The Unexpected Series (Unexpected #1-3) (82 page)

M
y hand on Hadley’s lower back feels natural, like it belongs there, as I lead her into Jace’s house. It’s been a few days since she had the flu and besides being a little weak she seems to be recovering just fine. Thankfully, I didn’t get it.

“Well, look who the fuck it is!” AJ calls from his place on the couch.

I shake my head. “Do you ever get up off your lazy ass?”

“Never.” He jumps up eyeing Hadley next to me. “But for this fine specimen of a woman I would.”

He reaches his hand out and when Hadley lets him take it he places a kiss on her fingers. “The name’s AJ, and you must be Hadley.”

Her cheeks flush. “I am.”

I shove his shoulder. “Get your hands off, AJ. This one is mine.”

Hadley looks up at me with a smirk. “You look fucking hot when you’re jealous,” she says repeating the words I said to her at my sister’s house.

“Well,” I lean in and whisper so only she can hear. “Feel free to make me jealous anytime you want.”

She shivers, and I take pride in knowing that I gave her them. She hasn’t mentioned our manual stimulation from Tuesday morning but I feel like she is being more receptive to me. Whereas before she would take her time answering my texts or send my call to voicemail, now it seems like she is the one initiating. For the first time since I’ve found her again she called me last night “just to talk.”

We sat on the phone for an hour talking about our day. I told her about Nate returning to work but never mentioned Braden giving me desk duty all week since the domestic disturbance call on Monday. He and I just coexist at work and I’m thankful that we don’t have to interact as much. She told me she secured her second solo event. I’m proud of her and I really hope that she is happy doing what she is doing. I could feel her face light up over the phone when she said Noelle told her she believed and trusted in her.

As everyone else gets to Jace’s house I introduce Hadley. When Wendy walks in I feel Hadley tense up and I ease her by grabbing her hand. This time around, even though we are “friends”, I want her to know that I won’t hide her again. When we become official again, and we will, I will make sure that everyone knows she is mine.

Wendy smiles at her and introduces herself. If there was tension between the two of them you wouldn’t know it. When Valerie is the last to arrive we all put our jackets on and head out the door again.

“You sure you’re up to doing this? I don’t want you to get sick again,” I ask as we pile into AJ’s truck.

She nods. “I’m sure. If I start to feel bad I’ll just take a break.”

I pull the glove off of my left hand and the one off her right and clasp them together. “Friends don’t hold hands this much, Ryder,” she says looking down at them.

“Yes, but friends who want to be more than friends do,” I respond, settling into my seat for the long drive to the tubing hill. Every time she tries to pull away I grip her tighter. I think she is doing it on purpose because each time she giggles a little bit. It’s a beautiful sound. After a few weeks of down and out Hadley, I feel like she is starting to loosen up a bit more.

When we arrive at the hill, it is filled with people. It looks almost too crowded, but that doesn’t deter us. We all love to go tubing together and this is our favorite spot. Piling out of the truck our first stop is the rental shack where we can rent double and single sledding tubes. I rent one for Hadley and me. While waiting for the rest to get theirs, I take in Hadley’s smiling face.

Her grin spreads from one cheek to the other as her eyes light up looking at the hill before us. She’s wearing a pink Columbia jacket and a white hat that holds down the strands of dark hair that flows over her shoulders. I can’t help but fall for her even more every time I see her. It feels like she was the missing piece all along. I know I hurt when she left but I thought I was getting by. Getting through it. I guess I was wrong. I’m yet again a changed man with her in my life.

“What are you looking at?” she asks.

I didn’t realize she had turned my way. I lift my hand, brushing a gloved finger over the exposed skin on her face. “My missing piece.”

Her head falls into my hand, and I linger my thumb over her lips. She doesn’t make a motion to move so I lean in and gently place my lips on hers. The spark that ignites jolts me, and I deepen the kiss never breaking the barrier of her mouth.

