Give A Little More

Chapter 15

"Who is it?" Stormie sung through the door. "It's us!" Riker beamed, gripping my hand tightly. We stood at the door of his childhood home, white and beige with a beacutiful front yard, and a long driveway. "My babies!" She squealed, opening the door to give everyone a big squeeze. "Hi Mom!" Everyone smiled, giving her big hugs and kisses. "Hi Mrs. Lynch," I smiled politely, hugging her, "Honey," She shook her head, "Call me stormie, or Mom, whichever you prefer! You're gonna be in the family anyways!" She giggled, pulling Ratliff in for a hug, "You too, Ellington, call me Mom or whatever you'd like!" She beamed.

She led us inside the magnificent home, decorated for fall, I admired the large windows and the beautifully styled furniture pieces, "My mom's into interior design," Riker whispered in my ear. I nodded, "I can tell." I looked around in awe. "Hey little man!" Riker called out to his youngest brother, "How ya doin' man?" "I'm alright, how about yourself? Settling in alright?" He asked. I zoned out, looking out into the back yard. There was a pool and a large garden, along with dining chairs and a table set out for all of us.

"Would that be nice babe?" Riker asked me. "What?" I looked at him and his dad, "I'm sorry, I zoned out." "It's okay," Mark smiled, "Do you want to see the rest of the house? Riker will be happy to give you a tour I'm sure," He looked at his son and gave him a nudge. "Okay," I nodded, taking Riker's hand. "Okay," He led me through a door, "This is the den, and through here is my parent's room." He showed me the large room with grey walls and a red cover on the bed. "Cute," I said, leaning on him as we went up the huge stair case.

"On the right is Ryland's room, and used to be Ross' room too, they shared." He pointed, "I'd open it, but I don't know if Ry has cleaned," He laughed. "Here's Rydel's old room," He chuckled to himself, opening the door, "She really like bands growing up," He said, looking around. I saw the pink room with white covers on the bed and covers on the windows, "Fit for a princess," I smiled. "She is!" Riker shook his head, "The only girl of 5 kids, she was spoiled rotten. But she's still sweet so it's okay," He explained, leading me around the corner. "There's the office," He pointed, "The theater where we watched movies and played video games, and here's Rocky and I's old room," He beamed, opening up the door.

There were two twin sized beds, both with navy coverings and white carpet. "This is my bed," He patted it, sitting down. He opened his legs a bit and I came towards him, "It's pretty," I nodded, "I love what you've done with the place..." I gestured around us. His hands went up to my hips, feeling the side of my soft dress. "Thanks," He smirked, pulling me closer to him, "The Basket ball hoop on the door was my idea," He laughed. For once I was taller than him while he sat, and I leaned my head down to kiss him. "You're so gorgeous," He breathed out, "Too bad we can't just stay up here all night." He groaned, lightly pressing his hand on my bum.

"Mmm," I smiled, "We just did this at home cutie," I bit my lip, "Your parent's are right down stairs, I don't want them to think I'm just one of the countless girls you brought up to your room." I winked at him. "They won't," He whispered, standing up, "Because they're used to so many." He smiled at me. I looked into his eyes, running my fingers through his hair. "Grow your hair out a bit," Was all I could manage, "It's sexy when it's long," "Anything for you baby," He smirked, grabbing my hand, "Let's go eat," He whispered, kissing my cheek.

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"So Harper, how did Riker pop the quesiton?" Mark asked at dinner, looking up inquisitively. Everyone's head turned to me and watched curiously. "Um, well," I blushed, smiling at them. Riker took my nervousness and grabbed my hand, "Well, we love going for dinner at this place by our apartment complex, so we went there for a night out ." He looked at me and nodded as if to say I continue, "And," I started, "And we got dinner and dessert and when I got home we went to his apartment and there were candles and roses." I smiled at him sheepishly, telling him my fantasy. "And I went inside to look at the beautiful scene and when I turned around, he was on one knee!" I smiled, astonished that I had made it through that flawlessly. Stormie dabbed her eyes, "I wish you had pictures! Look at me tearing up.." She waved her hands, "My baby boy is gonna get married..." She cried.

