“I wanted to check on you, the storm is getting worse outside so I didn’t know if you needed help.” He says it so simply, like him being out here isn’t fucking with my head.
“I’ve got it, thanks though.” My words are gruff. I need him to get away from me, to go inside and leave me alone while I get my mind straight. I can’t think with him around, something about him messes with every fibre of my being until I don’t know which way is up.
The brick walls I’ve carefully stacked and sealed, attempting to keep the black cloud from closing in on me, sway. The darkness pushing and shoving against it. It’s going to fall, and the results are going to be cataclysmic.
“Oh, okay.” He doesn’t move. Doesn’t take a step back. He stands there and stares at me, trying to read me since I won’t let him in. I can’t let him in.
After a moment he speaks again, his mouth forming words that take me a minute to process. “Are you in love with him?”
A beat of silence.
“Don’t ask me that,” I plead. Knowing that the answer doesn’t help either of us.
“Why? It should be an easy answer. Yes… or no?” He doesn’t back down, he steps closer. Challenging me. Forcing my hand.
“You already know.” I know he knows, because if he didn’t he wouldn’t be acting like this right now. Raiden is a lot of things, but dumb isn’t one of them.
“Obviously, but I want to hear you say it. I want the words to come out of your mouth.” It's a slight demand, he tilts his head up and I fight the temptation to trace my fingers across his mouth.
“No,” the one syllable word is pulled from the depth of my soul. A sense of longing hits me, dragging me under and drowning me in the storm running rampant outside.
He lifts on his tiptoes, the gradual gain in his height noticeable. My heart ratchets up in my chest, the air between us thickening until I’m choking on my own breaths. Tension between us sparks. With Raiden this close I can’t seem to think about anything besides him. His betrayals, the years we’ve spent apart, all of the negatives memories are gone, banished to the deepest crevices of my mind.
My eyes don’t leave his even as his lips graze across mine, the slight pressure so familiar but different. We’ve shared one kiss before, but this takes me right back to the day we graduated, Raiden’s body and mine sharing the same energy. The subtle stickiness from his lipgloss tickles my lips, and I trace my tongue out to taste it. To taste him.
I groan, the hint of cherry flavor and his lips on mine sets my heart faster. The sound of thunder covers my needy noise. Raiden doesn’t miss it though.
He presses our lips together harder, covering mine with hisown and wrecking me with every move he makes. I gasp when he traces his tongue against my cupid’s bow, and that’s all the consent he needs to enter my mouth. He traces across my tongue, the tip of his playing and learning every part of my mouth. I’m lightheaded. I gulp from him, stealing the air he’s holding hostage from me and sucking it down greedily.
This is nothing like the kiss we shared at graduation. This is nothing like a kiss I’ve shared with anyone else.
I shove him back, stumbling some as I bump into my bike and almost knock it over. His eyes are glazed and nausea bubbles in my throat when I’ve realized what I’ve done. What I let happen.
“We can’t do that again,” I bite out, pushing past him and wiping my mouth on my arm as I go back into the house.
20
JERICHO
The fall fest is packed today. School is out for the first day of fall break so every family within a twenty mile radius decided that today was the day to come.
It’s nice for me to be kept busy, it keeps my mind off of the important things I should be thinking about, but refuse to.
I’m manning the baked goods for my mom, offering up help to people when they ask for it and making small talk with people while they look at the array of sweets my mom concocted.
Her and Ema ran off thirty minutes ago to go see what other vendors are offering, leaving me to hold down the fort. It’s fine though. Itis.Even if I can see Raiden painting faces for little kids the next booth over, smiling and telling the little girl in his chair how adorable she looks while he carefully traces his paint brush filled with pink paint across her face.
He sticks the tip of his tongue out the corner of his mouth in concentration, playing with his piercing, and I lose all semblance of mind as I stare at him.
This is not going well. I can’t keep my eyes off him, my mind replaying our kiss over and over again until I canexplain in detail every nanosecond our lips were pressed together.
Raiden lifts his face up, and I quickly turn my head away so he doesn't catch me staring at him. Pathetic, I know.
Hollis and Connor stopped by earlier, they left Noah and Ezra in charge of the booth. Ezra, I can understand. Out of all of them, he’s the most level-headed. Noah, not so much. I scan the interior of the community building, looking for anyone to offer me a reprieve. I need a minute to get out of here and get my bearings together. I need Connor to stop back by, because my mom wouldn’t mind if I left him here while I left for a moment.
There’s no one. The bastards can probably smell my desperation so they’re avoiding me.
“Jericho? Is that you?” A feminine voice asks, walking up to the booth, holding the hand of a young child. She looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t put a name to her face.
