In the three weeks Riley was gone Lucas tried his best to clean up the mess he made. She was visiting her best friend Maya in California for the holidays and wouldn't be back until the second week of January which gave him some time to find a new way to pay Mr. Jefferson back.
The day after Riley left, he dropped by Charlie's house to tell him the bet was off. He refused to do that to her anymore, it just didn't feel right. He had him swore to never tell and the two haven't spoken of it since.
Zay's older brother was nice enough to offer Lucas a temp job at his coffee shop since it was the holiday season and he really needed the help. He got paid next to nothing but the tips were pretty good. On a slow night he still made $50 in tips. It wasn't much but every bit helped.
"So what's the deal with you and sunshine?" Zay asks, wiping down one of the tables. He occasionally helped out at his brother's coffee shop after school whenever there wasn't any practice. He helped out a lot more now that Lucas worked there. It was the night before Riley got back and the two boys were closing up shop together.
"What do you mean?" Lucas gives him a look, before collecting the plates the previous guests had left behind.
"I mean, are you guys together? Is it serious?"
"I guess we kind of have this unofficially official thing going on." He shrugs his shoulders. "It feels serious though. The day before she left things got a little...intense to say the least."
Zay stops dead in his tracks, smirking at his blonde friend. "Wait a minute...did you – "
"No." Lucas answers before letting him finish. "We got pretty close though."
"Who know Princess Abstinence had it in her." Zay laughs, shaking his head.
"Come on man – not cool."
"I'm just saying, Luke" Zay raises his hands in defense. "Don't get me wrong, she's a great girl but Riley's notoriously known for not giving it up. I mean, I know you noticed the purity ring on her finger, right?"
"I noticed it...I just didn't know it was a purity ring." He answers, wondering why he never asked her about it before.
"She's worn it since 8th grade. Why do you think Charlie picked her in the first place?"
"Because he's a moron."
"Noo." Zay laughs, "Because she used it as an excuse not to sleep with him when they dated freshmen year."
Lucas turns his neck so fast he swore he pulled something. "What?!" He drops the ceramic mug in his hand, causing it to shatter onto the floor. Thankfully it was closing time so no customers were around.
"By your reaction I'm assuming you didn't know?" Zay asks, fetching the broom and dustpan from behind the counter to help sweep up the sharp pieces.
"Charlie and Riley? My Riley?" He furrows his brows trying to imagine it. "Seriously?"
"I'm surprised he didn't tell you." Zay dumps the dustpan full of shards into the trash. "But then again it is Charlie so."
Lucas thinks back to freshmen year. He wasn't friends with Charlie back then. He had just started dating Annette and he was so caught up in being a little fish in the big pond that he never really noticed anything or anyone aside from his best friend, his team mates and his girl. It wasn't until sophomore year when Charlie joined the football team that he even knew he existed.
They never really got along well. As pathetic as it sounds they sort of always had this 'frenemy' type relationship. Everything was a competition, especially to Charlie. Lucas should've put two and two together when he picked Riley out of all the girls that were in the courtyard that day.
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.
"What is it?" She whispers, intrigued now.
He hesitates for a second, "I know about you and Charlie."
Her face scrunches up as she takes a step away from him. "Charlie Gardner?" She asks and he nods his head. "What about him?"
"I know he was your boyfriend freshman year and I know that –"
"Charlie wasn't my boyfriend." She says matter-of-factly. "We went out on two dates. That's it."
"He told Zay you guys broke up because you wouldn't sleep with him, you know – because of your purity ring."
"My what?" She laughs, staring at him in amusement. "You mean this?" She raises her hand, revealing the ring she always wore on her index finger. It was a silver band that features two hands clasping a heart. "This is a friendship ring. My best friend has the exact same one. It was a 'going away' gift for her."
Lucas suddenly feels really stupid. Turns out Charlie was the bud of all those Virgin Mary rumors about Riley going around school. He was the source of the nicknames and all the corny jokes thrown at her. He got rejected and the way he coped with that was giving everyone false pretenses about who she was.
"I'm sorry...I should've known better than to believe anything Gardner says. Not that it mattered anyway." He smiles softly, cupping her face.
"Maybe we don't know each other as well as I thought." She smiles halfheartedly, walking them over to sit at her bay window.
"I don't want to mess things up with you by moving too fast." He takes her hand. "But I also want to get out of this weird undefined place we're in."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if you'll have me...I'd like to be your boyfriend."
