His smile falters as he glances at one of his Delta dickhead buddies. When one of the guys laughs at Brad’s expense, the man’s expression hardens. He jerks his attention back to me. “Listen, bitch. You may think you’re smarter than me—”
“I am smarter than you,” I correct him with a raise of my hand to stop him from embarrassing himself further. “So you should save us all time and stop thinking.” I turn and start toward the mod.
Out of nowhere something smacks the top of my head and bursts open, drenching me with freezing liquid. I pull in a sharp intake of breath as I immediately shake. I grab a piece of green latex off my sleeve and fight back tears of humiliation. The fucker hit me with a goddamn water balloon.
This is war.
I run to the mod as another balloon slams into the ground behind me, splattering my ankles. Without knocking, I storm into Ryan’s place and don’t slow until I’m dripping in his living room, panting.
The instant I spot him my eyes swell with tears. “H-He bombed m-me.”
His eyes widen and he hurries over to me. He pulls green latex out of my hair and turns an interesting shade of crimson. He then runs down the hall. When he reappears, he has this bazooka-looking thing made out of plastic pipe with a crank on the end.
I wipe at my eyes, embarrassed I’m crying over something as stupid as a water balloon attack. “What the hell is that thing?”
“Payback,” he answers in a seriously low, dangerous voice, and throws open the kitchen window facing the Delta house. “One of the drawers has balloons. Fill them halfway with water, tie them, and bring them to me.”
“How many?”
“Five should do it.”
I feel ridiculous and yet exhilarated as I find the balloons and fill them. I had a water balloon fight with my neighbor once. This is so much better.
Once I fill the final balloon and tie it off, I grab all five—make that four as I stumble and drop one. It crashes at my feet, not only soaking the floor of his kitchen, but my shoes. Still, I have four for whatever battle we are about to wage against the Delta dicks.
He’s got his gaze fixed on centering the bazooka. “Lube.”
I fall back. “Excuse me?”
“I need lube. There’s Astroglide in the nightstand in my bedroom.”
I’m not even going to touch that one. Not trying to picture what he does with his Astroglide when he’s alone, I grab the tube and hurry back to him. “Here,” I say and thrust it at him.
“Don’t act so grossed out.” He grabs it and slathers it inside the giant plastic tube and then all over a balloon. “It’s not like you’ve never, you know.”
“Gross.” I don’t dare admit to anything.
He stops what he’s doing and faces me. “Are you seriously saying that you’ve never?”
“I’m not going to admit something like that to you.”
“So that’s a yes,” he says and turns back to the bazooka. Before I can deny it, he brings up the bazooka and positions it against the windowsill. “Watch this.” He slips the balloon down the tube and then turns the crank a few times. He then pushes a little button and a loud BOOM! sounds. I hurry to the window to watch the balloon launch. I can’t see anything and place my hands on his shoulders, pressing my boobs against his back just in time to watch the balloon hit one of Brad’s douchy friends.
“Awesome,” I laugh.
“Incoming.”
I jump out of the way just as a multiple arsenal of water balloons make it through Ryan’s open window, bursting as they smack against him. He lowers his head and takes each one. I have to admit, I’m impressed. I would have got up and screamed like the girl I am as soon as the first one hit. Or cried, as I so maturely demonstrated earlier.
“Oh, yeah?” He lubes the remaining three balloons and slides them into the barrel. “Give it four cranks.”
“You got it.” I give it five for good measure.
He aims and pushes the button. The balloons launch and I’m laughing as they slam into each of the remaining Delta douches on the balcony. Only the balloons don’t break. They hit each guy and then the targets disappear as they fly back, out of sight.
Ryan jerks around to face me, his smoky eyes blazing. “How may turns did to you give it?”
“Five.”
“I told you four.”
“I wanted to be sure you got them.”
“Goddamn it, Emma.” He drops the gun and heads toward the door. “They could be hurt.”
