Chapter 14 14: The Ground Rule
\[ K A R A \]
By midnight that night, our Fourth of July party had come to a close. Peter and mom were downstairs somewhere, and I think Ryder went out to send Vanessa home. I told Gabe that I wasn't feeling well and I sent him home as well. But I lied. I just wanted to be alone right now so I could think. I needed to figure this thing out with Ryder.
My mind was in a complete mess. When I went to confront Ryder, I thought I was doing it so we could set the record straight. But no, that plan went down the drain when I ended up kissing him instead.
How could I let that happen? And where do we go from here?
I had never felt this way about anyone before. I knew this was wrong, but I also couldn’t deny the fact that I want to see this through. No, I didn’t mean that I want to be in a relationship with Ryder. That would be too much and people would get hurt. I didn’t want a relationship or anything like that, I just wanted to see where this feeling was taking me.
So, now I’m wondering, is there a way where this doesn't have to be wrong and people don't have to get hurt?
I couldn’t sleep that night. My mind was running wild with all these thoughts. For the longest time, I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking, wishing, and waiting for Ryder. I couldn’t figure out a solution out of this, and I was just about to go to sleep when I heard my phone vibrated with an incoming a text.
Speak of the devil…
Ryder: Hey
I didn't know how a simple text on a screen could make my heart do the jumping jacks like this. So I texted back "Hey" and waited anxiously for the response.
Ryder: Meet me in the garage
"Meet me in the garage"— just those five words. It wasn't even a question, it was a statement, almost like an order. What do I say to this? It was past midnight already. What could he possibly want to do with me at this hour... oh wait, don't answer that. Before I could respond with anything else, my phone vibrated again.
Ryder: Can you stop torturing me and just come over now?
A smile crept up to my face involuntarily. I speedily pulled myself off the bed and made my way out of my room. When I was halfway downstairs, I noticed that my mom and Peter were still in the living room, talking. Shoot, they're not asleep yet. So, I held my breath and I tiptoed quietly pass by and out of the house as soon as I could.
The garage door was open when I got there. Ryder was standing, shirtless, with his back turned to me. He was working on something— a motorcycle. Of course, the bad boy has to have a motorcycle, I muttered to myself.
"I can feel it," he said with his back still turned to me.
"What?"
"You eye-raping me," he chuckled and turned around.
"Don't you own a shirt?" I rolled my eyes at him, trying to keep my cool. "And why are you calling me out here for?"
Ryder smirked. He cleaned his hands with a towel and tossed it off somewhere. "To pick up where we left off," he said as he stalked towards me.
I didn't move away, I was too entranced. In one swift move, Ryder grabbed my face with both hands and he kissed me fiercely and passionately. Just the contact was enough to send shivers up and down my spine. I couldn’t hold back anymore, so I kissed him back, feverishly. He smiled and I smiled too, and he used this opportunity to slip his tongue inside.
My stomach twisted into a knot as I could feel his tongue all over my insides. He moved slowly, making me squirm with tension and anticipation. In a playful way, he tagged my tongue lightly with his and he pulled back, inviting me to play some sort of game. Complying with his request, my tongue went out to find his again. I could feel him smiling through the kiss because he knew that I was game. And suddenly his tongue invaded my mouth again, and my body was up against the wall with Ryder standing tall, hovering over me.
Oh, holy pineapple.
I felt Ryder’s tongue in my mouth. I felt his hands all over my body. His bare chest was right on top of me. This was so hot. My hands traveled to his neck, to his back, and lower back. He shivered at the touch and let out a small groan. He started to kiss my neck and I felt like I have trouble breathing. I let out a muffled moan in response, not wanting to make too much noise.
He took it as a good sign. Steadily, he picked me up and put me down on the work table. Sitting on the table, I swung my legs to his waist, locking him there to keep him close. He was grinning. We kept on kissing and I felt like I was getting high on his kisses. Everything was flowing so naturally, and I wanted to do what he was doing to me, so I inched my face to his neck and I started kissing him there. Ryder let out a groan almost immediately.
Oh, I love that effect I have on him.
Our kiss grew deeper and our breaths grew ragged. My hands went through his hair and Ryder's hand slipped under my shirt and it made its way slowly up north, and that was when I stopped him.
"Wait, Ry, hold on," I said, panting, trying to catch my breath. He looked up at me, waiting and confused. "I think we need to establish some ground rules here," I said again.
"...Okay," he said with a chuckle. Then he proceeded to kiss my neck again.
