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When she came down from her orgasm, her upper body collapsed down onto her arms on the couch, her ass still on display and I appreciated the view she was giving me. I pulled away and stripped my t-shirt off and moved to hover over her when she decided at that moment to push herself up. The last thing I remembered was the back of her head crashing against my face and then a white blinding pain. I must have yelled out because soon she was sitting up with me, apologizing profusely. I removed my hands from my face and saw blood in them. She fumbled for some tissues on the table behind the couch and when I went to wipe my nose, I was almost blinded again by the pain. "What the fuck!" I yelled out.

"Holy shit, I think I broke your nose!" she said, panicked at first and then when I caught her eye and realized that she was probably right, along with the state of undress we were in, something in both of us snapped and we started to laugh.

"Stop, it hurts when I laugh," I told her. Still holding the tissue under my nose, I went in search of my phone in my jacket.

"Lemme get dressed and I'll take you to the hospital," she said, heading off to her bedroom.

"I'll ride my bike," I called out stubbornly but when I bent down to get my jacket off the floor, the pain shot through my face again and more blood dripped out of my hose.

"Like hell you will," she told me when she returned, pulling on a t-shirt and zipping up her jeans.

We headed to her car and I dialed Lenny's number. Luckily she and her girlfriend, Gabriella, were at the house and so I asked them to meet me at the hospital to give me a ride home. When we pulled up to the ER entrance, I thanked her for the ride and said that I already arranged for a ride home.

"I'm not just going to drop you off like this," she said.

"It's okay, see, my ride's here already," I pointed to Lenny's car pulling into the parking lot "Besides, I wouldn't want them to have you arrested for assaulting me during sex."

"I am so sorry," she said for the nth time.

"You owe me one," I told her and gave her a wink. I got out of the car and waited for Lenny and Gabriella. When Michelle saw that I had company, she pulled away and drove off.

Lenny took one look at the bloody tissues I was holding against my nose and said, "I guess you can't say it's boring anymore."

"Bite me," was all I could think of through the pain. "What took you guys so long? Our house is only five minutes away."

"Sorry...strap-on," Lenny deadpanned.

Alex

The house was filled with people, mostly teenagers, as they all gathered to wish Kris a happy seventeenth birthday. I mingled and chatted with some of them but spent most of the evening chatting with Grace, Sarah, Rod and even Sal. Surprisingly, Sal and Grace were very well behaved around each other and I was glad to see that they were able to put aside their issues for Kristen's sake so that she could enjoy her special day.

"Where's your new girlfriend?" Madison asked Sal when she and her best friend, Kenzie, came over and joined us. So much for trying to keep the peace. Ever since the divorce, Madison had made no effort to hide her hostility towards any of Sal's new female companions.

"Not here," Sal answered calmly and added, "Today's your sister's day and I'm here to help her celebrate." I glanced over at Grace and saw her give him an appreciative smile. I smiled inwardly, glad that the two adults in the family were finally behaving maturely.

As we sat around, we all reminisced about Kristen growing up and I realized how much of my niece's lives I had missed out on having lived on the other side of the world. But now that I was living here and Madison was going to college close to home and Kristen was going to do the same, I would get a chance to know them a little better as adults.

Grace and Sal left to chat with the guests as the party was winding down and people were making their exodus. I headed into the kitchen to refill my wine glass. When I entered the kitchen, Kristen was talking to someone with a blond faux-hawk. I wasn't sure who it was as she had her back to me, but given the posture that exuded confidence and plain coolness, even from behind, I had a pretty good guess.

"This is so cool! Thanks, Riley," Kristen said, indicating an envelope she was holding in her hand and they embraced.

"Happy Birthday, kiddo," Riley told her and they broke apart.

"Do you want some ice?" Kristen asked but Riley shook her head.

"I've taken some pain killers and I've been icing it pretty much all day already. Go, say bye to your friends," the chef's deep voice replied. Kristen smiled and left the kitchen. Riley turned around and I was shocked at what I saw. Her nose was swollen and she had black eyes. She looked like she had been hit by a truck and was in pain.

"Oh my God, what happened?" I asked, feeling an uncontrollable urge to do something to help her. I walked over to her and my hand involuntarily lifted to touch her face. I quickly realized that I didn't want to risk causing her more pain so stopped myself.

"Long story but basically I have a broken nose," she answered sheepishly and I could have sworn she was blushing.

"Does it hurt? It looks painful," I said, wincing.

"When the pain killers wear off, yes, it hurts," she answered. "But right now, it's just annoying because I can't breathe through my nose very well."

"God, when did it happen?" I continued to inquire.

