“Can we...slow down?” I whispered, my hand tightening around his wrist.
His hand immediately stilled as he lifted his head. “Yes. Yeah.” He cleared his throat as he eased over, drawing his hand away from me.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden burn of tears. God. I didn’t even know why I wasn’t ready or if I should be. I had no idea, and now I feared—
“Did I hurt you?”
My eyes flew open. “What?”
He was staring at me intently. “Did I do something wrong?”
I couldn’t answer. Nothing he’d done felt wrong. Quite the opposite.
“If I did, I really want to know. I promise I’ll—”
“You didn’t hurt me,” I said. “I just... Why would you think that?”
He lowered his gaze. “I...I haven’t done a lot of this.” His cheeks flushed pink and my eyes widened. “I mean, I’ve done some stuff, but not a lot. I haven’t...had sex.”
For the longest moment I couldn’t respond. All I could do was stare at him. “You’re a virgin?”
One side of his lips kicked up. “Yeah. You sound surprised.”
“I am. I thought... I don’t know. You were with...Paige. I just assumed you had sex before.”
“That would be a negative,” he replied, picking up my hand. “You’re looking at me like you don’t understand how it’s possible.”
He could really read minds.
“It’s gotten close, but I just never— I haven’t wanted to go that far.” He shrugged a bare shoulder.
“I haven’t done it, either,” I blurted out. “I mean, that’s super obvious since...you’re the first boy I’ve kissed, but yeah, I don’t even know...what I’m saying and I’m just going to shut up.”
Rider chuckled. “Don’t. I love it when you ramble.”
“Only you would enjoy that.” I curled my fingers through his. “Do you want to...go that far with me?”
His lashes swept up and his eyes, with their greenish flecks, met mine. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Someday.”
Warmth swept across my cheeks as I whispered, “I...I want that, too. Someday.”
The dimple in his right cheek appeared. “Then we’re on the same page.”
“Yeah.” I lifted my head and kissed him. “I’m sorry about stopping. It felt good, but—”
“Mallory, please don’t apologize.” Rider sat up, pulling me along with him. “We can do whatever you want, go as far as you want and we will always stop when you want, no matter what. You feel me? There’s nothing to apologize for and that’s the way it should always be.”
Oh my God.
Rider wasn’t perfect, but he was damn close. Actually, he was perfectly imperfect. A giddy rush hit me, and I grinned at him.
“We should head down there, huh?” he asked, and I nodded. Rider picked his thermal up and pulled it on over his head, pausing to grin at me. “Sorry. I’m going to have to cover up. I know it’s not fair.”
I laughed as he shrugged on his shirt over the thermal. “It really isn’t.”
He pulled out his phone as he grinned at me. “Crap. My battery is about to die.”
“I have mine.”
“Cool. We can use yours later to see if there are any good movies out.” He offered me his hand and I took it. The giddiness followed me on the way down.
Back in the living room, Rider sat in one of the plastic chairs catty-corner to the couch and pulled me down in his lap, curling his arms around my waist. I didn’t see Sheila or Rico. It was then I realized we’d left our drinks upstairs.
“Nice of you all to join us,” Paige commented as she looked over her shoulder.
Rider’s arms tightened around me as Hector chuckled. “Metete en tus asuntos.”
She shot him a dirty look as I heard the front door open. A few seconds later Jayden walked in. He saw us and smiled widely. “Yo! I didn’t know you guys were here.” He shuffled over. “Awesome.”
“Hey,” I said, smiling at him. The bruises had long since faded, and Jayden looked the way he did the first day I met him.
“We’re probably leaving soon,” Rider said. “Might catch a movie.”
Jayden leaned against the wall as he looked around the room. “I see how it is. You figure you don’t stand a chance with Mallory now that I’m here to show her what a real man looks like.” He winked as Rider just shook his head. “Fine, leave. But no dumb movie will be as entertainin’ as the Jayden Show. And I don’t charge admission.”
Rider chuckled. “Whatever, man.”
“Is Rico here?” Jayden asked.
“He was. Not sure where he’s at now.”
He nodded slowly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “What movie are you guys gonna see anyway?”
“I don’t...know,” I answered when Rider remained quiet. An idea formed. “Do you want to come?”
Jayden blinked as if he was surprised. “Aw, that’s sweet of you, but I’m not good sittin’ in a theater.”
My brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Because he’d talk through it,” Paige answered from the couch. “He would literally talk through the entire movie.”
“True dat,” one of the other guys responded.