Follow the River (River of Rain Book 1)

by CE Ricci

  “And let me guess,” he says, licking his lips and pulling back from me, his eyes liquid fire. “You’re about to lie to me for the second time today and tell me the crap I said never hurt you.”

  He doesn’t give me a second to answer though, because he’s already pushing off me, aiming his board down the mountain. I can tell that he’s already hardening, shutting himself off from me once again.

  “Let’s go, babe. No use dwelling on the shit we can’t change.”

  With that, he starts down the mountain, leaving me wondering if I somehow managed to fuck up this entire day with one fucking sentence.

  It seems my dumbass mouth and I didn’t ruin the day after all, thank God.

  After the first run, where I found Rain was surprisingly agile on a snowboard for his first time down a mountain, we got in line and it was almost like the whole damn thing on the mountain never happened.

  He smiled more, kept giving me glances when he thought I wasn’t looking.

  Flirted with me, held my hand. Kissed me when he fucking pleased without shame or hesitation.

  For the last few hours, it’s been nothing short of the perfect day.

  And it felt like…a date, or something.

  Which begs the question, can you date your fuck buddy?

  I’m pulled from my thoughts as I’m slipping back into the lounge area of the lodge from a quick bathroom break. This place never gets old, with the vaulted two story ceiling, all the exposed wood beams giving off that mountain lodge feel people pay insane amounts of money to experience. Especially with the massive wall of windows to the left facing the mountains with a wooden deck attached, the place screams Colorado in all the best ways.

  Glancing around the spacious room, I look for Rain. He’s not by the stacked stone fireplace getting warm, nor sitting on one of the brown leather sectionals filling the space. Checking the upper balcony, I don’t see him at one of the tables in the dining area either.

  But when I glance over to the wall I just walked through from the bathroom, I find him. His back is to me, attention trained on the TV mounted on the wall broadcasting the news.

  I take a second to watch him without his knowledge, observe him in his natural state.

  But something seems…off.

  His hand is clutching his jacket he removed when we got inside so tight, his knuckles are whiter than the snow outside. The veins on the back of his hand are popping out of his skin from the strain. And his shoulders…they’re rigid. Tense beneath the cotton of his long sleeve shirt.

  Moving my gaze from Rain to the television, I read the subtitles on the screen to see they’re talking about that senator, the one who apparently was raping a kid.

  Sick, depraved people these days, using their power to abuse people. Children, for God’s sake.

  No fucking wonder Rain is agitated. I am too, seeing this kind of thing on the news, probably about to be swept under the rug like it never happened. Because that’s what money and power can buy you in this country.

  It’s sickening.

  And taking into account how he feels about what happened in the shower… Fuck.

  Moving up behind him as quietly as I can manage, I lean forward and bite down on the base of his neck, right above the collar of his shirt. He starts slightly, but he must know it’s me because the hand not holding his jacket reaches out behind him and grips my shirt.

  “You look like you could use a massage,” I murmur in his ear, slipping my hands up to knead his shoulders. They instantly relax under my touch and I smile against the skin of his neck. “That’s better, yeah baby?”

  He groans when I continue working out the knots from his shoulders, wondering when was the last time he had someone do something like this for him. Touch him, give him affection just for the sake of making him feel appreciated and loved.

  God, there’s that damn word again, running rampant through my thoughts.

  Nuzzling my nose behind his ear, I do my best to relax his mind as well as his body. “I see what you’re doing. The way your head is spinning,” I whisper, continuing to massage his shoulders, needing to take his mind away from the places it’s clearly going. “But we went over this last night. You didn’t rape me, I never said no. There’s no need to compare yourself to that man.”

  Rain sighs, leaning his head back against my shoulder, his back pressed against my front. “I know, Riv. I know,” he tells me, letting his head loll to look at me before brushing his lips lightly over mine. “And as good as this feels, I need you to stop before I have to go searching for a private place to bend you over and give you your favorite kind of massage.”

  My ass clenches and cock twitches at his words, knowing full well what he means. “You know I would be perfectly fine finding a broom closet to have a little rendezvous in.”

