SWAY (Part 1) (12 page)

“But like I said, I’m not like my father when it comes to giving in to her.”

“What kind of girls does she choose for you?”

“Doesn’t matter.
That’s something I won’t allow her to mettle in. He stared provocatively at me. Almost successfully scrambling my mind enough to forget what we were talking about.

“Knock it off,” I warned. He laughed and looked away.

“Okay, so she doesn’t get her way in that area—normally,” I grinned curiously at him. “But if she did, what kind of girl would she choose for you?”

Ryan mashed his lips together, suppressing a laugh.
“A society girl.” I frowned. “The kind of girl who attends debutante balls and has a coming out party and wants boys to make appointments to call on them, which pretty much means sitting around with her parents making small talk until her father signals that it’s time to propose, because the parents are really the ones who make the final decision in that scenario.” He looked pale by the end of his explanation, as if he was afraid of and repulsed by the practice.

“I guess she won’t be too happy about me then.”

“Probably not,” he confirmed.

“Will she try to have me rubbed out?” I asked smiling.

“No,” he laughed, “but I wouldn’t expect her to be too warm, if you know what I mean. She can be pretty nasty when she doesn’t get her way.”

I wondered how she’d roped him into going to prom with the girl from Brighton, but decided not to ask. I was too wound up over his certainty that his mother would hate me.

“Maybe I should meet her,” I suggested hastily.

“I’ll introduce you when it’s time. Trust me when I say, the longer we wait, the better.”

“I’m spending the night in her house. You don’t think it’s time?”

“She would probably be pissed if I introduced you now. It’s one-thirty in the morning.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“She has no idea you’re here. She never comes down here.
If she needs me for anything, she calls my cell phone and has me come to her. You could move in with me and she’d never know it.” A naughty smile formed on Ryan’s lips and spread to his eyes.

“Looks like we could do whatever we wanted without a
nyone ever finding out. My parents don’t care if I come home and yours have given you maximum privacy privileges by putting you down here.”

Ryan nodded, agreeing, his lips tightening. “I do have to say that we are extremely well behaved for two shockingly under supervised tee
nagers.”

“We are,” I agreed, staring at him, unable to force my eyes away from his. “Is it hard for you to be so well behaved?”

“Right now, it’s insufferable.” His tone made me want to laugh, but I knew exactly how he felt. The word
want
crossed my mind again.

“It’s not exactly easy for me either,” I mumbled.

“I did give you my word.”

“You did. I just didn’t expect you to keep it so well,” I a
dmitted.

“I never break a promise,” Ryan breathed.

“Never?”

“Nope.”

“Liar. Every person on earth has broken a promise.”

He raised an eyebrow, smiling slyly. “If I were told it was okay to do something I previously promised not to, then that would be diffe
rent.” I caught his hint. “So all I would have to do is say it’s okay.” 

“That’d be it.”

Ryan looked as if he was daring me. I watched him look at me, like he was waiting for me to give in to him. The corner of my mouth drew back, forcing my mouth into a crooked grin. “Do you always get your way?” His lips twitched, fighting a smile. “I did until I met you.” He stared at me in a way that made me want to allow him to continue his streak.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my word,” he whispered, then he licked his lips, taking his bottom lip into his mouth, raking his teeth slowly across, until it was back in place. I gasped, realizing what he was doing. 

“You’re trying to manipulate me into asking you to kiss me.” He should have known that I, of all people, would have caught on to that.

“Am not.”
He flashed a guilty smile.

“Liar.
That’s exactly what you’re doing.”

He laughed. “I am not.”

I watched him for a moment before I spoke. “If I did that, if I asked you, then I would appear weak to you.”

“No you wouldn’t. That wouldn’t make you weak. It would make you human,” he said sweetly. “Besides,” he grinned, “I know you want to.”

