Sinner

Chapter 18

Ryan and I jog across the field towards the target. I have a tough time keeping up with him, but Ryan notices this and slows down. As we get closer I notice the target is a big piece of paper pinned onto a hay bale. I had taken 7 shots while up in the treehouse, my new nickname for it, and I was aware that all of my bullets had punctured through somewhere on the target. It was impossible to see exactly where, even in the scope of the sniper.

When we arrive I see one hole on the blue, five on the red, and one on the yellow- a bullseye.

"This is excellent!" Ryan exclaims and looks at me. He's smiling and I can tell he's truly surprised at how well I did.

"Thanks" I say, not bothering to tell him it is because almost every detail in shooting a sniper rifle is under my control. The only exception being how shaky my hands are. Windy? Aim in the opposite direction of the wind. Shooting over a long distance? Aim a tiny bit higher.

Ryan takes the target off the hay bale and rolls it into a cylinder. "Keep this... For memories" he says as he hands it to me. I feel a burning in my chest at his sweet words.

Ryan walks behind the hay bale and I hear a click. I realize there's a chest there. I glance over Ryan's shoulder at the contents of the chest. There's a stack of printed targets and a handful of push pins. Ryan grabs four of the push pins and turns around.

"Mind helping me pin up a new one?" he asks.

"Are you going to shoot now?" I ask, a little annoyed that we'd have to walk all the way back here to get Ryan's target when he was done shooting.

"No. You just put another one up for the next person who comes to practice. Save them 200 yards of walking" he explains.

"I thought you A.S.S.'s liked exercise" I look at him with a raised brow.

Ryan lets out a deep laugh and I'm momentarily hypnotized by the sound of it. "Not all of us. But you're smart enough to know how important it is for us to stay in shape" he says.

I nod and take the pins from Ryan's hands.

He turns around again and grabs a new sheet of paper, a big target printed on it. He shuts the chest and we walk around to the front of the hay bale. Ryan holds up the paper as I secure it to the bale with the pins, and then we start to head back across the giant field, this time walking casually.

The sun shines down on our heads and boils us as we walk. Beads of sweat trail down from Ryan's black hair, which absorbs the sun's rays of light more than my brown hair.

He plucks his t-shirt over his abdomen a few times, trying to fan himself with his clothing.

"You can take it off you know" I say.

Ryan actually stops in the middle of the field and looks at me.

"You are something else you know" he says and I furrow my brow, trying to understand what that means.

"I'm usually good at reading people. That's why I'm the lead interrogator here. But you Ashley... You're the most unpredictable person I've met" he says.

"What did I do that was unpredictable?" I ask.

Ryan thinks for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. "You're so comfortable with me, and we've only known each other for a short time" he says.

"Oh you're talking about my shirt comment. Well you were shirtless this morning, so I figured you were okay with being shirtless now" I explain.

"Yeah but this morning we were alone, you know?" he asks.

I make a point in turning my body a full 360 degrees to look around the field. "We're alone now" I say.

A grin seems to grow on Ryan's face. "Yeah but we're about to go in- you know what screw it" Ryan says and his hands reach behind his head and grab the back collar of his t-shirt. In one swift movement Ryan pulls the shirt over his head. He balls it up and holds it in his right hand, looking at me expectantly and waiting for my next move.

I stand there shocked that he listened to me. I don't know what to do. Do I say "that was hot" or "feel better?" or just continue walking back? What do I do?

As if reading my mind Ryan whispers "Surprise me."

My body takes over for my mind and I quickly take the few steps up to him so our chests are connected. I drop the used target in my hand. My hands reach up to Ryan's face and quickly but gently pull it down so our lips make contact. As we kiss with nothing more than lips, I look at Ryan to see how he reacts. His eyes flutter shut and I hear a soft grunt from deep within his throat.

In just a couple seconds we both slowly pull away from each other. I watch as Ryan's eyes slowly open again. He seems out of breath, and I wonder why this harmless kiss made him like this when our intense cardio workout didn't.

"Surprised?" I ask softly.

The grin reappears. "You have no idea."

I pick up the target and start backing away from him. This time he raises his brow at me, wondering what I'm doing.

I turn around and start running for my life. "Race you back to the H.Q.!" I yell, not even taking a second glance behind me.

"Oh no you don't!" I hear him yell.

Within seconds I feel his hands on my waist, lifting me off the ground. He throws me over his shoulder and now I'm stuck with the best view ever of Ryan's bare muscular back. Some alien takes over me as I somehow come to the decision to slap his firm bum.

"Ashley! Bad girl!" he says, and soon I feel his hand playfully smack my bum, sending a weird feeling throughout my body. Not uncomfortable. Just weird and new.

"Ryan!" I giggle as I bounce up and down on his shoulder.

"You get what you give Ashley" he laughs.

When we get to the door he sets me down in front of him. I try to avert my eyes from him but he grabs my chin and makes me look into his eyes.

"I have to put my shirt back on now. Is that okay with you?" he asks mockingly.

"Yes" I mumble and bring my hand up to pull his away from my chin.

Instead he grabs it with his other hand and places it on his cheek.

"Kiss me and I'll let you go" he says.

My breath hitches at his plea but I happily oblige.

We pull away and Ryan says "Great. Time for actual lunch now."

He skips inside and I roll my eyes, watching the amazement that is Ryan Higa.