The lingering memory of the steamy kiss that took place in the backseat of Michael's car moments prior played on repeat in Riley's mind like a broken record, and she couldn't control the sudden hormonal impulses once she walked through the elegant fiberglass front door. She didn't bother to take a short tour of his home or wait until he was fully situated after the flick of the lamp illuminated the living room. She tackled him immediately, making them both fall onto the plush grey sofa nearby. Michael's laughter was short-lived as he was pulled into a trance by her soft lips and eager tongue.
His fingers raked through her hair and instantly loosened her bun from the hair tie. Her black hair cascaded just past her shoulders and over her face. He pulled his hands away from her hair to wrap his arms around her to nudge her closer. Her bulky jacket became an obstacle between them, so he quickly removed it just to feel her slim body pressed against his as her hair gently brushed over his face.
Their breathing was hot and heavy, their minds were swirling with desire, and their skin was begging to be touched in the most alluring ways. If this kept on, Michael wasn't sure how much longer he could resist the excitement building in his jeans.
Against the fiery desire burning in the pit of his stomach, he slowly broke the kiss and went to push her hair back to see her beautiful face. He smirked at her full lips that were plumper than usual.
She tucked her bottom lip in and sat up while straddling his hips and placing her hands on his heaving chest. "Where's your bathroom?"
He slowly sat up to match her height as his hands held a light grip on her waist, their lips still well within reach. "It's just down that hall past the stairs."
"Okay." Instead of moving off him, she leaned back in and kissed him again.
His chuckle was heard between the soft kisses and he entertained her lips for a few seconds before pulling back.
"Go ahead and do what you need to do. My lips aren't going anywhere, Ry." He joked with a small laugh and her face grew hot as she began moving away this time.
"I'm going, I'm going." She quickly stole another kiss before hopping off the couch and grabbing her bag by the door, then disappearing down the hall.
It wasn't long before he heard the door shut and the shower going. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned on the TV. Reruns of old cartoons were playing and he didn't bother turning the channel since that's what he usually enjoyed in his free moments.
While the TV played, he hurried upstairs to strip off his clothes and take a quick shower, particularly a cold one. His body shivered from the icy droplets but it helped cool down his sexual appetite and clear his mind of the lustful thoughts that were sending every drop of blood to that one place between his legs.
By the time he was done, he felt free of the desire that once clung to him. He finished off his night routine, then headed back downstairs with one of his huge red blankets and saw Riley sitting criss cross on the couch. Her eyes were glued to the cartoons and she barely acknowledged him as he sat next to her and shared his blanket.
It was quiet between them for a while. They basked in each other's presence while enjoying the entertainment of cartoon antics until Riley slid closer to Michael and snuggled up to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she turned sideways to lay her legs across his lap.
"This definitely beats staying at home and binging TV shows." Riley said after a while. "Getting to spend New Year's with a guy I like and being in his arms instead of sitting alone bored out of my mind is one of the best things that happened this break. I thought it would be just another dumb holiday."
The tips of his fingers lovingly ran over her bare shoulder while he kissed her temple. "I thought it would be another uneventful day too, until I thought about you."
She half-smiled and released a small giggle. "That sounded like something you would text me."
"It did, didn't it?" He chuckled along with her. He basked in some of the memories of when Riley would be concentrating on an assignment in his class while he sat at his desk, subtly typing either a lovey-dovey text or something corny just to make her laugh. The way her face lit up combined with trying to hide her bashful smile or her quiet laugh made it all worth it.
He leaned over and pecked her cheek as his thumb caressed the line of her jaw, then spoke, "I'm happy to be spending this moment with you."
"Me, too." She nodded with a small smile, reaching from underneath the blanket to caress his cheek tenderly and stare into his eyes. "You're the most beautiful man I ever met."
He looked away, blushing deeply, and shook his head. "Ry, don't start."
"You are!" She softly laughed at his high cheekbones turning a faint shade of red. "Beautiful isn't even the best way to describe you. You're just... perfect."
