Andy Squared (16 page)

“That seems too perfect for your plans,” muttered Andrew as he pulled off his coat and put it on the rack.

“Okay, so maybe I knew about the friend visiting in advance and that's why I asked you over,” Ryder amended, looking far from innocent like the sheepish expression he failed to pull off.

“Sneak.” Andrew sat down on the love seat in front of the fire to warm up. Ryder flopped down next to him, slid his arms around his shoulders, and pulled Andrew against him. Andrew let his head fall into place on his shoulder.

Ryder's lips were soon in his hair, pressing light kisses all over. His long fingers worked into the short locks and brushed them back.

“Karina knows about us.”

The movement of Ryder's fingers stopped. “Why do you say that?” he asked after a moment's hesitation. His lips were still against Andrew's hair and he felt them move when he talked. It felt kind of nice.

“Because she kissed me, and when I didn't want to go inside with her she flat-out asked if it was because of you.”

“You didn't deny it?” asked Ryder, surprise coloring his voice.

“I wanted to. But I couldn't. Besides, she had it figured out. I don't think she would have believed me if I had said no.” He paused. “Are you upset? She promised she wouldn't tell anyone,” he said, rambling on nervously. His stomach flip-flopped inside.

Ryder's laughter came softly and he shook his head. “No, I'm not upset. Just surprised. And a little relieved. Was she okay with it?”

“Yeah. Seemed it. I think she knows about tonight,” he added, keeping what she said to himself.

“You don't want to leave, do you? Because she knows? We don't really have to do anything if you're not comfortable…”

“I'm okay. I don't want to. Leave, I mean. I don't want to leave,” he corrected. The warmth of Ryder's arm left his shoulders and he looked up at him. Ryder took his hand and pulled him up.

Their bodies were close, and Andrew felt a small tremor run through his body. Sure, he'd had sex plenty of times, but never with a guy. He felt nervous, but the thought of something new excited him, and his body reacted to it. He couldn't help but feel smug when he realized Ryder's body reacted as well. He'd never been able to tell if his girlfriends really enjoyed being with him or faked it. With Ryder he wouldn't have to question it.

Ryder backed them up toward the stairs, and then turned and walked up with him. Andrew followed, glancing down at the front door briefly. Once in the room, Ryder shut the door behind them and locked it. Just in case.

Before Andrew had time to argue, Ryder had him backing up toward the bed, and when his knees caught on the edge, Andrew toppled over onto it. He yelped in surprise as he fell back.

“Cute,” Ryder teased, and dropped onto the bed next to him.

Any protest from Andrew was cut off as their lips met. Ryder's hands slid to his waist and up the back of his shirt and the tee he wore under it. He made a small noise of frustration when his hands got caught up in the material. Moving his hand, he rolled them over and sat up on Andrew's hips. Fingers deftly undid buttons and pushed the shirt open.

Ryder tugged his own shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. Andrew's eyes raked down his smooth chest, down to his hard stomach and the thin line of hair that trailed down past the waistband of his pants.

“Sit up,” Ryder commanded, his voice gone husky. Andrew did and helped pull both of his shirts off. They landed somewhere on the floor near Ryder's.

It was Andrew's turn to be impatient, and he roughly pulled Ryder's face down for a hard, bruising kiss. He shifted and managed to spill Ryder onto the bed beneath him and straddled his hips. His hands ran over his smooth torso, eliciting a small groan from Ryder. Andrew allowed his hands roam toward the belt, but Ryder stopped him. He looked up, blinking in confusion.

“What are you doing?” Ryder demanded.

“What does it look like I'm doing?” replied Andrew, hesitating.

Ryder laughed softly and sat up, pushing his hands away. “I think you've got this backward here.”

“But I thought we…aren't we going to have sex?”

“Yes, we are. But you've got it backward.”

“Huh?” Andrew let himself be pushed back onto the bed.
What does he mean by that? It can't be that different from sleeping with a girl.

“We're doing this my way since it's your first time.”

