18
BECKETT
Age 17
“You’re going to make yourself sick!” I said, trying to pluck the Twizzlers out of Riley’s hand. “Or pass out.”
He frowned, then stuck his tongue out at me.
“What? It’s true. You know you can’t have too much sugar.” I tried again, but he yanked his hand away. “Riley!”
“What’s the big deal? We have all day.”
“Yeah, but we haven’t had a chance to hang out all week and now you’re going to fall asleep before we have any fun.”
“Wearehaving fun.”
I rolled my eyes. “We won’t be if you fall asleep.”
“Maybe I like sleeping.”
“Yeah, but not with me! Wait… I mean…”
Our eyes flashed to each other and then we both burst out laughing. I lunged once more, this time successfully yanking the six red vines from his hand and tossing them back in the bag.
Riley huffed then went to his desk and held out two small pieces of paper. “The Henrys gave me movie passes. Wanna go?”
“I don’t know. What’s playing?”
“Kiss Don’t Tellopened last weekend.”
“Romance?” I asked, incredulously.
He smacked my chest in a jest as he sat next to me. “Oh, come on, tough guy. Your secret is safe with me.”
I furrowed my brows. “What secret?”
Riley smirked. “Under all that… gruff, you care a lot more than you let on, just like the guys in the romance movies.”
“What makes you say that? Because I buy you art supplies? You’re different, you know that.”
I couldn’t read the expression on his face. “Exactly. Once you decide you care for someone, you go all out. It’s just who you are, Beck.”
Something passed between us, threatening to bring back some of the awkwardness that had been sneaking in whenever we were together lately, so I shoved him playfully. “Fine! You win. Let’s go. Just don’t tell anyone about my soft heart, ‘kay? It’ll ruin my image.”
***
Riley had asked me to stay last night and I have to admit, I wanted to. Our time on the patio had been nothing short of incredible and I definitely wanted more of it. It wasn’t just how amazing his naked body felt against mine, or even being allowed to finally touch him in ways I’d dreamed of since I was a teen. It was how connected and in tune we were with each other, on a deeper level than we’d ever been before. In truth, it left me a little shaken.
I’d known from the moment I found Riley’s picture on his website that I would do whatever it took to be a part of his life again, but I wasn’t prepared for how swift all those feelings would resurface or how intense they’d be. Last night, they were taken to a whole new level. As I held him in my arms while he practiced tying knots, I realized I was already deeply in love with Riley Tanager. The truth of it shook me to my core making me realize I didn’t just want Riley in my life again, I wanted to build a lifewithRiley.
But I also didn’t think Riley was ready to hear that yet. Our relationship might not feel so new to me, but I couldn’t say the same for him. It had taken time for him to trust me enough to invite me into his space, so I couldn’t expect him to be on the same page as me after only a week.
Besides, I had other things to consider. Like, if I did want to start a life with Riley, where did that leave my family? As upset as I was with my sister, I still loved her. I would never abandon her, no matter what. So, I needed to find a way to make both pieces of my life fit together and I wasn’t sure how.
It was questions like those that plagued my dreams, making me toss and turn until I eventually gave up on sleep to go for a run as soon as the sun was up. I made a few more phone calls on my case, but around noon, I was missing Riley. He mentioned the day before he had some work to do, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still be there, right?
“What are you doing here?” he asked when he opened the door to his showroom, his cheeks pink with surprise.