"I can say the same for you, Bambi." He said and pulled her closer to him until her head was resting against his chest. His chin was propped above her head. "Hey Riley, do you remember that day when I first came to your house?"
"Of course." She replied as she continued watching TV.
He stroked her arm underneath the blanket slowly and occasionally squeezing by her shoulder. "You were mentioning one of your exes. Is it that same guy that's been giving you trouble lately?"
"No, we never officially dated. Two different guys, but they're both assholes." She mentally scolded herself for ever giving them a chance with her. "Even though I don't really claim the other guy as my ex, his name was Mason and he was your typical nerd. But the things he did, you wouldn't have expected him to do. He's probably the reason why I was so low-key weird." She said, referring to the times where any words related to sex made her nauseous.
Michael's eyebrows deeply furrowed. "Weird?"
She shook her head and buried that part of her deep at the back of her mind. "Nothing. Anyway, he treated me like I was some naive little girl. I didn't know everything, but I wasn't stupid. He acted like the things he told and texted me wasn't the same bullshit I heard from almost every guy that tried to come onto me. Then he started sending me graphic photos and videos of him doing things, telling me what he wanted to do to my body, and other stuff about a month into the 'relationship'. Then he pulled the, 'if we're really together, then you gotta give it up'."
Michael's eyes crossed at the last line. He hated that manipulation stuff with a passion, and he would be lying if he said he didn't hear it at school sometimes. Fortunately, every girl that was fed that line shut the guy down and Michael felt like a proud father.
"So what did you do?" He asked her while looking at her.
She chuckled at the memory. "I cussed him out and told him he could keep his dirty dick to himself. Then I blocked him and never looked back."
"I could kiss you right now." Michael beamed.
She looked up at him and smirked. "Why don't you?"
He cupped her chin and leaned down to peck her lips several times. "Your family taught you well."
"My brother should take some of the credit." She rested her head back against his chest and looked back at the TV for a moment before finally realizing a PS4 was sitting on the TV stand. "Ooo, why didn't you tell me you have a PlayStation? I love video games."
The corner of his lips turned upward as he watched her quickly move away and over to the game system. She noticed the stack of games neatly organized on a small shelf and looked back at him for permission to sift through. He gave a nod and she excitedly looked through the games.
"You can play whatever you want." He said, making her snap her head back at him with a small grin.
"Really?" She asked and he nodded. She looked back at the games and eventually decided on the very first game of the Uncharted series. The cover photo alone piqued her interest since she was into action-adventure games.
Michael had a small feeling she had no idea what was in store and kept quiet as she placed the game inside the PS4, then grabbed a controller before getting settled beside him.
"So, instead of going the traditional way of learning the game, why don't I show you a better way?" He teased slightly and she looked at him with a smirk.
"Which is?"
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, and she giggled in response from his curls tickling the crook of her neck as he planted light kisses on her shoulder. "I'll show you the ropes, personally. You can play on one of my save files."
She let him take control of the controller briefly as he selected a save file and chose a starting point for her. For the next few minutes, he showed her how to take down the enemies whether in stealth mode or guns ablazing, and how to achieve the objectives of that particular game chapter.
Within the next half hour, she was very comfortable in his lap and enjoyed his arms wrapped around her as she concentrated on the game. He took note she was a fast learner and it didn't take long for her to get through several scenes with such ease.
"You're very good at this, Ry." He quietly said as he snuggled her closer and she smiled. He noticed she was getting closer to a certain chapter that contained some unpleasant surprises and he bit his lip in anticipation. "How do you feel about the game?"
Riley was silent for a moment as she concentrated on Drake moving across the rusty pipes until he landed in a dark room, leaving him to use his flashlight as his only light source.
"It's a little creepy." She finally admitted. The music had her a bit apprehensive as well, but she kept focused on leading Drake through the dirty bunker with the eerie music slowly getting a bit louder as time wore on. "But other than that, it's pretty good."
He hid his smirk behind his lip bite as he rested his chin on her shoulder. It wasn't even another five minutes later when she ventured over to a dark hall and a gurgled noise suddenly emitted from the sound system.
