The Bet

Don't Ever Touch Me Again

A tap at the door breaks his train of thought as Zay calls out "We're closed! Can't you read the sign?" He watches his friend angrily march over to where the person waited.

Lucas still has his back to the door, hunched over picking up the bigger pieces of the mug that Zay left behind when he hears a familiar voice.

"Happy New Year!" She cheers, followed by the annoying sound of a party horn blowing.

Lucas springs to his feet and sees Riley standing before him, plastic tiara placed perfectly above her straightened locks. Her skin had a nice sun kissed look to it from the California rays and her eyes sparkled as she smiled at them.

"Hey you're early!" He chuckles, pulling her in for a hug. "Wasn't expecting you until tomorrow night."

"Yeaaah, I was starting to feel like a third wheel. I didn't know her boyfriend would be there too." She smiles, a slight annoyance in her voice. "It's fine though, I was feeling a bit homesick anyway."

"I'm glad you're back." His cheeks grow hot, thinking of the last time they were together.

Her parents had just left to catch their flight. Since Riley was going to be with her best friend for the holidays they decided they would go on a second honeymoon just the two of them. Riley still had a couple of hours to kill before she had to leave for the airport so she invited Lucas over.

It was like suddenly the vibe changed around them. They were touchy feely for the first time. He'd whisper in her ear, she'd kiss his neck, they could not keep their hands off one another. So seeing her again, face to face flustered him a bit. He couldn't stop thinking about how the last time they were in the same room together, his lips were on hers.

"Speaking of home," She pauses, her eyes flickering to Lucas "My parents don't get back until tomorrow night."

Zay smirks but takes that as his cue to leave. He pats Lucas on the back and slips into the kitchen to give them some privacy.

"Oh yeah?" Lucas asks, as if the thought hadn't already occurred to him.

"Yeah." She smiles, biting her lip. "Do you maybe want to come over? I don't really want to be alone my first night back here."

"I'd love to."

He excuses himself to let Zay know he was leaving and the two head off to Riley's place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley lets herself into the house and Lucas follows closely behind, her luggage in hand. He follows her instructions on where to leave her bags and waits idly by the door.

She takes him by the hand and leads him upstairs to her bedroom. He had only been in there twice before. Once was when he unexpectedly climbed through her window and the other was 3 weeks ago on the day she left for California. Although they relatively saw a lot of each other, they usually spent time out and about or at Lucas' since his parents were never home.

Just as soon as the bedroom door closes Lucas finds his lips being kissed passionately by the beautiful brunette. His hands rested on her waist, he could feel how warm her bare skin was underneath his fingertips. It took everything in him to pull away from her touch.

"Riley –" He pauses, pressing his forehead to hers "There's something I need to tell you."

She continues kissing him, slowly sliding off her sweater and unzipping his hoodie.

"It's important." He's able to say through the kisses. "Please – just – hear – me – out."

Finally she tears herself away, gazing into his eyes waiting for him to tell her whatever it was he had to say. But he couldn't do it. His guilty conscience was overcome by how completely enticing her eyes were. Truth be told, he didn't want to tell her. She was the first real thing he had in a really long time and the idea that he could lose her because of a stupid bet made his stomach turn.