Ian had established that we could be nothing more than friends. But I never followed the rules. I’d always been a bit of a trouble maker even when I was younger. It was clear that Ian had feelings for me, but the question was why he didn’t want to act on them. Maybe he had been hurt before or maybe it was just my naiveté. But I made it my mission to convince him otherwise. I wouldn’t let him push me away. I liked him way too much.
One evening after I had come back from Phil’s house, I snuck out to see Ian. I was keeping the amount of time I spend with Ian to a minimal with my mother. I was afraid she would suspect something. I grabbed Ian’s key from underneath his mat and opened his door, letting myself in.
“Ian,” I called out as I slammed the door shut behind me. But there was no response. Was he not home? I was about to leave when I heard Ian’s voice echo outside. I chewed on my lower lip, as I glanced out his window to see him standing in between his and Mrs. Tillman’s lawn. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, before waving good-bye to him. I rolled my eyes, closing the shade shut as soon as I heard his door open.
Ian flicked the light on, jumping as soon as he saw me. “Ryder! You scared me! What the hell are you doing here in the dark?”
“I was bored so I just thought I’d stop by,” I mumbled running my fingers awkwardly through my hair. “I used the key under the mat.”
“I told you about that key in case of an emergency,” he retorted, sounding a little angry that I had used it. I ignored it, folding my arms across my chest.
“I saw you leaving Mrs. Tillman’s place,” I finally said. “What were you doing there?”
“Nothing really,” Ian said casually taking his jacket off. “She invited me over for dinner.”
Dinner? So, he had eaten with her. I hadn’t seen anyone else leave her house except for him. So it had to have been just the two of them – alone at said dinner. I thought he wasn’t interested in her.
“So it was just the two of you? Like – I don’t know - a date?” I poked further. Ian shook his head, grabbing his laptop from off his desk and plopping it into his lap.
“Not a date- More like a thank you,” he said his eyes focusing on his computer screen.
“Two people? Dinner? At night? Sounds like a date to me,” I retorted as Ian began typing away on his novel. I stared at him awaiting a response, but he didn’t say anything. He was either way too focused on his book or he was just ignoring me. No matter what I was jealous. Sure I spent loads of time with Ian, but just the thought of him having a romantic dinner with Mrs. Tillman kind of sent me over the edge.
Ian’s eyes glanced up from his computer screen for a moment, meeting mine. “So, the ugly green monster has reared its head. What do you want from me? Huh? Do you want to have dinner with me? Or do you want me to swear I’ll never go over her house again?”
His lips drew up in a smile as he teased me. He loved me seeing me so hung up over him and I hated that. I scoffed, trying to act like his romantic evening with Mrs Tillman had gotten to me. “I just want you to admit it was a date.”
Ian closed the lid of his laptop, shaking his head. “It wasn’t a date. It was just dinner. It was completely harmless. I was hungry and she fed me.”
“Oh I’m sure,” I chuckled giving him a devious wink. Ian placed his laptop on the ground, shaking his head. He planted a kiss on my forehead, chuckling to himself.
“You’re actually jealous about this whole dinner thing,” he replied. “It’s cute.”
I shook my head, a smile appearing on my face. “Jealous? No. I just hate to see you leading her on is all.”
“I made it perfectly clear to Mrs. Tillman that I wasn’t interested in her beyond friendship,” Ian replied. “Just like I told you.”
“Well if she’s anything like me then that doesn’t mean she’ll stop trying,” I mumbled as Ian made a sound of disapproval. He quickly changed the subject, asking me if my mother knew how late I was out.
“Ian – I’m an adult,” I retorted. “My mother stopped checking on me a long time ago.”
“Well then, what do I have to do for you to give up on me,” he asked his tone of voice more serious. “Huh?”
I chewed on my lower lip, an idea quickly popping into my head. “Get dressed and follow me.”
Ian nodded, following my demands without question. I smirked as I led him outside and into the woods. I mean he had agreed without even hearing what I was going to ask him to do. That was his first mistake. I could hear Ian groan as soon as we made it to the lake. It was completely quiet, and there was not a soul out here aside from the two of us.
“I already don’t like where this is going,” he mumbled his eyes tracing across the dark sky. I had a feeling he was going to say that. A devious smirk crept across my face, as I told him my demands.
“I want you to strip down into your boxers and jump in,” I said folding my arms across my chest. “If you do it, I’ll give up on you.”
Ian sighed. “You’ll give up on me if I do this?”
“Yes.” I replied. I was lying but he didn’t need to know that. I would still pursue him either way. I just wanted to screw around with him a little bit after the stunt he had pulled the other day. I couldn’t believe he had turned me on in the matter of seconds like that, just to walk away. You could say I was feeling slightly vindictive especially after seeing him with Mrs. Tillman.
My palms grew sweaty as my eyes followed Ian’s movements. He ran his fingers up his chest, pulling his shirt over his head in one swift motion and tossing it the ground. My lips curled up into a grin as he rolled his sweats down to his ankles, kicking them off. The moon shined against his smooth back, illuminating it in all of its perfection. I wanted nothing more than to run my fingers down the curve of it and onto his perfect ass in those black Calvin Klein boxer briefs. I bit down on my lower lip, watching as he dived right into the lake without a second thought. He surfaced a few minutes later, pushing the stray strands of hair out of his face.
