You Before Me (24 page)

“Yes, I do,” he answers with a grin of
his own.

Gabe wants his mother to meet me
because he likes me that much. He's ready to show them what he sees
in me, and he's confident that they'll see it too. But the fact
that his whole family will be there slams into me, slapping away
any previous good feelings. His father doesn't approve, and neither
did his mother from our brief encounter. That will be amplified,
I'm sure, with everyone else there. I want them to like me so much.
My gut tells me it's a bad idea. A really, gigantic, fucking bad
idea.

“I don't know, Gabe,” I say quietly
with loads of apprehension tucked into the words. “You want them to
like me and I want that too, I do. Do you honestly think that's
possible though? Based on their reactions to me so far. Not to
mention that you want to do this on a damn holiday. I don't want to
be the reason your family has a less than happy
Thanksgiving.”

He reaches out, takes my hand and
holds it up, intertwining our fingers. “Ryan, it will happen. Maybe
not right away, but they are going to love you. Gramps will be
there and he definitely loves you. You'll for sure have Gramps,
Owen, and me on your side. I want you to go, Ryan. If you rather
not or rather wait until a different time, just tell me. I want you
to be as comfortable as possible.”

That's not going to happen no matter
what. His parents are scary as hell. None of that really matters.
At least, I hope not. Gabe wants to take me on this next step for
him, and I can't say no.

“Are you sure you want this?” I need
him to say it out loud one more time.

“I'm absolutely sure.”

Relenting against my better judgment,
I nod.

Gabe

I love that Ryan obviously doesn't
seem sure about this, but she's determined to do it anyway. If
Gramps can like her, then my parents can too. Her age seems to be
the biggest concern for them. That doesn't matter to me. All they
need to see is that Ryan is a good person, and a good person for
me. The water is cold now and I'm ready to get out.

“C'mon. Let's take a hot shower and go
to bed.” Ryan nods, turning to drain the water from the tub. As we
step out to move to the shower, turning on the water, I add, “We
can do a test run of sorts, if you want. Owen has another home game
next week. My parents, Gramps, and Grandma will be there. Do you
want to go with me?”

“You sure are asking a lot of me,
Gabe.”

I laugh and drag her into the stall
with me. “Nothing I wouldn't do for you.”

She smiles, wrapping her arms around
my neck as the water showers over us. “I'd love to go.”

“Good.”

Ryan steps around me and reaches for
the soap and a rag. We quickly wash ourselves, my eyes glued to her
body. It's on display just for me until she wraps a towel around it
once she gets out of the shower. I reach out, grab the white
fabric, and tug.

“I don't think so.”

Ryan props her hands on her hips, her
long, red hair attempting to cover her breasts, but failing. “Gabe,
I need to dry off.” As if to prove her point, water drips from the
tips of her hair. But all I can focus on is the path the droplets
take. Ryan snaps her fingers to get my attention. “I shouldn't go
to bed with wet hair.”

I brought something with me this
weekend for us to try and now is definitely the time to do so. “Do
you want to take time to dry your hair or do we want to find out if
handcuffs really do have a better use?” Her jaw drops, shock
clearly written on her face. Uh, oh. “Wait, you weren't serious
about that, were you?” I ask, feeling like an idiot.

She throws her hands up in the air.
“No! I was trying to distract you, so you wouldn't arrest me!” God,
I'm so dumb. Her voice comes down a couple notches as she curiously
adds, “Did you really bring them?”

I hand her back her towel and she
wraps it around her. Wordlessly, I nod and wrap my own towel around
my waist. All of a sudden, Ryan bursts into a fit of laughter. She
takes my hand, leading me out of the bathroom, still
laughing.

“You can stop laughing at me any time
now,” I tell her. She giggles harder. “What are you doing?” I ask
when she grabs my luggage and places it on the bed. I stand next to
her and she grins at me.

“Get them. Let's find out.”

“What?” I'm confused. She just said
that she wasn't serious.

