Chapter 30 (7/16/16)

After my busy weekend and my dance class Monday night, I was expecting to enjoy a nice quiet, relaxing night home alone Tuesday after work.  Instead, after eating dinner, I found myself crabby and restless.  I read for a little while, then turned on the TV, but when I couldn’t settle on something to watch, I pulled out my phone.  “What are you up to?”  I sent the text before I could think too hard about it.

Seconds later, my phone started to ring.  “Hello?” I answered.

“I’m cleaning my kitchen, but I’m guessing you care less about what I’m up to right now and more about if I’m free for the rest of the evening.”  I could hear water running in the background over Ryan’s voice.

“Why couldn’t you just text me back like a normal person?” I asked him.

He chuckled.  “I hate texting,” he replied.

“Well I hate talking on the phone,” I argued.

“Okay, then how about this?  You text me, I’ll call you and respond, then I’ll hang up, and you can text your response.”

“That’s a terrible idea.  Forget it.  Anyway, yeah, you’re right.  I’m far more interested in your plans for the rest of the night.  If you’re free, you should come over.”

“I’m free as soon as I finish with my kitchen.  Give me a half hour, 45 minutes.  Sound good?” 

“Sounds good,” I confirmed.  After we hung up I sent him my address then hurried upstairs.  After picking up the random dirty clothes and things laying around the room and tossing them into the laundry basket in my closet, I jumped in the shower and quickly shaved my legs.  

After my shower I pulled on a clean pair of leggings and t-shirt.  I didn’t anticipate having clothes on for very long, so I didn’t even bother trying to dress cute.   I did make my bed, though, because it seemed like a good thing to do.

I was just finishing tidying up my room when I heard Ryan’s knock on the door.  I trotted down the stairs and unlocked the front door, pulling it open for him.  He’d gone super casual too, in basketball shorts and a hoodie.  “Hi,” he said, looking around curiously. 

“Do you want a tour?” I asked, laughing. 

“Yeah, actually,” he replied.  “This place is way nicer than I was expecting with the neighborhood.”  I sighed and rolled my eyes and he said, “I take it you get that a lot.” 

“How’d you guess?” I asked sarcastically, leading him towards the kitchen.  “This part of the neighborhood is actually super quiet.”

“I apologize for insulting your neighborhood,” he said, raising an eyebrow at me.  “I didn’t know it was such a sore spot.” 

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. 

He shrugged and leaned against the counter in the kitchen.  “Don’t apologize.” 

I smirked.  “Too late for that,” I said.  He laughed, and just like that we moved back to a light mood.  “Sooo this is my kitchen,” I said, gesturing around me.  “I know you’ve probably never seen such a wonderful kitchen before.”

“It’s a very nice kitchen,” he agreed, chuckling.  “Do you cook in it?”

“I do, actually.  I’m probably not quite as talented as you are in the kitchen, but no one has ever turned their nose up at my cooking.”

“Hmm, good to know,” he said.  “Do you mind if I ask if you rent or own?”

“Own,” I replied.  “As of February, so I haven’t been here long.” 

He took one last look around and then straightened. “Anything fun downstairs?”

“An unfinished basement, washer, dryer, and a water heater,” I said.  “An electric water heater.  I will never forget that.”
            Ryan laughed.  “The joys of being a home owner, huh? I don’t even need to know the story to be able to imagine.” 

“Well, I guess all that’s left is upstairs,” I informed him.  I started past him to take him upstairs to continue the tour.

As I walked past him, he smacked my ass.  “I like these leggings,” he said, winking at me when I turned to glare at him. 

“I’m sure you’ll like taking them off even more,” I retorted.

“I won’t get to if you don’t wrap this tour up sometime tonight,” he said, cocking an eyebrow. 

“You’re the one that wanted it!” I said indignantly as I started up the stairs.

“Well, I can’t argue that.”

“I was starting to think you could argue anything,” I replied.  I pushed open the door to my second bedroom, flipped on the light, then turned it off and pulled the door shut again.  “So that’s that, and this is a bathroom.” I motioned at the bathroom and then walked into my room.  I turned on the light as I walked in and said, “And this is—“ but as I turned towards Ryan he effectively silenced me with his lips on mine.  His hands pushed into my hair, tipping my head up towards his, and my hands instinctively went to his chest. 

Pulling away, he said, “You were totally going to say that this is where the magic happens, right?”

I laughed and rested my head against his shoulder.  “Absolutely,” I replied.  “I mean, no real magic has happened in here yet, but we can change that.”

“Challenge accepted,” Ryan said with a grin.  Then he reached down and picked me up, carrying me the two steps to the bed.  He turned and sat on the edge of the bed with me on his lap.  I wrapped my legs around his back for balance as I leaned back slightly to pull off my shirt and bra. 

“Let’s not dilly dally this time, alright?” I said as he nipped at my neck.

He stopped and laughed.  “Dilly dally?  Are you 80?”

“I can pretend to be, if you’re into that,” I replied, smirking at him.

Ryan fell backwards on the bed laughing and pushed me off of him.  I rolled to the side and pushed myself up on one elbow, watching him.  “I’m not into that,” he said, once he had regained control.  He rolled over so he was on top of me.  “But give me a couple minutes and I’ll be into you.”

Now it was my turn to laugh.  I giggled as he kissed my neck, getting more aggressive with his mouth as he moved downward.  “Mmm, I’m looking forward to that,” I said. 

“Me too,” he said, his breath hot on my stomach as he tugged at my leggings.  I happily lifted my hips to assist him.  “No underwear…convenient.  It’s like you knew you’d be getting some tonight.”

