by Ruby Vincent
No one raised their hands so he turned and led us out. The hotel was in the perfect spot. Thick, ropey trees made up its backyard, and we passed through them onto a well-worn path. Clancy kept up a steady stream of chatter as we made the mile-long journey down the path. The deeper we went, the more patches of water we saw through the branches, and thicker the cloying moist air became. Soon I could barely hear him over the noise of hundreds of buzzing insects.
The path narrowed until we were walking two by two, and a few minutes later, we stopped.
“This is it,” Patchett said. She pointed through the trees at a bank of grass that sloped off and became all swamp. “No time to waste. Everyone, follow me.”
The class stomped out on her heels, but I hung back. Everyone kept talking about alligators and I couldn’t help but notice how impossible it was to see through that water. If one was in there, how the hell were we supposed to know before we trod on its head?
The class was ahead of me when I realized there was someone at my side. I glanced at Ryder. “You scared too?”
He chuckled. “No, but you looked like you were.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go in together.”
“If we do see a gator,” I asked as I took his hand, “will you throw yourself on it for me?”
“I’ll sacrifice myself to its jaws. It will be very heroic. They’ll write songs about me and everything.”
That got a giggle out of me that propelled me forward. Together, we walked off the bank and stepped into the murky water. The overalls did a great job at keeping me dry, but it couldn’t keep out the curious heat of the swamp.
Patchett was a few feet ahead of us so we waded closer.
“...safe here. You’ll collect your samples and identify what you find. Remember that this is an independent assignment and I will be grading you. If I suspect cheating, you will receive a zero.”
A flicker of movement drew my eye away. Turning, I lit upon a dragonfly as it zipped past my nose and landed on a gnarled root sticking up from the water.
Wow.
Delicate, see-through wings fluttered over a blue iridescent body. The critter was prettier than I thought. I slipped my hand out of Ryder’s and drifted closer for a better look. It turned as though it knew it was time to pose, and I took in its massive eyes and bulbous head.
I wish I had my camera, I thought as I edged closer. The dragonfly was holding still, and I took my chance to move in while it was interested in my attention.
Slowly, I crouched over until I was level with the root. “Hey, little guy. You are a pretty thing, aren’t—” I took a step and brought my foot down on something hard and slippery. I barely had time to let out a scream as my foot went shooting away and I pitched forward.
The last thing I saw before the brown-green water welcomed me was the dragonfly take off. The world blotted out as I sank beneath the surface. The swamp rushed into my overalls, soaking me through as I flailed.
Quickly, I got my hands under me and flipped over, popping out of the water in time to hear, “Valentina!” Through the water droplets obscuring my vision, I saw Ryder dart toward me.
“Wait!”
Time seemed to slow down as Ryder tripped over the same root as me. Our eyes widened as he came down with no way for me to escape.
Splash!
The swamp claimed me again, but this time I had a hulking mass of boy pinning me down. I was under for a few seconds before strong hands yanked me sputtering out of the water.
Chest heaving, we stared at each other in disbelief. I looked down at us, both soaked with mucky water, and said the first thing that popped out of my mouth.
“So much for a heroic rescue.”
Ryder pressed his lips together, face tightening as he tried to hold back a laugh. I didn’t bother. Seconds later, I was howling and immediately he did the same.
We laughed until our salty tears mixed with the water on our faces.
“Y-you don’t think they’ll write songs about this?” he asked.
“Not o-ones that we’d like.”
Then we fell out again, almost slipping back under the water as our bodies wracked with mirth. It took a minute for my chuckles to slow, but my grin remained as I looked up at Ryder. He was so beautiful when he laughed. That might not have been the preferred descriptor for a boy, but beautiful was all that came to my mind whenever I saw him.
Droplets clung to thick lashes framing gorgeous silver eyes. One fell and traveled down his sculpted nose until it dropped onto his lip. I followed its path, breath catching when I landed on that smiling mouth.
