see Riley grinning at me holding a small branch of grapes, twisting one of the green balls of fruit in his finger.

The next one hit the tip of my nose, and before I knew it we were both laughing as he threw grape after grape at me while I struggled to pick up the evidence and toss them back.

Eventually I gave in and jolted onto my knees and charged at him leaning over him until our noses almost touched.

I could see it in his eyes. The need, the fire, the passion waiting to explode. He was a starving lion and I was the gazelle innocently drinking at the watering hole. He wanted to devour me and I was defenseless against it.

We hadn't been super intimate in the last few days, staying so busy that we just slept when we got home. I suppose we were both distracting ourselves, but now that we were alone with each other all the built up feelings were scratching the surface.

I knew I was in a loosing battle but I didn't care. It was going to hurt me either way when he left, I may as well enjoy the time I had.

I smiled and pressed my lips against his as he leaned on one arm and tangled his hand in the back of my hair, pulling my face closer to his.

I didn't fight when his tongue begged for more, I just opened my lips and gave him what he wanted, what I wanted.

He pushed up on his arm flipping us into he was hovering over the side of me while I laid on the blanket. His hand moved down to hold my waist as our mouths danced with each other.

I could feel it in my stomach, the fluttering feeling that he always gave me. I wanted more of it, needed it. He was the craving that I desperately needed my fill of before it was gone.

I pushed the thoughts from my head and reached down so palm him over his pants when he caught my hand.

"Not here." He seemed to catch himself, the air feeling cold even though it was summer as he sat up and pulled me up beside him. "Let's pack it up and we can finish that at home."

I grinned and helped him pack up, folding the blanket and laying it in the back seat of the truck as his arms snaked around me from behind.

"I love you. I know this is going to be hard for you, but I promise it's killing me too." He sighed as I laced my fingers in his around my waist.

This was it, the moment I needed to tell him everything. Figuratively speaking I needed to rip off the bandage.

"Riley?" I whispered leaning back into him.

"Riley?" I repeated a little louder as I turned in his arms.

He looked at me as if the world spun around me, and I could feel how much he really believed that we would make it through this, I wanted that too.

I opened my mouth to speak - to tell him the real truth when his phone started ringing in his pocket. He sent it to voicemail and focused back on me, when his phone started ringing again.

"You should answer, it may be important." I half smiled as he pulled his phone and answered as his face turned from a smile to a frown.

"We gotta go." Was all he said as he let go of me and rushed to the truck. "It's Anna.".

I didn't ask more questions, just climbed into the truck and watched as his breathing became deep and forceful. He was angry. For what I didn't know but it involved his sister, I just hoped it wasn't something terrible.

It took thirty minutes to get to Anna and when we did it wasn't hard to see why he was in a rush. Her eyes were puffy and red and she had clearly been crying. Her body was shaking from the sobs that were loudly escaping her body.

Riley jumped out of the truck and ran to her as I followed.

"Anna what happened." He asked as she buried herself in his chest.

"I thought he liked me...." she rambled between sobs, "he said ... he said ..." she trailed off sobbing again as we led her to the truck.

I climbed in the back of the truck to give her space and sat in the middle seat. Thankfully Riley took her to our house because Spencer would be furious if she went home in that state. He was a cool guy but his girls were his everything.

I took Anna upstairs and told Riley to give us a few minutes. Girl problems and heartbreak were always easier to talk to with other girls and thankfully Riley seemed to understand and didn't argue, but I knew he would be listening.

"Anna what happened." I sat on the side of the bed beside her.

She wiped her eyes and looked down at his hands. "He took me out again today, he said that he really liked going out with me and kissed me again. I pushed him off me when things started getting too much and it's like a switch flipped in his head..." she paused for a moment "he told me that he wasn't going to date me because he just wanted to have fun, and that if I didn't want the same that he would find someone who did." She started crying again as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Sounds like he did you a favor girl." I said. "I know it's hard to see now, but you only gave him two dates, and he was being honest with you. I'm not saying he did it the right way, but I think he does like you." I tried to explain.

"Then why wouldn't he want to date me? Am I ugly?"

"No, not at all. Anna you're at that age where boys are going to come and go. I think he wanted to make sure that you were on the same page, and when you weren't he knew that leading you on without future intentions was wrong. I know it sucks right now, but I promise that a future heartbreak after you invested all of yourself is ten times worse."

"I just want someone to love me like you and Riley love each other, like mom and dad do!"

I felt my chest tighten at her words but hugged her tighter anyway. "One day you will Anna, and who knows maybe when he is ready for a relationship he will come back around."

"Thanks Britt." She sniffled.

"Come on let's clean you up and get you home."