by Gia Riley
Weightless
Copyright © 2015 by Gia Riley
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet without the publisher’s permission and is in violation of the International copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by
Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Interior Design and Formatting by
Christine Borgford, Perfectly Publishable
Weightless
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty- Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Books by Gia Riley
Graduation Day. Late May
“KIPTON KELLER,” THE DEAN ANNOUNCES from the podium atop the stage. It’s a beautiful spring day with a clear blue sky. With no clouds in sight, the trees are swaying in the gentle breeze while friends and family line every inch of the bleachers. Cheers of excitement, claps of elation, and overwhelming pride fill the at capacity football stadium. Graduation day is a day of celebration, but instead of jumping for joy that the love of my life has just received his college degree, I’m petrified. The fear of the unknown coupled with the challenge of surviving a long distance relationship adds a new dynamic to life. One that I’ve never experienced, and pray I’m strong enough to endure.
Time has never been a friend of mine. In fact, I’ve loathed it more times than I care to count. When every precious second of my life has been spent begging for something better, something more, I dread the thought of my newfound freedom being taken away from me in the blink of an eye. It’s happened in the past, which means it can happen again.
I’ve never had complete control over my own emotions with either Dean or Blaine playing the role of a master puppeteer, often keeping happiness far enough out of reach that I stopped wishing for it. I never thought I deserved it—until now.
We all make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean I’m a mistake.
Since being released from the hospital, I’ve held my second chance at happiness close to my heart, where I can try to keep it safe. The moment I signed my name to the release papers, I pressed a reset button on my future opening up a whole new world of possibilities. For once, I’m in control of my own destiny.
Surrounded by a positive support system, no longer do I need to rely on two worthless parents. Instead, I have a father who wants to be in my life for all the right reasons, and a boyfriend who wants nothing more than to see me happy. Without both of them, I might still be stuck in a shitty motel along the highway—a pathetic college drop-out working late shifts at a diner to survive. But that’s not reality anymore, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
So, as I sit here on this hard, metal bleacher, lost in thought about how far I’ve come, and where I’m headed, I choose to focus on all that could go right instead of all that may go wrong.
Lynn, Kipton’s mom, gives my hand a reassuring squeeze the same time Kipton shakes the Dean’s hand. His smile stretches ear to ear as his tassel is lifted from one side of his cap to the other. It’s the ceremonious gesture of his college journey coming to a close—a moment he’s worked his whole life for.
Much like this fresh spring day, graduation is a new awakening—a new beginning. And herein is where my fear lies. Kipton’s first step into adulthood is happening without me. His fresh start comes with a new address, a new job, and a future he’s ready to start building.
Without me.
August, three months later
IT’S BEEN THE BEST SUMMER of my life and I have to say good-bye to it tomorrow morning. For the first time, I got to experience what it’s like to live in a house with happiness. The only arguing over the past three months has been Kipton and Cara going at it about which movie to watch. They even fought over me a few times, but compared to the shouting matches I grew up with, it’s tame in comparison. Nobody slammed their fist through the wall or knocked a door off its hinges. I didn’t have to hide in my closet, nor did I ever pray my life would change. I’ve had it all and then some.
Though my relationship with my dad has improved, I wasn’t ready to spend an entire summer at his house. Going back to Ashland was also out of the question. Thanks to the entire Keller family, I’ve slept in a warm bed with a roof over my head every night this summer. I’ll never be able to repay them for their kindness, but then again acceptance doesn’t come with a price tag. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.
“Have I told you how sexy you look in this bikini?” Kipton whispers in my ear.
I smile, melting into the warmth of his strong arms as he embraces me from behind. “You might have mentioned it once or twice this summer.”
“Only once or twice?” he questions as he peppers my neck with soft kisses. “Then let me remind you.”
His hand begins a slow descent down my side, over my hip, and finally rests on the curve of my ass. He squeezes me in his hand while pulling me tight against his warm, tanned chest. I moan in appreciation because nothing gets me more excited than Kipton.
“Does that feel good?”
I nod my head. He doesn’t even need to ask. From the way my legs are buckling from the roaming of his hands, it’s clear how much I’m enjoying him.
“Is that a yes?”
But he needs my words as confirmation, and who am I to ever deny him. “It’s definitely a yes.”
“What are you doing out here all by yourself?” His breath tickles my cheek ever so slightly. It’s enough sensation to give me chills.
His wandering hands make it hard to concentrate on his words, but I steady my needy voice enough to answer him. There’s nothing he loves more than getting me worked up. “I figured your friends would be here soon. I wanted to make sure the umbrellas around the pool were opened.”
