No Such Thing

Chapter 10

Playlist:
Hot Enough - Vixx
Darling - Carla Bruni
I Want You - Kings of Leon

Did last night really happen? I'm sitting at my counter staring into my steaming coffee mug trying to put all the pieces together.

We barely succeeded getting through my apartment door with my teeth gripping onto Ryder's bottom lip and his hands glued to the sides of my face. He shut the door by lifting me up against it while I supported my weight by swinging my legs around his hips. It was like some sex tips article straight out of Cosmo. The kind I mock almost daily. He started unbuttoning my jeans before I could even get my boots off. And my hat... Where the hell is my hat? Great. I stopped kissing him because I felt that things were going out of sequence. Call me a control freak. "I'm sorry you don't wanna do this I understa-" Before he could go babbling on, I pulled my shirt up over my head and he instantly shut up. When I leaned in to kiss him again, he carried me into my bedroom and let himself fall into my mattress with me on top of him making a giggle come out of me while our tongues were still intertwined. I felt him smiling through his kisses. I managed to multitask and kick off my boots and nudge him to do the same. No need to get New York scum on my sheets. He pushes me forward for a moment to pull off his shirt. He paused to look up at me as my eyes grazed across the ink patterns staining his skin and I leaned back into him. His fingers softly traced my spine, swirling around each vertebrae until he reached my bra clasp. "You're fucking crazy." The unusual low and raspy voice that came out of him made my legs shaky. That mixed with my laugh must've set him off cause without a warning my bra was unclipped and I was flipped over onto my back squealing as he hovered over me. Let me tell you something. The man has the hands of a god. It was like fucking Zeus himself. My sheets were like the aftermath of Poseidon's Fury.

I choke on my coffee at the thought that my neighbors heard me screaming and moaning like the undead. Oh my god, I would be mortified. I get up and walk to my bedroom to see him still fast asleep in my bed. He's on his stomach and the sheets are barely covering his back so the ink of the dagger is shining in the sunlight. I've never seen someone look that good just sleeping. Every time he inhales I can see his back muscles tense up and- Wow. I'm totally screwed. Literally and metaphorically screwed. Alright, so I like him? Big deal, I can do feelings... I think. The bed looks extremely tempting with him looking so luxurious in it so I crawl back in and he wakes up.

*Ryder's POV*

"Morning sleepyhead." I see a blur of tan skin. As my vision clears I see her tousled blonde hair and illuminating eyes. Every curve of her is present even in my large shirt cause she's crouched in front of me like a lioness. "What a nice view to wake up to." She smashes a pillow over my face and sits on top of me. I flip her over and she goes into a giggling fit as I start tickling her sides. I pause and rest on my elbows to watch her locked up under me just smiling. Her smile fades away and she starts playing with the elastic on my boxers. "So is this the part where you leave and we forget this ever happened?" She's not looking at me anymore. How many more times do I have to tell her I really like her? "You've got a thick ass skull, young lady." I knock my fist lightly on it and she removes it with her dainty hands, now examining the fine lines on my palms. "I don't do this kind of thing." "What kind of thing don't you do?" "Whatever this is." "Exactly." She glances up with a confused look on her face. "Exactly what?" "We haven't actually said what this is yet, have we?" "Oh." She looks back down but this time she drops my hand and attempts to wiggle away from me. Of course, there she goes trying to shut me out all over again. "Where are you failing to go?" "Away. Let me out." "No." The way she jerked her head and glared at me had me trying to control my laughter. "What you've never heard someone tell you no before?" "Shut up and let me out." I pull her chin toward me so she's forced to look me in the eyes. "You're the one who keeps trying to get away from me. I'm the one who keeps trying to stay with you. I want you to tell me what you want this to be. It's never been my decision." From the moment I walked into 1Oak my fate was sealed. I know it seems dramatic, but it's the truth. If I was remotely intelligent enough or had a choice I would never stick around. She's the biggest pain in the ass. But something in the way she breathes pulls me in, like a siren lures a sailor to his doom. Also very dramatic. Still very true. "It's not my decision either because I didn't even want any of this. Should I call upon the heavens with a fucking rain dance to tell me? Cause I don't have a single clue as to what I want." "That's not what it sounded like last night." "Ugh you're so irritating!" She buries her face in her hands and I kiss them until she lets me in. Being the cheeky bastard that I am, I didn't stop kissing when her lips were exposed. I pinned both of her hands up over her head, so she'd quit trying to hide from me. One of her legs was snaking around my torso. "I want to be with you, like this, for however long as you let me. Call it whatever the hell you want. Just let it be only for me. Mine.. Mine... Mine.." I call out the parts of her that are mine as I kiss them, moving to every inch of her I can get to. When I stop at her knees, she lifts her foot and shoves it into my forehead, pushing me away from temptation. "On one condition." Here we go. "And what is your condition?" "Bagels, every Tuesday. Blueberry, light cream cheese, toasted." She sat up with that childish grin of triumph I fell for when I first caught a glimpse of her.

*Stella's POV*

"I don't know what to say. I think I'm having a stroke." And I'm the drama queen? The office was buzzing with gossip when I walked in earlier and I knew it was about me when the whole place went dead silent as I made my way to Jo's office. This isn't gonna go away anytime soon. Oh boy. "My inner self is probably suffering the same ailment. Don't worry, you're not alone." "It's not making sense in my head. You and Ryder Wells.. How the hell?" "Please, for the love of Emilio Pucci, don't ask me. The answer is lost in a sea of jumbled question marks in my brain. It just happened." "Honey, I know I'm not your mother, but I feel like I am anyway since yours is so distant and I'm as barren as a North African desert. Do you really wanna go down this road again?" The fact that she would even bring that up causes me to shudder. What scares me more is that I had forgotten about it entirely until she brought it up. "It's not the same. I think. I'm different now and this one, he's different. Maybe I'm not meant to be alone with an apartment full of Gucci python boots and rosé. On the brightside, at least now you don't have to worry about putting me in rehab before you." "You're making it sound like it's serious." "It's not. Can't I make a joke anymore?" I throw myself in her office chair rolling my eyes. She's leaning over her desk, arms crossed, glaring into the very pits of my soul. I appreciate that she still worries about me, but it's not necessary any longer. "If you were the same girl that walked into The Society a couple years ago, I'd drag you into a faraway tower and stick you in it until you forget his name... But, since you're not, I will begrudgingly trust your judgement. Especially because I never expected you to look at another human male again." "Thank you for always believing in my abilities." "Does this mean you'll be needing a plus one for all your events from now on?" "Don't make me sound so cliché." I get up and walk toward the door. "I'm sure he'll be taking you out all over, since he's already started. Thought you should return the favor." I'm already turning the knob and waving goodbye. "Fine fine fine."

I felt like the air in the room had thickened and if I stayed another second after she mentioned my last endeavor, I surely would've choked to death. Which gets me thinking... Ryder and I hadn't actually established what exactly we are. Dating? Boyfriend/girlfriend? Friends with benefits? Fucking and doing couple things but not actually dating? Sid and Nancy? I've existed in a world without labels before and I'm not nearly as affected by it as I was then, but it's still nice to have some type of ground to stand on. My thoughts are interrupted by my phone ringing. "Hello?" "Stella, hey! It's Carmen. Do you wanna have lunch?" She got my number from Ryder, I'm sure. "Uh, yeah why not, send me an address." "Perfect, see you shortly, love!" I hang up and see a text from Ryder. *Have fun and be nice. ;-)* Why do I get the feeling that he's pushing me to be friendly?