Resist Me Not

44

When I reached the terrace, the wind greeted me with a mixture of warm and chilly air. I loved the spring weather and wished it wasn't such a fleeting season. A group of people clustered around the grill area, while some kids were sitting on the outdoor couches, watching a cartoon on the outdoor cinema wall.

I spotted Ryan across the turf. He was sitting on one of the lounge chairs that faced the Manhattan skyline. He was just staring at it. It was so beautiful to watch him from a distance that I didn't really want to interrupt him right away.

He must have sensed he was being watched, because he turned his head and our eyes met. He held out his open arms, gesturing for me to come and sit with him. I didn't hesitate and crossed the turf and stone tiles to him. He parted his legs slightly to allow me to sit in between him and lean back against him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the back of my head that rested against his chin.

"How'd it go?"

I sighed. "It's finally over! Now it's just us. But boy, was it stressful! I hate confrontations and breakups. Even if I am the one breaking up with him."

I could feel Ryan smiling against my head. "I know. That's why I wanted you to meet me up here when it was all done. As great as the view is from your apartment, I knew sitting up here, seeing the entire skyline with the breeze flowing around us, would help you relax."

I sat up and spun to look at him with utter shock. "You knew this would help me destress?"

"Well... yeah. I could see it in your eyes when you first signed up to rent the place. You just looked like you found your Zen in this chaotic city!"

I threw my arms around his neck before he knew what was happening and kissed him. "I love you."

His eyes shined against the night sky. "I could hear that on repeat all day long and wouldn't get tired of hearing it."

"I love you. I love you. I love...you...Ryan Patrick Herman."

He held me close and kissed me again, just as a gust of wind encircled us. It was like the universe was giving us its blessing or finally realizing that all was right in the world. "I love you too, Victoria Rae Ashcroft."

We snuggled there, watching the skyline in comfortable silence for a while longer. Even though we could hear the kids screaming while they chased each other near the cinema area, and the collective laughs from the group at the grill area, it felt like it was just us there.

Though the smell of the barbecue was making my stomach react. "Are you hungry?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

******

Who knew eating Sweet and Sour Chicken could be fun and sexy? Ryan and I had ordered Chinese takeout, and he insisted on feeding me with his miserable chopstick skills. I couldn't tell if he really didn't know how to use them or did it wrong intentionally just so he'd spill some on my chin and lick it off me.

"Didn't you spend an entire summer in Japan? Surely you know how to use chopsticks," I said in between laughing from his goofiness and giggling from his teasing tongue.

"Maybe I do." He moved to kiss my neck. "Maybe I don't." He moved and kiss the other side.

Our food was soon forgotten, as our lips and hands explored each other, as we sat on my couch. Soon after, his hands guided me down, and we laid across it. With him on top of me, I could feel his excitement growing as our kissing intensified. I realized while we were making out that it had been a long time since he and I last slept together.

I felt nervous and desperate all at the same time. It took all my restraint not to tear at his shirt. Luckily, he was feeling the same as he separated from our kiss, so he could remove his t-shirt. I stopped him from coming back down so soon, by reaching out my hands and tracing them around his chiseled abs and pecks. Then glided them up his stiffened arms and biceps, then around his neck to invite him back down to meet my wanting lips.