Caramel | Rip Wheeler

Caramel - Chapter Three

Kayce stumbled out from a stall, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry." He walked up as the pair jumped away from each other. "I didn't mean to interrupt." He presented the branding tool in his hand. "I was looking for this."

"Oh, no, sorry." Maria stood up, shaking her head. "We were just talking."

Rip stood up slowly, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. "Just talking." He confirmed calmly.

"Right." Kayce nodded. "Just talking." Truth was, Kayce had been listening to their entire conversation, getting to know Maria without her permission. He walked toward the barn doors without looking at them. "Rip, my father said he needs you to help with the branding."

Rip's face contorted. "I don't know anything 'bout brandin'."

"Well you're gonna learn today." He handed him the cold, black branding iron. "Maria, if you need anything Gator's in the kitchen."

She nodded. "Thank you, Kayce." With that, the two young boys walked away leaving her alone in the barn.

Maria spent the day walking around the areas she knew she couldn't get lost, meeting all the horses and cowboys. They were nice, but they were cowboys. Respectful in their own way, she got along well with a man named Lloyd who spoke to her a bit about Beth and Rips past. "I wouldn't get involved." He would say. "It's more drama than it's worth."

It seemed like a lot of trauma bond. She didn't think too much of it, though. Who was she to get in the middle of a situation she had no control over? Besides, she barely knew Rip.

At the end of the day she found herself in her room. It was dark, the only light coming from the moon outside of the large window that faced directly toward the barns. She was so deep in her thoughts that when a delicate knock came from her door; she jumped and nearly screamed. She put her hand over her heart, catching a couple breaths before finally speaking. "Come in."

The door opened slowly as if the person opening it was being careful enough so no one heard the creaking. In walked Kayce, closing the door smoothly behind him. She offered him a tight-lipped grin and he returned it as he flicked on a lamp to be able to see where he was walking. "Just checking if you need anything before I head to sleep."

She sat up, reaching for a pillow to sit it in her lap and cover her exposed legs. "I'm okay. Thank you, Kayce."

He simpered. "Don't mention it." He went to turn around and walk out of the door. She noticed he was fighting with something in his head for a second before stepping a bit closer. "I just wanted to warn you kind of." He gestured to her bed, indicating he wanted to sit. "May I?"

"Go for it." She nodded, pulling her legs into her body to sit criss-crossed.

He began to speak again. "Rip." She hummed to signify she was listening. "He's uh.. he's not what you think he is."

She raised an eyebrow at him, curious as to what he had in mind. "No?"

"I'm not sure what you think he is." He wandered off. "But, I do know that you would never guess."

"Do I even want to know?" She genuinely asked.

"That depends." He shrugged a shoulder slightly. "How do you want to view Rip going forward?"

She hugged her pillow, sighing. "I don't know, Kayce. I thought maybe I could like him or something. Now I'm realizing I was in over my head."

"You're young, Maria.." He trailed off, taking her hand ever so gently. "Beautiful." She hid her face into the pillow in attempt to hide her blushing. "You have so much life ahead of you." He pressed his lips to the back of her hand. She almost pulled her hand away but figured it would be rude, so she left it in his grip.

"Life feels so.. boxy." She exhaled, "I feel like I'm boxed into sadness and despair. Hate, pain, anger, that stuff." He took the opportunity to scoot closer to her a bit, not in a creepy way, but in an engaging way. He was listening and he wanted her to know that. "Have you ever felt that way?"

"When my mom passed away." He nodded. "My dad was so closed off it almost seemed as if he had gone with her." He looked down as he played with her fingers, noticing the light pink shade painted perfectly on her finger nails. "I feel like Beth thought we blamed her so it was always so tense here, it felt as if things would never go back to normal." She nodded, he continued. "Eventually you just learn to grow with the time, 'cause it's gonna pass anyway and it's up to you whether you get left behind or not."

She ran her thumb over the top of his finger, realizing what this conversation was turning into. "Yeah, you're right."

He gave her a cheesy smile. "You're just about the only person who thinks that." He licked his bottom lip, glancing down at her pair. "Feelings don't exist around here. You either get over it or pretend you did."

She ran a finger nail over the vein going up his arm. "What about you?"

The chills were hard to hide, as he watched her finger going up his arm til it was out of sight and brushing his hair out of his face. "What about me?"

"Well, did you get over it?" He faced her now, his hands holding both of hers. "Or did you just pretend to?"

His mouth agape a bit as he thought, it was hard to do so with her touching him and the teenage hormones racing through his body. "Honestly," He began, a small hint of nonchalance in his voice. "I think I spent so long pretending, that at some point it became my reality."

She observed him, his brown eyes glossed over. He stared back, the eye contact incredibly strong and intimidating. From the outside looking in, the situation would seem awkward, staring and touching each other. But at the moment, their hearts were racing, palms beginning to sweat, adrenaline beginning to pump. She began to lean in slowly waiting for confirmation but he stopped her. "I've never.."

"Me neither." She looked away, her cheeks growing pink. "I'm sorry, I think I read that situation wrong—"

As she continued on he had his head bowed, working up the courage to shut her up. In a swift moment, he took the back of her neck in one hand and pressed his lips against hers.

The moment was sweet and tender, it lasted for about five seconds before he pulled his lips from hers in a smacking sound. Neither of them said anything but nothing needed to be said. They stared at each other for a few seconds, waiting for confirmation, before their lips collided again.

They didn't know what they were doing, but they followed each other's lead, everything felt right for the moment as their soft lips moved slowly in sync. When Kayce began to run his hand up and down her pijamas pants, the room became hot. She felt as if she could begin to sweat and it would ruin the entire moment.

She had never felt anything like it, the crazy butterflies in her stomach and the urge to laugh for some reason. The anxiety in her chest scared her, but when Kayce began to climb on top and his hands roamed under her top, she felt almost as if a blanket of security was laid upon her and every second thought she had flew out of the window.

Time was frozen as he kissed her lips and every inch of her skin. Her fingers were his favorite, he lifted them to his mouth every second he could. Her soft moans made him feel invincible. The whole world could come crashing down on the two and nothing mattered but touching her, kissing her and making her feel beautiful.

It was scary, the pleasure she felt when Kayce took her pants off and she gave herself to him. She wasn't sure it was love although it felt as if she had been in love with Kayce for her whole life. But when has sex ever been about love? Sex was about want and in that moment she wanted nothing more but to live in that moment and pretend.