My Last - Riley & Chelle

by Melanie Shawn

  But she did know that she was in love with him. She didn't need a movie to tell her that. She just didn’t know what she was going to do about it.

  --- ~ ---

  Even if Riley hadn’t been confused before he had gone out to get the movie, he certainly would be now, after overhearing Chelle’s phone call. He was glad that he had chosen a movie that he had seen several times before. That way, he could use the time that the movie was playing to try and figure out what he was going to do about the conversation Chelle had with Katie.

  He had chosen the movie because he remembered how many times he and Eddie would come home to find Chelle watching it. She loved it, to the point that she knew every line by heart.

  When he had stood at the video store, looking through the selections, he wasn’t sure what she would be in the mood for. He wanted to pick something he was sure she would enjoy. From the look on her face when he had finally shut the door loudly enough that it would alert her to his presence, he had definitely made the right choice.

  And now, as he watched Matt Damon’s character Will grapple with some of the same issues that he himself was struggling with, he thought the choice was even more apropos. It made him feel better in a certain way. Hell, apparently even geniuses were idiots when it came to women. He was in good company.

  He had overheard Chelle say that she loved him. That she had always loved him. That no one else even ran a close second.

  Shit.

  And this was coming from a girl that had been engaged not even two weeks ago. Hell, she hadn’t even taken off her engagement ring till that night!

  So what did that mean? Sure, he had always known that she had a crush on him. But he had always chalked that up to puppy love. Not the real thing. She knew him too well to really love him.

  And, yes, he had definitely felt the sparks flying between them since he had shown up a few nights ago. But, again...he had just put that firmly in the category of hormones. They were both good looking, single, consenting adults. It made sense that they would be attracted to each other.

  But never in a million years did Riley believe that Chelle genuinely loved him. And he certainly never let himself examine his own feelings for her too closely! Tommy had said he knew that Riley was in love with her. Tommy knew him better than most.

  Damn. Was he in love with Rachelle Thomas?

  He knew he loved Chelle.

  He knew he would do anything for Chelle.

  He knew the thought of Chelle being with anyone else made him feel either physically ill or like he had been punched in the gut – or, in the worst cases, a really fun combination of both of those two things.

  But, was he in love with her?

  Shit. He was.

  Now the question was - what was he going to do about it?

  Did it really change anything? Eddie’s words popped in his head.

  “I know you, man.”

  “You’re not what she needs.”

  “She deserves better.”

  Did she? Or could Riley make her happy?

  He knew he could, physically and even emotionally, in the short term. But over the long term? What could he really offer her? He couldn’t give her the white picket fence, 2.5 kids, a dog.

  That wasn’t the guy he was.

  --- ~ ---

  Chelle was sitting scrunched up in the corner of the couch opposite Riley. She was watching the movie that she loved so much, but she was very aware of Riley. He had been pretty quiet since he came back from the video store. It was making her feel a little on edge.

  She had finished her popcorn within the first ten minutes, because...well...she ate her feelings, that’s why. She needed to relax!

  She laid her head on the arm of the couch. Trying to watch the movie. Trying to get comfortable. Trying to silence the portion of her brain that was overanalyzing everything that Riley did and said.

  Talking with Katie had opened up a whole can of worms that Chelle was not sure she was ready to face. Just the fact that she had spoken (out loud!) that she loved Riley was making her feel off balance.

  And she also kept reminding herself that she had just gotten out of a very serious, very long relationship. What kind of a person just completely forgets the man they were supposed to be walking down the aisle with?

  She wasn’t sure. But what she was sure about was that whatever kind of person that was, she was it.

  Yep, she admitted to herself, 'completely forgets' was a fair assessment. Because if she was honest, except for the couple of times that they had spoken about David - and then when the woman on the cruise pointed out that she was still wearing her engagement ring - the topic of David had not taken up a single moment of time in her thoughts since Riley had walked through that door.

  (Well...since he had woken her up from a drunken stupor, technically. She hadn't been aware of it when he'd first walked through the door. But what were details when one was analyzing big picture feelings and being poetic???)

  She readjusted her position, trying to lay her head on a pillow. She pulled her feet up on the couch and tucked them beneath her.

  “Come here.” Riley’s low voice caused a tightening in her belly and a quickening of her heart.

  She looked up at him. He was reclined in the corner, his arm draped across the back of the couch, his body turned slightly towards her.

  Open. Inviting. Sexy. Tempting.

  Holy Catfish! She swallowed. Hard. And moved closer to him. She positioned herself beside him and snuggled up against him leaning her head on his chest.

  Even through his t-shirt, his body felt hot. She noticed that his breathing was shallower than normal. Her head was moving along with his chest as it rose and fell. Against her cheek, she felt his heart beating in time to her own racing pulse.

  He smoothed down her hair and, unless she was going crazy and had imagined it, kissed the top of her head. The small gesture caused all of her nerve endings to come alive with passion. Tingling sensations hummed through her entire body.

  “Chelle.”

