Lost In Love | ✔️

32

~Clementine's POV~

"Don't go." Ry groaned in complaint as I tried to roll out of his arms the next day, clinging to me tightly so as to prevent me from leaving. I giggled softly and grasped his forearms, peering up at him with amusement. "You're so clingy." I teased, biting on my bottom lip to try to hide my grin. He pouted, long fingers tangling into the strands of my dirty blonde hair as he played with it.

"Well, you're the one that's practically half naked and cuddling me. What do you expect of me, huh?" He grumbled, burying his face into the space between my neck and my shoulder. I smiled to myself, letting my eyes flutter shut as I felt his strong arms and the warmth of his breath on my skin. "Well, I need to shower, Ry." I excused, laughing softly when I felt his arms tighten around me even further. Ry only huffed, furrowing his dark brows as he tightened his strong arms around me. "But I just want to lay in bed with you today." He pouted, his words making my heart flutter.

"I want to shower first, though." I told him, my fingers absentmindedly tracing triangles over his firm, sculpted chest. He hesitated, not loosening his hold on me until I broke free of his warm hold around me, letting me slip free. I slid my way out of his bed, heading into the bathroom to shower whilst Ryder continued to lay in bed, waiting on me to come back. I didn't want him to have to wait for very long, so I just took a rather quick shower before I got out, drying myself off with a towel as I eyed my body in the mirror.

After I took a shower and had dried off I left the bathroom, pulling out a pair of undergarments and a change of clothes from the dresser. I decided to pull on a matching two piece set, the red and darker orange color seeming to blend well together. The skirt was short and the long sleeved top tied together at the front, my breasts barely able to fit in it, but thankfully I managed since I went without a bra. I glanced over my shoulder at the bed, where I was not surprised to find that Ryder was still laying there, though he was now watching me with a slightly pouty look on his face. Amused, I turned towards him and crossed my arms over my chest, not moving from where I stood. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, raising my brows at him.

Ryder huffed and narrowed his brown eyes at me, not looking very happy or impressed with my question. "I told you I just want to lay in bed with you today. Come on. Please." He said, patting the empty side of the bed where I usually slept.

Cocking my head to the side slightly, I stared at him for just a second or two more before I relented, not that I was against this or anything in the first place. I crawled into bed and slipped beneath the blankets, laughing when he reached out and wrapped his long arm around my waist. With a single tug, he pulled me back into his chest, a deep sigh of content leaving his lips. It seemed that he had really just wanted to cuddle with me today, which I found especially endearing and adorable for reasons unknown even to me.

"Clementine?" Ry murmured softly after a few moments of content silence between the two of us, earning a curious hum from me. I shut my eyes and pressed my cheek against his bare chest, listening to the fast paced beats of his heart. He gently leaned his head against mine, long fingers playing with my hair. "I..." He seemed to hesitate to say whatever was on his mind, and I could hear the way that his heartbeat picked up pace, as if he were nervous. That had me opening me eyes to look up at him, wondering what had him so anxious. Ryder was never nervous around me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, furrowing my brows in confusion. He paused for a moment, just looking down at me, studying my features. When he did respond, his voice came out low and soft, filled with a type of shyness that I never suspected Ryder was capable of. He wasn't a shy man, after all.

There was a cute blush that filled into his cheeks, coloring him a light pink. "I just....W-Well, I mean.." He was stuttering, clearly very nervous, and I didn't know what to make of it. "You remember how we were talking about being in relationships, and falling in love?" He asked, causing me to nod slowly, blinking up at him. I most definitely remembered that, though I was still uncertain why he was bringing this up. "Of course. What of it?" I answered. Still blushing, I felt his fingertips nervously twirling strands of my hair around his long fingers. "I've just been thinking about it a lot, since then." He said, swallowing thickly as I patiently peered up at him.

"And I think you...I think you're perhaps the only woman I've ever felt this strongly for." He murmured, swallowing thickly when I just stared up at him, a little stunned. I opened my mouth, wanting to respond, but he kept speaking before I could. "Maybe it's a bad thing, in some way, but even though we've been stuck here together, I still think there's nobody else I would've preferred to be stranded here with. Is that selfish of me?" He wondered, furrowing his brows.

I couldn't help but to smile, giving him a simple shake of my head. "No, I understand." I assured him softly, my hands wandering up his chest and around the back of his neck. My fingers found the back of his head, tangling into the soft hair there. "Besides, if that makes you selfish, then I guess I'm selfish too." I added.

He sighed softly, leaning his forehead against mine and letting his eyes flutter shut. I, on the other hand, kept my eyes open as I peered up at him, feeling my heart fluttering within my chest. "All I keep thinking about when I wake up beside you and go to sleep with you in my arms is how much I don't want this to end, how much more I could possibly love you." He said softly, the sudden use of the L word making my eyes widen in surprise.

"Love?" I echoed, very taken aback. My voice was laced thick with surprise, so I knew he caught it, especially when his eyes opened and he gazed at me with a slightly panicked look on his face. It became clear to me rather quickly that he probably thought the worst due to my response. "You love me?" I asked, practically melting into his side. The thought alone had my stomach swimming with butterflies, and my heart began to pound so fast that I had to lean my head against his chest as I tried to calm myself down. Truthfully, I had wondered more than once now what it would be like to hear him say those words to me, but I'd never quite thought it would happen. "I wouldn't say so if it weren't true." He just about whispered, allowing me to gather myself as best as I could.

When I looked up at him, his gaze was soft, filled with care. I wanted to say it back but my mouth felt dry and my entire body seemed to lose function when our eyes met right then. A heat flushed from my neck, into my face and up to the tips of my ears. Ry noticed, a small smile growing on his lips as he seemed to understand what exactly I was struggling with. "Don't worry." He chuckled, gently rolling me onto my back with his large body hovering atop me. "You don't have to say it now." He assured.

He began to shift down my body, grasping my thighs to spread them as he got between my legs. "What are you doing, Ry?" I whispered, though I already had a very good idea. I just wasn't sure why, or what made him want to.

"Well, I'm hungry for it." He began, glancing up at me. "And you are so nervous, I thought you could use a stress reliever." He teased. I wanted to argue, but he got to work between my thighs, shutting down any complaints I could've tried to find.

And, really, there weren't any of those in the first place.