finding you

seventy three

We don't go back to the fire right away. Rhys insisted on showing me the party bus. I think he wants me to be away from Brooke.

The bus is parked rather deep in sand. I honestly do not understand how they possibly could have even driven it this far into the dunes without getting it stuck sooner. I eye up how deep one of the tires is. It's almost completely submerged in the sand. How in the heck do they expect ever get this thing driving again?

"These dumb fucks. I don't know how they are going to get it out," Rhys laughs. His hand suddenly wraps around my back. He brings me against him, holding me tight. Warmth rushes through me.

"I don't want to go in there if there's a lot of people," I say quietly. I hear voices but I can't tell how many. There are drapes covering the windows so I can't see in.

Rhys rubs my back, reassuringly. "We'll check it out. People are probably just smoking pot in there, honestly."

"Is that we're going to do?"

Rhys chuckles. "No, baby." He lightly spanks my butt out of no where, making my whole body heat in embarrassment. Oh, I was not expecting that.

"Good," I say quietly. "I don't think I'd like to right now."

"Theo, have you ever smoked it?"

I ponder his question. Is it lame to admit that I've never? Who am I kidding? The boy knows me. "No."

"Not that I would ever let something like this happen, but never take weed from anybody if you don't know where it came from." He squeezes my side slightly. "Weed's fucking gross, anyway."

I just nod and say nothing. I have no intentions of ever smoking it anyway. I have asthma and my lungs are crap already.

Rhys hauls me up the bus steps, carefully guiding me up from behind me. An instant wave of smoke greets us as we walk in. I have to hold my breath for a moment, so I don't have a coughing fit. There are three guys sitting on one of the seats at the front. For the most part, it looks like a normal bus. Except towards the back the bus seats have been ripped out and replaced with couches. There's a fancy rug on the floor and a small, rather ugly, chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It looks pretty homey, actually.

"This is... nice," I say. I sputter out a cough. The three guys are hovered over a giant bong, taking turns inhaling the thick smoke.

"Hey," Rhys nods at them. I can tell he has no idea who they are. He's just being polite as we walk by them. He leads me to the back to one of the couches. He sits down on one of them and brings me onto his lap. I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Is this where you brought me to make out?" I tease. My hand immediately starts to tease at his hair, my nails lightly scratching the back of his head. He leans into it more like a dog. He likes it.

"Yes." He smiles and closes his eyes for a moment. I surprise him by planting a light kiss on his lips. His eyes open. "More."

I snort and squint my eyes at him. "You're such a boy."

I kiss him again, more fervently this time. He reciprocates, his hand grabbing the back of my head and pulling me closer. We kiss for a little while, but I soon pull back. Rhys gives me a look. I'm still pretty wary of kissing in front of people. I mean, those guys in the front are hardly a crowd. But still.

"How late do you want to stay here for?" I ask him.

He chuckles. He slips his hand under my shirt so he can rub my back. It sends jolts of electricity up my body... and heat. "Are you finished with this party already?"

I find myself struggling for words. His hand grazing my bare skin is very distracting. "I-I could go to bed soon. I might go find a bed right away in the house. You can stay out longer, though." I smile. I don't actually want him to stay without with me. Especially if Brooke is here. I hope he comes to bed with me.

"You're not going in that house alone, Theo. In no way am I about to let you go find a random bed by yourself when there are random people around."

I can't help but laugh at him. He's completely adorable when he gets this way. I love how protective he is without him even knowing it. "Remember when you told me there were only going to be a few people at this party? And nobody would be here that you didn't want?" I tease.

He rolls his eyes at me and spanks my thigh. "Let's get out of here then, girl. Let's go back to the fire for a bit, though, first. Good?"

I just nod, yawning at the same time. He smiles and then reaches forward to kiss my cheek. He lingers his lips there. I can feel him smiling against my skin. Suddenly his hands go to my waist and squeeze. I squeal. I'm suddenly being pushed down onto the couch and Rhys hovering above me. He has the biggest grin going on right now. I can't help my smile when he's like this, even though I know what he's about to do.

"If you tickle me, I swear to- GAH!" My whole body contorts for a moment. He presses again higher up my rib cage and my legs involuntarily kick out. "Rhys!" I plead. His laughter fills the bus and I can only imagine what those three guys at the front are thinking.

Suddenly, hands wrap around my legs and make their way up my thighs and I quickly attempt to squirm out of his hold. "What are you doing?" I yelp. I'm not scared of him. I'm mostly entertained. He just chuckles and plants a kiss on my inner thigh. Even through material, his lips feel warm.

"Oh, I want you, Theo," he breathes out rather huskily. His eyes are darkening in a carnal sort of way. A mix of excitement and fear runs through me, but it's not a bad kind of fear. I trust him. I know he wouldn't hurt me. I honestly find myself tempting to discover these certain desires that I know he has.

"Can I ask you something?" I suddenly ask. I'm genuinely wanting to know this. "Did you... enjoy yourself last night? Was I, like, okay? Did I do anything wrong?"

"Theo?"

"Hm?"

His eyes turn sparkly again and I can't help but blush. I suddenly feel shy. His hand goes up to my face and he starts stroking my cheek with his thumb. "You... amaze me. You were... so much more than okay." His voice is so soft it warms my heart. 

All I can do is smile.