"Last night," she answered and I realized that she wasn't going to elaborate any further. "So where are the people I do recognize?"

"Outside in the back," I replied. I grabbed a wine bottle while she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and we headed out to the back yard.

As soon as Sarah and Rod saw their firstborn, they were immediately on their feet and by her side, inquiring about what happened. Riley, always cool and unaffected, simply said "It was an accident. I'm fine," and sat down on part of the sectional sofa with her parents. Sarah put an arm around her and to my surprise, Riley leaned her head on her mother's shoulder while Sarah wrapped her arm protectively around her. "My poor baby," I heard Sarah hush.

"What happened, a jealous girlfriend or boyfriend?" Rod asked with amusement.

"No," Riley said, her eyes closed but then I saw a smirk on her lips, one which was practically identical to her father's. "Not this time." I shook my head in wonder at just what kind of lifestyle this mysterious young woman led.

"Oh my God, did you steal someone's girlfriend?" Grace's voice asked from behind me as she, Kristen and Sal returned from having seen off the guests for the night.

"No," Riley answered, her eyes opened this time, a hint of frustration in her voice, but then she added flippantly, "At least I don't think so. Look, it wasn't a violent situation or a fight or anything like that so don't worry about it."

"Are you going to need surgery?" Sal asked.

"No, the doctor in the ER last night didn't think so," she answered. "I have to go back after the swelling goes down so they can check it again."

"Seriously, what happened?" Sarah asked, full of concern.

"I walked into a wall," Riley answered.

"You're not going to tell us are you?" Madison inquired with a knowing smile.

"Nope," came the reply, her head still on Sarah's shoulder.

"Did it involve one of your hussies?" Sarah teased.

"Are you kidding me? Your precious is the hussy!" Grace pointed out and laughed.

Riley just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You know, I haven't had a smoke in five days. I really do not need the abuse right now, especially about my social life."

Everyone gave her a questioning look at her admission about her tobacco habit but she raised a hand and shook her head again, putting a stop to any impending questions.

"My friends think it's great that you're so open about being gay," Kristen said, lying down on the other part of the sectional sofa, her head on Grace's lap and her feet on Sal's lap. It felt like old times having everyone together again.

"So, how did you come out to Uncle Rod and Aunt Sarah?" Kristen asked.

"I didn't exactly come out to them," Riley said hesitantly. I arched an eyebrow questioningly. I would've thought that as confident and self-assured as she was, she probably came out as soon as she first realized she liked girls.

"No, she got caught," Sarah added, laughing.

"You got caught?" Madison, Kenzie and Kristen asked in unison, wide eyed. "How?"

"Well..." Sarah began and Riley closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, I remember that night!" Grace interjected, grinning.

"Please, they don't need to hear this," Riley said and laid her head down onto Sarah's lap and pulled her jacket over her head. She curled up her body onto the sofa. She looked adorably child like, wearing jeans and canvas sneakers. Her fetal position on the couch was a stark contrast to the edgy punk rocker image that her faux-hawk gave off.

I was thoroughly intrigued by now to find out what could have happened that would cause this much embarrassment to the young Casanova.

"It was the summer that Riley came back from Europe," Sarah began the story. "We had gone out for dinner with your parents and she was at home alone. I believe Sam was over here babysitting you girls. At any rate, we were supposed to go to a show but for some reason it got cancelled and we came home to just hang out and have some drinks."

"Kill me now," I heard Riley mumble from under her jacket.

"Anyway, we came home and the next thing we knew, Riley was coming into the house, her hair was wet and her clothes sticking to her so it was obvious she was in the pool and just haphazardly threw her clothes on," Sarah continued. "Clearly she wasn't expecting us home so soon. Then a girl comes out from the guest bathroom, Riley introduced us, and then walked the girl out to her car."

"So there was a point in time when you remembered the girls' names," Madison teased.

"So while Riley's seeing this girl off, I went to sit on the couch and noticed something under the coffee table. I pull it out and it's a bra. So Sarah checks the label and it's clear the bra didn't belong to Riley," Grace continued the story.

"How?" Kristen asked with rapt attention.

"Well, 'cause the bra was a D cup and well, Riley...is not," Sarah said, pulling the jacket off of Riley's head to reveal the blushing blond. We all chuckled at the chef's expense.

"So she comes back into the house and Sarah's dangling this bra in front of her and Riley tries to pass it off as hers, being all apologetic about leaving her clothes around the house," Grace continued. "Your father comes over to the couch to sit down and lifts up a throw pillow and there's the matching undergarment to the bra. There was no way in hell any of us were going to touch it."

