“H… Hi,” I stuttered, stretching out my hand to shake his, like the biggest dork ever. I cringed internally, but it was too late. The gesture was already made.
“Hi Talia,” he practically drooled, taking my hand in his. As soon as he touched me, I felt electricity coursing through my body, so I snatched my hand away quickly. Unfortunately he seemed to know exactly what was happening with me, because he gave me a knowing, satisfied smirk. “Well, you don’t look much like your father,” he laughed, shooting me a wink.
Marie tried to brush over the tension, as my heart thumped painfully against my chest. ““Come on. Dinner’s ready.”
I attempted to keep my eyes fixed firmly on my plate as I ate, not wanting to look at anyone, but my dad kept trying to drag me into conversation. On top of that, everything that Ricky said seemed to have a sexual undertone that no one else could pick up on. It was driving me crazy.
This guy might be seriously hot, but he was far too arrogant for my liking. My body might have been reacting to him, but my mind despised him already.
I escaped the table at the very first opportunity that I could. I shut the door behind me and took a deep breath. Ricky had sent me on a rollercoaster that I really didn’t like. There were tears that threatened to come at the prospect of having to spend a lot of time with these awful people, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn’t.
To distract myself, I grabbed hold of my phone and I dialed the number that I hadn’t called in a very long time. I needed to speak to a friendly voice, and I hoped that she would still have time for me. My best friend – Kira.
“Hello?” she answered quickly, as if she didn’t recognize the number.
“H… hi Kira,” I stammered. “It’s me, Talia.”
“Oh my god,” she squealed excitedly, much to my relief. “Talia, how are you? Are you okay? It’s been so long!”
“I know, I’m sorry.” I hung my head in shame as I realized just how much I’d neglected my friends. I’d been through a terrible time, but nevertheless my behavior was inexcusable. “I shouldn’t have gone off the radar like that.”
“Oh that doesn’t matter,” she said. “You have missed out on a lot, though. What are you up to tonight?”
“Oh, erm…” I hadn’t expected her to want to see me so soon. “I’m not sure…” In reality, I was exhausted, not necessarily in the mood for going out.
“Well, we’re going to watch the race tonight. There’s this new guy – Ricky Nyle – he’s an awesome bike racer, and super cute.”
Oh god, did she mean the same Ricky that was about to become my step brother? Why did I feel so weird about that?
“Then there will probably be a party later. There usually is.”
Motorbike racing and parties… when the hell had my friends gone from the quiet, studious people I once knew, to who they are now?
“Maybe next time,” I said. I wasn’t really in the mood. “I’m so tired from my journey. I need to rest, but I really can’t wait to hang out again.” I was telling the truth, I wanted to see all my old friends, and I hoped that we could pick up where we left off. But if I no longer had anything in common with my friends here, then I had no one, no place in the world.
It was going to be a long old summer…!
*****
Ricky
My plan to wind Talia up until she lost it and told her dad not to marry my mom was going well. I kept making wildly inappropriate comments at every opportunity, driving her mad, but I didn’t feel as good about it as I thought I would. In fact, every time her face twisted up in confusion, or fell in annoyance, my heart went a little fluttery and weird.
Maybe it was because I’d heard some chick talking about her at the track, saying how she’d lost it when her mother had died, and how she didn’t seem back to her usual self even now. Maybe I felt bad about the impact I was already having on her life after everything she’d already been through, without adding me being an asshole to her on top of it.
Or maybe it was because I was becoming more and more attracted to her each day. There was no denying that she did something to me, and that it wasn’t going away any time soon. The more I got to know about her, the more I liked her sweet, studious nature which was the complete opposite of me. The more time I spent with her – which to be fair, wasn’t much because she kept trying to avoid me – the deeper I found myself falling for her. It was driving me insane.
I thought about her all the damn time – on the track, in bed, out and about. All I wanted to do was spend more time with her, be nice to her, and get to know her. But that totally contradicted with my original plan. I wasn’t sure which outcome I wanted more.
If I continued to be awful, our parents would break up and it was unlikely that I would ever see her again. She would go back to boarding school, and that would be that. The solution to the problem I’d been facing for the last year.
But, if I caved, if I started to be nice to Talia, to really give her a chance, and my feelings towards her increased, then it was likely that something would happen between us. We would end up hooking up and then what?
Even the thought of an illicit, taboo relationship with Talia, under the unsuspecting noses of our parents, was filling me with an intense excitement. Bolts of desire coursed through my veins. But if I thought past what my cock wanted, and really considered reality, then how the hell would it work? Would we continue screwing even after our parents got married, and we were officially brother and sister? Well, step-brother and sister, but still, how messed up would that be? It could never become anything more. We could never be a real couple, no matter what we wanted.
The choice was obvious, it really was. My brain knew exactly what I should do, what was the right thing to do. But my body didn’t, and I was afraid that it going to win out in the end.
*****
Talia
“Morning,” I heard Ricky say from behind me. I shut my eyes for a second, waiting for the smarmy comment to follow. But nothing came. Instead, he remained silent waiting patiently for me to answer.
