Hollywood Heartthrob

16

16
Nothing at All

THERE WAS no doubting the fact that Kendall loved books. She adored the crisp sound the pages made when they were turned. She liked the way the paper felt between her fingers, and the smell of the paper itself. But most of all, Kendall loved living through fictional characters. With each turn of a page she'd become more and more engrossed in the make-believe lives of make-believe people. She couldn't help it, though. The people she read about always seemed to linger in her mind. It was almost like the characters could beg her to read the next chapter and find out what would happen next.

Just one more chapter, Kendall told herself as she flipped the page carefully. She had told herself the same thing three chapters ago.

Light poured through the window of Ryan's room where he and Kendall had spent most of the afternoon laying in opposite directions on his bed. With the light came a warmth that caused the energy between them to seem calm and lethargic. 

Ryan was bored. He tugged at Kendall's leg in an attempt to get her attention, but his effort had no avail. "What are you reading?"

Kendall sat up on the bed and placed her thumb on the page she was reading. "Little Women by Louisa May Alcott." She turned the book flat on her hand and observed the amount of pages she read, versus the amount she had left. "I'm almost done with it, though." Kendall frowned. "I just started it yesterday."

"If you'd let me, I'd buy you a library full of books."

Kendall smiled lightly, then laid back down to continue reading. "No thanks. You've already spent way too much money on me. People are going to start thinking I'm a gold digger."

Ryan's sat up to face her, a puzzled expression written on his face. "Why do you even care about what other people think?"

Kendall sat up and shrugs, placing a small scrap of paper in her book. "I guess it's just the way I was raised." She paused for a moment. "My mom always expected perfection from me. I always had to look presentable, have exceptional grades. I guess I kind of wanted her to be proud of me, but she just never seemed impressed with what I did."

"And what about your dad?"

Kendall smiled softly. "My dad's been my biggest supporter. Through pretty much everything. He's the one that helped me move here, even though my mom was against it."

Talking about her father made Kendall miss him. And for some strange reason, she even found herself missing her mother, too. Despite their rough relationship, Kendall still loved her mom. It had been a while since they last spoke, and Kendall wanted to tell her mother that she was wrong. She wanted to tell her that moving to LA wasn't 'dumb' or 'impulsive', and that her goal wasn't impossible.

"Enough about me," Kendall said as she crossed her legs. "Tell me about you."

"For the most part, being a kid was okay," Ryan started. "My dad would always give my mom and I a hard time. He was always so . . . angry. He got arrested for the possession and dealing of drugs when I was fourteen, but by the time he got out I had already persuaded my mom to move from San Francisco to Los Angeles."

"Do you know where your dad is now?"

Ryan scrunched his nose as if he caught a whiff of something rancid. "Probably dead."

Kendall shook her head. "And your mom?"

"She lives in Santa Barbara now."

Kendall moved from her spot to where Ryan was and laid her head on his chest. Ryan absentmindedly stroked her hair as soon as she did so. "From what you've told me, I can conclude that you have the best mom ever," Kendall said. "Wanna trade?"

Ryan laughed. "Nah. I wouldn't trade her for anything."

Kendall looked up and her eyes met Ryan's. She had the prettiest eyes. The way they twinkled with wonder and happiness whenever she was with Ryan made him feel as if he were the only person Kendall cared about. Her eyes were like the grass during spring; fresh and vibrant. And in the light, they were almost transparent, but they still had the smallest tint of green.

"Nothing at all? Not even to save the lives of thousands of people?"

A faint smile graced Ryan's lips. "Nothing at all."

★

They were both kneeling on Ryan's bed, and Kendall was delicately grazing her fingers across Ryan's bare chest. Ryan watched as Kendall's dainty fingers gently slid over the top of his collar bone, leaving a tingling sensation on his skin. Her neatly trimmed fingernails tickled Ryan's chest as they trailed down to his stomach, and then the perfectly sculpted shape of his V-line.

Kendall's heartbeat quickened as she brought her fingers to Ryan's jaw, admiring how effortlessly gorgeous he looked in the sun's golden light. It was as if the sun had kissed every inch of his skin.

Ryan became overwhelmed the inexplicable urge to touch Kendall. He so desperately craved to feel her skin under his fingertips. He needed to remember what she tasted like.

He tugged at Kendall's shirt. "Off," he said, his voice low and raspy.

Kendall pulled her shirt off gracefully, and Ryan wondered why she was so perfect. Even when she was performing the simplest tasks, Ryan still found her incredibly beautiful.

Ryan caressed Kendall's arms, causing chills to run up her spine. Everywhere Ryan touched burned, but she never wanted the feeling to subside.

He kissed her passionately, as if she were all he needed to survive. Ryan brought his lips to Kendall's neck, just beneath her jaw. Her eyes rolled back and her lips parted in response. Ryan removed his lips from Kendall's neck slowly, then laid her down. He placed one his strong arms on the bed, on either side of Kendall's face. Their legs tangled and Kendall relished in the feeling of Ryan's skin against hers.

She brought a hand to Ryan's face, smiling gently and brushing her thumb on his cheek.

No words needed to be said, because they both knew that Kendall was his, and Ryan was hers.

©2019 Brianna Loriston
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