“Ow,” she whined as she rubbed her knee.
“God, you are so hard headed,” he huffed. “Let’s move you over here.”
Both of his arms were wrapped around her as he led her to the couch in the living room and sat her down as gently as he could.
“Stormy, I need you to tell me if you have to throw up, okay?” he said as he gave her a stern look.
Stormy laughed as she burrowed herself deep into the downy cushions and made herself comfortable. She stared out the floor to ceiling windows and admired all the twinkling city lights that shined in.
“I could never get sick of this view,” she sighed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The wine was starting to wear off, and she was beginning to feel somewhat normal again. She was grateful that in the dimly lit condo, he wouldn’t be able to see how bad she was blushing and inwardly cringing. She knew her behavior was beyond juvenile. The sweet girl he’d met in Coleville a couple weeks ago was shaking her head on the inside.
“I’m sorry I drank so much,” she said as she sat up and faced Ryder.
“I get it,” he said.
“God, you look so much like Jett.” She changed the subject yet again. As he sat across from her on the love seat next to the big windows, she could have sworn he was Jett. It had been a few days since she had last cried, but sitting just mere feet from his doppelganger brought out every emotion she’d been trying to stuff deep down inside the last week.
It was probably the beer talking, but she just wanted to kiss Ryder. She wanted to feel his lips pressed against hers, to see if he would feel like Jett or taste like Jett. She wanted to feel the heat of his body close to hers so she could close her eyes and pretend she was loved by someone special once again.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” Ryder asked, disrupting her train of thought.
Stormy shook her head. “Sorry. Got lost in my own head.”
She hoped that he hadn’t seen her misty eyes in that moment but she was sure he had.
He stood up and walked over to where she was sitting and took a seat next to her. Her heart began to pound as she wondered what he was doing. Was he going to try to kiss her? She could only hope.
She sat up and leaned in closer to him, but she didn’t want to get too close. If anything was going to happen that night, she wanted him to be the one to initiate it.
He reached his hand up and tucked a curly tendril of her long, dark hair behind her ear. He studied her face, his eyes glazing over every inch of it, and he swallowed loudly. Stormy felt her lips part a little bit as she waited for his kiss. Their faces were so close, she could feel his breath on hers. Her heart was thumping in her ears, and her palms were sweaty against her jeans.
“You’re so beautiful, Stormy,” he said. “Jett was so lucky to have you.”
He leaned away from her and in an instant the magnetic pull was gone. She sighed and threw herself back onto the couch. She told herself she was silly to even think for one moment that anything could or should happen between them.
“You should probably go to bed,” he said. “Let me help you.”
“I don’t need your help,” she said as she stumbled up and grabbed the edge of the couch for balance.
Ryder followed her anyway and grabbed the crook of her elbow as he led her to his room. He switched on a dim lamp by his bed and threw back the sheets and covers. His king sized bed was covered in a million pillows, red satin sheets, and a thick, down-filled duvet. She couldn’t imagine having all that space to herself but she was about to.
She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down as Ryder pretended not to look. She pulled off her blouse, revealing a thin camisole, and then climbed under the covers. As soon as she was covered up, Ryder sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I feel like I should be reading you a bed time story or something,” he joked.
“I’ve always loved The Three Little Pigs,” she giggled.
He lingered there for a moment with his eyes locked on hers.
“You know, I’m not really that tired yet,” she said. “I mean, I am, but I always have a hard time sleeping in strange places. Will you stay and talk to me until I fall asleep?”
Ryder’s face lit up a little, although he probably didn’t realize it.
“Of course,” he said. “What do you want to talk about?”
Stormy bit her lip as she knew what she wanted to talk about, but she wasn’t sure if it was the right time to bring any of it up.
“Why do you think Jett never told me about you?”
“This conversation is really heavy for this time of night,” Ryder changed the subject. “Can we talk about something else?”