4
Denise - Shirts Off, Flirts On
Imissed the end of the movie again because I fell asleep against Ryder. He must’ve fallen asleep too because at some point we wound up laying down on the couch together. I wake up lying partly on top of him with my head on his chest and my leg thrown over both of his. I also have my arm wrapped around him like I’m holding on for dear life, which I’m not, because I’m tucked in between him and the back of the couch. This moment makes all the extra money I spent buying this ridiculously over sized couch worth it.
“Hey, Ryder.” I lift my head to look at him and whisper, “Wake up. We fell asleep.”
“Hmmmm, what?” he mumbles, sounding half asleep still. He wraps both arms around me and pulls me against his chest, reaching up with one hand to encourage me to put my head back down. “Shhhh, five more minutes.”
I can’t argue with that. I’m more comfortable than I’ve been in a long time. That, and all that throwing up, took a lot out of me. Five more minutes wouldn’t hurt.
Closing my eyes, I imagine Ryder could be sweet like this all the time. He’s been so good to me today, and there are worse things to be doing than sleeping pressed up against his hard body. I’m not sure what he’s been up to lately, but I can appreciate the increased muscle mass that’s come along with it. He’s always been sexy to me, but now he’s even more so. I squeeze him a little again, letting my hand slide up under the bottom of his shirt slightly, and just enjoy the feel of his skin against mine. All these years I’ve dreamed of Ryder, and just lying here with him is so much better than I ever imagined.
By the time we wake up again, it’s mid-afternoon and I’m starving. My stomach is no longer protesting the thought of food so I must be starting to feel better.
Ryder’s hand is playing with my hair a little and I lie here pretending to still be asleep because I’m not ready for it to stop. Once he knows I’m awake, we’ll sit up and move apart and we’ll go back to how we were before. Friends. And coworkers. Him, the fun-loving party-boy, and me, the serious adult who bails him out of trouble. I don’t feel bad about feigning sleep if I get sweet Ryder to myself for a few more minutes. My stomach has other plans for me though, and makes itself known with a loud rumble.
“Shit.” I whisper to myself.
Ryder chuckles a little. “I thought you might be awake.” He surprises me by not letting me go right away. And I gotta say, I like that. I like it even more when he places a gentle kiss on my head before slowly sliding us both up into a sitting position. “I can’t remember the last time I slept that well.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Holy shit! Ryder just kissed me. It was only the top of my head, but still. My stomach flip-flops a little, but it’s just butterflies. I don’t feel sick anymore at all. I lean back and look at Ryder. That’s when I notice his shirt. I cringe a little. “Ugh, Ryder? I’m so sorry. I totally drooled all over your shirt.”
He looks down at the large wet spot right where I’d been resting my head on his chest. He laughs. “That’s fine. It’ll dry.”
“Um, yeah. Maybe you’d better let me wash it? I was throwing up before I leaked saliva all over you, remember? You’re drenched in watered down vomit.”
An exaggerated look of horror crosses his face before he laughs and quickly reaches behind his head, pulling his shirt off in one quick motion. “I forgot about that,” he says, while holding onto his shirt. “Tell me where the washing machine is and I’ll throw this in.”
I reach out and take the shirt from him while already walking away to empty my bucket. I’m not letting him wash it, not after I drooled all over him. “There’s a load to throw in anyway, it’s no trouble.” Before he can protest anymore, I get up and walk through the kitchen into the laundry room. I wasn’t lying about having a load of laundry to do, I probably have several actually. I like to wait as long as possible to wash clothes because it’s my least favourite household chore. I throw Ryder’s T-shirt in with an armload of assorted casual clothes, add some soap, and start the machine.
“All started,” I call out as I walk out into the kitchen. “Shouldn’t be too-” My mouth drops open when I see Ryder standing in my kitchen, shirtless, his jeans hanging low on his hips. Holy shit, when did Ryder start looking like that? He’s got muscles on top of muscles and I can feel my face heating from just looking at him. He even has that sexy V pointing into the front of his pants. I don’t think my brain is working right because my mouth is moving, but no words are coming out. Not to mention, I feel a suspicious heat flooding my panties. I’d fan myself if I could do it without him noticing. That’s not likely, though, considering he’s looking right at me.
“How about you go grab a shower and I’ll order us something to eat?” he finally asks, a small smile on his face. I’m sure he noticed me ogling him. How could he not, I wasn’t exactly being subtle about it. My eyes practically popped right out of my head, for crying out loud. “What do you feel like?”
Just then my stomach rumbles loudly, shaking me out of my half-naked-Ryder induced stupor. He laughs at the noise it makes.
“Whatever will get here the fastest?” I laugh. “I think my stomach is threatening to eat itself if I don’t get some food into it ASAP.”
“You got it, babe.” Babe? What is happening right now? The temperature of my face kicks up a few notches. Maybe I have progressed to the fever part of this illness? “Go get cleaned up and food should be here by the time you’re done.” He looks at me with a small smirk. “Just don’t take too long or I’ll have to come in there after you.”
My mouth opens and closes a few times, trying to make words happen, but I have nothing to say to that. Maybe I should test how long is too long, just to see if he follows through with that threat?
A surge of confidence floods my body. “I’ll leave the door unlocked,” I say with a wink as I walk past him on my way to the bathroom. This time he’s the one left with his mouth hanging open. Good. Two can play that game.