“Okay I did it,” be huffed, water droplets gliding down the side of his square jaw. “I guess that means you give up.”
I glanced at my watch, shaking my head. “Not yet. You have to stay in for a few more minutes.”
“Now you’re playing a dirty. Are you at least going to join me?” he asked ushering me into the lake with him.
“I’ll think about it,” I retorted as he waded around the water for a few minutes. I gave in and found myself, swimming right beside him. I shifted my gaze onto the night sky and the bright full moon that had founds its place in the center of it. It was a beautiful night and the water wasn’t as cold as I expected it to be. It was actually warm.
“Have I done enough?” he asked breaking the silence that had occurred between us.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, leaving it at that. If it was up to me, I'd make him stay in here with me all night until he agreed to be in a relationship with me. But I knew that would never happen.
"If that's how you want to play," Ian smirked. I watched as he pulled his hands up out of the water, rolling his boxers up in a ball and tossing towards the shore. My face burned a bright red color as soon as I realized that Ian was completely naked – just an inch or two away from me. A lump founds its home in the middle of my throat as he rested his hands on my shoulder, pulling me into his bare chest. My heart began to race as his lips brushed against the outside of my ear.
“How about now?” he asked in a voice that sent a wave of chills down my spine. “Ryder?”
The way he said my name was deep and sensual, almost as if he was getting pleasure out of it. It was enough to make my body tense up. This was moving faster than I had anticipated. I thought for once that I was being the manipulative one, but it appeared Ian was beating me at it. He was much better at this game than I was. I fought back the loud and throaty moans that so desperately wanted to escape my throat as those soft pink lips of his fell onto my Adam’s apple.
Even though Ian had one-upped me, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of victory myself. Ian was definitely crossing the line of friendship that he had established. I don’t think making out in the middle of a lake in the nude was something that friends did with each other. Ian was breaking. He may have me in the palm of his rough hands, but I had him within my grasp as well. Just as Ian brought his lips onto mine, a voice echoed through the woods.
“Hello? Is there anyone out here?” I quickly dove into the lake water, staying under until the sounds were no more. My heart was literally racing when I resurfaced. Ian was already swimming back towards the shore.
“Ian! Where are you going?” I muttered, swimming out towards him. I stopped as soon as he rose out of the water. Water glided down his back as he grabbed his sweats from off the ground, sliding it up his waist. I rushed out of the water, quickly grabbing my clothes from off the ground and following him out of the woods. I could hear Ian swearing underneath his breath as the sticks cracked underneath his feet.
“Ian! Wait up,” I huffed, picking up my pace after him. I didn’t catch up to him until we reached his backyard. His backdoor swung in place as he pushed through it, not even bothering to hold it open for me.
“Ian! Slow down,” I muttered trying to keep up with him. “Hey!”
I followed Ian upstairs toward his bedroom, trying to sustain an actual conversation with him. His bedroom door was closed though. He was probably getting changed. The door finally swung open after a minute or two. Ian was clutching a towel around his waist, and looked like he was about to head into the shower.
“Ian –Hold on a sec,” I replied wrapping my arms around his wrist. “You swam out of there quick. What was that about?”
Ian placed a hand in the air, gathering his thoughts for a moment. “What was that about? We were almost caught, Ryder. Who the hell knows who that could have been? If they saw us together in the lake – I don’t even want to think about it. You should go home.”
He was upset. I froze. I couldn’t think of the right words to say. It was like I had lost the ability to speak.
“Pear Street isn’t exactly the most liberal street if you haven’t noticed,” he muttered filling in the awkward silence. I had to hold myself back from laughing. That was old news to me. I grew up here. I think I knew Pear Street much better than he did.
“Oh I have! I’ve been living here my entire life,” I argued. “Are you really that afraid of what people would think about us? I don’t care about Pear Street or their conservative bat shit crazy ideas.”
“What do you think your mother will think when she finds out you’re attracted to a guy whose fifteen years your senior,” he retorted raising his voice at me. “Huh, Ryder?”
“I’m an adult,” I nearly shouted emphasizing the last word. “I can do whatever and whoever the hell I want. She can’t stop me, Ian.”
Ian took a deep breath in, lowering his tone. “Go home. You still live under your mother’s roof, Ryder. I’m sure she still checks on you at night. And I think it would be a good idea if you stayed away for a while.”
I shook my head, ready to argue with him, but stopped myself. What was the point? He had made up his mind. I couldn’t believe he was such a coward. He actually cared what the people on this street thought. That’s why he was so afraid of starting a relationship with me. I didn’t care.
“Ryder, are you listening to me?” he asked.
“Yes! If this is what you want, Ian! I’m done, ok? I’ve given up,” I replied, quickly walking down the stairs.
He didn’t say a word. I knew that I was being childish, but I didn’t care. If Ian wanted to be a coward, then so be it. I wasn’t going to keep pestering him if he was just going to lead me on and then pull away.
I was sick of it.