"Stop doing that, pay attention," I said as I pushed him off lightly.
He took a step back and bit his lip. "Okay what?" he said, still grinning.
On the corner of my eye, I saw some scrap of paper and a pencil next to me, so I grabbed them and I started writing.
"I have spent the last hour planning and plotting, and I've finally come to a conclusion. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right, which means we need ground rules," I explained as I wrote. Meanwhile, his fingers were drawing circles playfully around my thigh, distracting me. Rolling my eyes at him, I smacked his hand away.
"Pay attention!" I said again and he lifted his hands up in the air.
"Okay, what is it? I'm all ears," he said with his eyebrows raised.
"Rule number one, no sex. We can fool around, or whatever, but no sex," I said rather sternly. Ryder crossed his arms in an act of protest, but he remained quiet, and he nodded slightly.
"Rule number one, we do not talk about fight club. Got it," he said, trying to hold back his laugh.
I glared at him, but a small smile escaped my lips.
"Rule number two, we're just having fun, so it’s nothing serious. Our parents do not need to know and will never know about this. And we will end things as soon as they get serious," I said in a commanding tone and he nodded again.
"And lastly, when the summer's over, so is whatever this is that we're doing. And we shall never speak of it again, ever," I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Are you done now?" he said to me with that smug smirk playing on his face.
"Sign here," I gave the paper out to him. He looked at me with that 'are-you-serious' look, but my face remained stern. He laughed and picked up the paper and signed it.
Once he was done, he put the paper and pencil away. He moved closer towards me and put his hand on my cheeks.
"You sure about this?" he whispered.
"I don't know. Are you?" I whispered back.
He shrugged. "I'll take my chances," he leaned in, smiling as he closed in on my lips.
Ryder’s lips were on me again. His kiss was short and quick, just a little taste. He was giving me small kisses. On my lips. Around my lips. On my cheeks. And I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. He liked to tease. And I had to admit it, Ryder's got style.
CLANK!
And just then, we heard noises coming from the house. We stopped moving immediately, and we held our breaths, trying to hear what was going on. From the garage window, we saw Peter walking around the house, looking in our direction.
Holy Crapola!
Swiftly, Ryder pulled me down and we ducked under the window. I almost gasped in shock, but Ryder put his index finger on his mouth, telling me to not make a sound. We could still my mom’s and Peter’s voices coming from the house. Ryder held onto me tightly against his body. Being this close to him, I could even hear his heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. I believed mine was beating to the same beat.
After some time, we heard Peter and Lacey went into their room and the lights in the house went out. Immediately, we let out a relieved sigh and I could finally breathe again.
Okay, I know what you must be thinking; I've gone mad. Kara Livingston has officially lost her sanity. How could I make such an irresponsible and reckless decision?
I was never this person. I was always careful and good. But here I was, at 1 AM in the morning, making a deal with a shirtless devil in his garage— how on earth did I let myself be in this position?
"Hey, what's on your mind?" he said suddenly, lifting my face up to meet his.
"I just can't believe we're actually doing this. Sneaking behind our parent's backs, like a bunch horny teenagers," I scoffed.
I was serious, but I heard him trying to hold his laughter back.
"It's not funny," I said, and that made him laugh some more. "I'm serious," I said, and he burst out laughing, but quickly he pulled his composure.
Ryder wanted to look serious, but he was failing at it. He wanted to laugh and that made me want to laugh too. We couldn't help it, both of us ended up laughing like maniacs in the end – except of course, we had to do it soundless.
Do you know how hard it was to laugh without sound?
Once our laughter died down, Ryder cupped my cheeks with his hands and he gave me a tender smile.
"Stop overthinking things," He said with his fingers caressing my cheeks.
"But what if things go wrong? What if our parents find out?"
"They won't. We'll be careful,”
"But..." I tried again, but he put his index finger on my lips to shush me.
"No one has to know," he whispered against my lips. Our noses were touching, and we stayed there, with hot heavy breaths. “It'll be our little secret,"
I can’t anymore. I just can’t.
Ryder’s words got me weak in the knees, and his eyes were piercing deep into my soul. I knew I couldn’t fight anymore, so I gave up and closed my eyes, letting his lips came down on mine again. And as I found myself lost in his taste, I could feel him smiling through the kiss.
Because he knew he'd won.
"Well, I have a feeling this is going to be one hell of a summer," he whispered lowly through the kiss.
\- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -