When Ryder pulled back, Andrew struggled to catch his breath. At some point during the kiss, his arms had wrapped around Ryder’s shoulders and pulled him closer, and Ryder’s arms were slipped around his waist.
“We have to go back before they miss us,” Andrew whispered between kisses.
“I know.” Leaning close to Andrew’s ear, Ryder whispered, “Come back to my place tonight.”
Andrew reached up and brushed a hand against his forehead, brushing away a droplet of sweat and nodded. His heart pounded and blood raced through his body, making it hard for him to think clearly. Back to Ryder’s place tonight. Images flashed through his mind, none staying long enough for him to grasp fully, but the intent in them was clear enough. Andrew found it suddenly harder to breathe and his palms tingled. His closed his fingers, making a tight fist to dig his nails into his sensitive skin and fight off the sensation. Ryder must have noticed because his lips suddenly quirked up in a smile. Those green eyes caught the little light there was and reflected back at Andrew.
Before Ryder could say anything more, Andrew pulled him back for another kiss, pushed him away, then hurried back toward the cafeteria.
*
Karina saw Andrew and waved him over, holding a bottle of water out to him. “Here. I got you water. You look like you could use it.”
“Thanks,” he said as he snagged the bottle and took a deep drink from it. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned half his shirt to help cool off. Karina nudged him and pointed.
“Looks like Sarah and Charlie are getting along just fine now.”
He followed her finger and nodded. “They always got along fine before anyway.” He shrugged. The pair stood off in the corner, arms and lips locked on each other.
“Not like that.”
“No, not like that.”
The dance ended at eleven, and the students lingered in the parking lot by their cars. Despite the cold air, they were without their jackets; they were still sweating from all the packed bodies dancing in the enclosed space. Andrew leaned up against his truck where he had parked it next to Ryder’s borrowed car.
“So what are we doing? Going to the diner?” Charlie asked.
“Are you nuts? It’ll be packed,” Andrew said.
“Well, I’ve gotta get Melissa home, so I’m out,” Ryder added.
“And I have a family thing tomorrow morning,” said Karina, making a face. “Can you take me home, Andy?”
“Sure.”
“After you drop her off stop by my place, Andy,” Ryder said, waving as he opened the door for Melissa.
Andrew nodded, trying to act cool though his heart raced. “You set for your ride, Andrea?”
“Yeah, Michael’s going to take me home,” Andrea replied with a wink. She held a finger up to her lips and Andrew nodded. Of course he wouldn’t tell. She stretched and waved to everyone else. Michael waited at his car for her and climbed in as soon as she started toward him.
Andrew slid into the cab next to Karina, tossed the tie between them, and backed out of the parking spot to join the line of cars waiting to leave. Next to him, Karina stayed silent and watched the people passing by the truck. She waved a few times to some of her friends as they passed.
“Thanks for inviting me, Andy. I had a great time,” she said after they pulled out of the lot and turned toward her side of town.
“Me too,” he admitted, smiling. He turned the heat on as soon as the truck had warmed, and they stopped shivering seconds later when the hot air hit them.
“Ahh, that’s better.”
“That’s the one really shitty thing about this truck. That and the radio, or so Ryder says.”
Karina laughed and pointed out a shortcut down one of the service roads that ran through a farmer’s field. “Mr. Jones doesn’t mind us using it. He keeps it plowed in the winter. Just as long as we don’t go off it or race he says we can keep using it,” she said when Andrew hesitated. He turned onto the field and turned his high beams on.
All the lights were off in the house when they pulled up, and no cars were in the driveway. Andrew put the truck in park and waited for Karina to get out, but when she didn’t, he figured she was waiting for him to walk her to the door. He reached out to open his door but her hand on his leg stopped him. He glanced over at her and realized how close she had moved toward him.
“Karina?”
“Shh,” she whispered and stretched up, giving him a soft kiss. Her lips were smooth and warm against his, different from what he’d grown used to in the past weeks. He pulled back and gently pushed her away. “Come inside with me?”
“Karina, I can’t…”
She tilted her head, eyes pinning him with a stare, forcing him to shift uncomfortably.
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer,” he stammered, looking out the window. “It’s just—”
“It’s Ryder, isn’t it?”
“What?” Head snapping around, he turned to look at her and nearly gave himself whiplash in his surprise. He tried to cover his reaction and not panic. “What about Ryder?”
“The reason you won’t come inside. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Inside, Andrew knew he should deny everything, act like it was nothing, maybe look horrified by what she implied, but he couldn’t. He just sat there and stared at her, then looked back out the window.
His silence answered everything. “I figured.” She slid across the seat and pushed the door open.
“What made you ask that?”
Karina turned to him and shut the door again, her smile soft and pleasant. He wondered briefly if it was an act and if he’d suffer the consequences later. Her next words proved that wrong.
“You haven’t been with anyone in over a month—”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Andrew argued.
“I’m not finished. You haven’t been with anyone in over a month and you’re never without a girlfriend. In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve bounced around so often it’s hard to keep up with you. You’re always hanging out with him—”
“I always hang out with Charlie, too.”