He pauses, but I don’t want him to stop touching me yet. “You know they’re your friends too. Not just mine.” Though his hands still, his lips have taken over. Slowly, they leave a trail of light kisses from my neck all the way up to my ear. His tongue flicks the lobe before his teeth gently nip at the skin. It’s eighty five degrees outside, yet his tongue creates goose bumps over every inch of my sun kissed skin.
The
tiny bit of control I had two minutes ago disappears. “Mhmm,” is the only response I’m capable of. My eyelids flutter shut from the pleasure he’s sending throughout my entire body from head to toe. I’ll never be immune to the way he touches me, but when his strong hand reaches up to cup my breast, I gasp in surprise. “Kipton, we’re outside,” I remind him. He doesn’t seem to care as the slow journey of his fingertips continue. The lower they go, the harder it is to remember the warning I gave him moments ago. Slowly, his thumb and index finger sneak under the thin fabric of my bikini top to pinch my hardened nipple. “Kipton,” I moan. I should care we’re in plain sight, but I don’t. Not when he has the power to bring me to my knees from one simple touch.
“Do you like that, beautiful?” His voice is low and deep—the promise of sex lingering in the humid afternoon air.
“God, yes.” With a mind of its own, I rub my ass against his hard body. His own appreciative groan reverberates against my skin, his hardness pushing against my lower back.
Lightly skimming his fingers over my belly button, he inches even lower to the top of my bikini bottoms. Two of his fingers dance beneath the waistline. My knees threaten to give out, but he’s holding onto me so tightly, I would never fall. “I’ve got you, beautiful girl.”
He has me completely.
His ministrations continue, his fingers bringing me even closer to the edge. I want to shout out how amazing he’s making me feel, but I hold back. Too afraid of being seen or heard, I keep my mouth closed as I concentrate on Kipton while he whispers dirty suggestions in my ear. As I hold onto his shoulders, he picks me up. Suddenly, the two of us are moving across the patio with my body wrapped around his. Within seconds, we’re tucked away next to the pool house where Kipton continues his seduction.
“Let me hear you, Sophie.”
Again I hesitate, but I have no choice when he backs me against the pool house wall. The cool cement is rough against my back, but not uncomfortable. In fact, it gives him the leverage he needs to push his fingers even deeper. “Kipton, shit.”
“That’s my girl,” he praises. “Nobody can see how sexy you look right now. It’s just the two of us. I could never share you.” Playing with the strings holding my bottoms together, he tugs gently, the teal fabric easily falls away from my hip. The warm summer breeze brushes against my exposed skin. The combination of everything is intoxicating, and I sink my teeth into Kipton’s bicep to keep quiet. “Shit, baby.”
At first I worry I hurt him, but he doesn’t even flinch. Instead, he picks up his pace making me forget I ever did it. But I want more than this—I want all of him. And I want it now. “Can we go inside, do we have time?” Instead of answering, Kipton silences me with his mouth.
“Kippy, can you help me with these rafts?” Cara shouts from inside the pool house. When Kipton doesn’t answer, she opens the pool house window next to us. “Kip.”
Her voice is close—too close. I break away from Kipton’s kiss, startled by the possibility of being caught with my legs wrapped around Kipton, and my bathing suit dangling from my hip. I wiggle in his arms, hoping he’ll put me down, but he doesn’t. He keeps me pressed up against the pool house. “I thought you said we were alone?” I whisper.
“We were. Just stay quiet. Maybe she’ll go away.”
“Kippy! Where did you—oh hell.” Cara hangs her head out the window, her long hair falling into the dirt of one of the flower boxes attached to the outside of the window. It doesn’t faze her, or make her move an inch.
Kipton and I stay still, the rise and fall of our chests the only movement our bodies make. That is until Kipton wiggles his fingers, and I smack him. “Stop it.”
He laughs, not even the least bit fazed that we’re about to get caught. But he’s the type of guy that would rather get a reaction out of me than listen. So of course he does it again.
“Will you two please stop screwing and help me out before our guests get here.” Cara asks with her head hanging out the window. So much for her going away.
Now that we’ve been spotted, Kipton stops. “Ugh,” he groans in annoyance as he rests his head on my shoulder. “She has the worst fucking timing.”
“That’s Cara for ya.” I drop my legs from Kipton’s waist and search for the ground with my toes. Reluctantly, he lets me stand on my own two feet, his pupils still dilated despite the bucket of cold water splashed all over our moment.
Using Kipton’s body to shield my half naked one, I reach for the strings dangling from my opened bikini, tying them securely.
“Maybe you should double knot that.”
I finish tying the simple bow, making sure everything is in the right spot. “Why?”
