Salvaged (27 page)

Sitting on my bed, I waited.

"Here." I looked over and saw him holding Baby out to me.
"You forgot her." His voice was as cold and detached as it was earlier
in the day.

"How did you know?" I got up and gently took her from him.

"I went by the clinic to apologize to your Gramps and saw her
there." He wouldn't look at me.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He set the bags down. "I got her some food, bowls, toys, `n' stuff."
He turned to go. "Oh, and a collar with a name tag on it."

"Riley?"

He walked into his room and slammed the door.

My heart sank. I wasn't sure what to do; I'd never been in a
fight with someone like this before. For several minutes I debated
charging into Riley's room and demanding that he speak to me but
decided it probably wasn't a good idea. I put my ear buds in and listened to some music in an effort to take my mind off of the look that
was plastered on Riley's face when I reminded him that we weren't
dating. I badly hurt him.

After playing with Baby for about an hour, I headed down the
stairs and outside so that Baby could go to the bathroom.

"Go potty, Baby. You go potty for Mommy," I encouraged.

I stood and watched for her to do her deed as Third Day played
on my iPod. It was very warm outside and smelled like fresh cut
grass. Riley must have mown the lawn while I was at work.

"Look at that big girl! Good girl, Baby, you went potty like a big
girl!" Baby shook her tail as she limped toward me. "You're a rock
star." I picked her up and kissed her on the head. Turning to go back
inside, I spotted Riley sitting motionless on the porch swing.

I yanked out my ear buds and turned off the iPod before starting
up the porch steps. "Sorry, I didn't know you were out here."

He shrugged. His eyes were dark and sad.

I stood looking at him and hoped that he would talk to me so
that I could explain, but when I realized he wasn't going to say anything, I started to go inside.

"Do you like him, Charlie?"

"No."

I turned toward him as he jumped out of the swing and walked
toward me.

Planting my feet on the ground, I stood and waited for his anger
to pour out over me.

"You're going out with him twice in one week for cryin' out
loud." His jaw clinched and he sounded angry, but he didn't raise
his voice.

"I'm not, Riley. I'm not going `out' with him."

He closed his eyes and shook his head as he stood within inches
of me. His face wore a pained grimace. "I bet he thinks you are," he
said quietly.

"Why would he think that?"

Opening his eyes, he looked back at me. "Because he asked you
out twice and you said yes twice, that's why." He rolled his eyes as if he
couldn't believe my complete lack in understanding the male mind.

"Oh," I whispered.

"My gosh, Charlie, you and I haven't even gone out on a date
yet." He practically whimpered as he stared blankly in my direction. "I'm trying to do the right thing by waiting, and this other guy
swoops in and asks you out. Twice. And you said yes. Twice." He put
his hands over his stomach and closed his eyes. "The thought of it
makes me sick."

"Riley, I... "

What could I say? He was upset, sick even, at the thought of me
going out with another boy. Part of me was elated at the idea that he
could be so jealous, but the other part of me felt guilty. I hadn't given
his feelings any consideration at all.

He turned and walked away from me making his way down the
porch steps and into the grass as I stood watching him.

He turned and looked at me. "What if he tries to kiss you?"

The thought disturbed me. "He won't." I hoped he wouldn't.

Riley threw his hands on his hips and tilted his head as he looked
at me like I didn't have a clue what I was saying. He spoke slowly.
"What if he does?"

My mind raced around the idea of Cooper trying to kiss me, and
I immediately felt nauseated.

He threw his hands up in the air and started pacing. "Seriously,"
he said with what sounded like a growl. "You want your first kiss to
be with Cooper Truman?"

"No!" I ran down the porch steps and onto the lawn.

"Well, it could happen, you know!" His pacing became hurried.
"He could help you off a horse and then kiss you. Or he could have
his cook make some picnic lunch, take you to some romantic spot on
his ranch, and then try to kiss you." The words were flying out of his
mouth, and his pace quickened. His hands were tucked tightly into
fists. "There are tons of different scenarios, and I'm sure he's thinking of all of them. I know I sure as heck am."

He turned and started walking toward the side of the house.

I set Baby down and started chasing after him. "Riley?"

He spun around, grabbed my hand in his, and then turned and
continued walking.

"Riley!"

He pulled me along behind him. "Shhh!"

He walked so fast that I had a difficult time keeping up. "Riley,
slow down, I'm-"

He dropped my hand and swung around. Wrapping his right
arm around my waist, he pulled me close to him.

"I'd planned on giving you your first kiss." He spoke in a whisper
as his left hand tenderly wrapped around the back of my neck.

"Oh?" I muttered.

He brought his face to mine, and when our lips made contact, I
thought my heart might explode. His lips were sweet and his touch was gentle. After only a few moments, he pulled his face away from
mine but kept his hands firmly in place.

I practically whimpered as he pulled away. I wanted him to stay
just where he was.

Opening my eyes I could see him in the light of the patio, gazing at me with a large grin on his face. I weakly smiled back at him,
and before I knew it, both of my cheeks were in his hands and he
pulled me to him once more. Our lips met over and over again.
Although he was sweet, the kiss was forceful. When our lips parted,
he hugged me tightly to him.