Karina sighed and leveled a glare at him. “Can I finish, please?”
“Sorry.”
“Thank you. There’s that, and the way he always has to touch you. The way he looks at you and the way you look at him. I don’t think you even realize what you’re doing. You’re completely unaware of yourself. When you left the dance for a few minutes with him, you came back and acted all jumpy.”
“Just from all that you figured it out?”
“It was a hunch, and I see the two of you every day in class. I figured you were different a long time ago, anyway. You never act comfortable with your flavor of the week. I guess you hadn’t found what you’d wanted because you were looking in all the wrong places, huh?”
Andrew nodded, staring straight out the windshield. “I guess you’re right, but I didn’t know. I mean Ryder’s the first! I didn’t even think…” He trailed off.
She smiled again and patted his arm. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Don’t worry about it. You’re not too obvious. I only noticed because I have the eyes of a hawk and see everything.” She tapped the side of her face for emphasis and scrunched up her eyes and nose.
Andrew chuckled softly and she winked and closed the distance between them again and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks again, Andy.”
The car door opened and admitted a blast of cold air. She shivered violently in her jacket and turned back to him one more time. “And don’t you dare back out on whatever Ryder offers you tonight just because I know about you two. I’ll ask him, and if he says nothing happened, I’ll kick your ass.” Karina shut the door and made her way to her porch. Once she was inside with the door shut and the lights on, Andrew backed out of the driveway and headed for Ryder’s house.
Twice he nearly lost his nerve and turned around to go home, but something Karina had said changed his mind, and he kept on drivin
g. She knows and she isn’t freaked out by it. She knows and I don’t feel as bad as I thought I would. And she’s not going to tell a single person. He smiled and pressed his foot a little harder on the gas. He felt good, relieved almost, to have someone know his and Ryder’s secret. And though he was nervous about what—if anything—would happen tonight, Ryder waited for him.
Chapter Sixteen
Ryder had the door open for Andrew before he had to knock. He looked questioningly at the empty driveway and then back at Ryder.
“Aunt Lisa left a note. Some friend of hers from college is in town and she went out with Uncle Kyle to meet up with her. Said they’d be out until one or so, and to make sure I locked everything up before I went to bed.”
“That seems too perfect for your plans,” muttered Andrew as he pulled off his coat and put it on the rack.
“Okay, so maybe I knew about the friend visiting in advance and that’s why I asked you over,” Ryder amended, looking far from innocent like the sheepish expression he failed to pull off.
“Sneak.” Andrew sat down on the love seat in front of the fire to warm up. Ryder flopped down next to him, slid his arms around his shoulders, and pulled Andrew against him. Andrew let his head fall into place on his shoulder.
Ryder’s lips were soon in his hair, pressing light kisses all over. His long fingers worked into the short locks and brushed them back.
“Karina knows about us.”
The movement of Ryder’s fingers stopped. “Why do you say that?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation. His lips were still against Andrew’s hair and he felt them move when he talked. It felt kind of nice.
“Because she kissed me, and when I didn’t want to go inside with her she flat-out asked if it was because of you.”
“You didn’t deny it?” asked Ryder, surprise coloring his voice.
“I wanted to. But I couldn’t. Besides, she had it figured out. I don’t think she would have believed me if I had said no.” He paused. “Are you upset? She promised she wouldn’t tell anyone,” he said, rambling on nervously. His stomach flip-flopped inside.
Ryder’s laughter came softly and he shook his head. “No, I’m not upset. Just surprised. And a little relieved. Was she okay with it?”
“Yeah. Seemed it. I think she knows about tonight,” he added, keeping what she said to himself.
“You don’t want to leave, do you? Because she knows? We don’t really have to do anything if you’re not comfortable…”
“I’m okay. I don’t want to. Leave, I mean. I don’t want to leave,” he corrected. The warmth of Ryder’s arm left his shoulders and he looked up at him. Ryder took his hand and pulled him up.
Their bodies were close, and Andrew felt a small tremor run through his body. Sure, he’d had sex plenty of times, but never with a guy. He felt nervous, but the thought of something new excited him, and his body reacted to it. He couldn’t help but feel smug when he realized Ryder’s body reacted as well. He’d never been able to tell if his girlfriends really enjoyed being with him or faked it. With Ryder he wouldn’t have to question it.
Ryder backed them up toward the stairs, and then turned and walked up with him. Andrew followed, glancing down at the front door briefly. Once in the room, Ryder shut the door behind them and locked it. Just in case.
Before Andrew had time to argue, Ryder had him backing up toward the bed, and when his knees caught on the edge, Andrew toppled over onto it. He yelped in surprise as he fell back.
“Cute,” Ryder teased, and dropped onto the bed next to him.
Any protest from Andrew was cut off as their lips met. Ryder’s hands slid to his waist and up the back of his shirt and the tee he wore under it. He made a small noise of frustration when his hands got caught up in the material. Moving his hand, he rolled them over and sat up on Andrew’s hips. Fingers deftly undid buttons and pushed the shirt open.
Ryder tugged his own shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. Andrew’s eyes raked down his smooth chest, down to his hard stomach and the thin line of hair that trailed down past the waistband of his pants.