“You have something.”
I jerked. “What?”
“You have some swamp on your face.”
“What? Yuck! Get it off.”
“I’ve got it.” Chuckling, he reached up and gently brushed something off my cheek. “There. You’re perfect.”
His finger lingered on my skin as our eyes connected. I don’t know who moved first—him or me, but in a blink, his lips were on mine. We clashed in a kiss that spoke to how long we had been waiting. The warm water filling my drawers did not compared to the heat that surged through my body as I threw my arms around him. Everything fell away—our surroundings, the chirping insects, our audience. Nothing existed but Ryder Shea and the crashing, soaring wave of emotions that lifted me higher and higher. I was flying. I was—
“Miss Moon! Mr. Shea!”
We tore apart with a splash to find Patchett towering over us looking less than pleased. Her girlish glee at being in her element was long gone.
“Stop that at once! Where do you think you are?!”
Cheeks flaming, I saw the entire class—including Clancy—was staring at us. Ryder and I scrambled to our feet.
She thrusted out her hand, pointing to the path. “I want both of you to go inside and get cleaned up. Don’t bother coming back.”
“Okay.” I peered down at the water sloshing within my waders. “Do you mind if we take half the swamp with us?”
Ryder snorted and it set us off again, cracking up like loons.
“Leave!”
We stumbled out as fast as we could, breathless from laughter. We couldn’t have looked more ridiculous waddling down the path with the water weighing us down, and whenever either one of us said something about it, we split our sides.
We made it to the bins, stripped out of the overalls, and abandoned them. Dripping wet, we burst into the hotel and ran up the stairs. My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
“See what you did, Moon?” He charged me and attacked my sides with his fingers. “You got us kicked off the tour.”
Shrieking, I danced away. “No tickling,” I cried. “It’s a good thing we were booted. I’d hate to see what kind of rescue you’d pull if I fell in with the alligators.”
“As we’ve seen, I’d fall in with you and we’d die together.” He came for me again, but I took off, racing toward my room.
Ryder caught me inches from the door and lifted me up as I squealed. He pressed me against the wall and kissed me again. This time I didn’t think of pulling away.
If there were words to describe what it was like kissing Ryder, I did not know them. I only knew that my entire body felt alive. The fingers at the nape of my neck. The hand on my thigh. His chest pressed against mine. I felt them so keenly like my nerves had been dulled before, but now were sparking with life.
I pulled away, breaking our kiss. Ryder looked down at me in confusion as I panted. “We’re covered in disgusting water,” I explained. “We should do like Patchett said and... get cleaned up.”
I gazed into his eyes, hoping he saw what I wanted him to see in mine. “Good idea,” he whispered.
Ryder stepped back as I walked up to my dorm and let myself into the room. I padded across the carpet as I grabbed the hem of my shirt and lifted it over my head. It fell to the floor with a wet squelch and my jeans soon joined it. I paused before my bed and turned, facing him in
silk, white underwear that was now see-through.
My hands shook as they reached for the clasp of my bra. I had done this plenty of times before. There was no reason for me to be nervous, but yet I was. Ryder once said this couldn’t happen because of our history. He had done things too terrible to ever be forgiven, but it was that history that made this moment even more miraculous. It took trust and faith the likes of which most people could never reach to bring us to this moment. I was giving Ryder more than my body. I was trusting him with all of me, and as I looked into his eyes, I knew I had no reason to be afraid.
Ryder’s eyes darkened as my breasts were freed from their prison. I hooked my thumb through my panties.
“No, wait,” he said. “I’ll do that.”
Still dressed, he crossed the room and knelt at my feet. I held my breath as he grasped my thighs and pressed a kiss to my stomach.
“Don’t tease me, Ryder,” I whispered.
He tilted his head back and flashed me a grin that made my core throb. “I would never.” He moved up my thigh, pinched the fabric between his fingers, and slowly pulled it down. He stood as I stepped out of it and pulled his shirt over his head.
