Since Her

Twenty-six and a Half

Riley had arrived in approximately ten minutes and 34 seconds. Yes, I had counted.

Since my parents weren't at home, I opened the door to see her standing there, her arms full with bags of chips and candy. I raised my eyebrows. 

"That is a lot of calories."

"Pfft, you sound like a girl," she had given me a grin and had walked in. Riley had leaned in and had pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I felt as if I was floating.

"Don't go daydreaming on me now, Parker," she had smiled. She had dumped her stuff in my arms and had given me a wider smile. 

"Let's go upstairs."

Why did I suddenly feel so nervous and queasy all the sudden? As a total and utter virgin, I had no clue what girls thought or wanted with... sex. Sure, I'd given it lots of thought... with my hand. (I'm a guy, come on!) But Riley was my first-ever-girlfriend. And this was kind of new and scary. I had no idea if she was experienced, but it seemed like she was. 

"Your head looks as if it's ready to explode. Stop thinking, let's go," she had interrupted my trail of thoughts, grinning widely as if she had known what I had been thinking about.

Trying to ignore my continously reddening cheeks, I went up the stairs to my room. The Fault in Our Stars was on pause, so I plopped on the bed and patted the spot next to me, after dumping all the bags of chips and candy on the middle of the bed. 

Riley had smiled and kicked off her shoes, and had laid down next to me. As she did, her shirt had raised up a bit, so I saw a bit of skin of her abdomen. I held my breath, but quickly relaxed. I was such an idiot.

"Have you cried yet?" she had asked, a grin on her face as I pressed play.

"No," I lied through my teeth, quietly shuffling some tissues wet with tears under my blanket, so she wouldn't spot them.

She had laughed. "I don't believe that one bit. I bet you're a big cry baby about these kind of movies." 

I scoffed unsurely. "Pfft. No, of cou-" I began, but then she had suddenly leaned her head against my shoulder, and had wrapped an arm around my waist. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Trying to relax and ignore my tomato face, I subtly tried to put my arm around her shoulders. She had noticed my hesitance and had given me a soft smile. Her arms wrapped around me had felt really warm, and so, so nice. I had forgotten how it felt to be held. 

Never let me go, I had thought.