“Yep. So… what brings you around here?”
Jeez, why am I so awkward?
“I have the whole family reunion thing coming up in a bit and thought I’d just buy a shirt today and get it out of the way,” he said, posting himself on the black leather mall chair that rested on the green circular carpet underneath. The sun shone down on us both from the large ceiling windows above. The light made Ryan’s hair glint and his teeth shine even brighter in that heart-melting smiling. His eyes picked up the shine as well, making my knees grow a little weaker.
This time I could have sworn I noticed his gaze linger a little longer on my cleavage than the last time he had looked me over in his office. I felt something in me shiver. It was a weird mixture of newfound fear towards tenderness and an insatiable chemistry that was beginning to build between Ryan and me. He stood there, his eyes starting to consume me. I paid more and more attention to his lips as well.
It was torture, and I didn’t feel anywhere near emotionally ready for this.
“Nice, thinking ahead huh?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders in a way that Juno would be proud of.
Something was seriously wrong with me.
“I’m a planner like that. Actually, I was just going into Express to check out some shirts.”
“Oh nice! I love those shirts, they look so great on guys,” I said, suddenly pretending as though I knew the difference between an Express shirt and something from Ross.
“That’s a good endorsement then,” he said, licking his lips in the slightest bit. Just enough to make my heart beat that much faster. The affect he was having on me was bizarrely strong. Something about his genuine smile and his perfect, kissable face made me feel as though things were going to be alright. Like he was the really bright, white light at the end of the tunnel.
Except I wasn’t dying anytime soon or anything.
At least not that I knew of.
“Well yeah, I would think twice if I don’t endorse something. Like Gap. That’s a no no.”
“This shirt’s from Gap,” he said, grabbing the bottom and stretching it out a bit in a “this is my shirt” kind of way. It revealed more of his tan, chiseled chest.
“Well there are exceptions,” I said, holding my ground.
“Glad I’m one.” His smile was seriously a dangerous problem.
It was addictive.
“Glad you’re one too,” I said, almost bashfully. What the hell was this? What kind of sorcery did this guy have over me?
“If you don’t have anything to do, you can come help me pick out a shirt. I would hate to pick one and find out it doesn’t have Ms. Emma Wells’ stamp of approval on it.”
He remembered my name. My full name. Not just my first name, not just that I was a miss or a mrs, but my full first and last name. And it sounded so smooth coming off his tongue.
Of course I was going to go.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Techno music mixed with overplayed pop songs blared through the speakers as we walked into the store and were greeted by the provocatively posed mannequins, all made out of bright, shiny plastic. I looked around at the various displays of vivid colored button down shirts and expensive tailored suits. I ran my hand across some of the pants and felt the silk run down my palm. I walked close to Ryan, feeling his strong presence next to me made me feel comfortable. Feeling him brush against me was also turning me on.
Our hands bumped together a few times in that middle-school kind of way. The one where neither party really acknowledges that they made contact. Instead they choose to go on with their lives and continue playing the games with each other. Accidentally bumping hands, or walking into each other, or grabbing the same shirt.
Yeah, that way.
“Ok, so this dark blue shirt or this light blue shirt?” Ryan asked, hoisting up two very similar looking shirts, leaving me at a loss as to which one would be better.
“Um, the dark one,” I said, pointing over to it. Ryan looked at my choice and nodded in approval, he hung the other shirt on the rack and walked back over to me, not knowing that I totally guessed which shirt looked better. In reality, I had very little fashion sense, especially for guys. I felt him grab me by the small of my waist and shift me aside to the left so that an older woman could walk past us through the narrow passageway that led into the room where the discount racks were held. His touch sent a tremor down my spine, feeling his strong hand perfectly encapsulate the nook of my lower back made me shudder ever so slightly. I wanted the old lady to walk next to us the whole time just so that he wouldn’t have an excuse to let go. Unfortunately, the older woman, who was power walking at the time, already made it to the half-priced suits.
“She was determined,” he leaned down and whispered to me, his breath tickling the edges of my ear. I giggled at his comment and felt my walls weaken even more. Ryan was leaving a stronger mark on me than any other man I had come across, even Eric. And I knew him only a fraction of the time I've known Eric. It excited me, but it also scared me. Someone with this much influence meant they had equal power.
We made our way over to the racks. I watched as Ryan pulled out an absolutely hideous shirt with a bedazzled leopard shining obnoxiously on the back panel. He threw it on over his black shirt and strutted towards me, puffing his chest outward and slicking his hair back, causing it to clump together into perfect Jersey Shore style spikes. I crossed my arms and laughed at the sight of this grown man impersonating a beefy gorilla head. He looked absolutely ridiculous and I admired him for that. Ryan didn’t seem to care what other people thought. It looked like he lived his life to the fullest, regardless of whatever situation he found himself in.
It was a trait that I really gravitated to and it was a one of the traits that Eric had won my heart with. He had always been so carefree and uninhibited when it came to caring what others thought. He wouldn’t change himself because of someone else’s opinion and that sort of confidence turned me on. But now, that kind of confidence was what was twisting my insides. I remembered Courtney’s words and forced myself to forget about Eric for right now.