“You’re not doing it very well—manipulating me, that is,” I informed him. “Do you want to give me some pointers Dr. Reynolds?” he asked mockingly. “I might,” I confessed. Ryan’s eyes were still provoking me to give in to him. I guess he thought looking at me that way, the way that drove me crazy would make it happen.

I have no idea where the sudden burst of confidence came from, but I moved closer to him, settling my body in front of his, staring boldly at him. “Not until I say,” I instructed in a whisper. My gaze moved slowly from his eyes to his mouth. I bit my bo
ttom lip as I contemplated my next move, mostly for his benefit.

I lightly touched Ryan’s lips with the tips of my fingers b
efore moving my mouth toward his. I slid my hands into his hair, tangling my fingers in. Ryan’s lips parted, his breath quickened. My mouth was so close to his that I could feel the electricity crossing back and forth between us. He was anxious. I could feel that I was exciting him. It made me feel powerful, motivating me to keep going.

I drew in a breath as if ready to speak the words he was waiting for. Instead, I licked slowly across his mouth. His hands on my hips i
ncreased their grip on me. “Break your promise,” I murmured, tightening my fingers in his hair. “Do it,” I breathed. “Now.”

Ryan kissed me, pulling me closer to him until my body was even against his. I thought of what Lindsay said about some boys not knowing what to do with their hands while making out. Ryan definitely didn’t have that problem. He surprisingly didn’t try to grope me. It’s not that I thought he would take me kissing him as an invit
ation to go all the way, but I thought he might
try
to touch something off limits.

I really liked how our G rated make out session was ma
king me feel, until my hormones made my brain think about R rated things.

I began to fear that my ruse would backfire if we didn’t stop soon. I didn’t want to be the one to stop. I needed him to do it. I was supposed to be manipulating him. It was starting to feel like he was working me instead, and then he pulled away. Ryan groaned as he ge
ntly rolled me off of him, both of us working to catch our breath.

He touched his lips. “You licked my mouth,” he said ra
ggedly.

“It was necessary to get you to break your promise,” I said a
uthoritatively, pleased I hadn’t lost control of the situation.

“You wanted me to break my promise?” he asked, b
emused.

“And it worked,” I grinned.

“That shouldn’t count. You know I wanted to in the first place.”

“I expected you to, even without my nudging you in that dire
ction.”

“Wait.” He
raised up to look at me. “You expected me to try to kiss you, and you agreed to stay here anyway.” I shrugged my shoulders, attempting to seem above suspicion. “Are you trying to work some kind of psychological voodoo on me?”

“No,” I laughed.

“Was that some sort of test to see how long it would take for you to make me completely crazy?”

“No.”

“Because you are—making me
completely
crazy,” he breathed. “And confusing me at the same time. One minute you’re blushing because I touched you, and the next you’re on top of me licking my face.”

I laughed. “It’s good for you. Just think of what you still have to look forward to.”

“Believe me, I am,” he growled. “Where did you pick up that licking the mouth thing anyway?”

“That was new for you?”

“Completely.”

“How’d you like it?” I asked, glowing with satisfaction.

“I think you know,” he groaned.

“David used to do it to me. I thought it was weird.”

“Maybe he didn’t do it to you like you did it to me.”

“He didn’t,” I said mischievously.

“Maybe you would like it better if I did it to you.”

“Maybe, but we’re not going to find out tonight because I’m g
oing to bed now.” I hopped up off the couch. Ryan looked disappointed, but didn’t complain. “Good night,” he said.

I winked at him and went to his room. I felt like I floated
, instead of walked there. I made sure he heard me twist the lock before closing the door. I eagerly leaped into his bed so I could wrap myself up in his scent. It was the next best thing to having him in bed with me, which would have been way too dangerous for me right now. I tangled myself up in his blankets, snuggled my face into his pillow and breathed deeply.

18

I made sure I was presentable and had brushed my teeth before I went into the great room. Ryan was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper and eating cereal. He looked so normal. I hadn’t thought of him as someone who read the paper during breakfast, but he was in it a lot, so maybe that’s what had struck up the habit.

