Lost In Love | ✔️

12

~Clementine's POV~

In the morning, things were tense between Ryder and I—or more accurately, I was making things tense. Sure, it wasn't intentional but after last night, I didn't know how to behave around him. I couldn't look at him for more than five seconds without recalling the dirty words he'd spoken to me, or thinking of how it felt to have his lips on my neck, and then I'd immediately turn bright pink.

However, I seemed to be the only one feeling this way because Ryder acted the same as always. I couldn't help but to wonder if he even remembered anything that had happened last night, but I didn't want to ask in case he didn't remember. If that were the case, he would probably ask me to tell him what'd happened and I doubted I had the courage to say it to him. Then it crossed my mind that perhaps he did remember it, all of it, and I wasn't sure which idea I disliked more of those two. If he remembered, did he regret saying it? Did he want to pretend like nothing happened?

I curled my legs up with me as I sat on the couch, nibbling on a cracker that I had pulled out of the box of unopened old wheat thins I found in Ryder's pantry. Ryder sat on the opposite end of the couch from me, the TV that sat on the TV stand quietly playing a random show in the background that neither of us were paying any attention to.

The two of us sat in a tense silence for a long time, at least an hour, before Ryder eventually ended up breaking it himself. "Is something wrong?" He asked me, causing me to stop the tapping my fingers were doing on the top of my knee. I glanced his way, not surprised to find that his gaze was already on my face, a frown on his full lips. As much as I didn't want to admit it, even when he looked at me like this, all confused and his lips in a frown, I still found him just as attractive and as kissable as always.

"What do you mean?" I asked, feigning confusion, though of course I knew exactly what he was referring to. After all that had happened last night, there was no way I was unaware as to what he was talking about.

Ryder gave me a flat look, not looking at all convinced by my feigned confusion as he raised his brows. "You know exactly what I mean." He stated. "Ever since we've woken up, you've barely said more than a word to me at a time. Hell, you haven't even been able to look at me for more than ten seconds." He pointed out, frustration and confusion lacing his voice.

I pursed my lips and glanced down at the couch cushions, chewing on the inside of my cheek nervously. "Do you..." My voice came out weak, so I cleared my throat. "Do you remember anything from last night? I know you were really drunk." I said, watching as his face flashed with realization. It was evident to me from that alone that he definitely remembered what had happened. "Yeah, I remember." He affirmed with a nod of his head. "Is that what this is about? You've been really different today." He frowned, furrowing his brows.

"How am I supposed to act normal around you after what you said?" I sputtered, a flush creeping up my neck. His brown eyes trailed over my features and down to my neck, likely recalling the way that he had kissed my skin there just last night. I know I had been recalling it, too.

"Normal." He echoed, letting his eyes flick up to mine again. My body warmed at the look he was giving me, one that told me he didn't at all regret anything he'd said or done, even if he had been drunk. "This is hardly different from our normal, Clementine." He scoffed, causing me to send him an appalled look, a little confused as to what he meant. To me, this was wildly different.

Sensing that I was confused about his words, he gave me a look, raising a brow. "The sexual tension is still here, Tiny. If anything, it's stronger." He said, causing my skin to warm and my stomach to flutter with butterflies. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right. It was stronger, more intense between us, and neither of us could truly deny that. "I know." I agreed softly, lowering my gaze as I shifted on the couch so that I was facing towards him more. "You're just...I don't know what to do with myself around you." I confessed, a little embarrassed to be saying this to him.

However, Ryder seemed to like what I was saying because he shifted closer to me until I could feel the warmth of his body beside mine. He then lifted a hand, brushing his fingertips against my skin as he gripped my chin and tilted my head up towards his. When our eyes met, I noticed that his were slightly hooded as he stared at me.

"Let me show you." He offered, his voice coming out low and huskier than normal. My heart skipped a beat inside my chest as he waited for my response, his muscular arms flexing when he braced his forearm against the back of the couch to lean closer to me. I could feel his breath fanning my lips, just waiting for me to say the word. My breath escaped me in tremors as I peered up into his eyes, giving him a weak nod of my head. "Please." I said softly. "Show me." I whispered.

He didn't waste any time once those words left my mouth. I felt his hand move from my chin to the back of my neck, his long fingers sliding into my dirty blonde hair as he tugged me towards him. Our lips met in a deep kiss, my hands gently grasping onto his biceps, loving the feeling of his muscles beneath my hands. His lips were soft and full, the sensation of his lips working with mine making my heart pound and my fingers tremble. I ended up squeezing his biceps a little tighter, leaning my body into his subconsciously as we kissed.

All of the sudden, I felt his teeth gently nip at my bottom lip, earning a gasp of surprise as my eyes flew open and I pulled away. He grinned, a playful look in his eyes as he pulled me closer, connecting our lips again just as fast as I'd disconnected them. I ended up practically on his lap, my chest brushing his as he gripped my hair tighter with one hand and the other lingered at my lower back.

I felt his teeth nip my lip again and, more prepared for it this time, I hesitantly opened my mouth to let his tongue slip in. A shiver shot up my spine as his tongue brushed against mine, slow and teasing, and when he let out a husky groan I shifted on his lap, a familiar ache growing between my thighs at the noise. The kiss slowly began to grow more rough and needy, a whimper escaping me as he pulled away enough to suck gently on my bottom lip, nipping at it in a playful manner. "Fuck." Ryder muttered breathlessly, his breath coming out in pants as he suddenly grabbed my ass, crushing my entire body against his. My body felt like it was on fire, and when I felt the hardness straining beneath his pants, the throbbing between my thighs intensified.

"Ryder," I whimpered softly as he broke our kiss, instead beginning to trail his lips along my jaw, leading down my neck. He gently bit at a spot a little below my earlobe, sucking on it as he squeezed large handfuls of my backside, jiggling it in his hands. I could hardly handle the need pooling between my thighs, even more so when I felt his tongue on my skin, lapping at the spot he'd been sucking on.

After a moment, he pulled away from me, his hooded eyes dark with lust as he breathed heavily. I did the same, continuing to sit on his lap, just watching his face when he leaned his head back against the couch.

"Is everything okay?" I whispered, smoothing my hands over his broad, hard chest. He nodded his head, large hands still gripping my butt. "Yeah. Fuck yeah, but I can't go any further than this. I want you too much and I know it's too soon for you." He muttered, letting his eyes flutter shut. I couldn't help but to smile to myself, finding it sweet that he was trying to respect me, to make me comfortable.

I leaned forward and gently kissed him one last time before I rose from his lap, finding that my legs were a little bit shaky when I stood on my feet. He just stared up at me from where he sat, his long, muscular legs spread a little as he watched me smooth down my hair. "You look good when you're all flushed from me kissing you." Ryder said suddenly, causing my heart to flutter. "You're such a flatterer." I responded softly, making sure to fix my skirt so not too much of my thigh was exposed from the slit of the skirt.

He just grinned, raking his eyes up the length of my body. "I'm an honest man." He corrected, a sparkle in his gaze.