Shit. Shit! This is all my fault. If they call the cops, I’ll make a full confession. If they need an ambulance, I’ll give a pint of blood. I don’t want Ryan going down for something I did.
The instant we both walk outside, we’re pummeled. Water balloons come from every direction, soaking us from head-to-toe. And we just stand there, taking it. Once the last balloon hits and adds to our drenchiness, I glance at him. He glances at me.
And then we both burst out laughing.
Chapter Nine
Emma
We slop back inside. “I really am sorry, Ryan. I had no idea—”
He shuts me up by capturing my lips, devouring me from the inside out. I kiss him back, lost in the moment and fucking loving it. His tongue brushes up against mine, spending time exploring my mouth. Clearly he’s taken notes from last night’s lesson.
Finally, after I’ve lost all feeling in my knees as they threaten to give out, he releases me. I sway as his lips leave mine before I open my eyes and look at him. “What,” I pant, “was that?”
“That was fun,” he replies as he nods at the window. He then gives me a wicked look. “And so was that.”
“Wait a goddamn minute. You are not allowed to be so Don Juan about stealing kisses, buddy.”
“Why not?”
“Because I haven’t taught you that yet.”
“A guy can’t learn a few things on his own?”
“What did you do, Google how to shock a girl into an orgasm? Jesus, Ryan. That’s so not fair.”
He loses what cute crooked grin he has. “I thought you told me to grow a set. You know, take charge.”
Shit. I’ve created a monster. “Next time warn me before you do something like that.”
“It was spontaneous.” When he jerks his gaze toward the window we’re standing in front of, I get it. He did it all for show. I don’t know if that makes me feel better or pisses me off even more. Regardless, I want to do it again.
“Let’s give them something they’ll really talk about.” Making sure we’re smack dab in front of the window so the Deltas can see everything, I grab him and pull him toward me, kissing him so deeply I swear I feel him everywhere. When I sweep my tongue against his lips, he’s already poised to meet me halfway. Our tongues collide and we dance. Oh, dear God. He’s picking up on that fast. I’m really loving the way he kisses. And fists my hair. And holds my hip with his other hand.
When he reaches around and squeezes my ass, I rock my hips against his hard cock. Wow. He’s definitely worlds above where he was yesterday. No preemie sperm spit up.
“Now, we casually move away from the window,” I whisper into his ear. “Just watch me. You know what’s coming and can barely stand it. Although you’d rather sprint into the bedroom, you’re giving me time to warm up. Women take a lot longer than men.”
“They do?”
I nod at him as we settle on the couch, lost in our own little world. Gone is the balloon fight. We don’t even notice the water dripping from us. We simply stare at each other as the anticipation builds between us. “Ryan?”
He leans in and barely brushes his lips against mine. Damn, he’s good at that. “Tell me what I should say right now.”
“Why don’t you give it a try?” I scoot toward him and rest my hand on his thigh.
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to screw up.”
“Try,” I urge.
“I don’t want to say anything. I just want to kiss you.”
I grin as he reads my
mind. “See? You’re getting better at this. There’s times, like now, that you should just let your actions speak.”
He doesn’t say another word and instead captures my lips with his, consuming them as if he’ll never have another kiss after this one. The warmth of his hand sinks into me as he rests it on my thigh before inching it higher. My clit springs to life, throbbing and pulsing like the angry music at a night club. It demands attention and I decide it’s time to give Ryan his next lesson.
“Touch me,” I whisper against his lips. He stiffens and pulls back. His eyes are dark, almost black, as they search mine. But then he drops his gaze to his lap. “Ryan?”
“I don’t want to.”
Is he kidding right now? I’m immediately pissed. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m already there. If I touch you I swear to God I’ll lose it. Again.”
“Baseball,” I blurt out. Isn’t that what all the experts say guys should think about when they are trying to stop themselves from coming? “Think about baseball.”
“I don’t know anything about baseball.”
“How can you be a guy and not know anything about baseball?”
