Never Told You

Chapter Ten

When we reached the opening, I realized River had made changes. Off to the side, there was an opening that had a little fire pit with tree stumps as makeshift benches. My breath was caught in my throat. This was still the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

"Cat got your tongue?" I cleared my throat and let out a deep, long breath.

"Yeah, a little bit still. This place is so beautiful. I still can't wrap my head around its existence."

"I don't know how my mom knew about this place. It's crazy how peaceful it is out here." His voice trailed off as he walked towards the flowers.

"River I'm sorry that she's-" River cut me off.

"No. Don't feel sorry for me. She's probably in a better place anyways. I still blame her for leaving me though, and I shouldn't." I furrowed my brows. Why'd he say just him and not his dad?

"So, you don't consider her to have left your dad behind too?" River scoffed.

"She left me and not my dad because my dad has issues with alco-" He cut himself off. He didn't finish his sentence.

"River, I'm here for you. You can talk to me." He looked at me and stayed silent. I sighed. I knew nothing about River, and the moment he started opening up, he immediately stopped. I'm guessing his dad is an alcoholic, and his mom couldn't take the drinking. I believe that's why he said his mom was in a better place.

"What are you thinking about?" River's voice made me jump. I was lost deep in my thoughts.

"Um...nothing. I was just thinking about what I said. Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I'm sorry." River stayed quiet. I looked down at my hands as I fidgeted with them.

"That's okay. I don't open up though. That's who I am."

"River, I want you to open up to me. That's part of the reas-" River pushed his lips against mine, and cupped my cheek in his hand. His fingers were cold, but my cheek burned where he touched it. Shivers crawled along my spine. His touch was gentle. I could feel the calluses from his hand on the soft skin of my cheek. We both got lost in the kiss until we had to pull away for air. I took a deep breath and looked at River.

"I know." He spoke and sounded breathless. He then looked me in the eyes. I froze momentarily. I then reached up and stroked his cheek. I reconnected our lips, and he didn't pull away. I felt less nervous knowing that he had some sort of feelings for me. He led me towards the fire pit, our lips still locked. We then disconnected for more air, and I saw a blanket on the ground. He went to kiss me again, and I stepped back.

"Was this planned?" I pointed to the blanket. I started to worry until River explained how the blanket was already there.

"I set it up because I was going to stay the night out here alone. I then got a call from Julian that Hunter was at your place. So I had to take you with me." I nodded.

"Couldn't leave me with the big bad wolf? I'm grateful you were there. Thank you for taking me with you." River put his finger across my lips to keep me from saying more.

"Let's just enjoy this moment." His voice was soft. I nodded and stepped towards him. We both laid ourselves across the blanket. We gazed at the stars in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was peaceful. I was scared I would make it awkward. I then looked over at River and realized he was looking at me. Our eyes locked, and then he smashed his lips against mine. We continued kissing as his hand lightly grazed my breasts, then trailed down my body and stopped at the top of my sweats. He slid his hand inside my shirt and rested it on top of my belly button. I couldn't stop him, not because I didn't want this, but because I knew I could trust him. I thought maybe I loved him, but that would be too soon. I've only known River for about a month now. He pulled away from me.

"Are you okay? We can stop." I looked him in the eyes. I never realized how beautiful his eyes were.

"No, I just got lost in my thoughts momentarily. I'm sorry." I then started kissing him again, and he moved his hand back to where it was. I then reached up and tugged River's shirt off. I looked at his chest and torso and felt it up and down. It was shortly after he removed my shirt. We continued kissing as he unhooked my bra. He then started pulling on my sweats. My breathing hitched in my throat and he seemed to notice. He pulled away and looked at me. I grabbed his neck and kept kissing him. He managed to pull my sweats down without pulling away from me. He then broke away for a breath and looked at my body. I shifted uncomfortably. He started kissing me again and I struggled getting his pants off. It wasn't long before we were both naked, kissing on the blanket. River pulled away again and looked me in the eyes once more.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I looked down at my body.

"Yes." He nodded and we continued. After we were finished, River revealed a small blanket that was folded up next to the big one laid out on the ground. He threw it over us. He then moved me so I was laying on his chest. He gently rubbed my bare shoulder as we stayed there looking at the almost gone night sky.

"That was...wow.." River's voice trailed off, and he seemed speechless. I felt good that I made him speechless.

"Look who's tongue the cat has now." He chuckled, and it echoed through my ears.