"I'd like that very much."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next couple of days Philly was hit with a vast amount of snow. Negative degree temperatures caused a lot of slippery icy roads which resulted in school having cancellations. With his father away on business Charlie decides to throw a party and being captain, Lucas is expected to be there.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to." He says into the phone. If he was being honest, he slightly hoped Riley would opt out considering what happened to her last time she attended a party with him. But he knew better than that. He knew she wouldn't back down, she doesn't scare easy.
"It's okay, I don't mind." He can hear the smile on her face. "I'll just wear a raincoat in case Annette decides to pour any more liquids down my chest."
He chuckles at the thought, "I'll pick you up after work okay? Around 9-9:30."
"I'll see you then."
Later that night after his shift is over, Lucas is in the back counting his tips when Zay waltzes in. Because he was supposed to be picking Riley up in 10 minutes he didn't have time to go home and change so he asked Zay to bring him by some clean clothes to change into and then the three of them would head to the party together.
"Look man." Lucas fans out the money in his hand. "800 even thanks to tonight."
"Good you can finally pay that old geezer back."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right before they pick up Riley, Lucas quickly goes around the block to Mr. Jefferson's house to drop off the money. All the lights were off, so to reduce the risk of waking him up he slides the envelope of cash through his mail slot and hurries back over to the car.
As they pull up in front of Riley's house, they notice all the lights are off at hers as well. He shoots her a text to let her know they were waiting outside and within a few minutes she's exiting the front door. Zay climbs into the back seat so she could sit up front with Lucas and then they're off.
All of them were surprised with how little of people were there. Usually house parties were thrown in the warmer months. It was damn near February with freezing temperatures and the ground was completely covered in snow and ice so it made sense that not many people were willing to leave their houses just to get drunk.
As the night went on, the crowd seemingly got bigger. None of them really recognized the people that were there except from a few teammates and Charlie of course.
At some point in the night Lucas loses sight of Riley. Last he saw she was sitting in a corner talking to this dark haired girl wearing black frames. He makes his rounds but still no sign of her.
Eventually he spots Charlie and pulls him aside to ask if he's seen Riley.
"Hey man I hear congratulations are in order!" Charlie pats him on the back, sporting a smug smile on his face. "Takes real guts to deflower the beloved history teacher's only daughter. Good for you."
Lucas snarls at the clearly intoxicated teen. He knew better than to get into a fight with the host in his own home but at this point Charlie was asking for it.
"Wait a minute I guess this means I owe you." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash, forcing it towards his face. "Here ya go Friar. You earned it."
"The bet is off." Lucas says through gritted teeth, swatting the money away. "Besides I already paid off Mr. Jefferson."
"You did?" A feminine voice says from behind them. Riley comes into view, eyebrows raised at the two boys.
"Yeah, earlier tonight." Lucas responds, feeling the turning in his stomach return again.
"Wait a minute, you know about it?" Charlie buts in, staring at Riley.
"Yeah." She smiles, politely.
"And you're okay with it?" He persists, eyes wide.
"Well, yeah?" She answers, noticeably confused.
"What a relief." Charlie laughs. "And here I thought you would hate Lucas for betting he could get into your pants."
The color drains from her face, leaving this somber look behind. Charlie looks at Lucas, a pleased expression on his face as he slowly walks away. She doesn't say anything. She doesn't even look at him. She just turns on her feet and heads for the door.
As the cold winter air hits her skin, she has this sudden urge to gasp for breath. She hadn't realized she was holding it in this entire time.
Before she knows it, she feels Lucas' warm grip on her shoulder. She pushes him off still unable to say anything.
"Riley, it's freezing out here." He starts "You need to come back inside. You're going to get sick." His eyes plead with her.
"Is it true?" Her voice shakes.
"Let's not talk about this out here. We need to get you back inside before you get sick." He insists, pulling her into his arms.
She pounds against his chest with her fists, struggling to remove herself from his grasp. "Answer me!" Her eyes are cold, just like the snow beneath their feet. "Tell me the truth...am I bet?"
"Riley please –"
"Am I a fucking bet?" She's louder this time, her tone harsher. He could hear the hurt in her voice clear as day. There was no going back now. The damage had already been done.
He swallows the lump in his throat as their eyes meet. "Yes."
She shoves him again but he grabs her hands, attempting to pull her in once more.
"Don't!" She snaps. "Don't ever touch me again."