Realization dawned on him and Andrew flushed scarlet. He watched as Ryder's hands removed his belt. He watched him, just lying there, excited as before but with a bit of apprehension mingled in.

When Ryder leaned over him and reached into the drawer in the nightstand, he knew what to expect. He'd been down this path before with his girlfriends. He swallowed nervously, heart pounding in his chest, ready to burst. His whole body tensed and he shivered suddenly.

He closed his eyes and felt Ryder above him. When a soft voice encouraged him to open them, he did, though just a crack. Ryder smiled and captured his lips in a gentle kiss.

“Just relax,” Ryder murmured against him. “Relax and let go.”

Andrew lay in the bed with Ryder, dressed in a pair of his sweatpants. They were too big on him and hung off his slim hips when he stood. Ryder's chest felt warm against his back, and he could feel his steady breathing. The arm draped over his hips twitched every so often and tickled against his skin. He wanted to get out of the bed and stretch, but didn't want to wake Ryder when he did.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he eventually drifted off to sleep. When he woke again, the sky outside the window had just started to lighten, and the breathing against his back had changed.

“Morning,” Ryder murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. Andrew shivered and closed his eyes.

“Morning.”

“How are you feeling?”

Andrew took a few moments to assess how he felt from his position on his side and finally responded, “Fine.”

“Really?” Ryder propped himself up and peered over Andrew's shoulder at him. The heat across his face exposed his discomfort. “I think you're a terrible liar.” Andrew swatted at him, but Ryder dodged and climbed out of the bed. Andrew kept his focus on the wall and heard the door open and click shut as Ryder left. A minute later he heard water rush through the pipes as the shower started.

Memories from the night before started to surface and he felt the urge to hide under the covers. Pulling them up over his head, he groaned softly.

What the hell do I do now?

He shook his head. They hadn't heard his aunt and uncle come home, but he knew they must have because the delicious fragrance of roasting coffee drifted up to him. He was lured out by it and almost went downstairs to get some when he stopped himself. All it took was one look at the mirror on Ryder's wall and he ducked back, embarrassed.

The coffee could wait until after he showered.

*

Ryder let him borrow some clothes and he gratefully accepted. They were a little big on him, but his belt kept them from slipping off. He felt much better after the hot shower, and even more so after drinking a cup of coffee.

Ryder's uncle nodded at him from across the table and winked. “I know that look,” he teased.

Andrew stared at him, startled, and glanced quickly in Ryder's direction. He didn't seem to have noticed.

“Uh, what?”

“Heavy partying last night? Feeling a little hungover?”

He could have laughed his relief. “Yeah,” he said with a small smile. “Just a bit.”

“Shouldn't be drinking at your age. Take it easy today. You boys don't have anything planned, do you?”

“Nah, maybe go riding a little later, but that's it.”

“Yeah, and I should get home sometime today. At least call my parents and let them know I'm still alive.” Andrew laughed. “Who knows if Andrea told them I came over here.”

“Actually, they already called,” he said through his coffee. “Apparently she didn't.”

“Your sister is brilliant, Andy.”

Andrew groaned and let his head drop to the table. “Am I in trouble?”

“Didn't sound like it. I told them that you were here. They seemed relieved. Maybe you better call and tell them your sister was supposed to let them know.”

“They'll just say I should have called,” grumbled Andrew, but he pushed himself up for the phone anyway. He stepped out into the hall to make the call and waited for someone on the other end to pick up.

It was his mother.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Andrew! You scared me half to death when you didn't come home last night! I thought you'd gone to Charlie's but he said you weren't there, and—”

“Whoa, Mom! Take it easy! I told Andrea. I thought she was going to tell you.”

“Well, she didn't. And you should have called.”

“All right. I'm sorry. But I'm fine.”

His mother hesitated on the line, and Andrew waited for the question he knew she would ask. “You weren't drinking last night, were you?”

“No,” Andrew said, and shook his head though he knew she couldn't see it. “I swear we weren't.”

“Okay. I believe what you say.”