  “Let’s put a pin in that plan, yeah babe?” He smiles and his soft laugh against my lips just does something to me.

  Good things. Wonderful things.

  Fucking dangerous things.

  He turns around in front of me, my hands sliding off his shoulders and back down to my sides. “I’m going to grab something to drink,” he says softly. “You want anything?”

  I bite my lip to think of drink options, which is really fucking hard when all I really want is to revisit the broom closet idea. “Maybe hot chocolate? Hot cider? Something warm?”

  “How about some eggnog? That’ll warm you up real quick,” he grins deviously.

  Shaking my head, I chuckle. “Don’t you dare, one of us has to be sober enough to drive back up the damn mountain.”

  But the shithead he is, he just starts backing up towards the stairs to get our drinks, calling out for me to find us a place to sit.

  Okay, I’d much rather go find a damn broom closet though.

  Damn him for putting those kinds of ideas in my head.

  “Lennox! That you?” A deep voice shouts from behind me, causing me to start. It’s one I recognize well, but it doesn’t belong to Rain.

  Spinning around quickly, I spot my best friend in the world sitting on a couch in the lounge area, a petite girl about our age with brownish red hair at his side.

  Which normally wouldn’t be a shock, but I haven’t seen him since August when he left to go back to Michigan. “Taylor Scott? Do my eyes fucking deceive me?”

  He leans forward, pulling his arm from around the girl’s shoulders and motions for me to join him. “Don’t be a dick and get the fuck over here,” he laughs, standing from his place on the sofa before offering his hand to his…friend? Although from the way his eyes are glued to her as he helps her up or the way his fingers linger on her skin…I’d wager they are much more than just companions.

  He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about a girl, other than the two he lets run his life back in Michigan like two tiny dictators, as he calls them. Part of me wonders if this is one of them.

  His eyes, a similar shade to mine, dance with a hint of mischief as he pulls me in for a quick hug. “Hey man, how are you? Dad said you were out this way at the cabin.”

  My brows enter my hairline. “He told you I was out here?”

  He nods, bobbing his head of light brown hair. “Yeah. when I asked to use the cabin for break, he mentioned he sentenced you and a teammate to exile for fighting?” Taylor shakes his head, laughing. “What the hell, man? You’ve never been one to have a hot head.”

  He’s not wrong. But…he’s also never met Ciaráin Grady.

  “Shit changes when you aren’t here to keep me in line, T,” I grin, referring to him by his nickname from our childhood. “What brings you out? Skiing? Where are you staying?”

  “Oh, we rented an AirBNB near the edge of town.” He gives a half smile, white teeth peeking out. “Not as good of a view as the cabin, but it works.”

  “And um, who is we?” I ask, glancing down at the girl beside him. Her hair, while a beautiful dark auburn color, is nothing in comparison to her ridiculously vivid green eyes. So damn green, I swe
ar I could count individual blades of grass in them.

  Taylor smiles that smile he always got when he would talk about baseball or gaming or whatever else held the source of his passion. And he looks down at her before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and squeezing it, fire lighting up his eyes.

  And it’s in that moment I know my best friend is in love with whoever this woman is standing next to him.

  “River, this is—”

  “Siena?” Rain’s voice asks from behind me. I glance over my shoulder to see him standing with two mugs of something steamy, probably spiked knowing him, and a look of complete confusion on his face.

  “Rain?” the girl, apparently Siena, shrieks as she slips from Taylor’s grasp to head over to my man.

  Wait—fuck. Not my man.

  Although I’m not above pissing on him. Staking my claim. Letting whoever the fuck this girl is know he’s mine.

  Rain sets the two mugs on a side table quickly before Siena basically jumps into his arms, wrapping her entire body around him like a damn spider monkey.

  Now, I wouldn’t necessarily care about that. While I’m possessive of the things I deem as mine, I don’t get jealous.

  And believe me, there’s a fucking difference.

