Chapter 5 Alex

W hat just happened?

I follow Riley out of the hall, trying not to stare at her ass as she strides in front of me. Her dress catches in all the right places, the ties cinching her waist. I’ve never wanted to be a piece of clothing so badly. The scent of her perfume – bergamot and tobacco – punches me in the gut just like it did all those years ago.

*****

“Will you focus?” Riley giggled as I sank my nose into the soft nape of her neck.

What had started off as a tutoring session had turned into 3 months of senior-year bliss. I was actually passing biology, despite the odds. But the real prize was the person sitting right in front of me.

And also, right on top of me.

“I’ve never been more focused,” I growled, drawing Riley closer into my lap.

Riley rolled her eyes at me as she lightly drew her hand down my cheek. She tossed her hair back and smiled impishly up at me. “Hey. I want to show you something.”

My eyebrows must have shot into my head at such a cartoonishly fast rate that Riley burst out laughing. “Calm down, cowboy. That’s not what I meant. I actually wanted to take you somewhere.”

As we walked through Flores Ranch, Riley’s soft fingers caressing my palm, my thoughts kept drifting. The way I felt about Riley was undeniable, but the end of senior year was around the corner. And then, she’d be off to college while I stayed here in Bandera, figuring out my next steps. A part of me knew that I’d need to let her go – I couldn’t bear to be an anchor, tying her to a place she wanted to leave behind. But the other part of me wanted to hold on for dear life.

We stopped at a dilapidated old shack. “This is it,” Riley exclaimed.

I cast an eye over the chipped blue paint and the weather-worn windows. “This is … what, exactly?”

Riley smiled and creaked the front door open. “The beginning of Flora Studios.”

I stopped to take it in. In complete contrast to the outside, the inside was bathed in warm light. Notebooks were sprawled across the small table and an old-timey camera sat on the upholstered couch, surrounded by a cluster of lenses. A light reflector and a book were gathered by the fireplace.

“My room was starting to get cluttered, so I’ve been storing my stuff in here – Darren gave me this old couch too,” Riley explained. I could see from her flushed cheeks how happy she was to be here.

I noticed images on the walls and drew closer. They were photos, I realized: me, locked into a serious chat with the Flores’s prized bull Zorro. Me in the kitchen with my back turned to the camera, making kalbi for Riley as a thank you after I got my first B on a biology test. Me knocked out on the couch, Riley gently kissing my forehead as she snaps the picture on her digital camera.

“My lens is only interested in one subject, it would seem.” Riley said.

The air in the room went still as I felt my heart boom like an out-of-control subwoofer. At home and at school, I couldn’t seem to do much right. Just that morning, my mom had overheard me talking to Mina about how I was doing better in biology. “See Alex, you just need to apply yourself,” she had said. “Why can’t you do this well in all subjects?”

I had brushed past her. How could I explain to her that I didn’t want to spend my time that way? In Umma’s eyes, it would just be another wrong choice in a long list of them. But with Riley, I knew I would always make the right decision. I would do anything to make sure she had the life and the career she deserved.

I turned to her, my eyes brimming as I roughly wiped them away. Riley stepped into me, her body soft and warm against mine as she burrowed her head into my chest.

“You’re incredible,” I told her. “Your dreams inspire me. I hope that someday I find something that makes me feel as alive as this does for you.”

Riley ran her hands down my chest and stared up at me with her piercing green eyes. “You will. And film isn’t the only thing that makes me feel alive. You do, too.”

I scooped Riley up and set her on the table, taking her in. Her thick eyelashes framed her eyes as she stared out at me from beneath heavy, hooded lids. Her mouth was a bright coral, glowing like a firefly’s light in the dark of night.

I traced my thumb over her lips, and she shook softly as her hand came up to rest on my wrist. “I want this, Alex.” She kissed my hand. “Do you?”

*****

“Alex? What are you thinking about?” The Riley of today – the one standing in front of me in all her splendor – whispers softly. She’s leaning against Layla’s passenger door, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her dress.

I look up at her, unable to hide the emotion swirling on my face. “I’m thinking about you.”

She grins wryly. “Do they teach you to say that to all of the highest bidders?”

I step closer to her, boxing her in slightly against the truck until I can feel the heat pinging between our bodies. I bend over slightly and rumble into her ear, low and direct. “Only the ones that make us feel alive again.”

Riley bites her lip and clears her throat as a dark, heated look flashes through her eyes. She takes a step to the side, putting a slight distance between us. In that moment I’m overcome by how much I need our bodies to be touching. How desperate I am to pick up where we last left off.

Her eyes still locked against mine, Riley reaches for the door handle. “Alright then. You owe me the night, technically. Where are we going next?”

I already know the answer.

We’re silent on the short drive over, the air heavy with unsaid expectations. But as we pull up to the shack on the Flores’s property, I glance over at Riley and put my hand out on her armrest, palm up, wondering if she’ll take it. Wondering if she’ll object to this and back the hell out of there.

Instead, she looks down at the hand, and back up at me. She smiles gently, her face beautiful with longing and nostalgia. Her hand slots into mine, and it feels so right it’s like no time has been lost at all.

We walk into the shack, which has been updated into a rustic Airbnb that the Flores’s run to make some extra income.

The old couch remains, its upholstery holding up after all the years, but the table looks like it’s gotten a refinish and a nice gloss. In the corner, there’s a bed with upturned covers and pillows askew.