“Because now that I know how easy it is to get open, I’ll be tempted to do it again.”
“You won’t.”
“You sure about that?”
I know better than to challenge him. He loves to prove me wrong, especially when it comes to getting me naked. I want to answer him with a confident, “yes,” but I can’t. He would do it, and I know it. “Please don’t?” I question with uncertainty written all over my face.
Kipton chuckles at my embarrassment and rubs his hands soothingly up and down my back. “Don’t worry. We’ll finish this later,” he promises as he kisses the top of my head. Every time he does it, it’s like the first time all over again. I still get butterflies—and I know I’m completely cherished the second his lips come in contact with the strands of my blond hair.
“Okay.”
Reluctantly, he leaves me standing next to the pool house to help Cara with the rafts. I watch Kipton’s muscular back as he walks away, the reality of tonight being our last night together slamming into me like a brick wall. In the morning, I’ll be leaving for my senior year at the University of Alabama—without him.
Living together this summer, we’ve been spoiled with late night cuddle sessions followed by marathon sexcapades that left us passed out until long after the sun rose. Even then, it was hard to get out of a warm bed after being wrapped up in his arms all night long. To say going from seeing him constantly to only on the weekends will be a huge adjustment, is the understatement of the century.
Two hours doesn’t seem like that much of a separation, but combined with our busy schedules, it’s going to be just long enough to make going back and forth impossible. Instead, we’ll have to reserve our time together, saving it for weekends without distractions or interruptions. Because without a doubt, I’ll need every minute alone with my guy.
If there’s anyone who knows how to make long distance work, it’s Cara. She’s thrilled to be heading back into the same zip code as Drew after a summer apart. They only got to see each other twice over the summer break because of the distance. Drew lives two states away, and has been working as an intern all summer long. It didn’t leave much time for Cara, and although she was a good sport about it, never complaining about his job, it was tough on her emotionally. Especially having to watch me spend time with Kipton.
And now here we all are. The last day of break with the tables turning. This time, I’ll be the girl without her guy—and it starts tomorrow.
“That’s the last of the pool shit, Cara.”
“Thanks, Kippy,” Cara yells from the other end of the deck.
After tossing the last raft into the water, Kipton joins me on the steps of the pool where I’m sitting with my feet soaking. Staring aimlessly at my toes under the surface, my mind runs through a series of depressing scenarios about how much I’ll miss him. We’ve never been apart for more than three days, even over breaks. Other than Cara, he’s all I have.
“Hey, you okay?”
When I don’t answer, Kipton sits next to me, dipping his head to look into my glassy eyes. I try to cover my sadness with a smile, but I’m not fooling him. He’s told me a million times how I carry my emotions on my sleeve. But not today. Today, I’m determined to have fun during our farewell pool party. “Yep. I’m good.”
It’s go
ing to take more convincing, but for now, he lets me slide with my shitty attempt at covering up my emotions.
“Everyone’s almost here. We’re starting up a game of water basketball. Wanna play?”
Lost in my only little world, I hadn’t noticed the cars filling up the driveway. “I think I’ll just float around on a raft for a while—work on my tan one last day.”
Kipton smiles, seemingly happy that I’m not going to sit here sulking all day. “Okay, in you go, then.” He slides his arm under my legs, and wraps the other around my back. No doubt, he’s going to throw me in.
“Wait! You know the rules. We jump together.” He knows how much I hate the shock of being thrown into the freezing water or trying to walk in while dancing around on my tippy toes. I’m too short to try to wade in slowly.
“Then you better hurry,” he warns. “Or I’ll be left with no other choice.”
I hurry over where it’s deeper, holding out my hand for him to grab onto. On the count of three, we cannonball into the pool together. Kipton pops up next to me, his arm immediately around me so I don’t have to tread water. Six feet is no problem for him, but for me, it’s well over my head.
With my legs, I latch onto his torso, but stay low enough to adjust my top without giving anyone else a show. Once I’m settled, I kiss his cheek and wrap my arms around his neck. “Thanks, babe.”
“I like you wet.”
“Stop,” I giggle. “We still aren’t alone, you know.”
“Then you better be ready for when we are.”
“Always.”
I unwrap my legs from his waist and swim to my favorite lounge raft. There’s room for two on it, and I’ve spent many hours this summer talking about everything imaginable with both Cara and Kipton.
Getting onto it proves to be a challenge—one I’ve yet to master this summer no matter how hard I try. Missing the first time, I grow frustrated. Twice more I fall off before strong hands grip my ass from below the water and toss me on top effortlessly. Relieved the struggle is over, I smile as Kipton’s head pops out of the water next to me.
“Sometimes I forget how tiny you are. You good?”