She instantly tensed in his arms and froze when a wrangled creature came running towards her on all fours. "What the hell is that!?" She screeched and Michael's cheeks puffed up from holding in his laughter.
"What do I do?!" She panicked as she had Drake run from the creature and ended up running circles in the room while weaving around the columns. She yelped when the creature swiped at her. "Michael!"
He softly laughed, then said calmly, "Baby, you have to shoot them."
She tried to do as he said, but the bullets didn't faze the creature and only pissed it off more than it already was. The controller almost got chucked across the room when it started charging towards the screen and she had to maneuver out the way quickly before she was killed. "It's not working!" He laughed again and Riley managed to swat his arm while keeping Drake running around the room. "Michael, help me!"
By the time his laughter subsided, Drake ended up dead and it restarted her at her last checkpoint. She turned just enough in his arms to punch him in his shoulder and narrowed her eyes. "You set me up."
He winced slightly but laughed between words as he spoke, "I'm sorry, I had to. Your reaction was priceless."
She sucked her teeth and paused the game so she wouldn't risk being attacked again. "I'm not talking to you for the rest of the night."
"Stop lying." He pulled her back flush against his front to keep her from trying to move away and she couldn't hold back the small grin that appeared on her face as he hugged her close. "I just wanted to mess with you a little. Besides, that was my official payback for the time you decided to sneak up on me."
"But you got me back when you surprised me in the hall at school." She said, but he shook his head with an impish smile.
"That was just a little bonus. Anyway, let me see the controller. I'll show you how to get past this part." He said before she handed it off and watched carefully on how he successfully completed the chapter.
She ended up restarting the chapter so she could do it herself even though it left her on edge the entire time, and by the time she completed it, she was more than ready to quit the game.
"I'm still mad at you." She mumbled after the PS4 was finally shut off, and she stood in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed over her chest and a faux look of irritation.
He couldn't force away the grin on his handsome face as he stood up from the couch to pull her against his chest. The softness of his lips made her drop her act and she melted against him slightly before he pulled back a little.
"I was just messing with you, Ry. Don't be mad." He crooned softly, then pecked her lips once more before tickling her sides, resulting in her beautiful smile and hearty laughter. "There we go; that's the gorgeous smile I want to see!"
She squirmed in his arms and lost her footing as she was trying to block his nimble fingers, making them fall back onto the couch. They both laughed quietly while she adjusted her position to straddle him again. She ran her fingers through some of his loose curls.
His hands gravitated onto her hips as she leaned down and left a trail of teasing pecks along the side of his neck to his jawline. Just before their lips could touch, her phone began to ring.
Michael arched a brow as he lifted his head slightly. "Is that your parents?"
"Doubt it." She muttered. She rolled her eyes and got off his lap to grab it from her jacket that lay on the floor. No Caller ID boldly glared across her screen and she stood deathly still while staring in a trance for a few seconds before Michael's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Everything okay, Ry?"
"Mhm, yeah..." Her voice was faint and a bit sheepish. She pressed ignore but before she could toss her phone aside, it called her again. The things Aria informed her about Javen came to mind and she visibly shivered.
Michael noticed and stood up behind her, peeking down at the phone. "What's the matter?"
She shook her head and completely turned off her phone. "Nothing."
He didn't believe her but was unable to say anything when she turned swiftly on her heels and pushed him back onto the couch. He was shocked for a second just before she straddled him once more and overclouded his mind with her seductive kisses.
🌹
The next morning, the mouth-watering aroma of breakfast as well as the noisy sound of pots and pans clanging around awoke Riley from her deep slumber. She wearily rubbed her eyes as she turned over onto her back and stretched her stiff muscles underneath the soft blanket. Bits of sunlight peeked through the closed blinds and barely made it past the slightly parted curtains, thus making her almost susceptible to falling back in the arms of sleep.