“Does the bedazzling make my butt look big?” Ryan asked, throwing me out of my darkening thoughts. I looked at him as he thrusted his fine ass towards me. He wiggled it a bit, just to emphasize the bedazzled waves hanging just above his butt.
My laughs took me by surprise. I was comfortable around Courtney and knew her so well already that I was bound to laugh around her. But I wasn’t really expecting to fully enjoy myself with Ryan. Not now.
But here I was, feeling my walls start falling all together.
“I take that as a yes,” he said, pouting as he took off the bedazzled button-down shirt. His undershirt lifted a bit and I caught a glimpse of his sculpted abdomen, the v-cut from a defined six-pack snuck out from under the shirt. He licked his lips again.
Oh jeez.
The air between us felt like it was one lighter away from bursting into a huge ball of sexually charged flames. I watched him move about, his muscles rippled underneath his clothes, stretching at the fabric and beckoning me to pounce on him. I had never felt such a primal lust before. Sure, I saw it all the time on Grey’s Anatomy whenever someone stepped on a damn elevator, but I never thought those feelings were real. And here I was, sensing my whole body begin to ache for him. He looked at me in that moment, and there was something else there. I wanted to think it was the same passion bubbling over inside of him as well but I couldn’t be sure. He just kept his eyes on mine and smiled that perfect smile he loved to use. It had the power to disarm a whole army.
I barely even stood a chance.
“I’m gonna go try these on, want to make sure they fit,” he said to me, leaving the bedazzled shirt on the shelf and taking a pair of pressed pants instead. I followed behind him, catching the scent of cologne that was being carried my way. I couldn’t help but notice how broad his shoulders were and how strong he looked. I could see so much more of his definition now that his white coat was off
. And I started wanting more of it.
Fuck, I thought as flashes of Eric rushed passed. I pushed them away as far as I could, just focusing instead on Ryan and the way his shoulders moved when he walked. He had such a confidence in his step. It was as though people knew to step aside when he walked, his chest out and pronouncing his dominance. We took a right and walked straight into the hallway holding the dressing rooms.
I took a seat on a lonely, white wooden chair and motioned him to go inside of one of the rooms. His back was just as impressive through his dark black shirt. I noticed his perfectly cut hairline exposing the tenderness at the nape of his neck. I suddenly felt the urge to kiss it, softly at first, then transforming into a hungry aggressiveness that transferred over to the front of his body. I wanted to wrap my lips around him, tasting him. I wanted our bodies to meld together, sweat and heat exchanged in a dance made for two lovers.
“Hey, Emma?”
“Yeah?” I called to him through the dressing room door, trying to calm myself down.
“I’m not sure how these pants are looking,” he asked, cracking the door open slightly. He was shirtless, caught in the midst of changing his top when he realized that his pants wouldn’t zip. I saw the swells that his strong muscles made underneath his powerful form and felt another sudden heat wave come over me. Seeing his perfectly sculpted chest, his tanned skin, his exposed nipples, the paler skin that cut a line across his hips, revealing a tan line underneath. It all sent me close to the edge. I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep doing this without sneaking off and at least pleasing myself.
“I guess my ass was too big,” he said, swinging the door open and spinning around to show that his ass was, indeed, too big. The pants reached only half way up, leaving the rest of his plaid blue boxer briefs exposed.
We both cracked up laughing at the sight. This kid was ridiculous and also incredibly hot. He looked out to make sure no one else was in the dressing room and started strutting towards me. If there were stripper music playing, he would have been perfectly in sync. He stopped in front of me and closed my legs together as he lowered himself down on me, his arms pushing him up against the back wall. I still giggled at the sight but my internal temperature was reaching a fever pitch. A familiar sensation was starting to blur my logic as he grinded the air above me in a way that would make even Magic Mike jealous.
Then suddenly his lips were on mine and everything felt complete. I let out a tiny gasp at the unexpected contact, the suddenness scaring me. But his warm mouth invited mine, lowering my defenses as our kiss grew deeper and deeper. Electricity sparked between us as our tongues danced together, his hands running up through my hand and shifting my head, entering from an angle. My own hands reached up to his strong back as he grabbed me from my waist and hoisted me up. I wrapped my legs around his strong core as he carried me to the dressing room, our lips still locked together.
He pinned me to the wall inside the small confines of the dressing room. I pushed up against him and felt his growing excitement through his boxers, the pants now down to his ankles. My hand traveled down and grabbed his package, unable to fit it all in one hand. It throbbed under my grip.
I wanted him so bad.
I explored his strong thighs that lead up to his perfect ass. My fingers ran underneath the waste band of his boxers, feeling the tip of his hardness aimed upwards, ready to please me in ways that I’ve never experienced. I could feel where his wet pre-cum started to drip out in anticipation for what was ahead. My hand slipped in under his boxers and circled around his shaft. I felt it pulse in my grip as I stroked him, not being able to close my hand around his full size.