“Come on you crazy kids,” Jace calls over my shoulder. I pull away from Hadley and find her pupils dilated. Her chest heaving up and down.

“What was that?” she whispers.

I shrug before picking up both of our tubes. “A friendly kiss.”

~~

T
he climb up the hill is steep and long. Wendy, AJ, Valerie and Jace all follow us. The girls complain but Hadley is keeping up like a champ. When we reach the top, I set the tubes down and look out towards the north. The sky is clear, and the wind is minimal. It’s a beautiful day to race down the hill covered in snow.

“Who wants to go first?” Wendy asks from besides us.

Without hesitation, both AJ and Jace take their spots ready to race like they always do. They make everything a competition. I don’t know how they haven’t killed each other yet. They shoot off down the mountain and Wendy and Valerie take their vacant spots. We watch as Jace hits the bottom line first and then the girls take off.

I set my tube down and sit on it, waiting for Hadley to do the same. When she doesn’t I look over and find her staring down the hill.

“What’s wrong, Had?”

She shakes whatever thought was in her head and says, “This hill is much higher than the one by my house. I’m scared.”

The vulnerability she exudes is sexy but confusing. This is the girl who wanted to parasail and zip line. I know last week we didn’t actually skydive but I feel like the adventurous Hadley was still there.

I reach out towards her as a line forms behind us. “Come here.”

She does as I say and I grab onto her, causing her to fall into my lap. “Ryder!”

“We’ll do it together,” I whisper into her ear.

She relents and sits between my legs. “Thank you.”

“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” I push back her hair and kiss her neck.

She hums. “Why’s that?”

“Because,” I start to push off the ground, “anytime I get to have my body flush with yours, material between us or not, I am thankful for it.”

The wind starts nipping at our uncovered skin as we fly down the hill. Hadley’s elated screams fill the air and all I can do is smile. She starts to laugh and puts her arms up in the air.

“Do you feel free, Hadley?” I loudly ask into the winter chill.

“Yes!” she hollers. “It’s amazing.”

At the bottom of the hill she jumps off the tube, barely containing her excitement. “Again!” She points to the stairway leading back up, where the rest of our group has started to ascend.

“Yes, ma’am.” I agree, standing and picking up the tube.

She walks over and wraps her arms around my torso looking up. “Ma’am huh? Sounds sexy.” Her body shifts when she leans up and places a chaste kiss on my lips.

I slowly pull away. “What was that?”

“A friendly kiss.” She winks and lets go of me, taking off towards the hill.

I’m not sure but I think I fall in love with her more and more with each passing day and today is no exception.

Three more treks up the snow hill and back down on the same tube I’m wound up tight. Her smile and her carefree attitude have me reeling and those friendly kisses aren’t going to tide me over much longer. I need more.

The café that sits alongside the rental shack is spacious. The ceiling is two stories high, and the west wall of it is made up entirely of glass so you can watch snow tubers and boarders fly down the hill. We choose a table next to the fireplace and the guys head over to the cashier to get some hot drinks. I order both Hadley and I hot chocolate and then turn to watch the girls all chatting with one another. They are all smiling and I pray that Hadley accepts Wendy. I may have slept with her, something I still need to tell Hadley, but Wendy is in love with AJ. We stopped our rendezvous a long time ago once I realized the man she was lusting after was my best friend. He knows about our trysts but I can see he might want her too. Jace, on the other hand, is completely blind when it comes to Valerie. Even though they constantly see each other at JV Fitness, the gym they own together, I don’t think he even has a clue.

I watch as Hadley throws her head back at something Wendy says and it makes me smile. Maybe there is hope though she never gave the vibe that it would be a problem.

Jace’s hand comes down hard on my shoulder. “You buy the ring yet?”

“No.” I shake my head, never taking my eyes off of her. She must sense it because she finds me and blushes. “But I swear if she ever mentions the word marriage to me I’ll run to the nearest jewelry store.”

“Holy shit,” AJ chimes in. “He was joking. You two aren’t even dating yet. Didn’t she friend zone your ass?”