“Erm… good morning, are you okay?” I replied, spinning around to look at him. I was in my pajamas, with messy hair and no makeup, but that no longer mattered. If we were going to be a family, it wouldn’t make any difference what I looked like anyway. He would have to get used to the messy version of me. He was only in pajama bottoms himself, showing me the sculpted body that always gave me butterflies, however used to seeing it I was.
“Yeah, good. Would you… like a cup of coffee?” He looked a bit embarrassed by his niceness, which made it weirder. It was clearly deliberate, which I didn’t understand.
“Sure.” I stared confused at the back of his head as he boiled the kettle. This must have been some sort of new tactic to irritate me, I just needed to work out what he was playing at now.
It was better having him being a bit more pleasant though, however much it threw me.
As he handed the cup to me, and sat down at the table, I did the same, suddenly more intrigued than I really should be. I sipped my drink slowly, keeping my eyes fixed on him the entire time.
“So…” he started, looking a little uncomfortable. “How is it being back here? Have you been out much?”
Okay, why the hell was he suddenly interested in my life? It made no sense. I eyed him suspiciously as I answered, “No, not yet.” The truth was I still felt like I was working my way up to spending time with my friends. I had been out of the loop for so long, that it felt weird to just pick up right where we left off. I had been waiting for another invitation from Kira, but so far I’d had nothing and I was too much of a coward to call her once more. I felt like maybe she was more hurt by my neglect that she let on to me, and I was too scared to face the consequences of that just yet.
“There’s a race tonight,” he announced casually, not quite meeting my eyes. “And a party after. Maybe you should come? It might be good to get out of the house a bit.” I felt my heart stop at his words. Was he actually
inviting me to hang out with him? Would it be totally weird to say yes? “Maybe… I don’t know, maybe some of your old school friends will be there. You went to school here for a while, didn’t you?” I nodded numbly, not really sure how to even form words anymore. “I don’t know, it might be fun.”
It was only the fact that he’d lost his arrogance that made me even consider his offer. There was something about his newfound vulnerability that had me intrigued even further. Maybe this would be a good way to reintroduce myself to the social scene here… especially as Ricky seemed to be so damn popular.
“Yeah, okay,” I heard myself saying, before I’d even fully made up my mind. “That sounds nice, thanks.”
As he got up from the table, and left the room smiling, I realized that my entire body was a hot mess of emotions… and that the most potent one was desire.
*****
Ricky
I felt wired with Talia gripping onto my back as I raced towards the track. I could tell by the way that she didn’t move with the bike, that it was the first time that she’d ever been on one, and that made me feel kind of special. It felt like despite everything she was trusting me with her life, and that was amazing. I kept doing slight little tricks to tease her, wanting her to have the thrill ride of her life.
I truly had no idea what I was doing with Talia, since I’d decided to continue being a dick to her, but for the moment I wasn’t complaining. This felt good, and I wasn’t quite ready to give it up.
As we pulled up at the circuit, I could see that we were slightly late. Everyone else was already there. I normally liked to arrive a little late, to draw attention to myself, but this time I’d wanted to be a little more discrete with Talia here. I didn’t want people to start talking, making us both uncomfortable.
“You okay?” I asked her quietly as she removed her helmet. She nodded quickly, but I could see the paleness that had overtaken her. She was nervous, and this was clearly a mistake. My heart started to race as I felt awful for bringing her here. This was a stupid idea…
“Talia!” A female voice suddenly shrieked above the crowd. “Oh my god you’re here.” Another girl dragged Talia from my side and pulled her away from me. She shot me one last pleading look, before she disappeared into the crowds.
I felt a bit bad to leave her like that, but it was obviously someone she knew, so I had to hope that all would be okay. I had other things to focus on anyway.
Slick arrived, and grabbed my arm. “Hey dude,” he said. “You ready to race?”
“Yeah, yeah…” I pulled my attention back to him. “I’m ready.” As he talked, I tried to get my head back into the game. I needed to do well tonight, this would be the first time that Talia saw me racing, and I wanted to impress her. Despite what my brain was screaming at me, I needed her to be in awe of me.
As I sat at the starting line, I tried to think only about the track, but Talia’s face kept filling my mind. I scanned my eyes over the crowd to see her, but there were too many people.
“Ready…” The girl in the skimpy bikini called out. “Steady…” I looked at the guy next to me – some college kid with no fucking clue – and I started revving my engine. “Go.”
I hammered it around the track, tuning out the cheers from the crowd. Luckily, the other guy was nothing more than a douchebag who thought he was a big shot, so he had nothing on me. I defeated him with ease. As my bike moved, I felt centered and whole – it was the only thing that ever made me feel that way, which was why I kept racing, no matter what.
And knowing that Talia was out there somewhere, watching me destroy this guy, it made it all the more exciting.
People ran to my side as I ploughed past the finish line and I became swamped by the crowd. The only face I wanted to see was the only one that I didn’t.
I didn’t get to see Talia again until everyone else had gone. They went to the nearest house party – as always – but I hung back. I didn’t want to leave her behind, not even to celebrate my victory.
