Dare Me Forever (9 page)

“You have a big
streak of dirt on your face, Amy,” he said, gently smudging it
away. I looked at the back of my hand. I must have hit it against
some tree on the run because it was covered in mud. And now that mud
was on my face.

Perfect, now sweaty
and
dirty.

“Thank you,” I
said.

Laughter bubbled from
Cat. “You um got some on your chin and nose too,” she added
mischievously. I could feel my face turning hot. I bet it was bright
pink, not only from the exertion but also from embarrassment.

“I like you dirty,”
Ryan said smiling. It was at once sweet and naughty, but it was hard
to know exactly his meaning with the tone of voice he used. Maybe
both. I laughed, and lightly touched his bare chest, as if to push
him away. I couldn’t move my hand--I mean I
could
but I
didn’t want to. His chest was strong and perfectly sculpted. He
must work out all the time. I couldn’t help but start remembering
my dream--the way he was on top of me in my fantasy that morning,
thrusting into me until I exploded with desire.

Cat cleared her throat
and I realized I’d probably had my hand on him longer than was
decent.

“Hands to yourself
now,” Cat admonished. I shot her a wicked glare, but then laughed
as I realized Ryan was chuckling under his breath.

“I was just steadying
myself after that race,” I added, smiling. I could feel the heat
rising to my face again and was happy Ryan wouldn’t be able to see
me blush through the flush of exercise.

“Of course, and I was
happy to help,” he said, looking at me with that twinkle.

Cat cleared her throat.
“I think I’ll wander over there for a minute to, um, meditate.”
She started walking towards the other side of the plateau, to the
beautiful sea view below.

Ryan and I continued to
look at each other. He beamed again, that sweet yet cheeky grin, one
that I couldn’t get enough of.

“Ryan, I’m really
looking forward to tonight.”

He came closer. The
sweat on his chest had dried, and he smelled that amazing mix of
masculinity and deodorant. He leaned in closer and gave me a tender
kiss on the lips. On one hand, I didn’t want him to get too close
since I was still a mess, but on the other, I almost couldn’t stop
myself from jumping on him, wrapping my legs around him and letting
him have me right then, right there. Fortunately, he pulled back
slowly. The dirt that I thought I’d gotten off my face was now
dusting his nose. I laughed.

“What?” he said. I
licked my thumb, and used it to wipe the smudge off his nose. He
grabbed my hand before it left his face, and gently kissed the inside
of my palm and wrist. It was so sensual. I felt myself melt against
him. I wished we were in private.

He put my hand down,
and put his lips to mine.

“Till tonight then,
love,” he said.

He walked me over to
Cat who was sitting in the lotus position, pretending to mediate with
a few overly loud ‘
om’s
. I tapped her on the shoulder and
she sprung up—a little too fast for anyone to believe she had been
deep in meditation.

“Great to meet you
Cat.” Ryan put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “See
you tonight, Amy. I’m going up the next hill.”

We waved goodbye. Cat
whistled low. As he took off at a jog to the next level, Cat turned
to me. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Keep your voice
down.”

“That man isn’t
hot
--he’s beyond classification. You didn’t say he had
those incredible eyes, and what a body.” She slowly exhaled. “Do
you think he has a brother?”

I giggled. At least she
recognized how incredible he was too. It made me feel a little less
crazy. Because seriously, I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind
since I set eyes on him. I didn’t believe in love at first sight,
but this was making me start to doubt that. How else could I explain
this fierce and fireworks connection I felt whenever I saw him? Maybe
it was just lust, but I’d never felt this kind of physical
attraction before, and this was much more than that. I could just
tell.

We turned around and
went back down the path, this time at a brisk walk, and started to
head towards the car. I guess I was chewing on my lip, which is my
telltale sign for worrying besides the babbling, because Cat
reprimanded me. “Stop it, just enjoy this. How often do you meet
someone like him?”

That was exactly what
had me worried. I hadn’t met anyone like him in all my life. It
felt like a rare chance at something unbelievably special. Like a
dare from the universe, telling me to take that leap.