"By now, I'm trying to process why that girl's underwear was strewn around in my living room and Riley was just fixated with staring at the floor," Sarah added. "I told her to make sure her 'friend' got her underwear back and I went upstairs with your mother to change and well, get over the shock of what I had just discovered."

"What did you do, Uncle Rod?" Madison asked the blond haired bass guitar player.

"Yeah, Dad, what did you do?" Riley repeated.

Rod pursed his lips and said, proudly, "I told her 'D cup? Well done, kiddo!' and your father and I took her out to the patio and poured her a drink and gave her a cigar."

Sarah shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I couldn't believe how you guys were egging her on."

Rod and Sal both gave her a shoulder shrug as if they didn't know what she was talking about.

"You asked if Riley was that girl's first and then you gave her this," Sarah recollected, holding her hand up in the universal "rock 'n roll" gesture with the index finger and pinky finger sticking up. "And then when you asked her if she was in love, she said 'Love's a strong four letter word.' and you agreed with her. Not only that, you told her to never promise marriage!"

"Because what does marriage lead to, Dad?" Riley asked snarkily.

"Marriage leads to lesbian bed death," Rod said very matter-of-factly.

"And you know this how?" Riley continued asking her father with whom she obviously shared an appreciation for women and a fear of commitment.

"Well, I'm a learned man," Rod replied, smiling.

"Can someone show me where the Tylenol is?" Riley asked, sitting up. "I think I need some more painkillers after this little session."

I had noticed since the moment that Riley joined us, Kenzie had been subtly stealing glances at her, so it was no surprise to me when Kenzie volunteered and led her into the house and Sarah continued to chide Rod about how they had encouraged and passed on his womanizing ways to their daughter. As much as Sam was Sarah's daughter, Riley was clearly Rod's daughter, from the physical resemblance to their love of women. But hands down, Riley was much prettier than her father.

Grace re-filled everyone's glasses with wine and emptied the bottle I had brought out. I got up and offered to get some more from the house, which earned me a questioning look from my sister. I grabbed a bottle of Merlot from the wine rack in the kitchen and was about to return to the back yard when I heard Kenzie's and Riley's voices in the hallway on the other side of the wall from the kitchen. I knew I should've left them alone but I was curious when I heard Kenzie's voice ask, "Do you, um, wanna go out some time...for coffee maybe?"

"Kenzie, does Maddi know that you're..." Riley asked softly.

"Gay?" Kenzie finished the question.

"Asking me out?" Riley corrected her.

"No," Kenzie replied. "I think she knows that I like you, but she doesn't know I'm asking you out."

"You're what, nineteen?" Riley asked.

"Twenty," Kenzie answered.

"Kenzie, I'm flattered, I really am. I've known you for a few years and I know what a wonderful person you are, and if I were younger and the girlfriend/relationship type, I'd say yes in a heartbeat," Riley said to her softly. "But I don't do the dating thing, so I'm not exactly the best...choice for you. You're young. Go out, meet other girls, have fun, and if you're still interested, call me when you're twenty-one." There was some silence which I assumed was some kind of understanding between then and then I heard Riley add, "Thanks for showing me where the Tylenol is."

I took that as my cue to make my way out. "Hey," Riley's voice called out to me. I turned around and smiled, a stirring of concern rising up inside of me as I took in her swollen nose and black eyes again. I held up the bottle of wine and indicated the crowd outside with a tilt of my head. "Alkies," I joked.

"Are you alright?" I asked, more seriously.

"I'm fine, this isn't the first time they've embarrassed me and it won't be the last," she answered and it took me a moment to realize she was referring to the story of her coming out.

"I meant your nose," I clarified with a smile.

"Oh, right," she said and nodded. "Just an unfortunate accident."

I offered her a comforting smile and I don't know why but she added meekly, "I was with someone and she moved one way, I moved the other, and next thing I know, I have a broken nose."

"There's a lot to be said about safe sex," I joked lamely but actually got a smile out of her in return.

Just then, everyone started to pile into the house from the patio. Apparently a challenge had been thrown out about who had dancing skills and who didn't and so they were going to bring out the dancing video game. Shrugging our shoulders, we joined them in the family room.

Part 2

Riley

I was never one for the dancing video game or any dancing that was PG-rated that would've been appropriate in front of my family, so I decided to sit out on the competition that had started to get into full swing as song after song was played. They started with Uncle Sal and my dad competing to see who was the better dancer. Sal won and so he held court for the next challenger, Aunt Grace, who beat him hands down. Then my mom challenged and beat Aunt Grace. Eventually it was Kris who remained undefeated against Madison and Kenzie. After I refused to join in on the shenanigans, Alex stepped up to the plate.