“All hilariousness of this situation
aside, if you want to try it, then I'm up for it. Get them, Gabe,”
she repeats.

I stare at her, still unsure if she's
serious.

Ryan takes my hand. “I'm going to be
honest with you, okay? I've never done anything like this before
and I'm a little nervous. I trust you, though. As long as you don't
go overboard or anything, I'm sure it'll be fun. If it isn't, I'll
tell you without any hesitation. Have you ever restrained someone
during sex?”

I shake my head. “No, I haven't. Your
comment has been on my mind lately, so that's why I thought of it.
Are you sure? Because you being nervous is making me
nervous.”

“I'm excited too.” She smiles to
reassure me. “It's not like you're going to chain me to the bed and
leave me here. It's only handcuffs. You're starting to over think
this like I am. Get the handcuffs, Gabe.”

Ryan lets go of my hand and pushes my
luggage closer to me. I flick my eyes to her towel. “Take it off
and lay down.”

She grins, knowing that I'm going to
do it. While she does that, I open the front pocket and retrieve
the cuffs before putting my bag back in its place. When I turn
around, Ryan is laying on her back, looking relaxed.

“Are those the ones you use for work?”
She asks, glancing at the silver pair in my hand.

“No,” I answer as I walk back to the
bed, stripping my own towel off. “These are an extra pair.” I
arrange the pillows to sit against the headboard on the left side
of the bed. “Scoot over here and lift your arms up with your wrists
together.”

She glances up, watching as I place
one cuff around her wrist. I put it near the headboard where I want
it and reach for her other wrist. I make it so the links connecting
them go around the bedpost to keep her hands there. The bedpost
isn't much higher than the headboard and the pillows are supporting
Ryan. Her elbows are slightly bent, which is perfect in case she
wants to stop and remove her hands from their place.

“If you want to take them down, just
push your wrists backwards and lift. You should be able to do it,
even though it's as big and as round as it is. Try it for me, just
to make sure.” Her elbows lock up as she straightens her arms and
lift. “Good,” I nod, gently pushing her wrists back in place.
“Unless you don't like it, don't move them until I say
so.”

Satisfied, I climb into the bed,
settling myself between her legs. Excitement sparkles in Ryan's
eyes. I trail my fingers from her wrist, slowly down her arm, as I
press my lips to hers. She greets me eagerly. My fingertips dance
downward to graze her breast and I leave her mouth behind. I kiss
her collarbone, her sternum between her breasts, and her stomach.
One final kiss over her dandelion tattoo before I spread her legs
wide.

She's expecting my mouth. Not quite
yet. I lightly blow over her sensitive skin. Her arms jerk and I
glance up at her. Ryan's watching me though. I smirk before
lowering my mouth onto her. That happy sigh I love to hear escapes
as I lick and suck. Ryan moves her legs over my shoulders when I
push a finger inside her. I hear a scrape of the metal against the
bedpost again.

“Gabe,” Ryan breathes when I look up
at her. She lets her legs fall to the side, a silent gesture that
she's ready for me. I grab the last of our stash of condoms from
the top of the nightstand.

“Legs over my shoulders again,” I
order as I put on the condom. When she does, I place one foot on
the floor to half stand and give myself a better leverage. I slide
her hips over just a bit before guiding myself inside
her.

My right hand steadies me on the bed
as I begin to move. My free hand reaches out to play with her
breast. The moment my fingers tug on her nipple, her arms pull
forward a bit. I love being able to see that she wants to touch me
so much, but I need to make sure she's fine.

“Doing okay, Ryan?” I pinch her nipple
and her back arches, pushing her breast further into my
hand.

“Mhm,” she hums. I pull out until just
the tip off me is inside her. “Gabe,” she breathes.

“Yeah?”

“None of that tonight. I can't touch
you, so you can't tease me. Just fuck me hard.”

A second after she finishes talking, I
slam into her and she yells out. I do it again twice. “Like
that?”

“Mhm,” she hums again, her eyes closed
as I begin to repeatedly thrust into her hard and deep.

