𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞

R E E D

He looks down and no doubt sees how my hips hover above his crotch. He's in a pair of baggy black sweatpants because of his air-conditioned room, but I'm only in a pair of tight spandex shorts so when his hands come up to grab my waist, I feel his touch right to my skin.

"Whatcha doin, Buttercup?" He asks breathily, keeping his hands right where they are, practically only framing my hips and not doing anything to move me the way I hoped he would.

"Teasin' you. What else?"

"I see. And how's it working out for you?" He asks, our faces so close together now that I can feel his breath, his lips so close to mine.

"Meh. Could be better."

"Better how, exactly?" He asks and I'm suddenly shy with the thought of verbalizing exactly what it is that I want. This is about more than a kiss now. Apparently, I want to run right past first base but saying that aloud would feel like a loss in this game we're playing, so I lean in enough for our lips to touch.

Our eyes are both still open and neither of us presses in closer, we're simply looking at each other and I don't know about him, but I'm gauging Farris' reaction.

"Reed," He breathes my name against my lips and that's all it takes for me to close the minimal distance between us and kiss him properly. This isn't my first kiss, but it may as well be with how new the sensation feels. It doesn't take a second for my entire body to heat up and forget why I was holding myself above him, simply wanting to be closer in every way possible.

Farris breathes in deeply through his nose, almost hissing when our bodies meet, the pressure feeling so good and causing heat to pool at the base of my spine, lower even. I can feel him through his sweatpants, his length pressed up against my ass making me blush but I don't stop what I'm doing.

Farris doesn't move anything other than his hands, keeping them on my waist and gripping there without manipulating my body. I don't know what to do, becoming distracted from our kiss as I overthink everything else. Farris leans up from his position, dragging me with him and causing our upper bodies to press together entirely.

He speaks against my lips, moving one hand around to my back. "Don't worry about any of it. Just do what feels good and forget about the rest. It's just me, pal." He says with a little smirk and it does the trick, getting me to grin back at him.

"Hmm," I look him in the eyes as I reach behind my back and move his hands down from my waist to rest directly over my ass. It actually startles me how much I like the feeling, his hands are big enough to grip most of it and he grips it, not hesitating or making me ask him for it.

I push my body back into his hands and lean forward to bring our lips together again, opening my lips when he does and mimicking his practiced movements. His tongue traces my upper lip and teeth slowly and I shake, unable to control my reaction and he seems to notice if the way he squeezes my ass with his hands is any indication.

Everything he does makes me want to play with him more, make him feel the way he makes me feel, though I'm not sure how. His hands flex over my skin, almost hesitating and I move my lips down, across his chin, and to his ear, pressing a kiss behind it. His fingertips trace the hem of the shorts, back and forth so lightly, teasing me with his touch and I shiver.

"Please," I breathe, unsure of what I'm even asking for but Farris seems to know, sliding his hands underneath to bring us skin to skin. The hardness of his hands and the calluses he's built up from gymnastics are scratchy and hard against my soft skin and I love the contrast, the feeling. His grip is so strong but he's still so gentle.

I lean up from Farris' neck, taking inventory of his features and noting how dark his aqua-blue eyes have gotten. His hands don't move from their position under my shorts but mine move from around his shoulders, down to the hem of his shirt, suddenly wanting more contact.

His shirt is pushed up only a bit by me, and I rest my hands on his hips just feeling his warm skin and silently waiting for him to do something as I feel him in the meantime. Neither of us moves so I try to challenge him with my eyes but he doesn't take the bait. The room is silent other than our slightly labored breathing and I wish we had some music on to drown out the silence.

"What do you want?"

"For you to take the lead for once," I tease. "Let me help you out one last time," I say before pulling my tank top off over my head, leaving me in only a sports bra and my tiny shorts, though his gaze makes me feel like I'm wearing the sexiest lace lingerie. I sit tall on his lap and wait.

"Oh, I see how it is. Ready for me?" He asks, flipping the two of us so effortlessly with only a hand on my back and one to hold him up above me. My legs are wrapped around his hips, but without gravity pressing me down, I feel more vulnerable and exposed.

Farris looks at me like a meal and proceeds to take off his own shirt before leaning down slowly, caging me in as he ends up on his forearms. First, our stomachs press together, then his chest crushes me in a delightful way, his face hovers over mine but it's our hips that meet when it's his lips I'm expecting.

My mouth opens in a silent moan and I tip my head back at not only the pressure but the idea of what he's doing to me, wishing that I had a mirror to look at the two of us from another angle.

Farris' lips finally meet mine and they're so slow, unlike the way we've been moving this afternoon. One of his hands goes to the nape of my neck, fingers in my hair and the other is balled up in a fist beside my head, holding himself up. I feel his abs tense against mine and his hips rock into mine only once when I'm broken out of my bubble by a sound at the door.

"Reed, you good in there? If he's holding you hostage knock twice." Xander says as a joke but my eyes close and roll back into my head as Farris moves his hips again. I am this close to letting out a moan but Farris seems to see that, smirking as he meets my lips and I moan into the kiss instead.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go before I start to hear things. Bye, kids."

Neither of us answers him, but Farris slows down, pressing his forehead to mine. I can't believe it when I let out a whine. He laughs. "Just slowing down a bit, Buttercup. No need to rush this."

"Wrong. Straight to third base please," I say but as I think about my words, I blush at the prospect of Farris seeing me in fewer clothes than this, at his hands touching me that way, and instead of the calm and eagerness that washed over me at everything we've done so far, my body tenses up uncomfortably.

"Reed, this has been amazing, and I didn't mean to make you overthink anything. I want all of that, I promise. Give yourself a little time though, I'm not going to let you regret any of this and I want it to happen right. There's no set timeline or anything, but you'll know the way you knew today." He says and I relax, leaning up to peck his lips, thankful for his words.

"Yeah. Okay." I breathe, relieved. "Can we keep doing this though? Or does it like, hurt to not do more?"

"Don't ever worry about whether I enjoy this, because it's so fucking hot. I don't need to get off to feel good."

"It's fun, right?" I ask and he nuzzles his face into my neck.

"So fun with you, Reed."

"You keep calling me that. It almost feels like a pet name out of your mouth. Not used to it." I curl his hair around a finger.

He shrugs. "It feels intimate. Fitting for times like this?" He frames it as a question and I nod shyly.

"Kiss me again?" I ask him and his eyes become hooded again as they look between my eyes and my lips.

"Gladly."