His hands reciprocated mine and traveled down to my jeans, cupping my ass and pushing me into him. His other hand made a tangled mess in my hair, pulling my head back as his mouth went to work on my sensitive neck. I could feel his hungry tongue making its way across my tender flesh, sending intense shivers all the way down to my wet spot, making it grow wetter and wetter at his touch. I could feel my panties soaked in excitement as his mouth moved down to the front of my neck, making his way to the tops of my breasts. But I needed him. I wanted him.
I started going down, kissing his strong chest, his sculpted abs, his perfect v-muscles. I reached his bulge and kissed his hardness through the boxers, smelling the man that he was. I could feel him aching to be released.
And then a knock on the door.
“Excuse me? What are you two doing?” said an older gentleman from outside, disgust playing into his voice.
I immediately shot up and looked at Ryan, unsure as to what to do.
“I’m calling the mall security,” he said, knocking again on the white wooden door.
“No need! I just wanted a second opinion,” Ryan said, keeping his pants down by his ankles and pressing his throbbing bulge against me. I left kissed his neck as he whispered into my ear, a primal sounding whisper, “if only I could take you, right here.”
I prayed that the man would leave so that Ryan could continue ravaging my body, so that I could squeeze onto his rock hard biceps as he rammed into me, but the old man stayed outside. I could see his loafers from underneath the door and more fervent knocks on the door soon followed.
When were we ever going to be left in peace?!
CHAPTER NINE
The walk back to go meet Courtney at the food court was full of giggles and stolen glances, light touches and blushing cheeks. We had sort of cooled down from our time in the changing room, mainly because the old man decided that it was his mission to make sure we didn’t sneak into any nearby bathrooms, so he tagged along behind us, always a few feet away. We decided to go meet Courtney at the food court, who was already probably wondering where we had gone off to. I felt like I was going to my high school prom all over again. Of course, my body was still hot to the touch from our rendezvous and I couldn’t get the thought of Ryan’s excitement out of my head. Just walking next to him was enough to send small electrical sparks run through me. And best of all? I was forgetting about Eric.
Well, forgetting may not have been the best word, but I definitely wasn’t obsessing over him. I was able to lose myself next to Ryan. He made me feel comfortable, more so than the Spongebob snuggie I had back at home. And that says a lot because that snuggie makes me feel super comfortable. He was better than a blanket with sleeves.
“There she is,” I said, waving over at Courtney. We took a seat at her small table, our giggling still in full effect.
“Hi, I’m Courtney,” she said, putting her hand forward with a smile, breaking the spell we had over each other.
“Hey, Ryan,” he said, returning her handshake. I was pretty sure he could fit two of Court’s hands in his and still have room.
“You’re the doctor that saved her life, huh? Knight in shining armor?” she asked, lifting a fork of Cajun chicken with a mischievous smile. I already saw the matchmaking game she was trying to play. I tried giving her a subtle shake of my head to stop her from sticking her foot in her mouth, but she didn’t pay attention. Her eyes were locked in on Ryan, trying to read his body language.
She didn’t know I was already all over that body language.
“Well I wouldn’t say a knight,” he said, trying to brush off the fact that he did save my life. Or at least saved me from some permanent brain damage which would have been really shitty. Either way, he saved me.
I rolled up a piece of a napkin and threw it at her, landing in the styrofoam plate she had already scraped clean.
“Court likes to exaggerate some things.”
“I would never,” she said in an exaggerated, soap opera way. Ryan laughed at her antics, a big billowy laugh, like he was genuinely enjoying his time with us.
Good, that eased my fears that they maybe wouldn’t have gotten along.
My eyes wandered around the mall while Courtney chatted up Ryan. Something about Jason and how she swore he was a Gemini by their astrological chemistry. I don't know, I never really paid m
uch attention when Courtney would bring up the whole horoscope stuff. Underneath the table, Ryan's knee rested against mine, his slightly jumping up and down as his leg bounced on the ground. Mine stayed still, afraid to break the small physical connection we shared in secret.
“So what’s the craziest shit you’ve seen come into the hospital?” my best friend asked, her morbid curiosity getting the best of her.
Ryan answered after a moment to think, “Well, there was this one woman who stuck a whole hamster ball up her, well you know.”
“Holy shit, that is kinky! Wait… was the hamster still inside?” She just had to ask, didn’t she?
Ryan didn’t even answer. He just nodded his head in a way that said it all.
“Oh that is just seriously fucked up.”
“Poor hamster,” I said, suddenly picturing what that little creature must have gone through after being stuffed up a woman’s little creature. I had to shake off the image, feeling my breakfast start creeping its way back up.
“We couldn’t save him,” Ryan said, as though it were his job to save every life under the sun. His compassion was almost as hot as his penis.
Almost.
Just as I started imagining his penis again, something from across the food court caught my eye. It was a cap, one that I had seen plenty of times before. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was having some sort of post-traumatic vision. But I wasn’t, and it was the hat I had seen hundreds of times before. It was a nike hat with the checkmark reversed and tie-dyed, a hat that I knew only one person had, and that person was Eric.
My blood ran cold as I tried to make out more of the man’s features, but he was far and the hat was pulled down, covering his eyes. Yet his body. It was built just like Eric’s. What the hell would he be doing here though?
Shopping, duh.
Prescribed (The White Coat Series) Page 6