Amy

Ryan picked me up
exactly on time. Just before the clock struck 7:00, I heard a car
driving down my street. The doorbell rang, and hoping not to appear
too eager for the night out, I sauntered towards the front of the
house. After I heard a few more soft raps on the door, I opened it.

“Hi.” I smiled.
Ryan was dressed to the nines in a black suit and a thin paisley tie.
The suit must have been custom made—it fit him so well. I never
thought I would see him look any better than the other times we’d
met, but here he was, proving me wrong again. There was something
about a man in a suit. Although I hadn’t minded seeing him
shirtless either.

“Wow, Amy.” Ryan
paused. I could feel his eyes running over me. “You look amazing.
Thank you so much for coming with me. It might be a bit of a long
evening. These dinners tend to go on and on.” I liked the way he
said my name, the lilting accent plus his deep voice. It made me
think of what it would sound like if he called my name in bed. I
shivered just thinking of it.

Thankfully I’d had
Jamie’s help to pick out this shimmery black number—it made me
feel sexy and since I’d only had half an hour to get ready after I
closed the shop for the day, I was glad I hadn’t had to agonize
about what to wear. Especially after my muddy face and sweaty body
that morning. Ryan seemed to like what he saw, which made it all the
better.

My cell rang--I quickly
looked at the ID. Luke. “Ryan, come in. I just need to answer this
call. I won’t be a minute.” I gestured toward the couch,
encouraging Ryan to take a seat. I hoped everything was okay with my
brother. I walked towards my bedroom. I still needed to put earrings
on, and my heels, but I could talk to Luke at the same time.

“What’s up, Luke?”
I asked.

“Is angry but
intensely sexy businessman there?” he asked in a breathy
sex-operator voice. I giggled. Leave it to my bro to make me sound
like a little girl. I slipped some dangly silver earrings into my
ears.

“Want to come over
Wednesday for dinner?”

“Let me check my busy
social calendar.” He started laughing, but it turned into a cough.

“Are you getting
sick? Do you need me to go get you some medicine from the drugstore?”
I couldn’t help but worry about him.

“No, I’m fine but
thanks,” he added begrudgingly. Have a good time. See you
Wednesday.” I ended the call and hurriedly walked out of the
bedroom. Ryan stood as I came back into the living room,
straightening his jacket.
I guess chivalry isn’t dead.

All of a sudden, I got
this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t been
attracted to someone like this in a long time, if ever. And I didn’t
even really know Ryan. Sure, I’d opened up to him on the beach in
ways that surprised me, and I felt like he really understood me, like
I could even tell him the worst thing I ever did, and I’ve never
told a soul, not even Jamie. But could I dare to let myself fall this
hard if I didn’t know he would be there to catch me?

“I should have
offered you something to drink. Do we have time?”

Ryan looked at his
watch. “I’d love to, but we should probably get going.”

I got my purse and
opened the front door. Ryan stood beside me as I locked it. I could
feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. The night had hardly
begun and I was already thinking what it would feel like to have his
mouth all over my body. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

As we walked to the
car, it was hard not to stare at him. His green eyes, his strong
body, the way he put his hand on the small of my back to lead me to
the car. And what a stunning car. It was dark—hard to tell in the
light if it was black or navy. It was a Mercedes. I’d never driven
in one before, but had heard that they were smooth and perfect. And
that people who drove them were classy, wealthy but not show-offs, as
long as you didn’t think about the price. Opening the passenger
side door, Ryan gently helped me in and I immediately missed the
delicious pressure of his hand against my body, but the seat of the
car was warm and cozy. It must have its own heater. I don’t know
much about cars, but the gorgeous leather seats, and sleek design,
made it pretty clear that this was by far the nicest one I’d ever
been in. Again, I took a deep breath, and looked out the front window
towards my house. It relaxed me to look at my small front garden, the
sunflowers closed for the night but still regal in the evening light.
I could do this. It was a school fundraiser, not a test. I just had
to keep myself cool.