I feasted on the dips and ridges of his chest until I remembered this wasn’t a look-but-don’t-touch situation. I touched.
I ran my hands all over his body as he undid his belt and pulled down his pants. Then my hands continued their journey down.
Ryder caught my wrist before it could wrap around his member. “Come on.”
Giggling, we hurried into the bathroom. I pulled back the frosted doors and flicked on the steamy water.
“Hold on, Val.”
I twisted around and saw him heading toward the door. “Ryder, I swear, if you say we can’t do this and give me some line about not deserving me, I will drown you in that swamp.”
He barked a laugh. “I was going to run out and lock the door. Just in case.”
“Oh. Well then, carry on.”
Ryder stepped out. When he came back, I was in the tub, letting the warm water heat my chilled skin. I gazed at him as he stepped inside. I used to compare Ryder to a Greek statue—timeless, chiseled perfection, but while those nude guys tended to be lacking between the legs, Ryder did not have that problem.
My pulse quickened. I should have sent him out for a condom.
You’re not going to be with Ryder for the first time on a school trip with Ace outside the door and Markham on the prowl, common sense countered. When we’re finally together, I plan on taking my time.
I grinned as he stalked toward me, pulling me into his arms and pressing our wet bodies together.
Until then, I’ll take advantage of this stolen moment.
Ryder tilted my head back and latched on the sensitive part of my neck. I gasped as the shower rained down on my face.
He kissed a sizzling trail over my collarbone and down through the valley of my breasts. I thought I knew where he was going but suddenly, he came back up. My disappointment was lost when he kissed me.
We had fun sudsy-ing up each other and running our hands over our soapy bodies. I loved him like this—when he held nothing back and was enjoying being with me as much as I was with him.
“Ryder,” I said between dropping kisses along his jaw. “For your next labor, let’s go to a hotel and spend the weekend together.”
“S-sorry,” he said huskily. His voice deepened with desire and the effect made me pulse with need. “You don’t get to pick your labors.”
I didn’t pause in kissing him. “I bet I could convince you.”
He groaned. “I bet you could too.”
I took his hand and moved them off my waist until they rested on my breasts. Ryder let out another tortured groan. “You and me.” I kissed him. “Next weekend.” Another kiss. “Soft sheets. No interruptions.” Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. “How does that sound?”
I kissed him again, but slower this time, taking my time as his heart pounded beneath my hand. He spoke against my lips when we broke apart. “I’d be a fucking idiot to turn that down, and I’m definitely not that.”
“So next weekend?”
“Next weekend.” He stepped back, flashing me that grin that made my heart race. “But as for right now.”
I didn’t know what he meant until he got down on his knees. The bubbles returned with a vengeance as Ryder backed me against the frosted glass. Carefully, he lifted one leg on his shoulder and then the other. I stifled a squeak when his mouth found me.
I tried to hold it in, biting my lip so hard it almost bled, but one swipe of his tongue and a moan ripped from my throat. The bubbles expanded out from my stomach and filled me with pleasure that crossed my eyes. My nails dug into Ryder’s scalp as the pressure crested and then finally exploded into sunbursts.
Boneless, Ryder slid me down the glass and laid me next to him on the porcelain floor. The shower beat against our skin as he draped his arm around me.
“Next weekend,” he said softly.
I smiled. “Next weekend.”
I don’t know how long we lay there, but it was long enough for the water to turn cold. Eventually, we picked ourselves up and stepped out of the tub. We wrapped up in thick, fluffy towels and padded out of the bathroom.
Sofia grinned at us from her bed. “Hey, guys.”
A flush crept up my neck as she gave me that knowing look. “How long have you been here?”
“Long enough, my friend. Long enough.” Sofia shifted her attention to Ryder. “I got Jaxson to sneak over some dry clothes, but you better go. Markham came by twice looking for you. I told her you went for a walk.”