I turn to grab our drinks before muttering, “Not for long, my friend.”

When I arrive back at the table I’m met with a fit of giggles. “What’s so funny, ladies?”

Hadley can barely breathe she is laughing so hard. “Valerie’s face after she just called Noelle a ‘dumb slut who didn’t know what she had with Jace’ and Wendy informed her that she was my friend and boss.” She snorts and they all erupt in another fit of laughter.

I set Hadley’s drink in front of her. “I fail to see how that’s funny,” I state confused. Girls are insane.

“It’s funny because...nevermind.” Hadley waves it off and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “Mmm.” She moans. “Caramel.”

I sit beside her. “I told you, Spark. I remember everything.”

If I wasn’t looking dead at her I wouldn’t have seen how she faltered for a moment mid-sip. Wendy stands up and excuses herself to help the guys bring the rest of the drinks.

Valerie rests her elbows on the table. She’s a pretty girl. Blonde hair, pretty eyes and desperately in love with Jace. I don’t know why he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass. “So,” she asks Hadley. “Why does he call you Spark?”

Without hesitation Hadley responds, “Because he always knew how to set my body on fire with just the briefest of touches.”

“Damn,” Valerie says. “That’s kinda hot.”

“Excuse us.” I jump up, grabbing Hadley’s hand and pull her along behind me. I’m close to caveman status because I’m just short of throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her.

“Ryder,” she calls out as we round the corner. “You’re taller than me. My legs don’t move that fast.”

I whip around and lift her up behind her thighs. Her legs immediately wrap around me and I push her up against the wall in the darkened hallway. Our faces are inches apart. “You’re teasing me, Hadley, and I’ve had enough.”

Her breath is hot and comes out erratically. “I’m not doing anything,” she whispers.

I lean in brushing my lips along her jawline making her grip around my neck tighten. “The friendly kisses, the winks, the stares and the fact that I can still feel your hands wrapped around my dick are making me come apart.”

“What happens when you come apart, Ryder?”

“This,” I warn before slamming my lips to hers. The kiss is needy and she opens her lips to allow my tongue to slip in. It feels like heaven, almost better than sex. Her tongue collides with mine and I push my growing erection in between her jean clad thighs. She moans into my mouth pushing me to deepen the kiss. We move in sync, our bodies remembering each other from long ago. I rub myself on her again earning me another heated moan. She breaks the kiss, her head falling back onto the wall, and calls out my name. “Ryder, you have to stop,” she begs.

“Why?” I ask peppering kisses down her neck and continue to hit her sweet spot.

“I’m going to come from you dry humping me like a goddamn high schooler.”

I smile and bite her lip. “Under or above clothes, Spark. I don’t care as long as I can still set your body on fire.”

I nip at her earlobe pushing myself relentlessly against her, and it’s enough to make her come undone. She grabs onto the hair at the nape of my neck and pulls. I cover her moans with my mouth and slip my tongue back in. When her body comes down from her orgasm, I lower her feet to the ground. Bliss is written all over her face.

“Oh my God,” she pants clasping at her chest. “What was that?”

“Oh, you know. Just a friendly orgasm,” I say. Shock flashes across her face and I lean down taking another kiss from her.

W
hen Ryder and I walk back to the table all eyes are on us. My cheeks grow hot as I sit in my seat and pick up my cup, taking a sip. His touch is still burning my skin in a trail of fire. I feel embarrassed that I came by just him rubbing himself against me but it felt amazing. I love me some friendly orgasms.

I choke on my hot chocolate at that last thought.

“I’m sorry,” Ryder whispers so only I can hear him. “I didn’t realize your gag reflex was so sensitive.”

“Oh, it’s not,” I say casually as I bring my cup to my mouth again. “I’ve been known to take in much more than that.”

I don’t look but I can feel his stare still on me. I inwardly high five myself for rendering him speechless. He groans and then looks to the rest of the group.