However, the large windows in the kitchen happily welcomed the sun and its light made its way into the dark living room with just enough range to reach the sofa Riley laid on. She pushed away the desire to pull the blanket over her head and cuddle up to the plush pillow Michael had brought from his bedroom. Slowly, she sat up and her eyes landed on Michael standing over the stove with his back to her.
A soft smile appeared on her lips before she got up and went to the bathroom. After taking care of her business and brushing her teeth, she stared into the mirror at the two hickeys on the side of her neck and right above her collarbone. She raked her fingers through her thick hair after removing her scarf, then took the hairband off her wrist to tie her hair into a low ponytail.
Her eyes lowered to her slightly scrunched tank top and noticed another dark mark. She furrowed her eyebrows as she lifted it up just above her belly button and saw that it was another hickey. She coyly smiled to herself as she remembered Michael laying her back against the couch and kissing down to her stomach. He had lingered there for a while before he tried going down on her, but she became too nervous and shy to let him do it, so they kept it strictly at kissing and heavy petting.
She finally left the bathroom and started walking back down the hall when she noticed the small amount of pictures hanging on the walls and the minimal decor placed sporadically throughout the lower level of the house. She didn't think much of it and figured he just wasn't that interested in decorating.
She briefly gazed at a few of the pictures as she slowed her pace, but none of them were nothing out of the ordinary. She recognized Jermaine in one photo and Michael standing next to him annoyed, which made her chuckle a bit. Another photo was of just his mother and late father while another picture had all three of them of Michael proudly holding his degree between his parents.
The food wafting through the house ended her distraction and pulled her towards the kitchen where Michael was finishing up the eggs. An array of breakfast items were neatly placed on the kitchen isle with a tray of fruit right in the midst of it. She bypassed the food and went straight to him.
Michael felt her arms wrap around him from behind and a wide smile reached his lips. "Morning, sleeping beauty." He said as he moved the eggs onto a porcelain plate, then turned around to sweetly peck her lips. "How'd you sleep?"
"I slept well, and you?" She asked, moving her arms to loop them around his neck and brushed the pads of her fingers against the messy curls of his bed hair.
"About the same, maybe even better." He teasingly ghosted his lips against hers before she initiated the small kiss. His hand rested on the small of her back and he brought her closer to him. Small chills ran throughout him from the closeness of their bodies and he pulled back to keep his urges under control.
Without a word, he took hold of her hand and led her to the isle where he grabbed a plate for her. "I wasn't sure what kind of breakfast food you ate, so I cooked whatever I thought you might enjoy." He said as he began adding french toast, hash browns, and a bit of fruit to the plate.
"Honestly, I'll eat all of this." She said, then looked up at him. "You don't have to make my plate, Michael."
"Of course I do, you're my guest and I want you to relax." He answered along with a wink and quick kiss on her unsuspecting lips.
Though it only lasted a second, the way his lips felt against hers had her mind swirling in deep-seated lust once more. She knew what else she wanted to have for breakfast rather than food, but she suppressed her desires and reached for a plump strawberry. From the corner of his eyes, he watched as she dipped the fruit in whip cream and took a bite, letting the juice dribble down her chin and drop down on her cleavage.
Before she had a chance to wipe it away with a nearby napkin, Michael had put the plate aside and his arms were wrapped back around her as his eager tongue licked the juice trail from her chin to her bottom lip, then his dipped his head to suck the small droplet that rested on her chest into his mouth.
He slowly trailed back up to her lips while deeply inhaling the sweet body spray she put it on last night after her shower. His urges were growing stronger by the second as he cupped her face and left her almost breathless from the aggressive, deep kiss that made her knees grow weak. Her surprised moan didn't help his growing erection, but he stopped short of pinning her against the fridge.
He moved his lips to her ear where he bit her lobe. "You're a tease, you know that?"
"I didn't even do anything." She said with a light laugh as he broke himself away from her and back over to the smooth beige surface of the countertop. He shook his head and rubbed his thumb over his wet lip as he tossed a look at her. "What?"