“How about you shut up and put that mouth to a more productive—ohhh…” He cut off my bossy suggestion with exactly what I wanted: his tongue against my skin.  He got me off skillfully and quickly, and had a condom out and on before I even stopped shaking. 

“Flip over,” he said, running his hands up my legs to my hips.

“Huh?” I replied, still a little out of it.  I’m pretty sure my brain shuts down completely after an orgasm.

He laughed, grabbed me by the hips, and flipped me onto my stomach with ease.  He leaned forward over my back, trailing kisses and nips up my spine.  When he got to my neck he said, “No dilly dallying, right?” I nodded and he pushed hard into me, making me cry out in surprise and pleasure.  He fucked me hard, kissing and biting my shoulder and neck as he slammed into me over and over.  I came twice more before he finally tensed, groaned, and shuddered as he finished.

He stayed on top of me for several seconds, his rapid breaths warm against my shoulder as I lay dazed and satisfied across the bed.  Ryan finally rolled away from me and got up briefly.  When he laid back down next to me, he rubbed one hand across my back.  “Gross, you’re all sweaty,” he said, laughing.

“So are you, asshole,” I mumbled, my face still half-pressed into the bed and turned away from him. 

“Of course I am,” he replied matter-of-factly.  “I did all the work.”

I finally lifted my head and rolled onto my side so I could give him a dirty look.  “It’s not like you gave me much of a chance to do anything useful,” I retorted. 

            He smirked at me.  “You were plenty useful.”

            “You’re disgusting,” I told him. 

            “You don’t seem to mind,” he replied lightly, grinning.  His eyes sparkled the way they always seemed to when he was teasing me, and despite my best efforts, the corners of my lips turned up to match his.  “Now that’s what I like to see after a job well done,” he said, pulling me towards him.  It still surprised me that a man who wanted nothing to do with a relationship and was so cocky wanted to cuddle after sex.  I didn’t mind though, and I settled my head against his chest and closed my eyes as he dragged his fingertips up and down my spine.  It didn’t matter if I fell asleep tonight, since he would still be free to leave. I couldn’t quite get comfortable, though, and I sighed heavily while I shifted around.

            “What’s the deal?” Ryan asked, moving his arm so I could move more freely.

            “Your chest is too high for my head and it’s not comfortable,” I complained.  I rolled onto my side and he followed, wrapping his arm around me again.

            “Better?” he asked, once I got settled.  I nodded, then pulled my hair together and slid it under my neck, away from his face.  Having a bunch of hair in your face while you’re cuddling seems like it would suck.  “That was considerate,” he said, chuckling. 

            But within a couple minutes I was wiggling and shifting again.  “Do you want me to go?” Ryan asked.

            “I should sleep,” I said, not really answering his question.  He rolled away and sat up, and I stayed where I was until I could hear him pulling his shorts on.  Then I sat up and started pulling my clothes back on too. 

            “Hey,” he said gently, pushing my hair out of my face and behind my ear, then using just the slightest pressure on my jaw to lift my face towards his.  “Is everything okay?”

            “Sorry, I guess I’m a little cranky tonight.  It has nothing to do with you,” I assured him.  “In fact, believe it or not, I’m quite a bit less cranky now than I was before you came over.”

            He smiled wryly and said, “I do believe it, considering I thought you might kick me out for commenting on your neighborhood.”  I blushed and he laughed softly.  I was surprised when he sat down next to me on the edge of the bed.  “Let me guess,” he said, pretending to think hard.  “Work woes.”

            I cocked an eyebrow and laughed.  “Don’t ever say ‘woes’ again,” I told him.  “And no, but seriously, I’m fine.  You don’t need to know all my problems.”

            “I do if I don’t want to be insecure that it secretly really does have something to do with me,” he said, smirking.  “Was three orgasms not enough?”

            “God, you’re the worst,” I said, shaking my head.  “It has nothing to do with you.  Or my orgasms, thank you.  I just reconnected with an old friend this weekend that I haven’t seen since my divorce.  She invited me to a cookout this Saturday with some of the people we used to hang out with.  ‘We’ being my ex and I, of course.  I’d love to see everyone but I can’t help but worry that she’s the only one that wants me there.  So it’s been on my mind, that’s all.  Stop being so self-absorbed that you think everything revolves around you and your dick.”

            “If I wasn’t out of here again on Thursday morning, you could take me with you and show them how much better off you are now, then you could dump all their beer, tell them to kiss your ass, and walk out.”  I rolled my eyes and he laughed.  “Seriously, though, I think you should go.  Say hi, feel it out, and if it sucks, then take off.  There’s no reason you have to stay, right?  So what if it pisses them off, if it’s awful enough that you’re taking off fast, then it doesn’t really matter what they think.”

            “Well, I guess so,” I said, skeptical.

            “If you don’t go and you don’t get another invitation, you’ll wonder what could have happened if you went,” he pointed out. 

            I had to admit that was probably true.  I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, but he made an excellent point or two.  He stood and pulled me to my feet.  “Orgasms and advice…what more could you ask for?” he asked, grinning at me.

“For you to get the hell out of here so I can go to bed,” I replied, but I returned his grin.

He laughed and kissed me softly on the lips.  “Luckily for you, I’m on my way out the door,” he said.  “My trip Thursday is a short one.  I’ll be back early next week.  I’ll give you a call?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied.  I trailed him down the stairs and watched him put on his shoes.  When he turned back to me, he slipped his hand under my hair and tilted my head up, then planted a passionate, sensual kiss on my lips.  I was breathless and considering asking him to stay for another round of sex when he pulled away.  I blinked in surprise.

“Something to remember me by,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me suggestively and grinning.  “Good luck on Saturday!”  Then he pulled the door open and left without another word.