With his hand on my waist, Ryan guided me past the kitchen and through a set of sliding patio doors that lead to the backyard. Music was coming out of a set of stereo speakers propped up against the brick wall to the left. I could feel every vibration travel across the window panel, over the hand I had resting there and up my arm until it reached my heart and spread through my body. My heartbeat met every beat and a rush of adrenaline traveled through my veins.
I was at a party. A real honest to god high school party.
Attracted by the scene displayed before me I took a step forward, Ryan's body immediately following my movements.
I smiled. Right.
I was on a party with a really hot and kinda bossy guy who by some unknown reason took an interest on me. And I wasn't about to question him. If I learned something through life is that good things don't come often so when they do you have to make the best of them. So I was going to let down my guard and enjoy the moment, after all, who knew when this dream would end?
We moved through the crowd loitering the backyard stopping here and there whenever someone called out Ryan's name. He gave them all that half hug thing guys do in way of greeting and then kept leading me. Where? I did not know, but I didn't offer any resistance.
As we moved my eyes soaked in everything around us, from the groups just hanging out, laughing, drinking and having a nice time to those dancing and moving to the rithm of the music and the couple making out in the dark. I took it all in savoring the feel and let my eyes close for a beat, breathing deeply. The scent of midnight, grass, and mint hit my senses.
Suddenly Ryan stopped and gathered me back into his arms, both his hands spraying under my ribcage. The heat of his body met my back slipping from his clothes to mine.
"What's that smile for?" His breath tickled the hairs at the back of my neck as he whispered in my ear.
I lifted a hand up to my face to confirm that yes, I was smiling. He probably thought I was crazy.
My eyes cracked open to see that somehow we'd moved further away from the crowd and to a much more secluded area to the side of the house. A few ground lights illuminated the flowerbeds and the wall light a few feet away gave enough visibility to make out Ryan's features as I tilted my head back to look up at him. He was staring at me intrigued. The smile on my lips spread further.
At the risk of sounding like a lunatic I went for the truth. "I'm just enjoying the night."
"Mhm." He hummed, his intense green eyes melting into charcoal as he stared into mine. I snapped my gaze forward before I started hyperventilating.
We started swaying, not caring that our movements didn't match the music. I rested my hands over his at my lower stomach and he nuzzled my neck. A pleasant shiver run down my neck, making the hairs on my arms stand on end.
"You smell nice." He noted. "Like plum and honey."
I cracked a smile, tilting my head to the side letting him run his nose against my skin.
"It's my perfume."
"It's addicting." He said, taking a deep breath.
Like you. I thought.
Silence hung for a few minutes as we kept swaying before a thought struck me.
We were at a party.
Ryan was at a party. Didn't the girls say parties weren't his thing? I really wasn't expecting him to show up. What I mean is I had my hopes, but...he was here and I hadn't conjured him up in my head. His touch felt too real, and the heat of his body...no, definitely didn't come from my imagination.
Just to assure myself, I let my thumb draw circles on the back of his hand as I pondered how to better approach the topic. Ryan sighed and his breath ruffled my hair, sending an electric current through my limbs. His arms tightened around me, gathering me closer to his heat and I melted against him.
"I didn't expect you to show up today." I finally said.
A pause. Then, "Why?"
I shrugged my shoulders in an attempt to seem casual, "I don't know. When I talked with the girls they made it sound like you weren't a fan of partying." Which sounded really odd to me. A jock who didn't party? Weird. "Not that I was asking about you or anything." I quickly hurried to correct.
But I wasn't quick enough.
"That's fine Twiggie, I know you can't help yourself when it comes to me." And there it was, the witty remark.
I elbowed him. "Shut up."
He chuckled. "No comebacks?" I felt his body shift as he shook his head. "My, you're seriously worrying me. What is it? The third or fourth day I haven't received a smartass reply from you. Sounds like something to worry about."
"Yeah, I'm sure polar bears in the
Arctic will drown if you don't figure it out soon enough." I muttered with an eye roll.
He chuckled and I savored the sound.
The song changed to a slower one and his arms shifted around me to circle around my ribcage, his palm settling just under my breast, the tips of his fingers at my back. His rich scent enveloped me and I felt surrounded by him, by his warmth, by his touch.
"You are avoiding the topic." I said after a moment when I realized he had never answered my questions.
His breath tickled my cheek.
In. Out. In. Out.
"It's been a while since I came to one. I'll give you that." He finally said. "But what you see now, isn't what it was like before. Not by a long shoot."
"Why did it change? Did something happen?" I wondered. It had occurred to me when I stepped into Taylor's house that maybe parties weren't like this everywhere. That is, this looked like a pretty chill party. And now that I started to think about it I haven't seen Ryan drink, not even a drop, even Taylor kept count of the glasses he had gulped. Now it made sense why Ryan had lost his cool when a party was mentioned.
"We all learn from mistakes." Was all he offered. And by the tone of his voice I knew his gaze had turned distant, remembering. Probably things he didn't want to reminisce.
One question swirled inside my head, if he wasn't a party kind of guy and it had been a while since he had shown up to one, why was he here today of all days?
When I opened my mouth though that was not what came out. "Hannah and Layla never mentioned that, not even on the car ride."
His arms tightened around me and in a grave voice he said, "Yeah, about that, I need to have a serious chat with Hannah."
***
a/n: That doesn't sound any good...
Anyway, what do you think happened at one of Taylor's parties that made them tone it down a notch?
Leave your thoughts and comments!
YOU ARE READING
Reckless Play | ✓
Teen Fiction"This thing between us." He said, gesturing to the space between our bodies. "It's bound to happen. You know it. I know it." He tipped his head to the side and lowered his face until it was inches from mine. I sucked in a breath when those vibrant...
