Misconception

17: Kiss and Tell

Clementine's POV

I'm laying under the covers in my bed when I hear a knock on my door. 

"Who is it?"

I ask, loudly. I hear Ricky's voice from the other side,

"It's just me, Clem. Vinny sent me up to check on you."

I get up to unlock the door and proceed to crawl right back under my covers. Ricky comes in, shutting the door behind him. I feel his weight as he sits on the edge of the bed and pulls the covers off my head. 

"I told Vinny before they showed up that you were ranting to me about a really stressful assignment, so that's what he thinks you're upset about... They're in the basement right now playing Call of Duty."

Ricky says. I sigh. I sit up as I say,

"What was he thinking showing up here after what he did?"

Ricky pulls out his phone and shows me a series of texts that happened just a few minutes ago.

Ricky: What the hell do you think you're doing showing your face around here after what you did to Clementine?!

Chris: Vinny kept asking me to hang out and wouldn't take no for an answer...

Ricky: A lot like how you can't take no for an answer?

Chris: Listen, man, I'm sorry! I've texted countless paragraphs to Clementine telling her how sorry I am, but she's got my number blocked. You don't understand how hard it is not seeing you, Vinny or Ryan anymore. You were the only people I had after my parents died and now I'm forced to sit alone with my thoughts and think about how horribly I fucked up. I understand that Clem's not like other girls and I can't toy around with her. I was just trying to get back at Vinny and I swear that I will never lay a finger on Clementine EVER again.

Ricky: This isn't up to me, it's up to Clementine.

As I finish reading Ricky says,

"What do you think?"

"I don't want him to get cut out of your, Ryan's and Vinny's lives, but I just don't want him in mine..."

I answer. Ricky takes the phone away and begins typing,

Ricky: The only condition is that you will never EVER be alone in the same room as Clementine, got it?

I nod my head and Ricky hits send. 

Ryan ends up coming over as well and they end up throwing an impromptu party with loud music and a keg. Vinny instructs me to stay in my room the whole night and I can't help but find myself curious about what's going on downstairs. I've never been to a party before. I've only seen them on TV, so as I sit in bed and try to concentrate on reading over the loud music, I text Ricky.

Me: What's going on down there?

Ricky: Just a bunch of drunken fools doing keg stands and playing beer pong. I'm surprised you're still up!

Me: Hard to sleep with the loud music, LOL. What are keg stands and beer pong?

Ricky: Just party games. Vinny's sending me up to check on you.

Right after I get that text, there's a knock on my door.

"Come in!"

I say. Ricky walks in holding a red cup in his hand. He sits on my bed as he asks,

"How's your night going?"

"Boring! What's in the cup?"

I say. He replies,

"Beer"

"What does it taste like?"

I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me as I peer into his cup.

"Do you want to try it?"

He asks, holding the cup out to me. I shrug and lean away a little as I say,

"I think Vinny would be upset with me."

Ricky winks as he says,

"One sip won't hurt ya. It'll be our little secret."

I giggle as I take the cup out of his hand and take a small sip. My face puckers as the horrible taste hits my tongue and I hand the cup back to Ricky, who chuckles,

"Not missing out on much, huh?"

He says as I shake my head and wipe my mouth on my sleeve. 

Ricky heads back to the party and I turn out my light and try to get some sleep.

I wake up at 2 in the morning extremely thirsty and hear that the music has quieted down significantly, so I decide to tiptoe out of my room to the kitchen for some water. As I round the corner to the kitchen I stop dead in my tracks when I see Vinny kissing some girl. Tears well up in my eyes and spill over as I quietly back away, not being seen by Vinny or the random girl I've never seen before. As the tears cloud my vision, I run into someone in the hallway by my bedroom. I hear Ricky's voice say,

"Clementine? What's the matter?"

He bends to cup my face in his hands and wipe away the tears that won't stop spilling. He looks all over my face for any sign of what's wrong. My sadness turns to anger as I realize Vinny's been sheltering me my whole life and playing with my head just to go and kiss some other girl. As I stare up into Ricky's concerned eyes I realize that he cares for me and he protects me and he wants me to experience new things and he's not my stepbrother, so I don't have to worry about anyone seeing what I'm about to do. I stand on my tiptoes and crash my lips into Ricky's. He backs away, confused, before crashing his lips back into mine. As we kiss, he backs me up into the wall and lifts me so he doesn't have to crane his neck to kiss me. I wrap my legs around his waist. I trail off and kiss down his neck as he whispers,

"Slowly. Slowly, baby."

He sets me down and kisses me one last time before turning to head down the hallway. I turn and head into my room. I barely get the door shut before Ricky bursts in, closing the door and pressing me up against it, kissing me hard. We're interrupted by Ricky's phone vibrating. It's a text from Chris of a picture of Ricky and I kissing in the hallway just a few moments ago and below is a text that reads,

Chris: I won't tell if you learn to share.