Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 22

RYAN'S POV

It was around eleven when Landon left and I was in dire need of sleep, especially since my nap was interrupted by today's events. I gave Becca a hug goodnight and kissed her forehead before we went our separate ways to our bedrooms.

I woke immediately from my heavy sleep when my door cracked open, emitting a small squeaking sound.

"Ryan?" a small voice called out before sneaking in the slender opening and shutting the door. My mind wasn't fully awake yet and I hadn't responded right away so she continued. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah" my voice came out extremely husky and hopefully my timid Becca didn't notice.

My room was completely dark so I couldn't see her, but I heard her walking across the carpet towards my bed.

"Can I, uhm, sleep in here with you?" her voice was quiet and shaky. "I'm scared by myself."

Tossing a side of my blankets up, I reached my arm out to form a place for her to lay.

"Come here."

She snuggled right next to me but was at an odd angle. I reached out and pulled her left leg onto my waist to help her get comfortable, then I realized her bare leg was resting on my naked abdomen. Becca gasped and tried to pull away but I held her there in fear of what would happen if she kept moving around against me. Soon she relaxed and her breathing became an even pace signaling sleep. That's when I finally unclenched my hand from around her thigh and relaxed myself. This beautiful girl was already tying me up in knots and climbing in my bed wearing just a t-shirt and panties didn't help. I thought about how I haven't 'gotten any' for a while now since I broke up with Mel at the beginning of summer. Thankfully, thinking of Melissa instantly diminished any 'romantic' ideas and I was finally able to fall asleep.

~~~

A tickling sensation on my chest slowly woke me up.

"It's morning," a soft voice said near my ear and I turn to the stunning girl next to me with a smile. Her tiny fingers were gently stroking the middle of my chest.

"Good morning beautiful." My voice was husky from sleep among other things and Becca's eyes widened at the sound.

I couldn't stop looking at her blue eyes so I noticed when they flashed down to gaze at my lips. Unconsciously, my tongue swept over them and I saw the desire in her eyes grow.

"Becs..." I moved towards her slowly, giving her plenty of time to bow out but she didn't.

My lips brushed against hers softly and all my plans of going slow went out the window. Reaching forward to cup her face, I pull her into a rougher kiss and immediately feel electricity flowing through every part of my body. She wound her hands behind my neck and released a breathy moan allowing my tongue to sweep inside her mouth and really start kissing her. I was lost in lala land as she shadowed my movements and drove me crazy. Her hips arched towards my own and pressed against me causing me to growl in need before I pulled away from her perfect lips. She whimpered from the loss and looked at me confused.

"Baby we need to stop because I don't think I'd be able to if we kept going," I explain tenderly, my voice deep with want.

REBECCA'S POV

I've never been with anyone romantically and I knew I wasn't ready quite yet so I was grateful for Ryan slowing things down. I'm not sure I would've had the strength to pull away. His kindness, warmth, muscularity, and pure attractiveness turned me on but his deep, husky voice made me melt. The way he growled riled me up like nothing has before.

I didn't verbally respond to his statement because I was still trying to catch my breath and slow down my rapid heart rate. Ryan runs his hand from my hair to my back and keeps it there while his thumb makes a stroking motion. The silence is becoming awkward so I push away to climb out of bed but find his hands grabbing hold of mine. Standing between his legs while he's sitting on the bed, he starts to talk.

"Becs I really, really want this but I want to make sure you're okay before adding more to your life." All the roughness in his voice from before is long gone and replaced by what sounds close to pity.

"O-okay."

He must have seen the hurt flash across my face because he mirrors it and pulls me closer to him.

"I promise you that this is where we're headed. I definitely want to be with you okay?"

I nod into his neck and hope he can't feel the liquid that's seeping out of the corners of my eyes. It's not that I don't believe him but the indefinite rejection is what hurts. I quickly unwrap myself from his embrace and head to the door.

"I'm going to shower," I mumble before closing the door behind me and sprinting towards the end of the hall.

I heard him whip his door open and come after me but I was already sitting behind the locked one in the bathroom.

"Becca," he called out sadly but I ignored him and undressed. "Why were you crying? Please let me in!" I started the shower and let the water wash away the sounds of his voice seeping through the door.

I was overreacting and I know it; that's why I left his room when I did. Why do I have to be such a baby all the time? Ryan has his life together while mine is just a sloppy mess. He knows what he's doing more than I do and I should trust him because he's just trying to help me.

~~~

I finish my shower feeling fresh and renewed. Since I ran in the bathroom without picking up a change of clothes, I decided to wrap the towel snuggly around my body and try to sneak to my room to change. But right when I swung the door open, Ryan's large body came falling towards me. He stumbled a little but eventually steadied himself by grasping onto my bare, wet shoulders.

"Ryan what are you doing?" I asked in shock.

He blinked a few times and said, "I was leaning on the door. Becca about what I said before..." His strong arm went up to scratch the back of his neck. his nervous habit.

"It's alright, I get it," I replied quickly before sneaking past him and into the hall. I heard him sigh but he didn't follow me this time. I shut the door to my plain room and looked for something to wear, which was going to be a boring t-shirt and jeans once again. I'm completely out of clean socks and have almost gone through all the clothing options I had and desperately need to do laundry. Sulking on my bed for a little while longer, I change my attitude and knock on the closed door across the hall.

After waiting for about a minute, it swings open to reveal a wet haired, shirtless Ryan.

"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" I ask cheerfully to let him know that I'm over my little fit from this morning.

"Yeah?" he smirks, taken off guard.

"Can I borrow a pair of socks?"

His laughter is instant and ricochets off the walls. Pulling me into his room, he sits me on the now made bed and goes to a bin on the shelves before finding some extra-large socks. I put them on and laugh. They only go up to his mid-calf but almost hit my knees! Ryan chuckles too when he notices the size difference.

"One more favor?"

"Sure."

"Can you show me where your washing machine is? I'm kind of running out of clean clothes," I say somewhat shyly but Ryan just nods his head and grabs his basket of dirty laundry that's about half full. We walk to my room and I add to the pile before he carries it down the stairs with me close behind. Before I know it, he's dumping the large basket into the washer and adding detergent.

"I didn't think you would know how to do wash." I start.

"Why not?" He seems completely baffled that I would think such a thing.

"Well, you just don't seem like the type."

I think he wasn't sure how to take my observations because he raised an eyebrow and left the laundry room.

"I have something to show you," he stated but kept walking away so I followed him silently all the way back to his room. Grabbing a large shopping bag from his closet and handing it to me, he started blushing profusely. I look down into the bag and smile while pulling out soft, colorful fabric.

"I, uh, I thought we could make a blanket for you. Your old room was really colorful and maybe this can be a start into making your new room feel homier."

"Thank you, Ryan!" I leapt into his arms giving him a humongous hug. "You are so thoughtful."

I could tell he was smiling as he hugged me back and set me down. We immediately got to work on the blanket in comfortable silence. When it was done it was perfect.

After the awkwardness of the morning, we both decided to forget about it for now as we cuddled all day watching movies under my new favorite blanket.