“Just because I’m a guy doesn’t mean I automatically like sports. It’s not a gender thing.” The hurt in his eyes sinks into me. I can’t seem to say anything right with him. “Just because you’re a girl doesn’t make you into shopping, right?”
“Sexist much?” He’s killed the mood for me, which is probably a good thing. I’m here to groom him, not fuck him. “Let’s get to why I’m really here. Where’s the scissors?” I spot them still on the counter from last night and grab them.
“Are you going to run with them this time?”
“I just might. But first, I’m going to take care of your mullet.”
His hand shoots to his hair. “It’s not a mullet.”
“It’s so a mullet.” I brandish the scissors.
“It’s a tasteful bi-level.”
I giggle. “That’s not even a haircut.”
He laughs with me and takes a seat on one of the stools at the counter. “Okay, okay. How short am I going?”
I play with his hair. He watches me closely and I love it. And hate it. I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing this for him, to make him big man on campus, not to mold him into the perfect guy. There’s no such thing.
I drop my hand. “Let’s trim the top, but leave some length. But you have to lose the back.”
He turns his back to me as he groans. “Don’t take off an ear.”
“Then hold still.” It’s easier to cut since it’s wet and I get started. Once I have the back done, I swing him around to face me so I can work on the front.
He’s watching me as I work, which makes me nervous. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I hold my breath.
“Was last night a one-time thing?”
I stop cutting and look at him, my heart in my throat. “Do you want it to be a one-time thing?”
He shrugs. “We’re friends, right?”
“Right.” I go back to cutting.
“I know this isn’t a real relationship, but if I’m going to get this, if I’m going to be with a woman without totally screwing it up, I need your help.”
Now my heart is in my throat. “What is it you’re asking me to do?”
He blows out a breath and drops his gaze to his lap. “I want you to teach me how to make love to a woman.”
I physically jump back at least a foot and hold the scissors like a weapon. “Are you asking me to sleep with you?”
He brings up his hands. “As friends. Only as friends. You and I both know there’s nothing real between us. I can’t explain it, but you’re the first girl I’ve been able to talk to without stuttering myself into a panic attack or throwing up. Or both. We could be friends with benefits, you know? I could get in some practice.”
“You did not just insinuate you’re going to use me for sex practice, did you?” I tighten my grip on the scissors.
“I did.” He lifts his gaze and, strangely, I lose my fight. I lower my hand and the scissors slip from my grip. “We’ve already messed around. I want to go all the way. With you.”
Holy shit and cheeseballs. He wants me to take his V card. I don’t know how I feel about that. “We aren’t like that.” I’m not sure if I’m saying it to convince him, or me.
“Friends have sex all the time. That’s all this will be.”
As much as I want to be offended by his proposal, I’m not. It’s exactly what I want. A guy friend to hang with, someone who isn’t going to constantly berate me for my choices like Britt does. Someone to go to a bar with and just hang out, where I don’t have to worry about every guy in the bar wanting my friend instead of me.
A guy friend. I’ve never had one and always figured if I ever did, he’d be gay. Ryan definitely isn’t gay. “And it won’t get weird between us?”
He chuckles. “It’s already weird between us.”
I couldn’t argue that fact. Before I make my decision, I want to think about all the reasons why it will never work. I’m a pessimist at heart. I grab the scissors off the floor. “Hold still. We need to finish your haircut. Then, a shower.”
“Together?”
My fingers slip and I nearly nick his ear. This morning was nice, and I’d like to do it again, but I’m scared shitless it will turn into the only other time I showered with a guy. What a disaster. Not only was it cramped, awkward, and about as ridiculously unsexy as it gets, he slipped on the soap and went down, smacking his head on the side of the tub and split his scalp open. I had to call 911 in nothing but a towel and explain to the paramedics what we were doing when he fell.
I don’t want a repeat of that, like, ever. Still, Ryan would eventually be asked to shower with a woman. He needs to know how to do more than a hand job. It’s my duty, as his friend with benefits, to show him. Deciding to take one for the team, I answer. “We’ll shower together. You’ve already seen me naked more than once.”