“Look at me.”

Those green eyes flash open in a
hurry. Ryan watches me as my movements quicken until I feel her
tighten around me. My hand glides down her torso, reaching between
her legs as my thumb begins to rub the spot that will push her
higher and over the edge. Ryan screams, her eyes closing, as she
arches her back, the heels of her feet digging into my shoulders.
She unravels beneath me, pulsing around my cock.

My release hits me hard. I push her
legs aside and fall on her. The girl takes every ounce of my
energy.

“Gabe,” she mutters, her voice
strained.

“Yeah?”

“Get off me, please. These handcuffs
are biting into my wrists and I can't really move like
this.”

Her words stir me into action. I get
up, pull out of her, and lift her arms for her. Quickly, I go to
the bathroom to clean myself up and slip on my boxer briefs. When I
come back, she's sitting up on the bed with her wrists in her lap.
She puts them in my lap for me to help her remove the handcuffs
when I sit back down.

“Oh, Ryan,” I say softly with remorse.
There are bright red lines around her wrists. My thumb runs over
them lightly.

“It's fine, Gabe. I tugged harder than
I thought, I guess. Be right back.” She gets up, disappearing into
the bathroom. A minute later, her voice carries to me, “It was fun
and really good.” Ryan walks out, dressed in pajamas, and comes to
straddle my lap. She makes a show over running her hands over my
bare chest. “But I much rather be able to touch you whenever I
want.”

“I do love your touch.”

“Good.” She kisses me softly and then
smiles. “Let's watch a movie.”

We rearrange ourselves on the bed. I
grab the remote, turning on the TV, as Ryan snuggles up to me. This
has been a wonderful mini-trip and I can't wait to take Ryan to see
more artwork.

* * *

Ryan is having to meet me at the game
because I wouldn't have time to pick her up and make it to the game
before it started. And good thing I'm meeting her because I got off
a few minutes later than I was supposed to, so I'm still partially
in work clothes. Getting to the game as quickly as possible is my
first priority. Instead of changing completely, I kept my pants on
and changed my shirt and such. My navy slacks are paired with just
a white t-shirt and a jacket to keep me warm. The November air is
extra vicious tonight, it seems. Ryan told me roughly where she and
my family are sitting, but I've already missed kick off.

Quickly, I walk up the ramp to the
bleachers, walking down to the other end, where Ryan is laughing
next to Gramps. God, she's beautiful. She's wearing dark jeans, a
red shirt, which makes her hair look brighter than usual, and a
black leather jacket with a white scarf wrapped around her neck.
She grins when she sees me. My eyes flicker to everyone else. They
seem to be watching with scrutinizing eyes, except for Gramps.
There's an empty spot next to Ryan, and I take it.

“Hey,” she greets.

“Hey,” I reply, not being able to help
myself as I squeeze her knee, lean over, and give her a little,
worthy-in-front-of-my-mother kiss. Ryan's already pink cheeks grow
a little darker with a blush. Looking past her, I say hello to my
family, asking how they've been. My grandfather is the last to
answer.

He proudly puts an arm around Ryan
with a grin. “This girl knows her football and can shoot. Better
keep her, Gabriel.”

Ryan lets out a girly giggle. “You
have Gabe to thank for both of those things, Gramps.” She looks at
me with a sly smile. “He taught me everything I needed to
know.”

A call on the field distracts
everyone, the conversation ending as Gramps' arm falls from her
shoulders, but Ryan is still watching me, as if her words have more
meaning to them and she wants me to catch on. Her green eyes seem
to be a stark contrast against her skin tonight, holding my gaze
captive. I can't resist any longer as I lean over to whisper in her
ear.

“You are gorgeous. I am so very
excited to get you home.”

Then I pull away and look onto the
field to find my little brother. From the corner of my eye, I can
see Ryan turn to the same direction, but she glances at me after a
few seconds. I smirk, see her shake her head, and then she hooks
her arm through my elbow before sticking her hand back into her
pocket.