"That little strawberry act wasn't anything?" He asked as he resumed putting her plate together. He looked up just as she coyly shrugged her shoulders with a suggestive lip bite. "Mhm, like I said, the quiet ones be the sneakiest. I gotta keep my eye on you."
She laughed again and patiently waited until both of their plates were filled with food, then they moved over to the living room with their glasses of orange juice. Riley sat on the floor in front of the coffee table and Michael sat at the end of the couch next to an end table where he set his drink down. For some minutes, they ate quietly in peace, savored every bit of the delicious food, and watched a bit of TV.
"You're an amazing cook, Applehead." She complimented, turning to face him. "I need your recipes."
Michael chuckled with a sheepish smile. "Thanks, Ry. I don't really do much."
"I feel like you're lying." She moved away from the table after finishing the last of her food and over toward him.
"I'm not." He laughed at her skepticism written across her face. "I just use a few spices here and there, and maybe a little bit of sugar."
She raised an eyebrow. "Sugar?"
He nodded. "Makes everything taste a little better. But I don't use it in everything, obviously."
"Hmm," She hummed to herself, "I might need to try that."
"You should, it makes a difference." He said and set his empty plate aside on the table stand. He turned his head back towards her as she moved closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "Something on your mind?"
She shook her head. "No, not really. I just like being near you."
His forehead touched hers as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I like being around you, too. Are you ready for school to start back?"
"No, but I'm definitely ready to graduate. You're one of the few good things about that school." She said and he blushed. "How long do you plan on staying there?"
He thought about it but shrugged since he wasn't really sure. "I don't know. I don't plan on teaching Sex-Ed forever; I think I'll do better at an elementary school level."
"What would you teach?" She asked as she messed with the buttons on his pajama top. One popped open to reveal a small portion of his smooth chest that her finger was drawn towards. She looked back into his eyes while absentmindedly rubbing his chest in small circles.
He thought about doing the same to her just to see her act all flustered and bring out the shy side within her, but he decided to enjoy her soothing touch instead. "Well, when I was growing up, my favorite subjects were reading, music, and art. So, I might teach one of those."
"I can see you being an art teacher. You did draw that amazing picture of me." Riley remembered how in awe she was when he gave her the drawing back. She still kept in her binder for safekeeping.
Michael smiled as he gently caressed her nape with his other hand, sending a slew of warm chills down her back. "And I can see you being my assistant after that jaw-dropping sketch you did of me."
Riley laughed with a shake of her head. "I don't know about all that."
"We'll get plenty of after-school time together." He teased with a flirtatious smirk while bringing his lips closer to her.
"Mhm, I bet." She chuckled, then leaned away just before they could touch. "You're not slick, Jackson."
"I wasn't trying to be, Smith." He scooted closer, his eyes lowering to her tempting lip bite and he licked his lips in response.
She rolled her eyes in a joking manner and pushed him back by her hand on his chest. "Moving ooon... what made you take Ms. Babcock's place?"
"There weren't too many teaching jobs to choose from. I was laid off from a previous job because of budget cuts and I thought it wouldn't hurt to teach a little bit at a high school for a change." He explained as he toyed with the strings on her shorts.
"Where did you work before?" She continued to ask. She noticed his quizzical smile as he stared at her. "What?"
"You're asking a lot of questions, Smith." He chuckled, then stood up from the couch. He grabbed both of their dishes and headed toward the kitchen with her right behind him.
"I like to have more of a backstory on people." She took a seat on the swivel counter stool and mindlessly spun in slow circles. "You barely asked me any questions."
Michael was quiet for a minute or so as he submerged the dirty plates in hot water and began scrubbing them clean. "What kind of questions do you want me to ask you?"
She stopped spinning and faced his backside. "I don't know."
After another quiet moment or two, he turned around and leaned against the sink, drying his hands with a towel. "I think I know a good bit about you, Ry. I'm not sure what else I can ask. Unless you want to talk a little more about your brother."