“And I want to see you naked again. I’m not going to lie.”
“Don’t make me cut you.” I close the scissors and rest the blades against his ear. He laughs, drawing the same from me. I finish turning his hair a little less ‘80s and a little more this century. I have to admit, he has the power to turn a few heads even now. With some work on that wardrobe, we’ll have the look of a player down.
“Take off your shirt,” I say as I set the scissors on the counter. He grabs his broom and sweeps up the hair. “I’m not kidding, Ryan. Take it off, big boy.”
He throws his shirt over his head and I sigh as I sink down against the counter to just watch him. It’s a work of art. When he bends over to brush the hair into a dustpan, I turn my head and stare at his ass. He stands and I’m not ready to end the view. “I think you missed some. Over there.”
He eyes me and I know he’s totally on to me. But he bends over and sweeps the area anyway, giving me another chance to drool over his seriously fine backside. “Are you through?”
“I have no idea what you mean.” I feign innocence and flip my hair before stealing a quick glance at his hard abs through my veil of waves.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“What?”
“Is this what you want?” He flexes and muscles upon muscles pop out. I fight the urge to jump into his arms and attack. He changes stances and makes a face, baring his teeth, and even growls. I laugh and cover my mouth with my hand. “What? You don’t find that sexy?”
“Not even remotely.” I scream when he pounces. He pulls me away from the counter, unceremoniously tosses me over his shoulder and carries me down toward his bedroom like a caveman. I can’t even take a breath, I’m laughing so hard. “Ryan!” I smack his ass with both my hands. “Okay, King Kong. Put me down!”
He grunts like an ape and tosses me onto his bed. He jumps on top of me and I scream again. I’m not sure how he does it, but he has us both naked in record time
. He nuzzles himself between my legs as his gaze catches mine. “I want to try something new.”
The way he’s licking his lips, I know what he has in mind and my clit tingles in anticipation. “And you want me to show you how?”
He nods as he drops his gaze to the vee between my thighs. “I’ve never actually, you know.”
“You’re going to have to get over your aversion to just saying it. You want to taste me, go down on me, give me head, eat me—”
“I get it,” he cuts me off as color glows in his cheeks. God, could he be any cuter? He lowers his head and I lock my knees on his ears.
“First, you can’t just dive right in. You’re Indiana Jones and this is your quest. Slowly work up to it. Give your audience a little anticipation. Make them wait for the grand finale.”
“Ow.” He pushes his shoulders between my legs and forces them open. As he trails his lips up my thigh, I shudder. After brushing a heated breath against my drenched flesh, he kisses my other thigh. He darts his tongue out, lapping up the juices clinging to my curls. I suck in a breath, wanting him to do more than steal a quick sample.
“More,” I whisper and rock my hips, lifting them closer to his mouth.
He licks at my slit, drinking up my excitement. “Jesus, Emma. You taste incredible. Fucking unbelievable.”
I’ve never heard him drop the F-bomb and it heats me, liquefying my insides and saturating my pussy. He eagerly sucks up my juices and roams his tongue around in search for more. When he brushes my clit, I nearly jump off the bed. “Oh, my God!”
I don’t have to say anything. Ryan is a quick study. He releases an assault on my clit worthy of a porn star. Holy shit. His rapid tongue flicking has me seeing fireworks behind my eyes. He digs his fingers into my hips and holds me in place at he continues his attack. I fight to breathe. He has me so close to coming I’m desperate as I grasp for that release.
He slips two fingers inside me and I cry out. I’m panting. I’m writhing. He doesn’t slow his pace and pumps his fingers in rhythm with his tongue against my clit. The pressure of his mouth increases, as does the beating of my heart. I fist his hair and rock my hips against him. He flicks his tongue one final time and I scream as my orgasm explodes inside me.
Contemporary Nights Volume One Page 39