“Got it. Thanks, Sof.”
“No problem.”
Ryder took up his clothes and went back into the bathroom. I perched myself on the edge of the bed and rifled through my bag. “How was the rest of the tour?”
“It was cool. Clancy took us to see the alligators. Creepy little things. They just sit there staring at you with those dead eyes. I don’t know what I’d do if I was splashing around and those beady-eyed devils suddenly popped up next to me.”
“Wish I could have seen them.”
She raised her brows. “Yeah, right. I think the sightseeing you were doing was way better.”
I ducked my head. “Are you trying to see how red you can get my cheeks because it’s working.”
She laughed. “Not trying to make you blush, but I want every single detail when he’s gone.”
As if on cue, the bathroom door opened and Ryder stepped out in black jeans and a sweater. He favored me with one last kiss before hurrying out the door.
“He’s gone. Spill.”
I shrugged out of my towel and got dressed while I spoke. “It’s not as juicy as you think. We didn’t have sex.”
“Is he still going on about not deserving you?”
“No, I threatened his life so hopefully that’s over.” I pulled my blouse over my head and then stepped into my jeans. “But we both seemed to agree we didn’t want our first time to be in a tub with my best friend outside the door.” I shot her a look that she accepted with a smile. “We’re going to get together over the break.”
“That’s great, Val. I’m so happy for you.” Her grin turned wicked. “Your harem will soon be complete.”
“It’s not a harem!” I cried. I jumped on top of her, pinning her to the bed as she shrieked. “But if it was... hell yeah, it is.”
Sofia bucked and flipped me over. I went down laughing, feeling so happy I almost forgot about lurking Spades and Ace.
“We should go to lunch,” Sofia said when she let me up. “This is our only free afternoon so Zane and Kai want to catch the movie screening. They even snuck in popcorn.”
“I knew there was a reason I kept those twins around.”
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, Patchett put us through everything she threatened. We woke up early, scarfed down breakfast, and then headed out to tramp through the swamps collecting samples, learning about water purity, and endu
ring lectures in rubber outfits while being tortured by the humidity and opportunistic mosquitoes.
Despite all of that, my friends and I managed to have a good time. We made sure to go in the opposite direction every time one of the other class came our way and we laughed ourselves sick when Kai, Jaxson, Maverick, and Paisley ended up slipping in the swamp too. It was almost like we were regular teenagers on a school trip.
“Regular teenagers don’t have to go through this shit!” Kai cried. He flung his pen across the room, narrowly missing Ezra when he came through the door.
“Watch it, man.” Ezra set my mug on the coffee table and then joined me on the floor. The original nine—Me, Ryder, Ezra, Maverick, Jaxson, Sofia, Kai, Zane, and Paisley—had taken up a sitting room in the back of the hotel. It was a nice spot with wall-to-wall windows and plenty of comfy couches and chairs for us to spread out and work on our papers.
I thanked Ezra for the tea as he hooked his arm around me and kissed my neck, making goosepimples pop on my skin. That was all he did and all he would do in front of an audience. I had not been able to risk another stolen moment with any of the guys, which made me all the more thankful we would be leaving the next day and going on break.
“I’m serious,” Kai continued. “We have to do a paper on what we learned while being eaten alive in a swamp. Other seniors are coasting their way to graduation.”
“There’s no such thing as coasting in Evergreen,” Maverick replied. “Dad told me he dealt with the workload while writing his first program. He was so sleep-deprived he developed a twitch.”
“That clearly paid off. He twitched his way to a billion-dollar company.”
He shrugged. “He was under a lot of pressure though. First in the family to graduate from high school and his family depending on him to make something of himself.”
Ezra sighed. “We all know that pressure.”
“Sup, guys.”
I looked around Ezra to the doorway. Eric, Ciara, and Claire stood there with laptops under their arms. “Mind if we join?”