“Great.” Andrew rolled his eyes.

“What time are you coming home?”

“I'm not sure. We might go riding.”

“All right. Let me know if I should keep dinner out for you.”

“Okay. Oh, and Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Would it…” Andrew hesitated. “Could Ryder spend Christmas with us?”

“What? Why? He has his own family to spend Christmas with.”

“But that's the thing. His mom and dad are in Germany, and he's only got his aunt and uncle here. They go to his aunt's family's place up north, and he doesn't know anyone there. There's no one his age on that side of the family. He doesn't really want to go, I talked to him.”

His mother sighed. “Andrew…”

“Mom.”

“I'll talk to your father and see what he says, and if he's okay with it, then we'll talk to the Kensingtons. But they may want him to go, honey. I know he's your friend, but it's also a big family holiday.”

“All right, but you'll ask Dad?”

“When he gets home.”

“Thanks.”

He hung up the phone, returned to the table, and settled back in his chair. “Everything's cool,” he said when Mr. Kensington looked up at him. “No trouble.”

“That's good to hear.”

*

Later that day Andrew and Ryder helped Mr. Kensington muck out stalls in the barn. They were working together in Cobalt's stall while the horse stood just outside, tied up. He seemed to be watching them, Andrew thought, wondering what they were doing. After hanging out with Ryder and the horses so much, he realized how expressive and curious they were.

“I asked my mom about Christmas,” Andrew said between lifting a pile of dirty hay and dumping it in a wheelbarrow.

“Yeah? What did she say?”

“She said she would talk to Dad. If he's okay with it, they'll talk to your aunt and uncle.”

“Man, that's great. Your parents are so cool.”

“They haven't agreed yet,” warned Andrew.

“I know, I know. But my parents wouldn't even think about it. It would just be flat-out no.” Ryder paused to wipe at the sweat on his forehead. “I hope they know I wouldn't be like, leeching off them. I don't want them to think that.”

“I'm sure they wouldn't think that. Mom and Dad love you.”

“So did you finish Christmas shopping yet?” Ryder asked, changing the subject.

“Of course. I wasn't going on Christmas Eve again this year. I made that mistake last year. I couldn't buy anything because there was nothing left. Dad always goes last minute and drags Andrea. It's kind of funny.” Andrew laughed. He didn't mention the gift he had found for Ryder that was currently tucked under his bed where his sister wouldn't be able to find it. “Did you finish?”

Ryder nodded. “Yeah, I went in with my aunt a while ago. Mom and Dad should have gotten their presents by now; I shipped them out two weeks ago. You wouldn't believe how much it cost to ship. It was almost as much as the gifts themselves! But Aunt Lisa helped me pay for it.”

“That was nice of her.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

The two of them tossed some fresh hay into the stall, then moved on to the next one and started to clear it out. Ryder dumped out the bucket of water and put it aside. “What do y'all do for New Year's Eve up here?”

“Go to someone's house and party, usually. Last year everyone went out to Fisher's farm. He graduated last year, so I guess that's out. I don't know. We'll have to see what comes up. Word will get around if there's anything. What did you do in Texas?”

Ryder laughed. “I never went out. I just stayed home with my parents, watched some special, and went to bed.”

“Oh. Sounds interesting,” Andrew lied.

“Nah, it's okay, you can say it. It was boring as hell,” Ryder admitted.

“What do
normal
teenagers do, then?” Andrew smirked.

“The same as up here. There were parties around, though not many in my town. Most went out to one of the bigger towns nearby or into the city for the night.”

“Were there fireworks there?”

“Sure, mostly privately owned, though. Nothing the town put on. On a really clear night you could see the fireworks all the way from the next town. Here?”

“Same. People buy them, mostly the handheld stuff. But on the Fourth of July, the town goes all out. It's great. There are a few places where you can see the show really well. If you're still here then…” Andrew trailed off and stopped raking the hay.

“Andy?” Ryder stopped and looked down at him, a little concerned at the sudden lack of conversation.