Bound to You

Chapter 28: Tour

“You are the biggest liar!” Darcy scoffed, gruffly pushing Riker away from her. He laughed as he caught her hand and pulled her back down to lie across his chest. “I’m not lying! I really don’t remember.” he said defensively. Darcy shook her head as she tried to wriggle free, to no avail. His muscled arms had her pinned against him tightly. “You’re full of crap, everyone remembers their first kiss. You just don’t want to tell me.” She said grumpily. She stopped squirming once she realized her efforts were of no use. “This isn’t a gesture of love.” She muttered as she rested her head against his shoulder in defeat. She felt Riker’s laugh vibrate throughout his chest. “Fine, cranky.” He said, releasing her from his grasp and gently rolling her off of him. She rolled over to lie flat of her back against the shingles, putting several inches of distance between the two of them. They laid in silence for several long minutes, both staring up at the stars. Darcy glanced back over at Riker, her curiosity finally getting the better of her. “You really don’t remember?” she questioned skeptically. Riker sighed, keeping his gaze focused on the sky above them. “Of course I remember. I was 12, and it was in my backyard.” He said simply. He turned his head to look at her. “Happy?” Darcy grinned as she scooted closer to him. “What was her name?” she questioned. Riker shook his head, despite the lopsided grin that had begun to work its way across his face. “You know you can be a pain sometimes, don’t you?” he asked tiredly. Darcy smirked as she sat upright. “You love it.” She said smugly. She reached down and gently ran her fingers through his messy hair, brushing away the blonde strands that were covering his eyes. He sighed contentedly, allowing his eyelids to slowly slip shut. “I really don’t remember her name.” he mumbled. “It was ten years ago. But it doesn’t matter, because I enjoy kissing you way more.” He finished, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. Darcy nodded silently as her fingertips delicately traced the contours of his face. “You better.” She said quietly. She allowed her fingers to gently brush against his lips, suddenly overcome with the desire to have them pressed against her own. Riker slowly opened one eye to peer up at her. “Can I ask you a question?” he asked suddenly. Darcy smiled down at him. “Depends on what it is.” She said coyly. Riker propped himself up on his elbows, keeping his gaze firmly locked with hers. “Is Ross a good kisser?” he questioned. Darcy stared at him blankly for a moment. Of all the things he could possibly ask… Truthfully, she hadn’t thought much about Ross’s kissing skills. It wasn’t like they had made out before, their lip-locking was pretty much limited to public appearances or posing for Instagram pictures. She could see Riker growing anxious over her delayed response. “Do you really want me to answer that?” she asked skeptically. He pursed his lips, clearly debating himself whether or not he wanted to hear what her answer would be. The skin around his eyes crinkled the same way it always did when he was deep in thought. “Yes.” He said finally. Darcy shrugged nonchalantly, turning her attention to a loosened shingle on the roof to avoid his piercing stare. “He’s not a bad kisser.” She said innocently. The corners of Riker’s mouth immediately turned down into a scowl. Darcy couldn’t help but laugh. “You asked!” she said defensively. Riker’s frown only deepened. “Yeah well…I was hoping you would say no.” he grumbled. Darcy giggled again as she leaned over and quickly pecked his cheek. “Don’t worry, I much prefer kissing you.” She whispered, allowing her lips to graze the skin beneath his ear. Riker turned his head back to face her, allowing his lips to gently meet hers. “You better.” He said quietly.

**

“Okay, is everyone present & accounted for? I see Rocky, Ross, Riker, Darcy, Rydel…where’s Ryland?” Mark questioned, standing before the group of young adults scrunched together on the leather sofa. “He’s upstairs, dear. He’ll be down in a minute. And don’t forget we have to fill Ellington in on everything once he gets back from vacation.” Stormie said, gently resting her hand on her husband’s arm. Darcy glanced aimlessly around the room, being extra careful not to allow her eyes to linger on Riker. So far they had been successful at hiding their relationship from the family, and she didn’t intend to end that streak now. “Alright well, I guess I’ll go ahead and get started.” Mark said, shuffling the small stack of papers he held in his hands. “You guys know we’ve got our North American mini-tour coming up in a week. It’s only three weeks long so Darcy, you won’t be accompanying us this time.” “Oh why not?” Rydel interjected, her lower lip protruding slightly. Mark shrugged. “It wasn’t my call, honey. Sean asked that Darcy stay behind. Mackenzie and Breanne never go on tour with us, it wouldn’t be realistic if we made an exception for Darcy.” He said apologetically. Darcy shook her head. “It’s fine, really. I think I’m going to enjoy having the house to myself for a few weeks. Who knows, I might throw a few wild parties while y’all are gone.” She joked. She heard Ross stifle a laugh from beside her. “Yeah, right.” He said sarcastically. Darcy threw him a disdainful look as Stormie cleared her throat gently to draw the group’s attention back to her. “You guys need to begin packing your things as soon as possible. We don’t need another repeat of the last tour, Rocky.” She chided, glancing over at her middle son. “Hey-” he started, throwing his hands up defensively. “Stormie?” a female voice called from the direction of the front door. Darcy turned her head in the direction of the interruption. It didn’t sound like Breanne or Mackenzie, and she knew for a fact that Breanne was out of town anyways. A tall, golden-haired girl appeared in the entryway moments later. “Oh, am I interrupting-” she started. “No, no of course not! Come in, dear!” Stormie called, gesturing for the young woman to join her next to Mark. “Darcy, I haven’t introduced the two of you yet. This is Kaitlyn, my assistant. Kaitlyn, this is Darcy.” She said cheerfully. The girl, whose hair was a more rich, golden color than the Lynch siblings bleach-blonde locks, shook her head as she leaned forward to shake Darcy’s hand. “You can call me Kate, I’m pretty sure Stormie is the only one who calls me Kaitlyn.” She laughed. Darcy nodded as she leaned forward to meet her outstretched hand. “Got it. It’s nice to meet you.” She said, smiling warmly. Stormie clapped her hands together eagerly, pulling all the eyes in the room back to her once again. “I think that was everything guys. You all can go back to whatever you were doing before.” She said happily. Darcy quickly stood and took a few steps in the direction of the front door. “And don’t you dare think about getting back on that roof Darcy Elisabeth. You know I hate both you and Riker climbing up there.” Stormie called after her. Darcy sighed in defeat and turned back around. “I’ll be upstairs then.” She said in an exaggerated tone of despair, poking her bottom lip out slightly as she passed by the mother Lynch. She felt Stormie lightly swat the back of her head as she crossed in front of her. “Nice try. Kaitlyn, would you mind helping me get some shopping bags out of the car? I loaded up on a ton of things for the tour.” Stormie’s voice faded as she disappeared through the front door. Darcy immediately stopped walking and turned back around once she heard the door close. The living room was empty, abandoned by the others as soon as the parents had dismissed them. With the exception of one. Riker glanced toward the entrance to make sure they were still alone before crossing the room towards Darcy. “I think I have about twenty seconds before my mother comes walking back through that door.” He said quietly, immediately pulling her into his warm embrace. She rested her head against his chest, allowing his familiar scent to envelop her like a blanket. “I love you.” He murmured, tenderly pressing a kiss to her forehead. She felt his arms quickly release her as the front door reopened seconds later. “Darcy, are you still in here? You’re going to love these new dresses I bought for Rydel!” Stormie called, her voice travelling towards the direction of the kitchen. “I’m coming.” Darcy called back. “Riker-” she started, turning back around to say goodnight. He was gone. She frowned slightly, glancing up the staircase in the direction he had disappeared. “I love you too.” she whispered.