He inspects my face. “So many people hold on to negative emotions because they think they need to punish the other person, when in the end, they’re only hurting themselves. I think we were both hurting more than enough.”
I’m stunned into silence. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it this way, but it makes so much sense.
His hand goes to my face, and he gently cradles my cheek. “I knew I’d fallen desperately in love with you, and I wanted us to give this relationship a real try. You deserve it, I deserve it, and so does our baby. There’s no need to make us both miserable if we can talk things through and figure things out.”
“You’re incredible and so smart.”
He smiles. “Must be my old age showing again.”
I smack him on the chest. “Whatever. I love it because it makes you, you. Exactly the way I like it.”
There’s no other warning sign but a quick flicker of his eyes to my mouth before he crashes me to him. His lips fuse to mine, and it quickly turns into fire.
“Oh, whoops. I’m so sorry.” Sharon might as well have poured a bucket of ice water over us with that interruption.
“What’s going on?” My dad’s voice sounds farther away, and I scramble off Ryan’s lap at lightning speed, trying to will my heated skin to cool down.
Sharon winks at me and looks over her shoulder. “Nothing, honey. All good.”
My dad walks in and nods at both of us. “Did you two get everything worked out?”
I nod exactly like I would have if he’d caught me a minute earlier. “We did.”
Ryan grabs my hand and pulls me up with him. “Thanks again for all the help, Bill. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” My dad narrows his eyes at him. “And I heard congratulations are in order.”
Ryan tilts his head down. “Thank you.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to give you the whole ‘You’re not gonna walk another day if you don’t treat my daughter right’ speech?”
“No, sir.”
“Dad.”
“Bill.”
Sharon and I both shake our heads at my dad as he gives Ryan a satisfied nod.
Ryan squeezes my hand, and I take that as him telling me he wants to leave, and I’m on board. I really want to finish what we just started. There’s also still a lot of things we need to talk about. So much has happened while we were apart.
I rock back and forth on my heels and look at Sharon and my dad. “Can we talk some more tomorrow?”
Sharon gives me a knowing smile. “Sure, you kids have fun.”
Now I’m the one squeezing Ryan’s hand. I need to get out of here as soon as possible before I turn as red as a tomato.
We exchange goodbyes and goodnights, and after a few more congratulations and hugs for both Ryan and me, we’re finally on our way to Ryan’s house.
Once we’re inside the house, all bets are off. Ryan lifts me and tells me to hold on, and I do exactly that. He carries me to his bedroom like I weigh nothing, depositing me gently on his bed.
We make out for a while before stripping off our clothes. Ryan makes me feel like I’m a valuable treasure. Cherished. My favorite feeling.
He licks his way down my body and stops at my stomach, peppering it with small kisses that causes the butterflies to go wild in my belly.
Maybe it’s because everything’s finally in the open, not only my secret, but also our love. The fact that we’re doing this—doing us—infuses every touch with more electricity, and I’m bowing off the bed when he reaches my clit.
Within minutes, I’m so ready for him my entire body is shaking with anticipation. My orgasm hits me so fast and forcefully, that I’m panting like I just ran a marathon. I’m not sure if my body was keyed up more than usual, or if Ryan is more of a master in the bedroom than I thought. Whatever it is, I want more of it.