Oops, I've Fallen
He smirks, evidently smug in his success to commandeer the amount of time he did.
“Stop distracting me!” I chastise, poking his muscular chest with the tip of my finger. “That’s not what this secret bathroom meeting is about, and you know it.”
“It’s not?” he says with a pout. “It should be.”
I shake my head, a smile just barely edging into the corner of my mouth. I love playful Ryan. He’s a rare gem, to be treasured always, but using him right now, when we have serious matters to discuss, is a breach of good faith. It’s dirty warfare, and the scoundrel more than knows it.
“We have important things to talk about.”
“Is it your breasts?” he asks hopefully, lifting a hand to cup the swell of one. It feels good, I’ll give him that, but it’s only a matter of time before one of our parents realizes we’re in here together.
I swat his hand away, and he watches as my boob bounces in its wake. I put a finger under his chin and lift, directing his attention back to my eyes. “Listen here. I’m not joking around. What are we going to do about this? What am I going to tell my mother? About where I was? The clothes?”
He twists his cute, full mouth up briefly and then nods. “I’ve got an idea.”
“You do?” I stand up straighter from the sink behind me.
He nods.
“Well, then, what is it?” I shriek in a whisper.
“We tell them. The truth. That we’re together.”
“What? Are you joking?” A third question niggles at the back of my mind, but I don’t ask it out loud. Just exactly how together are we? We’ve acknowledged feelings, sure, but I’m feeling suddenly desperate for a label. Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Plaything? What is this? my poor overworked brain screams inside.
“No, I’m not joking. I think my dad knows anyway.”
“Oh my God,” I groan, sinking my head into my hands. “You saw that too?”
“Carly, what’s the big deal? We’re adults. They’re adults. We’re all adults.”
“Yes, we are. And you have an affinity for ripping clothing, and I don’t know, Ryan, don’t you think that’s a little too extreme of a visual for our parents?”
“Why?” He grabs my hips and sways them teasingly. “By the sound of things, it seems like they have some pretty active sex too if Betty’s accusation about their injuries is true.”
“Oh, bleh!” I say with a jolt and shove my fingers into my ears. “La-la-la-la! Don’t you say those things aloud to me! I’ve been doing a really good job of ignoring that little ditty since Betty suggested it, and you’re ruining my ability to compartmentalize.”
He laughs. “Come on, Carly. Let’s just tell them. It’s not like they’re married and we’re doing something freaky. They’re fooling around. And we are too. The attraction must run in the family.”
“Oh my God, never say anything that creepy again.”
He chuckles again, and I sigh.
“Fine. We’ll tell them. We’ll go back out there, I’ll change really quick, just so the visual isn’t quite as strong, I’ll do a couple shots of tequila, and we’ll tell them.”
“Cut out the tequila and replace it with letting me give you a couple orgasms, and I’m on board.”
“No!” I slap his chest. “What is wrong with you?”
He shrugs and brushes a piece of hair out of my face before touching his lips ever so gently to the corner of my mouth. “I just like you, I guess,” he whispers there.
God.
“I like you too,” I breathe back.
He smiles. “I know. Go change. I’ll meet you back in the kitchen.”
I put my hand out, and he places his on top of mine. “Ready, set…”
“Go.”
I close the door to my room behind me, my outfit finally replaced by a fully fastenable pair of cutoff shorts, a bra, and a tank top, and head down the hallway of my mom’s landominium back toward the kitchen. The sound of laughter and happiness pouring out of it makes me smile as I approach and turn the corner through the entrance.
My mom and Sal are seated next to each other, and Ryan is standing at the counter, his hips against it and a coffee mug in his hands. He picks up another mug from the counter and holds it out to me with a grin.
“I warmed it up a little,” he offers as I accept it and put the warm ceramic to my lips.
“Thanks,” I murmur.
“Come on, kids,” my mom calls, pushing at the chairs across from her and Sal. “Take a seat. There’s something we want to talk to you about.”
I roll my eyes and glide slowly toward the table. “Mom, I really don’t feel like talking about last night. I’m all talked out about it, to be honest.”
She glances to Sal, he nods, and then she looks back at me. It’s weird enough to make my eyebrows draw together. Ryan holds out my chair, and I take a seat, and then he does the same, before anyone says anything.