  “Yes.” She heard the word she spoke, but it sounded more like a breath than an actual audible response. She didn’t even know if he was asking a question yet, but it really didn’t matter. If he was asking anything the answer was definitely yes!

  “Did you mean what you said to Katie on the phone?”

  All of the desire that was burning inside of her was instantly squelched as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice water over her. The fire was quickly replaced by dread. And humiliation. And...she didn't even have a word for some of the murky, dark emotions that were flooding her.

  She was equally as scared to look up at him as she was scared not to. She felt torn, paralyzed. She knew that if she looked into his eyes, she wouldn’t be able to lie or make up any kind of an excuse for whatever he had overheard. He would see down to her soul.

  But on the other hand, she was tired of hiding what she felt for him. Maybe it was good that he knew. At least then they could get it out in the open. Deal with it, no matter what happened. Maybe then she might have some closure. Maybe then she would be able to go two days without cyber-stalking him.

  She thought about asking him what he had actually heard just to clarify what they were discussing, but she wasn’t sure she could actually put together a cohesive sentence. So instead she just answered honestly.

  “Yes.” She simply stated. After all, regardless of how much he'd heard, she knew that she had meant every word she said to Katie. Whatever he had heard had been the truth.

  “You did?” There was surprise in his voice.

  Deciding that all those hours she had spent watching Sex and the City should not go to waste, she decided she was going to pull out the old WWSD (What-Would-Samantha-Do) playbook. So she squared her shoulders, sitting up she faced him and repeated, looking straight into his gorgeous hazel eyes, “Yes.”

  “You love me?” he asked, incredulous.

  Okay, she thought, apparently he was the one who needed cl
arification.

  Well, it’s now or never.

  “Yes.”

  His jaw tightened and a pained look crossed his face. Exhaling loudly through his nose, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, resting it on the back of the couch. Tension radiated from him like heat from a boiler.

  Well, she thought to herself, battling a small amount of irritation, like Grandpa J always says - don’t ask the question if you don’t want the answer.

  Then another realization hit her. She understood, suddenly, that this may be the last few moments they would ever spend together. It was very possible he was going to get up and leave. Right now. Tonight.

  She wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but she did feel like the ball was squarely in his court. She sat perfectly still and waited to see what he was going to do next. She tried to wait patiently. She had just made quite a declaration to him. He most likely needed time to process.

  She just sat there. Didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe.

  This was ridiculous. There was only so much a girl could take, no matter how patient she had made up her mind to be! She needed to tell him that she knew he didn’t feel the same and not to worry about what he had overheard. It was just girl talk, for God's sake!

  She wasn’t sure if he would buy it. But she definitely didn’t want him to feel sorry for her, or worse that he was somehow responsible for her. Like he needed to do anything because she had feelings for him.

  The thought of being the object of Riley's pity, of being pathetic in his eyes, was so much worse than even the thought him walking out the door, and of her never entering his mind at all again after that.

  Just as she opened her mouth to begin her let-him-off-the-hook speech he raised his head, his eyes locking with hers.

  He no longer looked pained, he looked…turned on.

  OOOOKKKKAAAAYYYY.....

  Her entire body responded to his heated gaze, once again burning with arousal.

  Oh, yeah.

  She was definitely playing with fire.

  “Tell me.”

  Her mind was swimming and her heart felt as though it might beat right out of her chest. She was having a tough enough time reminding herself to breathe. Following along and participating in the thread of this conversation was too much to ask.

  “What?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

  A small smile spread across his face. Moving slowly, he closed the gap between them. His lips brushed lightly against hers. He rested his forehead against hers.

  “Did you mean what you said to Katie?” he asked again.

  Hadn’t they already been through this?

  Whatever. She liked where it was headed, so she certainly wouldn’t be pointing that out. That wouldn't be a very strategic move! Hell, for all she cared, he could keep asking her that exact same question all night if he stayed this close, and kept looking at her the way that he was!

  “Yes,” she repeated her previous answer.

  “Tell me,” he growled.

  OH! Right. Got it. She might be a little slow on the uptake, but she understood now.

  “I love you,” she said simply. And although before her voice had been small and quiet, when she spoke those words aloud to Riley, it rang out strong and clear.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Riley knew he was being selfish. He knew he had no right to ask her to say the words aloud to him when he wouldn’t be able to say them back to her. It wasn't because he didn’t feel that way - he did. He loved her. He knew that now, beyond any shadow of a doubt.

  But...he had never said those words to anyone except his family. Never to a woman. Mainly, before now, it had been because he had never felt that way and he wouldn’t lie to them. That certainly wasn't the case here, but there were still problems.

  With Chelle, he couldn't tell her, not because he didn't feel that way about her, but rather because he knew he shouldn't.

  It wasn't fair to her. He knew that. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted to hear her say those words to him. He wanted to feel the power of those words coming from her mouth. He wanted to feel it wash over him like a wave.

  Other women had declared their love for him and he was reasonably sure that a few of them did, in their own way, love him. But it was different coming from Chelle. It was more. It was everything.

