“Let’s go, princess. We don’t have all day.”
Cursing under my breath, I get up and shiver. I cannot believe he sprayed me with cold water. “Fine. Whatever.” I grab the hoop and try again.
Ryan stands in front of me and places his hands on my hips. “Like this,” he instructs and moves with me. Okay, this isn’t so bad, I tell myself. Ryan lets go and the hula hoop finally swings around my waist.
“Oh my gosh! I’m doing it!” I laugh and continue hula hooping. I know it’s not a big deal, but to me, it is.
“See, practice makes perfect and you have the hottest teacher,” he says, bowing in front of me. “Alright, next one is whistling. So come on, show me what you have.” I do and spit goes everywhere. Not a classy move. “Wow, okay. That’s bad. So, I want you to lick your lips and form them into the shape of a duck face.” I do as he says and feel his hands on my cheeks. “Now gently blow,” he whispers. There are lots of things going on with my body and I can’t shake them off. “Keep going.” His voice is smooth and intense. Does he have to sound this sexy? Wait. Sexy. Ryan? No. I curse myself and push the sight of him out of my head.
A few attempts and I have it. With both of us smiling, we head inside and I run upstairs to change out of my wet clothes. When I come down and head to the living room, I see him sitting down with his head in his hands.
“You okay?” I ask, touching his shoulder and sitting down next to him.
“Yeah, just tired. You mind if we cut today short?”
“No, that’s fine. Want me to come over and hang with you?” He shakes his head and gets up to walk towards the door. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Don’t worry about me, hula girl. I promise, I’m okay. I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?”
“No problem. Feel better.” I watch him leave and get into his car. Moving back inside, I lean against the door. I can’t believe he made me do those things and didn’t give up until I did them.
Sending Tyler a good night text, I climb into bed and fall asleep. There’s still so much on my mind and I have to force myself to stop thinking.
I cry and feel his hands on my ass. “Damn girl, your ass is fucking delicious.”
“Please stop,” I beg and keep looking for anything to grab. I need to get away from him.
“You know,” he says, “the more you beg, the more I want it. So keep going.” He licks my ass cheeks and all I can do is cry, whimpering, knowing what’s going to happen.
He’s taking his time with me. I want to yell hurry up and leave, so I can be alone. I hate knowing what he’s going to do and there’s nothing I can do to stop him.
“I promise I’ll make this good for you.” I cry harder. He’s gripping my hips and holding me tight. “Tell me you’ve been a bad girl.”
“No.”
He tugs my hair, jerking my head back. His lips are near my ears, “Say it.”
“Please, I won’t tell anyone about this. Let me go. I’m begging you.”
“Say. It.”
“I’ve been a bad girl,” I whimper and feel a slap across my ass. “Stop!” I scream and feel the sharp pain of him inside me. “God, please stop!”
I sit up straight on my bed and gasp for air. The scream rips through me and it takes me a moment to remember where I am. “You’re home,” I tell myself, “you’re home and you’re safe.”
My parents burst through my door and my mom runs to me, holding me in her arms. “Honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” she frantically asks, rocking me back and forth. I hold onto her and try to steady my breathing.
“Bad dream,” I sniff and let her go, “I’m okay.”
My dad pats my shoulder and kisses the top of my head. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m okay. Promise.”
Both of my parents kiss me goodnight and leave my room. The door is partially open and I see the lights turn off. I lie back down on my side and look out the window towards Tyler’s house. The moonlight shines down and tears flow from my eyes. I miss him so much and need him here.
My body trembles through the night and I have to keep telling myself I’m okay. The nightmares are getting harsher. Usually, I see his face and hear him call me pretty girl. I want that night to be out of my memory. It’s consuming me when there’s no one around and I have to fight to come back. I grip the sheets and count to ten. I’m going to be okay.
The sound of my phone startles me. I pick it up, seeing a text message from Ryan.
Ryan: Still up?
Me: Trying to sleep
Ryan: Bullshit . . . I’m climbing through your window now so unlock it
Me: Why
Ryan: Just do it
Getting up, I unlock my window and throw on a light, zip up hoodie. Sitting back down on my bed, I wait for Ryan to come in. Feeling a little weird with him wanting to come in so late, I wonder what his deal is and why he wants to see me.
After a few minutes, I hear the window open and see him popping in.
“Hi?” I say, with uncertainty and doubt.
“Don’t be like that. I’m only here because your mom told my mom you’re having bad nightmares again, so I’m offering my cuddling services.”
“You’re what?”
“You heard me.” He walks over to the other side of the bed. Tyler’s side. And gets under the covers. “Can you turn off the light, please? I’m exhausted.”
“You are not staying overnight. Are you serious right now?”
“Stop fighting it, Bayleigh Renee. Turn off the lights. I need to sleep.”
Fuming, I look at the time and it’s already pretty late. I don’t want to make a scene and wake up my parents. Getting under the covers as well, I turn and look at him. “If you touch me, I’ll chop off your precious cock.” He smirks and places both hands behind his head.
“Night, sweetheart.”
“Night,” I mutter, reaching over and shutting off the lights. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m out.
Waking up the next morning, with strong arms around me, and legs tangled with other legs, I jolt open my eyes and see Ryan’s sleeping face. I didn’t have a nightmare last night and I slept very well. I can’t believe having Ryan here is helping me and I can’t believe I’m feeling okay with him here. There’s an anxious feeling brewing inside me. I don’t know why he’s here and what his plans are. I’m nervous to find out.
I can forgive him for leaving and for that night. I don’t blame him, nor have I ever. The secrets he’s hiding won’t make me hate him either. I want to be there for him the way he is for me. Ryan is a cocky asshole, with a big heart and he means well. A lot of people misunderstand him and judge him before getting to know him. On so many levels, I feel connected to him and the anger I have towards him slowly goes away.
Then I think about Tyler. If he saw this, right now, he’d flip. Tyler’s never liked my friendship with Ryan. I never understood why, nor did I ask. I figured it was Tyler being overprotective and guarded because it’s me.
Maybe once he comes back, I can explain to him having Ryan in my life isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes strong friendships help pave the path to becoming a stronger person. When you have someone who is strong and willing to push you and keep pushing you, there’s a drive that builds inside. We both push each other and I want that again.
“God, stop thinking,” he moans and pulls me in closer.