Ryan stood up when he saw me. He was dressed in khaki shorts, and a black shirt with red lettering. I had no idea what it said. I just knew it fit him perfectly. He was wearing a red bas
eball cap. It must have been one he wore often because the fabric around the bill was frayed. He smiled and I thought I would lose my breath. 

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah. Were you okay on the couch?”

“Fine.
I sleep there sometimes on the weekends. It’s supposed to be nice out today. What do you want to do?”

“Whatever you want.”

“I’m going to ignore that.” I knew what he was thinking.
“Good, because
that
isn’t an option yet.”

He grinned, closed mouthed, eyes glimmering as if he wanted to say something else, but didn’t. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and delivered a few, more appropriate ideas.

I breathed him in while he held me, completely blissful in his embrace. My head against his chest, I closed my eyes and listened. “We could go to the park, or the lake, or we could stay here and go swimming, or watch the rest of the movie we started last night,” he chuckled.

I chose the park and should have known that meant going to the batting cages. I didn’t mind
it , I didn’t have my bat. I tried to use his, but it was too heavy for me and I didn’t hit very well with it, so I insisted on just watching him. That was all I wanted to do anyway.

Once we left the batting cages, we ran a few errands. He stopped at one of those brushless places to have his car washed so the paint didn’t get scratched, which was understandable, I guess. It was expe
nsive paint.

We went to Ronnie’s Sporting Goods store and picked up an old glove he’d had re-stitched, along with a few other mu
ndane things, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t care what we did as long as I got to be with him.

When we stopped to grab lunch, I noticed him checking his phone as we sat down. I had seen him take it out a few times earl
ier. He hadn’t answered it then, either. I watched it constantly shake and whine in place on the table. He would look at the call screen and lay it back down without a word.

After the sixth time it happened, I finally spoke up. I was curious who was calling so much, and why he wouldn’t answer.

“You can get that,” I told him.

“I don’t want to. We’re eating.”

I waited for him to tell me who it was. He didn’t. “Is it really because we’re eating, or because of who it is? I asked, feeling ridiculously possessive of him.

Ryan paused, smiling wider. “It’s because we’re eating.”

I figured he’d caught on to my insecurity and would continue to answer my questions vaguely for his own entertainment.

We’d been together every free moment we’d had since prom, but suddenly I wondered if he was still talking to other girls or worse, seeing other girls when I wasn’t with him. I didn’t want him speaking to another girl, much less—ugh. The mere thought caused a wave of na
usea to roll through my guts. I had to know.

“Is it another girl?” I asked quietly, not looking at him.

“It’s not another girl. It’s baseball stuff. They’ve been wearing me out lately. I’ve got a dozen schools calling, wanting to woo me, offering me anything I want in exchange for a verbal commitment. I don’t want to answer a call like that while we’re eating. It would be rude of me to have you sit here for an hour while I talked on the phone.” He paused, “Okay?”

“Okay,” I mumbled, feeling a little silly at first, then not so much. “You can’t blame me for thinking it was another girl.”

Ryan smiled again, remaining silent. I was getting angry, my tone reflected my mood. “Is there even a girl in this city or maybe I should say in the whole state who doesn’t have your phone number?”

“Actually,” Ryan said before taking a big bite of his food, ma
king me wait until he’d swallowed it before he could continue. “I can positively say that at this moment there is not a single girl anywhere in the world that has this number, with the exception of my mother, and she shouldn’t count.”

Ryan leaned back in his seat and smiled widely at me. My eyes flaunted my dissatisfaction with his story. I was not in the mood for his games. Everybody on the planet had access to that number. I narrowed my eyes, frowning at him, positive he was l
ying to me.