After several moments, I stepped back a bit. My body felt weak.

"Riley-"

Before I could get another word out, he pulled me to him and
kissed me again. When he let me go, my knees were wobbling, and
I stumbled.

"See if Truman can get that reaction out of you." He grinned
and then made his way toward the house. "Come on, Baby."

Once Riley made it inside, I allowed myself to fall to the ground.
I lay there thinking about what had just happened. My heart was
thudding with excitement.

Giggles overcame my body. I was beyond thrilled to have finally
been kissed, and the fact that it happened before my seventeenth
birthday and with Riley Bennett made it even better. I would have
been more than willing to wait until the end of the summer, but I
was glad that he hadn't held out any longer. He certainly knew what
he was doing; evidently, he'd had a lot of practice. I, on the other
hand, hadn't had any practice, and since he didn't comment in any
way, I didn't know what he thought about the experience. Walking
off like that was plain cruel.

"Attiline!" I heard Pops's voice. "Movie's about to start."

"All right, I'll be right in!"

Evidently, Cruise-a-pa-looza was back on.

The closer I got to the house, the more my heart raced. I didn't
have any idea how to act around Riley. I could feel my cheeks begin
to warm, and I assumed that I was blushing. Luckily, the lights were
already off. Unluckily, the only available seat was next to Riley on the
couch. He didn't look up at me, but a large grin was plastered on his
face. Baby looked very content curled up in a ball on his lap.

I quickly took my spot and looked toward the television hoping
that the movie would start immediately.

"Attiline, we decided to watch Top Gun first. Since it's so late, we
need to save Rainman for another night."

"Maybe we can watch it with Cocktail some night," Riley suggested.

"Ooh, that's a good one!" his mom replied. "I love Cocktail. I
need to add that `Kokomo' song to my iTunes. Riley, remember to
add that one."

"Yes, ma'am."

For the first time the couch felt very, very cramped. We both
tucked our legs up onto the couch, and our feet were practically
touching. I contemplated placing my feet back onto the floor but
decided it would make me look like a wimp, so I left them right
where they were.

As the movie started I settled in and tried to ignore Riley, but
it was impossible. I tried to think of a way to look in his direction
without it being obvious that I was trying to look at him.

"Baby," I whispered, looking over at her. "Come here, Baby." I
patted my leg in an attempt to have her join me, but she refused. She
was content on Riley's lap.

Glancing up at Riley, our eyes met. His face was blank.

"What?" I whispered.

A small, sly grin formed on his face. "Thinking."

"About what?"

He looked downright spectacular sitting there, but his self-confidence was becoming annoying.

"What do you think?" His grin grew slightly, and my face felt
hot. "You're blushing."

"How do you know? It's dark."

"It's not that dark."

"You're downright cruel."

"Why?"

"Leaving me out there like that."

His face turned serious, and he looked down at Baby. "I had to."

"Why?"

I could see a mischievous grin creep back onto his face, and my
cheeks grew hotter. "Why do you think?"

"You're killing me."

He took delight in my misery. "Welcome to my world."

"Shhh!" Pops scolded us without looking back in our direction.

I leaned toward Riley so I could speak more quietly. "And what
world is that?"

He leaned to within inches of my face and gazed at me. Parents
or no parents, I wanted him to kiss me right then and there, and he
looked like he wanted to kiss me as well.

"The world of wanting something you can't have."

His eyes remained locked on mine as I felt his hand slowly place
itself on my thigh. Although it sent a rush up my spine, I tried not
to react. He held my stare for a moment longer and then removed
his hand.

"Butthead," I whispered back.

With a large grin on his face and looking very content with
himself, he turned and watched the movie.

I was not content. He had me right where he wanted me, and
I wasn't interested in having him think he had me figured out so
quickly. He still hadn't apologized for the way he behaved, and until
he did he wouldn't get any more affection shown in his directionphysical or not. I pulled my legs closer to my body, set my jaw, and
watched the movie. I wasn't going to let Riley Bennett torture me.
This was war.

When the movie ended, I gave an excuse to leave and quickly
made my way up the stairs. As I threw myself onto the bed, I heard
Riley's voice outside in the front yard. I moved the curtain back
slightly and watched as he encouraged Baby to do her business.

Anne was right; he was adorable. Gorgeous actually.

I liked being able to study the way he looked and the way he
moved. He carried himself in a very self-confident way, but there
wasn't arrogance about him at all. It was as if he wasn't aware or
concerned at all about what other people thought of him.

I forced myself to get ready for bed. As I brushed my teeth, I
wondered if he would still sleep next to me or go back to his room.
I figured that it would depend on his reaction to the kiss. If it hadn't had any effect on him, he should be able to sleep next to me without
any problem. If the kiss had affected him the way it had me, there
would be no way he would be able to trust himself lying next to me
on the floor every night. I didn't know which sounded better, for
him to remain sleeping next to me or to have had him enjoy the kiss
enough that he now needed to keep his distance.

When I walked out of the bathroom, I got my answer. Two
sleeping bags were unrolled on my floor, and Riley sat on my bed
with Baby. They were waiting for me, and I was disappointed. Evidently the kiss didn't have any effect on him at all.