Ren

"I can't believe it!!" Sydney says in shock. "Jace kissed you?"

"Yeah. I know! Just lips though, and I stopped him right away... but it was so weird," still barely believing it myself.

I've been trying to forget what happened like Jace told me to, but my mind won't stop replaying the events in my head, and I still feel so iky about everything that happened on Saturday night. So when I got home to my dad's, I called Sydney right away to help me talk through it and hopefully make the iterations stop.

"So... what happened then?"

"He freaked out just as much as me! He was so sorry after it happened and begged me not to tell anyone. But of course, I tell you everything. It's not like you see any of them anymore." 

"Yeah, I won't say a word, but that doesn't seem like Jace. He must have been pretty wasted." 

"Sydney, I've never seen him so stumbling drunk before. He probably paid the price big time today." I really was worried about him still. I hope he didn't pass out in the backyard.

"So, are you going to tell Gio?"

This question keeps hitting me in the chest like rolling waves, and this time, I literally fall dramatically back on the bed. "I don't know! It was a two-second kiss. I want to, but he's always been so insecure about Jace—and what Ryder said and did, I—"

"Well, I don't know if you should tell him what Ryder said about him; that was pretty harsh. What do you think he meant about the photos?"

"I'm not sure, and Eddie said something similar a while ago when we first got together. It's totally bugging me now. But it doesn't make sense. Gio's not like that, and he hates photos."

"Eddie and Ryder are friends and talk shit. They're probably just being dickheads," Sydney concludes.

"Maybe," but my gut still feels unsettled. "I think I'll  just tell him that Ryder showed up and was a dick to me, so I left, and then not mention anything else."

"And about Jace?" 

"I don't know. I promised Jace I wouldn't, but I feel so icky about it. I mean, I don't want to hide things from Gio, but he won't understand the relationship Jace and I have. That kiss didn't mean anything, and it's not going to change anything between Gio and me. I feel like it's just going to make things... complicated. Gio will never let me hang out with Jace again!"

"Well, that's hard, but if you still feel guilty after a few days, or if it comes up somehow, I think you should tell him."

My stomach burned and bubbled like a steamy black cauldron of anxiety. 

"What if he doesn't believe me, Sydney?" my voice squeaks through my tight throat. "I'm just so scared it'll ruin everything... even if it wasn't my fault."

♡♡♡

"Ren! What happened!"

My head whips in the direction of my name, and I'm shocked to see Alexis gliding toward me down the busy hall after second period.

She leans against the locker next to me. "What happened to you Saturday night? You left without even saying goodbye!"

My heart jumps, and my mind races. "Ummmm."

"Well, I figured it was because of Ryder," she smirks. "He stormed out of the house like a cranky child up past his bedtime. Told us, 'These parties always suck,' and took off. Such a drama king," she rolls her eyes. "But, I thought something like that might happen."

Her words prickle me. I get the suspicion Alexis might have invited Ryder to that party just as a distraction to suit her and Colin. 

"Uh, yeah. Um, he trapped me in the kitchen and said a whole bunch of shit, so I had to bail and get away from him. I left out the back door. Sorry I didn't say goodbye," I grumble.

"Don't even stress. Ryder's a royal prick."

"I know. Um, anyway, anything else happen?"

The steady palpitations of my heart count the seconds, waiting for Alexis to ask me to explain what happened with Jace in the backyard.

 She snorts. "Oh, Ren. You missed it!" 

Oh?  My mind dances between relief and nervousness at her words.

I lean in closer, my eyes darting between hers.  "What?" 

Excitement covers her face. "Jace got totally plastered. I've never seen him so drunk! He locked himself in the bathroom and puked for over an hour till Colin finally picked the lock and got him to bed." 

I open my eyes wide in fake shock, "Really?"

"Ren, you should have seen him, and he was an absolute wreck in the morning. He didn't even get out of bed until 3 p.m.!" Alexis laughs. "Said he completely backed out and doesn't remember a single thing."

Phew. That's a relief. If Jace doesn't remember and Alexis doesn't even know, then no one knows. At least I can just pretend that kiss never happened and move on.