“I was here last night,” Riley explains. “I thought coming to this place might help clear my head, but I couldn’t sleep.”

I release her hand and turn to face her. “What was keeping you up?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I already know.

Riley steps closer, her silence speaking volumes as her body brushes against mine. I take her delicate chin in my hand and tilt it up towards me, gentle. Tentative. I’m not sure if she wants this as much as I know I do – there are still so many things unresolved between us, and I’ve already ruined our connection once. When we were young, she always called the shots. I wouldn’t want that to be any different now.

Riley rises up on her tiptoes, her small hand blazing like a white-hot brand into my chest. She touches her lips to mine – soft and slow for a moment before she grabs the front of my shirt and drags me into her. She’s kissing me like her life depends on it, aching and furious.

I let out a groan and take her waist into my hands, tilting her deeper against my body. She tastes exactly like I remember – floral with a bit of spice. I nip at her lip, biting it lightly as Riley lets out a soft moan that sends shudders down my spine. She wraps her arm around me, pulling the hair at the base of my neck as she wraps her tongue against mine.

I break away and drag my teeth down the side of her caramel neck as she breathes in sharply. Her fingers tighten their grip around my bicep and my neck, her hot pink nails pressing into the flesh. I clamp my lips around her soft flesh and suck lightly, curious if this is still a favorite, sensitive spot for her. Riley gasps and arches back, her hips bucking into mine. I didn’t think it was possible to be harder than I already am, but the sight of her makes me stiffen even more against my tight jeans.

My hands slip down from her waist to her ample ass, and I grab soft handfuls of both cheeks as I pick her up and place her on the oak table. Her wrap dress has come slightly undone in the front, exposing her round, perfect breasts. I take in the flush of her neck and the top of her cleavage as she rips my leather jacket off of my shoulders with gusto, launching it into a corner.

Her legs are wrapped so tightly around my body, I feel like I might combust into a billion pieces. She squeezes me between her thighs, the silk of her underwear creating delicious friction against my cock as it strains against thick denim. Waves of pleasure shoot through my body.

My fingers find the tie of her dress and I unravel her further as she fumbles with the buttons on my shirt. She leans back on her elbows as I hungrily push the cup of her bra down and run my thumb lightly over her nipple. Riley throws her head back and whimpers, her eyes glowing neon green with want.

I take her into my mouth and dart my tongue over her nipple until it rises to a hardened peak. Riley’s gorgeous mouth comes open as her legs involuntarily fall open and her dress rides up higher. She looks like a Renaissance painting, lush and beautiful as I alternate left and right, sucking hard as she bucks beneath me.

She reaches for my zipper, pulling it down forcefully as my body jerks beneath her. “Take your pants off,” she orders, fixing me with a trademark steely glare that is the sexiest thing I have ever seen.

She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I pull my jeans off and fling them into the same corner as my other pieces of clothing, now stark naked as the cold air hits my ass. Riley’s hand creates a vise around my shaft as she twists and pulls, the moisture between us beading as she moves one hand over another in a never-ending wave of pleasure. I gasp as my eyes screw shut from the sensation. When I force them open so I can look at Riley, she’s still staring at me with a confident command and a slight smirk that lights me on fire.

“I think it’s time we leveled the playing field a bit,” I say. With a final flourish, I pull Riley’s dress completely off of her body. A gorgeous flush covers her from head to toe, and I growl as I pick her up and scoot her further back on the table. She sighs happily as I bury my head between her breasts and leave a trail of kisses on her chest. I travel my way down to the plush softness of her belly, grabbing her right leg and hooking it over my shoulder.

I thumb the mound of Riley’s clit through her underwear and she lets out a primal groan as it starts to soak through. “Oh god.” My body feels like it’s turning into a supernova, buzzing with the vibration of her voice. In one fell swoop, I pull her panties off and run a finger slowly but firmly from the front to the back of her slit. Her pussy is slick with desire, and it feels incredible: warm, soft, and deep.

Riley arches her back and whimpers. “How does that feel?” I grab her left hip with my hand and brace myself between her thighs.

“Incredible,” she responds. The breathy hoarseness in her voice grabs me and I can feel the tips of my ears burning. “Keep going,” she commands. Her unequivocal command is so incredibly hot. The way she knows exactly what she wants and asks for it.

I lap at her with my tongue and Riley yells out, shaking slightly as she stays propped up on her elbows. Slowly, I explore her, tracing patterns as she whines and bucks her hips around my mouth. I find the bud of her clit and blow on it, then lick it with a few quick darts. I can feel it blossom and swell as she gets more and more aroused.

“Holy fuck, Alex.” Riley gasps, grabbing the top of my hair and pulling wildly. I look up, the taste of her still on my lips.

Facing her like this as she lays back with her legs bent open, so beautiful and perfect, I’m momentarily dizzy with doubt. Are we doing the right thing? I want this so badly, but I also worry that this is just going to be another aspect of our relationship that she’ll come to regret. I can’t bear the thought of bringing chaos to her life yet again.

Riley notices my slight pause. “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?” she says, out of breath.

“I just want to make sure that all of this is okay. That you actually want this.”

Riley runs her knuckles against my jawline, her green eyes blazing down into mine. She says the words she knows I need to hear. “I want this, Alex.”