“I got a new number,” he laughed, his face beaming with excitement at the news. I continued to stare at him, waiting for him to r
etract his statement or clarify it, but he didn’t say anything else. He just kept that grin on his face, taking in my annoyance, and enjoying it.

“
You
got a new number?” I folded my arms across my chest.

“Yes. I did.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“You didn’t need to know. You don’t call boys, reme
mber?” Ryan reminded me, grateful for the opportunity to use it
against me.

“You are seriously getting on my nerves,” I griped,
strictly because he was right. I didn’t need it. I never called him for anything. I didn’t have to. He always called me.

Ryan smiled again. I rolled my eyes, shifting back in my seat, away from the table. Once I was situated, I glared at him, waiting for him to say something else. He didn’t. He only smiled, turning my fru
stration into infuriation.

“So do you have two phones?
Because you said a
new
number. Does that mean you have one for when you’re with me and one for when you’re not?” I huffed.

“No. But I wish I’d thought of that.” He winked. I was not amused by that statement. Ryan leaned across the table toward me. “S
eriously, Annie I had no idea you were such a conspiracy theorist. It’s kind of cute, seeing you like this, all huffy and defensive over me.”

My jaw unhinged, falling open with surprise. He laughed at my expression, which I quickly changed to show him my di
scontent.

“Okay.” He held his hands up as if he were surrendering to me. He smiled sweetly for a moment before he explained. “I got rid of the old number because I’m not interested in anyone but
you. I don’t want to talk to other girls. I don’t want to date other girls. I just want to be with you.”

It was embarrassing how quickly my attitude shifted. I had a gleaming smile on my face, gushing happiness.

“So there are no other girls?”

“Only you.”

I felt my guard lifting. Maybe trusting Ryan wouldn’t be as diff
icult as I had originally thought.

***

When we got back to his house, we decided to go swimming. I thought lying by the pool would be a good way to spend the rest of the day.

I changed and went to meet Ryan. He was waiting for me by the edge, his feet already in the water. He had an
open ended pool. The kind you could just walk in and out of. It looked sort of like a wave pool, only smaller and without waves.

Ryan smiled when he saw me, but didn’t say anything. “You ready to go in?” About my bathing suit, that is. I was a little let down. I was expecting
something
. I already knew he liked it, but we were alone. He was free to say whatever he wanted. 

Ryan took my hand and we walked into the warm water, drenching ourselves. He swam to the deep end and I went back to the shallow end and lay so my bottom half was in the water. The sun was hot and felt good against my skin. I closed my eyes and drifted a little, until I heard Ryan sloshing toward me. He lay next to me on his side. Feeling his eyes on me, I kept mine closed. His
hand brushed over my cheek. I smiled a little and then I felt his fingers on my mouth, tracing my lips, skimming past my chin, down my neck, and then sweeping along my shoulder and away from my skin.

I opened my eyes; his hand went back to my cheek. He paused to look at me before he kissed me. I slid one of my hands into his hair and moved the other softly down his arm.

His eyes rested on mine when we stopped to breathe. He kissed me again, deeper, moving his hand over my stomach, allowing his body to lean partly against mine. As good as it felt it; we were acting inappropriately. I already had one strike with his mother for not being a society girl, and if she saw us like this, she would probably have me removed from the grounds. I envisioned an angry old woman ordering me away while sitting on a tufted chair suspended in the air by shirtless, gold-skinned men.

I put off stopping it as long as I could. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this out here,” I suggested.

“Sorry,” he groaned. “I guess I got a little carried away.”

“I don’t want to give your mother another reason not to like me.” I shrugged, looking pitiful.

“Don’t worry about my mother. She can’t force me to stay away from you.” He pushed my hair away from my face and kissed my forehead. “I want you. No matter what she thinks, it won’t change the way I feel.”

Ryan moved his fingers down the strings of my bathing suit top. I didn’t think I would ever get used to how I felt when he
touched me. Ryan kissed me and we wound ourselves around each other again. Breaking away was getting harder to do.