Riley silently pursed her lips and twisted them to the side, then gave a subtle shrug. "It will be three years since he passed in April. I know I said I've coped, but the wound is still kinda fresh. " She sighed deeply at the haunting memory of unknowingly seeing her brother for the final time before his untimely demise. "Long story short, he was home from the Navy and was at the right place at the wrong time. There was a robbery going on and he was trying to be heroic. Obviously that didn't work out, and my dad blames himself because he asked my brother to go to the store. That's why he's always working-I guess as a way to distract himself from the guilt-and it's also why I don't see him too often anymore."
Michael could see the lingering hurt etched across her face. Her eyes were noticeably glossy, her stare was directed to the floor, and her tone was softer than normal. He stepped closer to her and gently held her face in his hands, tilting her sad gaze up to him.
"I'm so sorry, Ry. I truly am." He told her, then dropped his hands downward to caress her arms as an attempt to ease her emotional pain. "I know none of this is going to fix the past, but I want you to know I'll always be here for you."
But she disagreed. Her lips were pressed in a straight line and her eyebrows lowered. "A few people told me that and they didn't stick to their word. How do I know that you are any different?"
She gently pried his hands away and stood up. Michael wrapped one arm around her waist before she could take another step and took her face again with his free hand.
"Unlike them, I keep my promises. I would never abandon you or make you question your self-worth." He told her softly yet firmly. "If you ever need me, I'm just one call away, Ry. Always."
Her watery eyes stared deeply into his. She searched for any small sign of deceit and only found sincerity behind his enchanting eyes. She blinked back the tears and deeply sighed as she averted her gaze to her feet. "I don't want you to hurt me in any way."
"That's something I would never do, okay? I'll always support and cherish you; I put that on my life." He kissed the corner of her lips.
She softly exhaled as she sat back down on the stool. "I'll hold you to that promise, Jackson."
He took her small hands that fit perfectly in his palms and caressed the back of them with his thumbs. "And I'm sorry for bringing up your brother. I didn't realize how much it would affect you."
"You didn't know." She managed to half-smile, but the memory of her brother had dampened her mood more than she expected. She changed the subject, "But you said you think you know a bit about me. What do you know? Other than my dead brother and workaholic parents."
He focused on her french manicured nails and pondered silently. As she waited, Riley trailed the tips of her fingers over the lines of his palms and over his long fingers. It was a while before he finally said, "You're smart, talented, and beautiful. You're always busy with either guard or work at the dance studio, so I have no idea how you find the time for me outside of school. You're clumsy as hell and a little goofy at times, and it's adorable."
She gave a short laugh and he smiled.
"Um, you're also in the school choir but I have yet to hear your gorgeous voice. Your dream school is UCLA, and you want to possibly own your own dance studio or at least be a choreographer. You care about your friends tremendously and I adore that about you. That's all I know so far off the top of my head." He finally looked into her eyes and his lips matched her grin.
"You've been listening and doing your homework, huh?" She jested and he chuckled in response with a nod. "What else would you like to know?"
"Whatever you're willing to tell me." He said as he held her soft gaze.
"Mm, could I ask you something else?"
He nodded.
"Do you have any plans for our first official date?"
"I have several, actually. But I think I might do something a little easygoing for the first one." He leaned down while placing his hands on either side of the stool and held his face close to hers. "Frankie's sound good?"
"Sounds fun." A coy grin slowly touched her lips. "You're in for a treat."
One of his perfect brows raised just slightly. "Really, now? You're sounding a bit mischievous, Ry."
Her hands laid flat against his chest and she pushed him away before standing. "Good." She walked out the kitchen and into the living room to plop down onto the couch. "I hope to get a little sneak peek soon."
He wasn't far behind as he spoke with a hint of tease in his angelic voice, "Might be a little sooner than you expect."
He eased next to her, then cupped her chin with one hand before bringing her into a mind-numbing, slow kiss. Goosebumps traveled over her body as she let his curls loosely loop around her fingers. By the time he pulled away, she was left in an euphoric trance.
A smug smile slowly spread across his face and he tapped her plump lips with his index finger. "That's your sneak peek."