Allure

14 - Ryon

        I sit outside of Martins completely petrified, I’m not sure what to expect and I’ve never been alone with a guy.  My father and brother wouldn’t allow it. I lay my hands on the steering wheel and my head on my hands, and stare at my thighs. Deep breaths, Ryon, Deep breaths.

          The knock at my window causes me to jump. Richard apologizes, smiles and shrugs his shoulders as if to ask ‘what the hell are you doing’. I smile back. He raises his eyebrows.

          “Want to open the door then, Ryon?” His voice is faint through the glass.

          Oh.

          I Unlock the door and open it. “Hi.” I Smile nervously and surely he is aware.

          “Hello, love.” He smiles and leans in and kisses my cheek, and in the same movement he unbuckles my seatbelt and cradles me out of my car, placing me on my feet with exceptional grace. “My car.”

          We are on the road for almost an hour and a half.  Richard doesn’t let go of my hand the entire time. He keeps his eyes almost permanently glued to the road, only taking them away to flash me his breathtaking smile, or to give me a once over when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.

          His focus on the road allowed me to admire him from up close unruly black hair was flared in every direction. He had slight stubble growing in on his face, I remembered feeling it on my cheek as he kissed me. I smiled to myself. He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed it his eyes closing for just a second, and his temples flared due to him clenching his jaw. My heart set of fireworks in my chest.

          “Where are we going?.” I ask after 10 minutes of seeing nothing but trees.

          He smiles at me and it’s slightly devious “You’re either going to love me or hate me after this.”

          “Richard!” I smile at him, not feeling threatened at all but still wanting to know.

          “Patients my sweet Ryon.” He chuckles to himself. “Five minutes.”

          There’s a distant sound of rushing water, or so I think, Richard turns up the radio before I can be sure.

          We park on a large gravel driveway,  And he lets himself out. Before I can open my door, he’s there, pulling it open for me, taking my hand and escorting me out.

          “I have something for you.” I look at him confused. Is it too early to exchange gifts? He pulls out a camping backpack. And sets it on the ground. He opens the back pack and pulls out a pair of black boots and looks up at me with a boyish charm as he hands them to me. “You’ll need these.”

          Part of me wants to get in the car and lock the doors, there’s no way I’m hiking. But a bigger part of me wants to see where he is going with this. I take the boots.

          Richard stands and grabs me by my hips, and pulls me close causing my arms to fold over in front of me and clench the boots.

“You’re very beautiful.” He says, the serious tone in his voice drives me insane, and my only response is to smile up at him. He bends over slightly and his lips land on my forehead, and then my nose, and then my lips where they lingered as he backed my into the trunk of his car and made me sit. When he pulled his lips away he kneeled before me and took my shoes off of my feet, and replaced them with the hiking boots he’s brought.

“How did you know my size?”

“Lucky guess.” He smiled up at me as he finished tying my shoes and returned for another kiss.

Richard pulled the backpack on. For the first time today I took in his full outfit, Black t- shirt, dark wash blue jeans and black boots. He made the basic look extraordinary.

“What if I didn’t fit them?” I smiled.

He looks around in his trunk and pulls out another box. “I took a few more guesses.” He smiles.

He places a camera around my neck. And another around his.  And begins to close his trunk.

“Wait wait.” He looks up at me confused.

I pull the smaller camping bag from his trunk and put it on, it’s a bit heavier than I expect, but I’d rather not be without whatever items that mat aid me in this bag.

He smiles, places a hat on my head, and nods his head in approval. “Alrighty, then.”