An Exchange

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Argument and Rivalry

Penny

I found myself yet again awestruck as I entered Ryan's home. He took me through the house and straight to the pool. While he went to get the food for dinner, I changed into my swimsuit and climbed into the pool.

He came back with steaks to grill. "You Australians like grilling don't you?"

"Yeah, a good barbie once in a while is great, especially for Christmas lunch."

He smiled. "Oh yeah, you guys have Christmas in the middle of summer. That's so weird."

I laughed. "I could say the same about snow at Christmas."

"No, Christmas is definitely supposed to have snow..."

"Try water fights and sunburn!"

"What a Christmas present—red, raw skin."

"I'd prefer it to frost bite."

He stepped away from the barbecue and kicked water at me, so I splashed him back.

"Oh, just you wait." He turned back to grilling. He soon finished, and we sat at the small bar to eat.

"So where are your parents tonight?" I asked.

He kept his gaze on his food as he answered. "Kendra's school. She has a dance thing."

"You didn't want to go?"

He shrugged. "Nah, couldn't. Parents only."

As we ate and talked, and he kept staring at me. I felt self-conscious. Maybe I had something on my face? So when he went to change into his board shorts, I found a mirror to check. Nothing.

We threw the football around in the yard for a while, but when a storm blew over, we rushed inside the pool house again. We stood by the windows watching and listening to the rain and the rumbling thunder. Ryan wrapped his arms around my waist and softly kissed my shoulder. "Do you still love me, Penny?"

I turned my head so I could see him. "Yes, I do."

He kissed my shoulder again. He ran his hand down my arm then wove his fingers into mine. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"I know you are."

He turned me around to face him and he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we fell into a deep, passionate kiss. I'd missed him so much, and I wanted to make up for the time we lost from the whole fiasco two weeks earlier.

He unzipped my jacket and pulled it off in a blink of an eye, and tossed me into the pool. I surfaced, gasping for air and heard him laughing. "I got you back."

He jumped into the water beside me.

We played around for a few minutes before we sat on the steps in the water, with one of his arms behind me supporting us, and with his other hand he played with my fingers. We were quiet, just listening to the sound of the rain.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I glanced around at the ceiling then down into his eyes.

"I love the rain," he answered, then held my chin and kissed me. He pulled my legs up over his lap and I clasped his face. I pulled back. "Ryan?"

He gazed into my eyes. "Yes?"

"I forgive you."

His face lit up and he pulled me against him, kissing me. I kissed him back, relieved of my burden that I’d carried around the last few weeks. But then, I felt his hand. It slid up my top ever so slowly, headed for my breast. I tried to push him off, but he came back more persistently. Holding my top down, I pulled away. "Ryan, don't..."