The music came on and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She didn't just follow the directions on screen, but had moves that involved her ass, hips and hands slithering over her body that made my jaw drop, literally. I was just staring wide eyed and mesmerized when I felt a hand on my chin. My mom was pushing my mouth closed.

"Try not to drool, sweetie," she whispered into my ear.

"I'm not..." I tried to deny it but I knew better than to argue with my mother. "I need some more water." I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and downed about half of the bottle. 'Down boy,' I told myself. Confident that I was able to return to the group without my eyes wandering over Alex's ass and wondering what she looked like naked, I headed downstairs to the family room.

"You should go with Riley," I heard my father say. "She knows a lot about that stuff."

"What stuff?" I asked, sitting down next to my dad.

"Cell phones," my father answered. "Alex needs a new one. You can take her tomorrow, no?"

I opened my mouth to answer in the affirmative until I saw the death stare that Aunt Grace was throwing my way and changed my mind. "I, um, I have to work tomorrow," I said lamely. I gave Alex an apologetic smile.

"You don't go into work until the afternoon," my mom chimed in. "There's this part of the day that comes before the afternoon called morning when the majority of people are actually productive instead of sleeping off a hangover."

"We're going to Mass tomorrow morning," Grace interjected.

"Right!" my dad said and put his arm around me. "Come to Mass and then you can take Alex out shopping." My mother gave me a look which pretty much said "don't you dare say no to Mass."

I sometimes appreciated my dad's cluelessness. "Does after Mass work for you?" I asked Alex.

Alex looked at me as if to apologize for having put me in an awkward position and said, "I'm not in any hurry. If you're busy, I understand."

"She's not busy," my dad answered for me. I simply shrugged and repeated his sentiments, "I'm not busy."

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen counter and started eating a bowl of grits and fried apples.

"You're up early," Lenny came into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. I looked at the clock. It was shortly after nine. "You're usually stumbling into the house at this time."

I swallowed a mouthful of food. "I'm going to Mass and then I'm helping a friend shop for a cell phone," I told her.

Lenny almost choked. on her coffee. In fact, she did choke. Once the coughing subsided and she regained her breath, she looked at me. "You haven't been to Mass in over ten years. Why start now?"

"You don't know what it's like to have a Catholic mother," I answered and Lenny conceded.

"But I do know all your friends and none of them are in need of a new phone," Lenny eyed me suspiciously. She was right.

"Alex, Grace's sister," I told her and I could see the gears turning in her head.

"Oh, right, the hot vegetarian," Lenny and her cursed photographic memory recalled. "I thought you weren't allowed to tap that."

"No one said I wasn't allowed," I rationalized. "It's just strongly discouraged. Besides, who said anything about flirting? I like her and I wouldn't mind being friends with her."

"You don't get up before noon for any of your friends," my housemate and best friend continued to harass me.

"I get up before noon for you," I reminded her.

"True, but that's because I'm special," she said.

"A special case yes," I teased her.

She playfully gave me the evil eye and then just plain out eyed me suspiciously. "You're gonna hit that aren't you?"

I shook my head and got up, placing my utensils and bowl in the dishwasher. "She's straight."

"Never stopped you before," Lenny continued to pester me.

I shook my head again and headed upstairs, but not before slapping Lenny's ass first. I changed into a pair of jeans, threw on a dark red t-shirt and a black blazer over top so that I wouldn't look too casual for church. My black eyes had faded significantly and the swelling in my nose had gone down. It was still painful so I popped a couple of pain killers and jumped into the car and headed to a church in which I hadn't stepped foot inside for over a decade. I found my family right where they always were, second pew from the back, on the right hand side. Aunt Grace and Alex and the girls were with them as well. Alex was at the end of the row and slid over as I approached and so I sat down beside her.

Claire wormed her way out off my father's lap and weaseled her way past Aunt Grace, the girls and Alex and onto my lap. I gave her a tight squeeze and we stood up for the procession entrance. Soon enough Claire was sent off to her Sunday School class and returned back in my arms before Communion. After communion, as we sat back in our pew, Alex leaned over to me and whispered, "I didn't take you for a Mass attending kind of girl." I felt a tingle in my spine when her breath touched my ear.

I turned to her and whispered back, "I'm only here for the crackers and wine." She smiled and shook her head and I thought I caught a hint of blush in her cheeks and goosebumps on her arms.

After Mass, my parents took Claire shopping to give my sister and brother--in-law a break and I led Alex to my car. As we walked away from Aunt Grace and the girls, Aunt Grace gave me the "I'm watching you" warning by pointing to her eyes with her index and middle finger and then pointed her finger at me.

