Crush Crush

Chapter Three

The weekend went by uneventful. The biggest news was that Ryder's parade of whores was apparently cancelled. Not a single cocktail-dress-and-stilleto-heel club girl was seen in the wee hours of Sunday morning. I went to Chloe's house Saturday night to get ready for a party at a baseball player's mini-mansion across town. While there, Chloe and I further investigated Friday night's events. We came to the conclusion that Ryder was being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole and the kiss didn't mean anything, and to never mention it to him again. We decided I needed to play cool, like the kiss wasn't a big deal, or like I've had better (Chloe's idea, not mine). 

I got home on Sunday around five or six in the morning after drawing the short stick for sober sister—the duty that rests on one of girls in our group of friends to take care of all the other drunk bitches. Ryder's house was silent, no random car parked out front, nor a taxi to take anyone home. I chuckled to myself as I parked my car and went into the house.

Monday morning, I went to school. My homeroom teacher announced the school's new policy for spontaneous parent-teacher conferences. She explained that the school district was now required to have randomly scheduled parent-teacher conferences throughout the semester instead of only having a conference when a student was doing bad. The spontaneous conferences were especially meant to help athletes and club members monitor their GPAs more closely.

I grinned to myself—Mom and Dad weren't due back for a while, so I dodged a bullet. 

I met Chloe after school and we grabbed our cheer bags from our cars, heading to the girls' locker room to change into our practice clothes. Chloe asked if any more Ryder drama had occurred, and was disappointed to discover that he hadn't called or checked-in all weekend.

"Why are you so upset about it?" I asked. "He's a jerk, remember?"

Chloe sighed as she tied her shoelaces. "I know, but he gorgeous and the only action I get is hearing your juicy love story."

I made a face. "It happened once, Chloe. It's not going to happen again, remember?"

Chloe smirked. "You can't honestly say that you didn't enjoy the kiss."

"Of course I did. But—"

Chloe cut me off, "No. No buts. Just remember, when he tries again—and he will try again—make him work for it. Like I always say, be a lady in the streets, but a freak in the sheets." 

I give her a dubious look. "You never say that."

"Well, I say it now."

We both laughed.

. . .

After practice, I went home. I dragged my body upstairs and into the shower. After scrubbing my body and hair clean, I threw on some comfy clothes and sat on my parents' balcony that overlooked the backyard, my heavy backpack by my side. We lived on a hill that overlooked a smaller neighborhood and more rolling hills. In the distance, you could see the shining lights of downtown.

I pulled binder after binder out of my bag. The weather was surprising still warm for early November. I basked in the sun for as long as I could before it sunk behind the mountains. I managed to finish my calculus homework as well as my biology homework.

As the sun set, I cautiously thought of Ryder and Friday night. I couldn't deny it: He was a better kisser than I ever imagined. I grimaced. 

I finally stop crushing on the guy and he shoves his tongue down my throat. I rubbed my face in frustration. What the hell does he want from me? 

I shoved my homework back into my backpack and slammed the slider door closed behind me with unnecessary roughness.

Dumping my bag in my bedroom, I went downstairs to start figuring what I was going to eat for dinner. I had finished the Chinese and Denny's leftovers over the weekend, so I grabbed a bowl and poured some cereal. I sat at the dining table and played some apps on my phone while I ate.

The front door opened.

I groaned in annoyance. 

As he entered the kitchen, I didn't even look up from my app. "Jeez. Just move in already, why don't you?"

He didn't bother to respond. He approached the dining table and glanced at my bowl of Lucky Charms. "That's hardly dinner."

"It does the job." I glance up at him. Ryder was wearing business-casual pants and tight black shirt. I carefully avoided slobbering over his well-defined arms. "Don't you have someone else to annoy?"

Again, he didn't respond. He pulled out a chair and sat beside me, his knee brushing against mine. I shifted so that my body was facing away from him. 

"Did you do your homework?"

"No, my dog ate it." I finished my cereal and stood to put my dish in the sink. I was still hungry, so I grabbed an apple from the fridge and a serrated knife. I fished the peanut butter from the pantry and set to work cutting the apple into even wedges.

Ryder's body closed around mine, trapping me against the counter. I glanced over my shoulder, "Careful, I'm armed."

"You're going to cut yourself."

I pushed my back against him, forcing him to step back a foot. "Then I'll drive myself to the hospital."

His hands closed around mine, stilling my furious chopping. He bent forward, his cheek brushing against my ear. "You're going to cut yourself," he repeated. His fingers threaded through mine, forcing me to drop the knife. I tried once more to push him off, but he expected it and firmly held his ground. His breath tickled my neck.

I turned my head a fraction. "Let go of me."

His nose skimmed my jawline. I fought to keep my knees locked and refrained from quivering in pleasure. His hands released mine and gently settled on my stomach. His palms rubbed circles over the fabric of my t-shirt before his fingers inched downward, toward the waistband of my cotton shorts. My fingers curled around his wrists, stopping the advance. He easily overpowered me, his fingertips creeping beneath the waistband.

I pressed my back against his chest, trying to force the pleasant curling sensation in my stomach to fade away while also trying to escape my confinement against the counter. A hand moved from trying to invade my shorts to my hip, holding my lower body against his. I gritted my teeth, caging the hiss of pleasure from escaping my lips.

Friday night suddenly invaded my thoughts, and Chloe's advice flitted across my mind: "Make him work for it. Tease him a little, but stay in control."

So, I did something I knew he wasn't expecting. I turned my head and latched a hand around his neck, bringing his head down to crash his lips against mine. He was surprised, unresponsive for a few seconds. Then, he turned my body and pressed my back against the counter. I let myself get lost in the kiss for a full minute before regaining my senses and sidestepping his roaming hands.

He followed me, not breaking the kiss. I almost grinned, but his tongue elicited a moan from my throat instead. I curled my fingers around his shirt as I guided us closer toward the stairs. As we neared them, I used all my strength to push him against the front door instead. His hands cupped my ass, grinding my hips against him. I managed to break the kiss for a brief second, trailing my lips down his neck. After I successfully gave him a small, but very noticeable hickey, I took a step back, grinning.

"Go home, Ryder," I said, pleasantly. His brow furrowed. I used his confusion to my advantage, pulling him away from the front door enough to open it and shove him out of the house. I waved cheekily, blowing a kiss before slamming the door in his face. I locked the door and returned to the kitchen to finish cutting my apple.

I felt like I won the lottery. Victory is sweet.