Page 35 of Like Home
“Did you ever go driving with him?” Ryan asks, cleaning up the food containers.
“No. We never made a concrete plan, and it wasn’t long after that that Jared asked me out. It felt weird being alone with his friend after I started dating him, so I passed on his offer when he brought it up.”
“I’m guessing that’s when he started treating you like shit.”
“Yup.” I shake my head and laugh humorlessly. The fact that Duncan has treated me like garbage for the better part of seven years because of a non-rejection rejection is just soDuncan.Leave it to him to twist something innocent around. At least he’s moved on from the crush, even if it doesn’t leave much room for anything but nastiness. “I don’t want to think about him anymore. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies. Let’s watch this Marvelmovie before I change my mind.” I pull Ryan with me, so we’re lying down, slightly propped up on pillows.
“Guardians of the Galaxyis a classic. If you don’t like it, I don’t know where this whole thing between us will go,” Ryan says, tugging on the ends of my hair lightly. I playfully smack his chest and we settle in as the dramatic opening music booms through the stereo system.
CHAPTER 23
Ryan
After the movie ends, I take a minute to clean up our snacks before sitting next to her again. I run my hand up and down her back, my callouses catching at the lace of her shirt/bra thing. I want to talk to her about Jared before we do anything else, because I know she’ll try to distract me otherwise.
“So, as much as having you sprawled all over me without a real shirt makes me want to do dirty, dirty things to you, I think we need to talk about what happened last Sunday,” I offer, pulling back slightly so I can look at her. Mistake. Her eyes are hooded and before I can stop her, she’s straddling me.
She leans down and peppers my face with feather-light kisses, nipping at my lips until I give in. I open to her and my hands roam over her lush curves. I pull back while my head is still getting some blood flow. “Summer,” I chastise.
She buries her head in the crook of my neck and mumbles, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” She pulls back, sits on my lap, and looks down at my chest. She toys with the pocket of my shirt and says, “What Jared said was… painful. And I’m having a good time tonight, and I don’t want to ruin that by thinking about it.” She meets my eyes then. Vulnerability melts her expression into something soft, and now I want to punch both Jared and Duncan.
“You can tell me. It’s important for us to be able to talk about things like this.” I cup her jaw and pull her in for a soft kiss. I need to know what was said, because I want to be in Summer’s life for the long haul. That means Emma too, and Jared is unfortunately a part of that. “I promise afterward we can do whatever you want.” It makes me realize that maybe I need to open up to her, too. Not now, but soon. It’s not fair of me to ask her to open up but stay so closed off myself.
“Whatever I want?” Her eyes take on a wicked gleam and I feel myself go hard again.
Six times eight is forty-eight. Six times nine is fifty-four.
“Yes, but before you distract me again, let’s do the less-fun part first,” I say, trailing my hands up and down her sides.
She sighs and says, “Okay, I’ll tell you what he said, but I need you to promise not to freak out. I’m a big girl and I need to handle my family drama on my own, okay?” She continues to run the tip of her finger along the edge of the pocket on my shirt distractingly.
I nod my head and squeeze her hips reassuringly. “Okay. I promise. If all you need from me is support, that’s what I’ll do.”
She takes her time smoothing her hands over my shoulders before she sits back on my lower thighs and hugs her elbows. A frown creases her brow and she says, “So, he saw the flowers you brought me and lost it because he realized they were from you, and that you had obviously moved beyond just being my contractor. He accused me of cheating on him, and I had to remind himagainthat we weren’t together just because he said so.” She huffs out a humorless laugh. “Anyway, after that, I told him that you and I were serious or at least moving that way.” She looks at me and I can see the insecurity she feels in the way she won’t quite meet my eye.
“We’re definitely serious.” I lift her chin with my hand soshe meets my eyes. She gives me a crooked smile that makes my heart break a little for her. For the way she struggles to believe that I’m absolutely feral for her. For what she’s gone through that makes her doubt what’s right in front of her. For the ways our insecurities mirror each other.
“So, I’m guessing that’s not the end of it,” I state, gently urging her to continue.
“No,” she sighs and anger flashes in her eyes. “He said that you would be gone soon because I quote ‘gave you what you want,’ and he doesn’t want your ‘sloppy seconds.’” Her hazel eyes start to fill with unshed tears. “He basically called me a whore and said that you’d be done with me after you slept with me. He also refuses to give you the green light to meet Emma because he’s so sure you’ll leave.”
Anger roars up my chest and my jaw clenches so hard I worry about losing a filling. I take a few deep breaths in the silence to get myself under control. “Okay. I’m trying really hard to just be here for you because that’s what you need from me, but I have to tell you that is a load of bullshit. First of all, I’m not going to be done with you any time soon, no matter if we sleep together or not. I like you for a lot more than what’s between your legs. You are one of the most selfless, kind-hearted, genuine people I’ve ever known. You’re beautiful, inside and out. I think your ex,” I can’t bring myself to say his name, “Is just realizing what he’s losing. All the nastiness is a product of that, not you. I’m sorry he’s making it difficult with Emma. Is there anything I can do to make that easier?”
“Not really. We talked more today when he came to pick her up. He did apologize for what he said, but it still hurts. Today it was a new excuse about you, though. He said you were potentially violent because of the whole thing with Duncan. I told him that Duncan was probably over-exaggerating or leaving things out, but of course, he didn’t believe me. He did agree to meet you eventually. I’m guessing that’s his way of giving it time to see if you’llleave.” I can see her physically closing herself off, curling inward like a wilting flower.
“I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to work a lot harder than that to get rid of me. I’m glad there’s some distance between now and then, because even though I’m not a violent guy, I wouldn’t mind punching him straight in the nose for calling you names and making you feel bad. I need a little time before I see him. I don’t want to give him any reason to say no to me meeting Emma. Is any of this custody stuff court-mandated?”
She shakes her head and says, “No, we decided to handle it privately because I thought we could be mature adults about this and put Emma first. I’m not going to take it to court yet because I think that’ll make this whole situation worse.” She sighs again and rubs her temple. “Anyway. Can we make out now? I’d like to forget about my problems.”
Rather than answer her, I bring her face closer to mine, more than happy to fulfill her request. I take my time making my way to her lips, kissing along her jaw and over her cheeks and nose. I want her to feel cherished, important, and safe. She needs tofeelhow much she means to me because I know pretty words aren’t enough for her.
I kiss down her neck and across her collarbone before I nip at her ear, earning me a gasp that goes straight to my groin. It’s only then that I take her lips. I keep the kiss slow and sweet, all lips brushing and tongues exploring gently. When she starts to slide against me, I have a much harder time taking it slow. “You’re killing me, babe,” I say, running my hands down to grip her ass.
She pants into my mouth, tasting like the cherry sucker she ate during the movie and her own brand of sweetness. “Good,” she says, bearing down harder against me. We both groan at the contact. Unable to help myself, I pull that pretty purple bra down, enjoying the way it frames her perfect breasts.
“You are so beautiful,” I say between kisses on her chest. I work her over with my tongue until she’s practically melting intome. Her head is thrown back and we haven’t even gotten started yet. I shift her off my lap and help her stand in front of me so I can tug her pants down, leaving her in a matching purple number that has my mouth watering. “Summer. Look at you.” I hear the awe in my voice and can’t bring myself to be self conscious. I’ll gladly get on my knees for her.
I lean in and press a kiss to the soft round of her belly. When she tries to shy away, I grip her hips and pull her closer, kissing and nipping under her navel again. “Stop that. You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. All of you.” She smiles, her cheeks going a pretty pink, which makes me laugh. “So words make you blush, but not all this?” I gesture to her unclothed body.