The drive was over
before I knew it. Ryan kept me entertained by telling me stories
about work. It was surprising to see how relaxed he could be. With
his ultra punctual arrival and his business attitude, it was
refreshing to hear that he could actually laugh at himself. He asked
me questions about my design experience and how I decided to put
colors together and patterns. How I developed my “artistic eye.”
I loved his interest in what I did and it reminded me how most of the
guys I’d dated in the past could only ever talk about themselves,
never really giving a shit about what I did. Let alone how I did it.
It was the first time in a long time that I felt listened to, that I
was really heard by a man.

We parked and as we
walked into the school, Ryan grabbed my waist, and put his mouth
close to my ear. Again, I felt his warm breath on my neck and I
shivered. “Maybe we’ll have that drink after dinner’s over?”
he whispered.

I smiled, but didn’t
want him to know how into him I was, and I definitely didn’t want
him to think I was that easily taken. Doing my best parental
impression, I replied “We’ll see how you behave.”

Ryan laughed, picked up
our seating cards, and steered me to our table. They’d made the
gymnasium look beautiful with white Christmas lights and gorgeous
arrangements in the center of each table. As we got closer, I
realized the flowers were actually made by the kids—they’d taken
their own drawings and folded them into gorgeous origami flowers.
Sort of like that blog I’d been reading at the store. How cute and
clever.

Ryan was a good host,
introducing me to people at the table, making sure I was comfortable.
The other people at the table were a mix, some local business owners,
some wealthy couples, school board members, and a few lawyers
interested in local politics. Ryan knew all of them.

After he mentioned my
new store, a woman named Violet told me she was interested in
invitations to her son’s christening, and promised she’d be in
later in the week. The night was already turning out good for
business and I couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like for
pleasure.

As we waited for our
entrees, I felt Ryan’s hand brushing against the side of my leg. At
first it seemed like an accident, but when I didn’t move away, he
rested his hand on my knee, slowly making his way up my thigh. I knew
I should try to stop him, but it felt so good. Slowly, his hand crept
forward. I gasped as his fingers came inches from my black silk
panties.

Just then, Congressman
Richards walked over to our table to say his hellos. Ryan paused in
his advance as he introduced me, but he didn’t move his hand. I put
on the most normal and charming smile I could under the current
circumstances. My thigh tingled where his fingers lay. I didn’t
want Ryan to stop, but I was mortified at the idea of letting out a
moan or doing something else equally embarrassing in front of the
Congressman and the rest of the table. I’d never been one for
secret public nooky, but I had to say, this was really turning me on.

Ryan continued his slow
assault up my thigh as he began speaking to the Congressman. If just
his hand making slow circles on my thigh could feel this powerful, I
couldn’t imagine what kind of future pleasure awaited me.

I’d never done
anything like this before. The most public I’d ever been was once
making-out in a locked room in the library at college. This was
something completely different. I tried hard to look interested in
the men’s conversation, but Ryan’s fingers were gently teasing my
swollen clit through my panties. If I didn’t stop him soon, it
would be impossible to stop myself from coming right there at the
table. Hard.

I put my hand over
his—I was way too close to the edge. I quickly took a gulp of ice
water to calm down and looked up at the two men. Ryan moved his hand
a bit down my leg. He must have known without even looking at me, how
close I’d been to a release. I took a few deep breaths. But just as
soon as I’d steadied myself, I felt Ryan’s fingers gripping my
thigh, marking slow circles on the inside flesh. I took my hand and
firmly stopped his movement. I couldn’t concentrate and I didn’t
want to come off as some dimwitted companion to the others at the
table, or worse, some wacko sex-fiend.

They must know each
other well,
I thought, as Ryan and Richards bypassed the
pleasantries and continued to speak about the development along the
shore. I missed the feel of his hand between my legs, pulsing against
my wet panties. Ryan focused on the jobs the development would bring,
Congressman Richards focused only on the ecological problems of
building on the water line. Sure they were still smiling, but there
seemed to be some major tension underneath what they were saying.