“Sit up,” Ryder commanded, his voice gone husky. Andrew did and helped pull both of his shirts off. They landed somewhere on the floor near Ryder’s.
It was Andrew’s turn to be impatient, and he roughly pulled Ryder’s face down for a hard, bruising kiss. He shifted and managed to spill Ryder onto the bed beneath him and straddled his hips. His hands ran over his smooth torso, eliciting a small groan from Ryder. Andrew allowed his hands roam toward the belt, but Ryder stopped him. He looked up, blinking in confusion.
“What are you doing?” Ryder demanded.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” replied Andrew, hesitating.
Ryder laughed softly and sat up, pushing his hands away. “I think you’ve got this backward here.”
“But I thought we…aren’t we going to have sex?”
“Yes, we are. But you’ve got it backward.”
“Huh?” Andrew let himself be pushed back onto the bed. What does he mean by that? It can’t be that different from sleeping with a girl.
“We’re doing this my way since it’s your first time.”
Realization dawned on him and Andrew flushed scarlet. He watched as Ryder’s hands removed his belt. He watched him, just lying there, excited as before but with a bit of apprehension mingled in.
When Ryder leaned over him and reached into the drawer in the nightstand, he knew what to expect. He’d been down this path before with his girlfriends. He swallowed nervously, heart pounding in his chest, ready to burst. His whole body tensed and he shivered suddenly.
He closed his eyes and felt Ryder above him. When a soft voice encouraged him to open them, he did, though just a crack. Ryder smiled and captured his lips in a gentle kiss.
“Just relax,” Ryder murmured against him. “Relax and let go.”
Chapter Seventeen
Andrew lay in the bed with Ryder, dressed in a pair of his sweatpants. They were too big on him and hung off his slim hips when he stood. Ryder’s chest felt warm against his back, and he could feel his steady breathing. The arm draped over his hips twitched every so often and tickled against his skin. He wanted to get out of the bed and stretch, but didn’t want to wake Ryder when he did.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he eventually drifted off to sleep. When he woke again, the sky outside the window had just started to lighten, and the breathing against his back had changed.
“Morning,” Ryder murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. Andrew shivered and closed his eyes.
“Morning.”
“How are you feeling?”
Andrew took a few moments to assess how he felt from his position on his side and finally responded, “Fine.”
“Really?” Ryder propped himself up and peered over Andrew’s shoulder at him. The heat across his face exposed his discomfort. “I think you’re a terrible liar.” Andrew swatted at him, but Ryder dodged and climbed out of the bed. Andrew kept his focus on the wall and heard the door open and click shut as Ryder left. A minute later he heard water rush through the pipes as the shower started.
Memories from the night before started to surface and he felt the urge to hide under the covers. Pulling them up over his head, he groaned softly.
What the hell do I do now?
He shook his head. They hadn’t heard his aunt and uncle come home, but he knew they must have because the delicious fragrance of roasting coffee drifted up to him. He was lured out by it and almost went downstairs to get some when he stopped himself. All it took was one look at the mirror on Ryder’s wall and he ducked back, embarrassed.
The coffee could wait until after he showered.
*
Ryder let him borrow some clothes and he gratefully accepted. They were a little big on him, but his belt kept them from slipping off. He felt much better after the hot shower, and even more so after drinking a cup of coffee.
Ryder’s u
ncle nodded at him from across the table and winked. “I know that look,” he teased.
Andrew stared at him, startled, and glanced quickly in Ryder’s direction. He didn’t seem to have noticed.
“Uh, what?”
“Heavy partying last night? Feeling a little hungover?”
He could have laughed his relief. “Yeah,” he said with a small smile. “Just a bit.”
“Shouldn’t be drinking at your age. Take it easy today. You boys don’t have anything planned, do you?”
“Nah, maybe go riding a little later, but that’s it.”
“Yeah, and I should get home sometime today. At least call my parents and let them know I’m still alive.” Andrew laughed. “Who knows if Andrea told them I came over here.”
“Actually, they already called,” he said through his coffee. “Apparently she didn’t.”
“Your sister is brilliant, Andy.”
Andrew groaned and let his head drop to the table. “Am I in trouble?”
“Didn’t sound like it. I told them that you were here. They seemed relieved. Maybe you better call and tell them your sister was supposed to let them know.”
“They’ll just say I should have called,” grumbled Andrew, but he pushed himself up for the phone anyway. He stepped out into the hall to make the call and waited for someone on the other end to pick up.
It was his mother.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Andrew! You scared me half to death when you didn’t come home last night! I thought you’d gone to Charlie’s but he said you weren’t there, and—”
“Whoa, Mom! Take it easy! I told Andrea. I thought she was going to tell you.”
“Well, she didn’t. And you should have called.”
“All right. I’m sorry. But I’m fine.”
His mother hesitated on the line, and Andrew waited for the question he knew she would ask. “You weren’t drinking last night, were you?”
“No,” Andrew said, and shook his head though he knew she couldn’t see it. “I swear we weren’t.”
Andy Squared Page 12
