Lucky's Real Life Romance Novel

Chapter 15

After school, a new set of nerves hit me as we got to my house. Mia ran to her spot in front of the TV and plopped down like she always did. I set my bag by the door before heading towards the couch. River grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled me into him. His other hand wrapped around my waist and held my lower back and he held my body against his. I bit my inner lip to keep from gasping at the sudden movement as my other hand went to his chest automatically. He smirked down at me, enjoying my reaction. At this point, I think he was just looking forward to making me squirm.

"Why are you doing?" I asked, trying to push my blush down. His hand let go of my wrist before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as he chuckled.

"Lesson number one: not ever moment can be scripted. There is no perfect moment, no perfect build up, no lead in, or hints," he said. My heart was thumping wildly against my chest as I swallowed roughly.

"So you're just going to grab me whenever you want now?" I asked.

"Little things... when you least expect it," he teased. His hand held my cheek still as he placed a gentle kiss on my head. I was flustered and blushing. When he pulled away from me, I saw the look on his face. He knew he got to me.

"Mia! Do you want to play with Play-Doh?" I asked as I turned away from him to hide my embarrassment. I played with Mia to distract myself from River.

"You can't avoid it. You already agreed to it," River said out loud before pulling out his books to study. We did our separate things for a few hours before I went to start on dinner. I took a deep breath and got to cooking. River was taking his role seriously. I think I may have gotten in over my head with River. He was smart, and thorough. He excelled in everything he did, I guess this was going to be no exception. I finished and set the plates on the table.

"Dinner!" I called. Mia and River came into the kitchen and sat to eat. Mia smiled from ear to ear as she grabbed her fork.

"It's spaghetti!" She said excitedly.

"I know, you're favorite," I smiled as I touched her cheek gently. She dug in as I chuckled. I took a bite of my own food before my eyes flickered over to River.

"So what is your plan?" I asked out of curiosity. Originally, I thought we could literally act out a scene I had in mind, like a play, to see if it was plausible, but from the way River acted today, it seemed like River had other plans.

"You probably wanted to do something like actually act out scenes, but if you're saying your novels are already a bust, then make use of a good opportunity instead. I'll continue to put on an act, and you can feed from it. Acting out scenes you put together will be like confirming why it doesn't work. I'll keep my momentum, and if you think you can use something, write it down," he answered after swallowing his bite. He was in my head again. It looked like I would just have to be ready for River's sneak attacks at any time. Just thinking about it put me on edge.

"You won't allow me any room to breath, will you?" I asked knowingly. He only chuckled and didn't answer.

The next few weeks passed with me just getting used to River's touch. He would often play with my hair, pull me into hugs and hold my hand when I was least expecting it. Every time would send my heart into my throat. I told myself to be prepared, but every time I was still caught off guard. Aiden had become a bit distant from me after I stood up for River with him. He stopped calling me 'Lucky Lu' and tried to invite me out a few more times but he wasn't as excited as he was before, even when we did hang out after school. It was a group I didn't expect that would always hang out together. Aiden and Trevor were friends so they were always together now. Melanie would come on my invitation, and River and Mia would normally follow. Sometimes, my dad would watch Mia on the weekends to just let us go out and have fun as teenagers. After all, my father adored Mia. He always said that if my mother were still alive, he wanted another girl because I never acted like a kid growing up so he couldn't do silly childhood things with me.

It was a rare weekend where our odd group decided to hang out together to go to the pop up carnival that was in town. River and I were planning on bring Mia tomorrow, but today, we were going with our schoolmates. I'm sure there were other of our classmates who had the same idea, but Aiden, Trevor, Melanie, River, and I planned on going in and hanging out together. We had to wait in a ridiculously long line just to get in. Despite the small nature of the pop up carnival, it was surprisingly packed.

"Have you ever been to a carnival before, Lucky?" Trevor asked. I nodded.

"I mean, I have before, but nothing this small and crowded," I answered honestly. Someone bumped me from behind as they passed me. River grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his side before taking my hand in his.

"We should start moving or we're going to get trampled just standing by the entrance like this," River suggested. We walked along the makeshift grass path as River kept my hand in his. We got on all the rides we could first before moving on to the games and food. Before we even got out of the car when we got here, I gave River my card so he wouldn't look bad and arouse suspicions if I paid for everything. River smiled lightly before pulling me into a line for corn dogs.

"You don't want to see what else they have first?" Aiden asked. River smirked before ruffling my hair.

"Corn dogs are Lu's favorite," he replied. I couldn't believe he remembered that.