Summer With My Beach Boy Neighbor

This Boy

We walked for about 10 minutes before I realized the way we're going looks familiar.. "Are we going to the pier?" I asked. Ryder looked at me with a small grin. "What? No." He said. I gave him a suspicious look. After walking for another 5 minutes we arrived.. at the pier. "Liar." I said and we both laughed.

We walked up the stairs and out onto the giant pier that stretched out over the ocean. "Have you ever been here?" Ryder asked. "Yeah, but only once with my mom a couple years ago." I replied. He nodded and we started walking down the stretch of the pier.

The boards are creaky and it seems to be swaying. I notice a worker sweeping dirt through the boards to our right. "Um sir.." I said nervously. He looked up at me. "This is completely safe, right?" I asked. He nodded. "Yes. It might feel unsteady but I promise it's safe." He said. I nodded nervously and he went back to sweeping. I squeezed Ryder's hand tight. "Hey. Are you scared?" Ryder asked. I looked up at him and decided to play it cool. "Huh? Nah. I'm good." I said, but Ryder must've saw right through me. He laughed and rubbed my hand with his thumb. "I got you. We'll be fine." He told me.

We walked slowly down the pier. We were nearing the end, and the further we went, the sketchier it got. "You wanna go to the end, or turn around now?" Ryder asked. "We can go to the end." I said, still clutching his hand tightly.

We got to the very end and Ryder peered down at the ocean over the board railing. I mustered enough courage to look over. The waves were roaring and crashing harshly onto the thick wooden structures that are holding the pier up. Every time a wave hit I could feel the pier sway. My heart was racing. Ryder squeezed my hand breaking me out of my fear trance. "You okay?" He asked. I looked up at him and blinked a few times. "Uh, yeah. It's just kinda sketchy out here." I said shakily. "C'mon." He said, nudging my arm with him towards the other end of the pier. I gladly followed along as we turned around to get off this thing.

We walked down the steps onto solid ground and it felt so much better than being on that thing. My hair was wild from the crazy wind and I used my hand that Ryder wasn't holding to smooth it down as we continued walking. "Hey." Ryder said, getting my attention. "Wanna go for a swim now?" He asked, nudging his head towards the beach beside us. I laughed. "Sure."

We walked over to the sand and Ryder stopped and let go of my hand. I looked over to see what he was doing. He was pulling his shirt off. Oh yeah. I almost forgot to take off my actual clothes. Ryder's body.. Stay on task! I looked back down at my clothes and took my cardigan off and dropped it on the ground. Then I slid my shorts off of my hips and down my legs, stepping out of them along with my sandals. Lastly, I pulled my shirt over my head and put it on top of the pile of clothes I made next to Ryder's shirt and shoes. Oh yeah, Ryder.

I looked up at him. He's standing there shirtless in front of me. His sculpted torso completely out in the open. I looked but I didn't stare. I looked up at his eyes. His eyes are scanning up and down my body and all of a sudden I felt very self conscious. Am I fat or something? I looked down at my body and back up to him. I don't think so. But maybe he does. His eyes met mine and he stiffened when he realizes I caught him staring at me. I raised my eyebrows concernedly and looked back down at my body once more. "Is this not okay?" I asked and looked back up at Ryder. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at my body. "What do you mean?" He asked. "Well I just saw you looking and I thought maybe you didn't approve of bikinis or something and-" "No. That's not why I was looking.. You look good." He said, looking into my eyes now. I bit my lip to hold back a smile. He grabbed my hand and started walking down to the water.

My feet met a cold wave and I lifted one. "It's so cold!" I said. Ryder looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Baby." He said. I let out a loud laugh. "We are not competing like last time. Unless you want me to drown!" I said. "Well I would have to save you again and why would I want to do that?" He said jokingly. I glared at him and he let out a laugh.

He pulled me further out so that the waves were to my waist. He crouched down so that the water was at his shoulders. I splashed him lightly and he splashed back, laughing. He stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me further into the water, with it now reaching the middle of my chest.

I'm not worried like last time because the waves are super calm right now. I looked up at Ryder who was looking into my eyes. The orange tones that were reflecting from the sun onto his face made him look super attractive. Not that he's not always attractive, because he definitely is. I looked over at the sun. It's setting beautifully over the water. "Wow." I said, looking at it. Ryder turned his head and looked at the sunset. He was still holding my hand and he pulled me closer to him as he turned his head. I looked at him and saw a small smile tug at his lips as he looked at the beautiful sight in front of us.

He turned his head back to me with our faces only a few inches apart. He looked into my eyes and I looked into his. The sunset was now a beautiful pink color. I only know that because the colors were reflecting into Ryder's eyes. He's so amazing. What did I do to deserve this moment? What did I do to deserve him?

His eyes flickered down to my lips and I licked them instinctively. I looked down at his and they looked so soft. So perfect. I looked back up and our eyes met again. The intensity I felt made my heart feel like it could pop out of my chest at any moment. Our faces were so close I could feel Ryder's breath on my cheeks. But not for long because he leaned in, closing the space between us by smashing his lips onto mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. He put his hand on my cheek and the other around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I put one hand on his stomach and one on the back of his neck. I stood on my tippy toes and kissed him back until he pulled away. He looked into my eyes and bit his lip as he smiled at me. My heart melted and I smiled back. Wow, this boy.