  Jealousy is wanting what someone else has. She doesn’t have Rain. Okay, maybe she has him in her literal hold but not in the way that counts. But possessiveness comes with making sure everyone around you doesn’t let their jealousy try to take what’s yours.

  Marking your territory, so to speak. Letting the world know not to fuck with it.

  But he isn’t yours, my asshole brain likes to remind me.

  I watch them as he spins her around in a circle, her legs locked around his waist, a giant smile on his face while he hugs her to him with an insane amount of comfort and familiarity.

  And I see fuckin’ red.

  “Is that Ciaráin Grady, the wide receiver who almost won the Heisman twice?” Taylor asks, his brows furrowed as he watches Rain set Siena on the ground, her hands moving animatedly as she talks a mile a minute. Rain’s still got that fucking smile on his face and fuck me, that smile is mine.

  And then…she says something that makes him laugh and I just about lose my shit entirely.

  “That’d be him,” I grind, keeping my temper in check. “He was my new wide receiver this season. Damn good player, so he deserves the Heisman hype.”

  Taylor turns to me, removing his stare from Siena for the first time for more than five seconds since he called my name. “Is he the one Dad sent you up here with?”

  Meeting his questioning gaze, I nod in response before returning my attention back to the two of them across the room. I feel Taylor’s eyes on me while I watch them, my jaw ticked so hard it starts to ache.

  “I really hope you’re not staring at them because of my girl,” Taylor laughs, but it lacks humor.

  His girl.

  Okay, well that makes it better I guess. Taylor has a great sense about people, so I can’t see him getting in with someone who would be willing to drop him for a more semi-famous college athlete.

  “No, I’m too busy trying not to become a jealous fucking prick because your girl has somehow managed to get a smile and a goddamn laugh, both of which I have to work really fucking hard to get, from my man.”

  Taylor grabs my chin and turns my face towards his again. “Grady is into dudes? And wait, I thought Dad sent you up here because you and him were fighting? Brawling on the field during a game and shit?”

  I sigh. “We fought, yeah. It was fucking bad. That’s why we’re here.”

  He raises a brow as his eyes search mine, trying to get a better read on the situation. That’s what Taylor does, I learned early on. He has this uncanny ability to read between the lines of what you’re actually saying. Like right now, I know he dissects every single vibe I’m giving off and sifting through to come to a conclusion “But now you’re, what? Dating?”

  Biting my lip briefly, I let out a sharp exhale. “No, we’re not dating.”

  “Then what, just fucking? Because Riv, the way he’s looking at me right now...” he laughs, shaking his head before releasing his grip from my chin. “Hell, he looks ready to commit murder for my hands being on you.”

  I allow my gaze to travel over to Rain and Siena to find them engrossed in conversation, but even as Rain’s mouth is moving and smiling at Siena, his eyes are latched on me and Taylor.

  And indeed, there is a fire in his eyes most people who aren’t as receptive as Taylor wouldn’t catch. I’m not even sure Siena can see it and she is standing right in front of him.

  His attention darts between the two of us and I catch the subtle lift of his brow before his eyes harden on Taylor and then back to me.

  The question in his eyes is clear.

  Have you fucked him?

  And shit, it might be toxic as hell to feel as happy as I do by that. Because…I fucking get it. I felt it when I just watched him with Siena. Or when I saw the hickey on his neck that night in Portland.

  Seems jealousy and possessiveness aren’t one sided with us like I thought it might be, regardless of how unhealthy it is.

  My eyes stay locked on Rain while I respond to Taylor. “It’s the best sex of my life, T. Mind altering. And all it’s supposed to be is sex.” I flash my eyes to Taylor. “But something changed in such a short amount of time and now it’s become…complicated.”

  Understatement of my fucking life.

  Taylor nods. “Sex always has a way of fucking shit up. I get it man, I do.”

  I let out a sigh, thankful as hell that my best friend never ceases to put me at ease, even if it’s just by confirming something I already know to be true.

  “Taylor!” Siena shouts, a huge smile on her face as she waves us over to where she and Rain are standing.

