Handcuffs, Kisses and Awkward Situations (PUBLISHED, SAMPLE)

Chapter [8]

            I tried thinking of something, anything to distract me from the fact that the boy I was handcuffed to was basically naked in my house. Ryder shuffled around for a bit before stepping into the shower. The sound of the curtain being closed made me feel extremely uncomfortable, especially when the water started running.

            That was when, I really started thinking about the awkward situation. I mean, since we were handcuffed, my hand was in the shower with him. What if... I accidentally touched something. The thought haunted me, flashing like a horror motion picture behind my closed eyelids. Quickly, I opened them and stared at the wall opposite to me, completely disturbed.

            I needed a distraction...and fast.

            "Why do boys have nipples?" I blurted.

            Ryder stopped moving under the water. "What?"

            "Why do guys have nipples? I mean, they have no purpose." I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment at the most inappropriate topic of conversation to choose.

            "Uh..." He went back to doing whatever he was doing in the shower. "Decoration?"

            "Gross," I answered, cringing.

            A silence fell between us as the room started steaming up. The mirror was starting to fog, drops of condensation pearling up on the surface. A thin, humid mist lingered through the air, heating up the room. Using my free hand, I reached up and wiped my forehead. I was seriously flustered and embarrassed and way too focused about what my hand was brushing against.

            "Can you imagine if nipples were as big as Oreos?" I blabbered.

            Ryder was silent for a moment. "Thanks for seriously ruining Oreos for me."

            "Don't mention it." I laughed awkwardly.

            Longest five minutes of my life.

~♥♥♥~

            The sound of sizzling came from the kitchen, wafting over a delectable scent. Although we were well into winter, the windows were open to circulate the smell. Frosty air blew through the room, harshly biting any spare skin it could find. The sunlight was weak, shining an icy bleakness to mix with the overhead lights of the dining room.

The following morning, Eve was doing her usual sniff at Ryder. He had quickly gotten used to it, so while we sat at the table with toast and eggs, he simply ignored her while she smelt him.

            "Did you use my shampoo?" she questioned, picking up a piece of hair and running it under her nose.

            Ryder shovelled a forkful of eggs into his mouth, then bit into his toast and shrugged. "Used whatever was in there," he said around his breakfast.

            "Well, you smell like strawberries," Eve teased, poking her tongue out at Ryder. "You smell like a girl."

            Ryder just looked briefly up at Eve who had started dancing around the dining room in victory and returned back to his meal. Patrick appeared a moment later, two plates piled with eggs and toast and skilfully steered his girlfriend to the table before she started air humping.

            Eve dropped down to her chair and licked her lips as Patrick placed her plate down. Once he had taken his own seat, he asked, "Do you kids need a ride to school?"

            "That'd be-" I started.

            "Actually, we have a friend picking us up," Ryder interrupted, reaching for his glass of milk.

            "We do?" I bit into my toast.

            "Caine is giving us a ride," he answered, before tipping his head back and gulping down his full glass of milk in less than three swallows.

            When he finished, he brought the glass down and made a sigh of satisfaction. Stained on his top lip was a layer of milk residue. He looked like such a little boy, completely oblivious to his white moustache hanging low on his upper lip. But the image was soon deleted once he used the back of his hand to smear it off.

            "So, remind me again," Patrick said, "why I lent you guys a good shirt just for you to cut it."

            I held up my wrist. "Hello? Handcuffed. It's hard to get dressed, you know."

            Since we had destroyed our uniforms, Ryder and I were in casual gear. Ryder had to borrow some clothes from Patrick, which I'm pretty sure he was grateful for, especially after he saw what kind of clothes my dad was into. Patrick was only twenty-three and although most of his fashion choice preppy for work, he had the odd shirt or two around. We had to cut a slit through the side of the dark T-shirt so Ryder could put it on. It was either that, or wear one of my tube tops.

             After taking a quick sip from my orange juice, there was a honk at the door. Ryder scrapped back his chair and picked up his bag. "That's our ride."

            Grabbing my books and a jacket, I followed Ryder out the door, and there was Caine, music vibrating through his car. He leaned over and rolled down the tinted window, honking once more as he watched us walk out the door.

            "Shut up, man," Ryder called. "We're coming."

            "God, what's the rush?" I grumbled as Ryder tugged me along.

            "We have to stop somewhere," he answered as he threw the door open.

            I had a sickening feel in my stomach. "Where?" I dared to ask.

            He just looked at me and said nothing, but the answer was clear in his eyes. I shook my head and restrained from his pull. Oh, no. There was no way I was going to go there.