“Hi,” she said shyly, as she came to stand by me once more. “You were really good.”
“Thank you,” I smiled brightly, desperately wanting to wrap my arms around her, but forcing myself to hold back. “Hey, were you okay? I didn’t mean to leave you like that…”
“Yeah, it’s okay. That’s Kira.” She pointed to the girl behind her. “She’s my friend from before. It’s been really nice to see her again.”
“Are they all coming to the house party?” I asked, praying that she would say yes. I wanted to spend more time with her, and this felt like the best way to do so.
“Erm… yeah I think so. I wasn’t quite sure what you were doing.” She sounded awkward about this, which was really cute. Obviously she was going to come back with me, I brought her here, but the fact that she was unsure made my heart melt.
“Come on,” I smiled at her. “Let’s go.”
***
The drinks were flowing, the music was banging, and it felt like every single person wanted to speak to me. I kept my eye on Talia the entire time, wanting to know what she was up to. She was actually happy for the very first time since I’d seen her. She’d really loosened up, laughing and joking with her old group of friends. I recognized the girls from the track, but they weren’t people that I’d spent time with elsewhere. But they seemed nice enough. They were cheering up Talia at any rate.
Eventually they started to dance, and my attention was totally taken away from everything and everyone else. As her hips moved slowly to the beat, I found my heart racing with excitement. Someone was talking to me, but I tuned them out, watching the sexiest girl alive move her body freely. Talia might not have known that she was gorgeous – she certainly didn’t act big headed – but she really was.
It hit me hard, like a punch in the face. This was no longer a game, there was no longer any way I could be horrible to this girl because I was falling for her hard. I actually really liked her, more than I’d liked anyone ever before. This wasn’t even just a physical thing, there were emotions there, too.
What the hell was I going to do about that?
*****
Talia
The night had been amazing. Reconnecting with my old friends was the best thing that could have happened to me – I wasn’t sure what I’d been so nervous about. I should have guessed that we would have been fine, and that picking up from where things had left off was no issue whatsoever. It was almost as if I’d never been gone.
And then to watch Ricky race had been something else. Watching him speed around that track on that same bike I’d been afraid of even getting onto had been a crazy turn on like no other. I knew that it was wrong, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting him. It was driving me crazy, but I figured that as long as I kept it to myself it would be fine.
And then we got to the house party and I started drinking. I wasn’t drunk, only a little tipsy, but it made being around Ricky even harder. I avoided him as much as I could, but the knowledge was always buzzing in my mind that I would have to travel home with him, that I would be wrapped around him on his bike once more.
“I’m just heading to the toilet,” I said with a smile to my friends, making my escape. In reality, all I needed was a few moments to myself to get my head together, and that seemed like the quickest way to do that.
Instead of creeping up the stairs to find the bathroom, I went outside to get some gulps of air. Unfortunately, I wasn’t to get the moment I needed by myself, because almost the second I stepped out into the cool, fresh air, a familiar voice spoke out from behind me.
“Are you okay Talia?” I spun around to see Ricky with a concerned expression on his face. My heart fluttered like crazy as he stepped closer to me, touching my arm which sent bolts of desire racing right through me.
“Ye… yeah I’m fine. Just wanted some fresh air.” He was too close to me now, I could barely think with it all.
“I’m ready to go when you are,” I said. He was still touching me. What
the hell was going on here? Could he hear my heart hammering against my chest? Did he know what he was doing to me? “Whenever is good.”
“Erm… yeah okay,” I stammered, feeling myself inadvertently leaning in towards him. I gulped down, trying to conceal my real feelings.
But he leant in, moving in towards me too, as if we were magnets and he couldn’t resist. However crazy and wrong it was, we were suddenly kissing passionately, and my desire for him was increasing. Having his lips crashing against mine made me feel special, exiting and on fire. I’d never experienced anything like it before in my life.
As we eventually pulled apart, I gasped. “Let’s go now.” I felt like my entire body was tingling with passion. There was no way that I could stay at the party for another second. Whatever the outcome of the night was going to be, I couldn’t continue acting normal in front of everyone else after that kiss.
“Are you sure?” he asked. I nodded, and he took me to his bike.
I fired off a quick text to Kira, letting her know that I was leaving and that I would contact her the next day, before hopping on to Ricky’s bike to go back to our home.
On the journey my mind raced. What the hell was I playing at? And what the hell was going to happen when we got back? And why was I so desperately hoping that we would give in to the chemistry and take this to another level?
As we pulled up outside the door, and snuck in like giggling children, I found my excitement level rising. This was so, so wrong but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Whatever my brain was saying, my body wanting Ricky, and that was all there was to it.
As I was about to sneak back into my own bedroom, Ricky grabbed hold of my hand and dragged me into his room, taking things up another notch, moving things on even further.
He pulled me into a deep embrace, which re-sparked the fire inside of me, and we eventually started kissing again. My brain knew that this was a bad idea, but my body didn’t care. My body felt amazing and didn’t want that to stop.
In Time to Love Page 121