  When Taylor immediately starts walking over, I cough, “whipped” under my breath, which earns me a shit eating grin and two middle fingers from my best friend. Following him to where they stand, I smile at Siena.

  “Siena, right? I think our introduction was cut a little short. I’m River,” I tell her, sticking out my hand. My eyes flash up to Rain’s when she slides her palm into mine for a brief shake.

  “So nice to meet you, River. Taylor’s mentioned you plenty.” She smiles prettily up at me, and I can immediately see why T is so taken with her. She looks over at Rain then, quirking a brow. “How do you guys know each other?”

  Rain shrugs. “Football. Riv is my new QB.”

  And for some reason, his simple explanation sends ice through my veins. Yeah, Rain. Not like we’re fucking multiple times a day or anything. Let’s go with football.

  She nods, accepting his non-answer just as Taylor raises a brow in disbelief at me. Rain, however, catches Taylor’s movement and glares.

  “River and I are also kind of…” Rain trails off, biting the inside of his cheek in search of the correct word. “...together?”

  “Remove the question mark off the end of that sentence and yeah, that’s accurate,” I say, smiling at Rain, making him roll his eyes.

  What baby, you think you’re the only who wants to stake a claim? Try again.

  Siena’s eyes widen but her smile grows immensely. “Oh my gosh, that’s great to hear! In that case, I’m even happier to meet you, River.” She flashes a glance to T. “Rain and I were talking about the four of us maybe grabbing dinner later? What do you think?”

  T looks and me and I shrug. “Fine by me,” he answers, giving Rain a once over before continuing. “Gotta take a minute to get to know the guy who’s caught my boy’s interest. Meet you guys here at, say, six?”

  Agreeing to the plans, Taylor and Siena give us a quick goodbye and head off and out the doors back to the cool winter day.

  Before I even have the chance to look at Rain, he’s gripping my shoulder to spin me around. “Who is he to you?”

  My brows furrow. “That’s Taylor. As in Coach’s son. My best friend?”r />
  Rain’s forehead creases. “Did you fuck him? Or vice versa?”

  That makes me laugh. “What? No, of course not. I never even looked at T that way. Or Drew or E.” I smirk. “Why? Did you fuck her?”

  And the way Rain’s face visibly pales, I know his answer. My stomach drops along with the smile on my face. “Of course, you did,” I scoff. “I shouldn’t even have to ask.”

  He shakes his head, grabbing my face with one hand. “It’s not what you think, Riv. She was actually my first, yeah, but it was never anything like…”

  “Like what?”

  “This!” he says, gesturing to me with his free hand.

  I roll my eyes, as if that comment is supposed to make me feel better. “Well considering she doesn’t have a cock for you to suck on, I’d assume it would be very different indeed.”

  Yeah, I fucking know I’m being petty right now. But holy goddamn, I wasn’t expecting this bomb to be dropped on me today. Not when we were in this…bubble of happiness.

  “You know what I mean,” he growls. “Don’t act like you don’t have exes you’ve fucked before me.”

  “I do, but at least I don’t sit you down at dinner with them when they’re currently dating your best friend.”

  “She wasn’t just some fuck, River. She and her brother were my two best friends in high school. I was trying to get my shit together and find out what I liked, and she offered.” He sighs, rubbing his temple with his free thumb. “It was only the one time. She isn’t anything more than a friend.”

  I exhale sharply and give him a brief nod.

  Fuck, I hate my insecurity right now. The feeling is usually so few and far between, but right now with him, it’s like it’s been magnified for some reason. Like the fact that we had such a volatile start to this thing between us had a way of enhancing all the shit I suppress.

  “I believe you. I’m sorry, I just…”

  “Got jealous,” he smiles, his thumb brushing my cheek. “It’s okay, babe. I don’t mind it. I’m not gonna lie, it feels good. But you don’t have a reason to be.”

  “I don’t?” I furrow my brows at him.

  He laughs, still the greatest sound to ever grace my ears as he drags me down onto the couch, handing me my mug of now lukewarm cocoa. “Nah, you’re plenty for me to deal with. No way in hell I could handle adding in a side piece.”