  He brought his hands up and cupped her face gently. He brushed his lips against hers a second time and heard himself demanding, “Tell me again.”

  “I love you,” she whispered raggedly, and her breathing was labored, her eyes filled with the love that she was expressing to him.

  He knew he needed to stop. He needed to get up and tell her that this wouldn’t work out between them. He needed to get the hell away from her.

  Instead he just offered her a pathetic excuse for a warning. “You shouldn’t.”

  A smile spread across her face and he grew harder than he ever thought was humanly possible. She pushed gently on his shoulders and straddled his lap.

  “Too late. I already do.”

  He felt the air leave his lungs in an uncontrollable rush of air.

  He was in. All in. He couldn't believe it, really, but this was actually happening.

  Riley slid his hands up the outside of Chelle's luscious thighs, his fingers tightening around her toned legs as they rose higher.

  Chelle had her head bent down close to Riley's, her fragrant hair forming a curtain that engulfed him in the scent of cinnamon and coconut. He felt the soft strands brushing against his face. It seemed that, with every subtle touch of her silken brown hair against his skin, his arousal was ratcheted to new heights. Chelle sat very still atop his legs, barely moving except for the rapid rise and fall of her chest, which became more and more exaggerated with the increasing intensity of her breathing.

  As he watched the perfect mounds of her breasts moving up and down with each breath, he saw the evidence of her intense arousal in her now-hard nipples, which were poking through the thin fabric of her shirt.

  Riley groaned from deep within his chest. He did not know how much more of this sweet torture he could take before he simply had to touch her, take her, devour every inch of her, drive himself into her...

  He moaned again.

  Riley slid his hands quickly the rest of the way up her thighs until they cupped her ass - that sweet, round, perfect ass. Digging his fingers into the fleshy mounds, he pulled her forward so that her hot, moist sex rested directly atop his fast-hardening erection.

  She gasped with pleasure, her eyes suddenly widening, and he realized that her tender center must already be sensitized. Mmmm...that meant that she was already really turned on. He like that - liked that he had the power to take her to that level of arousal so quickly.

  She slid her arms around his neck and grasped him tightly, whimpering a little as she began to grind her hips against him.

  God. He could actually feel the intense heat radiating from her core, even through the fabric of the clothing that both of them still wore. Holy crap. If this heaven that he was experiencing was merely a glimpse of the sensation that was to come, when nothing separated their bodies but a thin sheen of sweat, and he was able to drive himself inside of her with no protective barrier of clothing between them...God, it might actually be too much to take!

  Riley had never felt this strongly about any other woman before.

  Of course, he had had sex with other women in the past. Plenty of other women. But he'd never felt anything that even came close to comparing to this level of intensity. Of reverence, almost.

  This was more than mere physical sensation. This felt spiritual, and he couldn’t wait any longer to be with her. He simply had to touch her bare skin, had to let his hands and mouth roam over her naked body. He couldn't wait one minute longer.

  "God, Chelle," he groaned, barely in control of his ragged voice, "I need you. I need you right now."

  "Yes," her warm breath heavy with lust as she leaned closer to him, resting her fore
head against his, "I need you too. God, I need you now, Riley. I've wanted you so bad...so much...for so long."

  The words she spoke fueled Riley’s desire. Consuming need flooded his body. Chelle sitting on his lap fully clothed, telling him how badly she needed and wanted him was the most erotic thing that Riley had ever experienced. He moved his hands up her slim waist, sliding them underneath her shirt, reveling in the feeling of the warm skin of her torso under his fingertips as he moved them steadily upward, upward...sliding her shirt over her head and feasting his eyes for the first time on her lovely, full, round breasts.

  Her nipples were even harder than the preview he had gotten through the thin fabric of her shirt, would have led him to imagine. The flickering light from the still-running television cast a delicate glow on her skin in a luminous shade of blue. The cherry red peaks of her nipples stood out prominently at the tips of her gorgeous, plump mounds.

  He had to taste her, now. Riley's ragged breathing became even deeper and faster as he leaned forward immediately and took the buttons into his mouth, first one and then the other, alternating back and forth quickly between them. It was as if he couldn't decide which he favored - the instant he began to suck on one nipple, he would start to feel the call of the other, and vice versa.

  As his tongue flicked her sensitive nubs Chelle moaned and trembled. They became even harder under his gentle yet urgent suckling. And while his mouth was busy at work on her gorgeous breasts, his hands roamed over the rest of her body. From the tip of her head to the soles of her feet, he ran his fingertips up and down her back, her side, her arms, her legs – cupping her ass, pulling her closer to him, grinding her hot center against his manhood. All the time he did this, he never broke the contact of his hot and insistent mouth from the hard tips of her nipples now, shining with saliva.

  Chelle whimpered as she writhed under the touch of both his hands and his mouth. She arched her back and bucked her hips. It was clear the things that Riley was making her feel were too intense to be contained by the somewhat restrictive position she was in. He smiled to himself. That could be easily remedied.