"Riley, you don't have to take me shopping," Alex said to me. "I know you're busy and you're only doing this because your dad volunteered you."

I offered her a smile. "No, it's okay," I told her. "If I didn't want to, I'd have come up with an excuse."

She looked at me as if she wasn't quite convinced but she let it slide. When we got to my Audi R8, she let out a laugh. "You really do have an weakness for fast vehicles."

"It was my thirtieth birthday present from my parents a few months ago," I told her. "Believe it or not, running a restaurant, a new one, isn't that profitable."

Once we got strapped in and I started driving, she asked, "What's going on between you and Grace? I couldn't help but notice that she's very stern with you and last night when you were coerced into taking me shopping today, she was practically throwing daggers at you with her eyes."

"Nothing," I tried to say innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that," she told me. "Grace is my sister. I know when she's up to something."

I exhaled. "She doesn't want me around you," I revealed. "Actually, it's more like she doesn't want me flirting with you, and so if I'm not around you, there won't be any chance of flirting."

Alex let out a sigh of disbelief and then she looked at me sideways with a mischievous smile. "Have you been flirting with me?"

"No! No, no, no...I haven't been flirting," I stuttered and then took a deep breath. "Alex, if I was flirting with you, you'd know it."

"Oh really?" she asked, apparently quite amused. "So you're just naturally charming then."

"Wait, do you think I've been flirting with you?" I asked. I thought she had said that night in Malibu that she wasn't going take every statement or gesture as flirting. Then again, I had promised that I wouldn't flirt, and truth be told, I hadn't stuck to my promise completely.

"No, of course not!" she protested and then paused briefly. Then she added quietly, "I do think you are charming though."

I had never heard such a soft and tender comment like that before from anyone and I couldn't help but smile and I felt myself blush. "Thank you," I told her.

"So then, what does it sound like when Riley Carson flirts with a girl?" she asked, teasingly.

When I shook my head and smiled, she teased me further. "Come on, out with it," she continued. "What's your opening line?"

I pulled up to a red light and stopped. I turned to her, blinked slowly and when I opened my eyes, I fixed my gaze onto hers and smiled. I softly said, "Hi, I'm Riley."

She grinned and I thought she was going to bust out laughing, but instead she blinked a few times as if she was breaking out of a daze. "That really works does it?" she asked, almost breathlessly.

"Yeah, most of the time," I said keeping my voice low and quiet, my eyes fixed on her incredibly bright blue eyes, my smile still intact. After what felt like an eternity, she blinked and broke eye contact and smiled. I turned back to the road and started driving again, smiling smugly as I knew I was having an affect on her.

"I'd like to see you in action and see if that really does work," she challenged me.

"Come out with me sometime," I suggested.

"You're on," she accepted. "Just let me know when."

I nodded and we started to discuss what she wanted in a new phone and what she planned on doing with it. After driving for a bit more, I pulled up to the store and she looked out the window.

"iPhones are so popular - everyone's got 'em," she said, almost in a whining tone.

"Come play with one and you'll find out why," I told her and we got out of the car and headed into the apple store. We headed over to the display models and I started to show her the phones and it's different features. She perked up and really took an interest in the phone when I started telling her about how she could blog with the iPhone, complete with pictures too.

"Hi, is there anything I can help you with?" a young blond asked us and there was something familiar about her.

"My friend here is looking for a new phone," I explained, "so she's just trying it out."

"If you have any questions, just let me know," the girl said to Alex and then looked at me. "My name's Payton."

"I'm Riley," I said to her and gave her one of my crooked smiles, which earned me a grin and I knew I had her. I turned back to Alex who rolled her eyes and shook her head at me. "Are you gonna be okay for a couple of minutes? I'll just be over there," I told her with a jerk of my head towards the back wall of accessories.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she answered and laughed. I turned back to Payton and she led me to look for an accessory for my iPhone - her phone number.

Alex

I hadn't wanted to give her the satisfaction that her opening line in the car had affected me so I had tried my best to hold onto my nerves, but in all reality, there was something about how she introduced herself. The smokey eyes with an arched left eyebrow, the crooked smile that brought out the tiniest hint of laugh lines at one corner of her mouth, and those full lips were absolutely mesmerizing. I wondered how long it had taken her to perfect that look and it was clear she knew the look worked in her favor. It worked on the Apple girl as she all but drooled as soon as Riley said her name. I'd be lying if I said the image of Riley walking away with that girl didn't stab a pang of jealousy that ran through me. But why was I jealous? I'm not gay, I'm not interested in Riley. Was I just jealous that she had this uncanny ability to charm anyone and everyone? That's probably what it was.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16