I gripped Riker's hand harshly, 'married' rung in my ears. "Mhm," He nodded, reaching across from him to console her. I wished desperately for the conversation to drift to something else, maybe Rydel and Ellington, but as much as I hinted, we always came right back to our wedding and the engagement. "Do you have a place in mind yet?" Stormie looked from me to my uhm, fiancee. "We were thinking maybe the beach." Riker suggested. I looked up at him, "I like that idea," I smiled softly, leaning my head on his shoulder, my only source of comfort. "Well, I know someone who does amazing photography! I can schedule an appointment," "Not necessary." I spoke quickly, panicking, "We can wait a little bit..."

"Would you like a glass of wine Harp?" Rydel asked me, already pouring me some, "Please God yes," I whispered to her from next to me. "Thank you," I smiled, accepting the glass and taking a sip. "Well, what about next week we go look at wedding dresses!" Stormie exclaimed, clapping her hands. I choked, coughing and tearing up. "Mom, maybe we can talk about this a little later?" Riker interupted, "It's a little overwhelming for us." "Well, okay, sweetie, I'll save my wedding talk for a bit later." She giggled.

"Well, this sounds like as good a time as ever," I managed to say. I looked over at Rydel and she shot me a look of agony, "I um," She smiled, "Mommy, Daddy," She looked at them. Ellington looked over at her and took her hand. "Guys, Rydel and I are seeing each other, and we have been for a while now." He said confidently. Rocky and Ross busted out laughing, "seeing quite a lot of each other if you know what I mean," Ross giggled, clapping his hands. "We knew it!!" Riker smiled, looking at me, "Congrats you two that's cool!" "Ross, Rocky, stop it!" Stormie scolded, shaking her head, "Well, I think that's just great. I can't wait to get to know you a little better Ellington." "Thank you Stormie, that means a lot," He nodded politely, watching Rydel sink down in her chair and take another sip of her wine. Riker's hand went to the small of my back and gently rubbed it, "You're doing great," He whispered to me.

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"So what about you Harper? Family out here?" Mark asked me. We had moved to the couches on the patio by a fire. We sat cozily with blankets and coffee. "Um, yes sir, my Dad and Step Mom live out here with their two daughters down in Grove," I nodded. "Oh, Grove," He repsonded, "Nice area, love to meet them some day," "I'm sure you will," I smiled, rolling my eyes at my dad and his house. My dad's house, and his car, and his basketball court, and his putting green. "My mom died a few years back," I sat back, suddenly vulnerable. I never tell people personal stuff. Riker gripped my hand and kissed the side of my forehead. "I'm sorry to hear that.." Stormie said, "But I'm sure she's in a better place now." "I'm sure," I said, looking uncomfortably at Riker.

After 30 more minutes of any conversation having nothing to do with Riker and I's engagement, I woke up to Riker trying get up from our couch. I fell asleep and so had Ross, who was stumbling up, going to hug his mom and get in the car. "We're so glad you guys all came over tonight, It was such a great time." Stormie hugged me. "Thank you for having us, its fun to finally get to meet the people I hear about all the time." I smiled. She grasped my hands, "Harper, you seem sweet, and you seem like you love my baby boy very much, so if you ever need anything at all, you can come to me. You're my daughter now!" She squealed the last part and kissed my cheek. I got red hot, "Thanks, Mom," I smiled, suddenly comfortable calling her that. I took Riker's hand and ran to the car. Our driver picked us up and Ross collapsed in the back back seat, while Rocky, Rydel, and Ellington rode in their car behind us.

"Not too bad huh?" Riker said, running his thumb on my leg. "No," I shook my head, "Not too bad... Just a lot of wedding talk." "I know," He sighed, "But we can talk to her and tell her that we're waiting a while, that we want to have a long engagement or something." "You always have good ideas," I said, looking out the window into the dark suburbs. "Do you wanna do something to get your mind off of it when we get home?" He asked me, hand running up my leg. "I'm sorry Rike," I shook my head, "Can we just go to bed?" I asked him. "Sure," He nodded, "Anything you want."

We got home and locked our doors, crawling into our warm bed almost instantly after getting home. "Good night," I said. "Good night," He mumbled, rolling over to face towards me. I rolled to face away from him and sat, unable to sleep all of a sudden. Almost as if he read my mind, Riker pulled me closer to him and pressed himself against me, wrapping his arms around me carefully and kissing my cheek. And that was the first night we slept like we loved each other.