 "Too bad about the Ryder drama, Ren," her eyes glinting. "You really missed a good party."

♡♡♡

Easier said than done, of course. 

As I walk to the football field to meet Gio for lunch, my stomach bubbles up again, worrying that he will interrogate me about the party. I prepare and rehearse a dozen answers to all sorts of imaginary questions and cross-examinations he performs inside my brain. I'm all pent up when I reach the top of the field and suddenly decide I'm just going to confess the whole story, but quickly change my mind when I see his face.

He's absolutely sparkling with happiness striding towards me. His grin is three miles wide.

"Baby! I got it! I got a car!!" 

Bursting with enthusiasm, he picks me up and spins me around.  

"I got it Sunday afternoon, and I gotta drive it home. It's so sick! I love it!" He sets me down, and his hazel eyes are aglow. "I got to get it insured today, but just wait till you see it!"

His buoyant excitement lifts me up and leaves all my other thoughts behind. My smile grows wide, mirroring his, "What kind is it?" 

"It's a Silver 1989 Chevy Cavalier Coupe RS," he says proudly. "It's gotta a sunroof and a black leatherette interior. It's a 130-horsepower, six-cylinder engine. Eventually, I'm gonna modify the—" He goes on and on, and I can tell he could talk about his new car all day. I don't understand anything he's saying, but I don't really mind. He's so ecstatic it's melting my heart.

"Congratulations, Baby. I can't wait to see it."

"Me neither! Can I pick you up for school tomorrow and drop you off?"

I grin at how pumped he is. "Sure!"

"You think we can hang out at your house after school instead of going to my place for a change?"

 "Yeah... but you know my dad will be home, so we can't really..." 

"It's okay," he interrupts me. "We gotta be careful anyway while your pill kicks in, right? So I was thinking it'd be better not to make things, ya know..." he smirks with a twinkle in his eye. "Too tempting." 

♡♡♡

At 7:15 a.m., I hear a car pull up in our driveway, and I scarf down the last bite of my cereal. I rolled out of bed at seven this morning, got ready, and dressed in ten minutes flat with five minutes left to eat. I have no idea how Gio ever caught the bus at ten after six a.m. every morning!

"I'll see you later, Dad!" I call on my way out the door. "Remember, I'm bringing Gio home after school today."

"Tell him I'd like to have him stay for dinner tonight," he says, coming out from the kitchen and drying his hands on a tea towel. "I'll make my Lamb Ragú. His mom always feeds you guys."

My heart flutters, and I smile softly. If he's going to make his famous nostalgic dish he learned when he studied abroad in his 20s, my dad is definitely doing it to impress Gio, and that must mean... he really likes him.

"I'm sure he'll love that. I love you, Dad," I say as I close the door behind me.

Immediately, my eyes land on Gio, beaming with pride, leaning against the passenger door to the dark silver Cavalier. It suits him—sporty, with low side skirts around the bottom and tinted windows. He opens the door for me to get in.

I give the car one more once over and then smile at Gio. "This is a hella sick car, babe."

"Thanks, baby," he grins, chuffed.

I lean in and give him a big kiss, and he hugs me so hard I think I can feel his heart swelling in his chest. 

When I get in, Gio closes the door behind me, and the car is already toasty warm. He gets in beside me with that grin that just won't leave his face. He turns up The Beasty Boys' Sure Shot on the stereo, pulls out of my driveway, and takes off toward school.

We park in my usual spot near the tennis courts and walk to school hand in hand. We kiss quickly in the main hall and part ways as usual. During study hall, he talks to his friends about his car nearly the whole time. I sketch him in my sketchbook as something to keep me busy. Reminant thoughts of Ryder and Jace flash in and out of my subconscious a few times, prickling my insides, but I try to tune it out.

Later, I start telling Gio about the party at Zack's grandma's on Saturday, but Gio knows already because, apparently, Eddie had heard about it over the weekend, too. Gio's super psyched to go. It's out at the beach, so we can easily get back to his house or to his work in the morning if we spend the night. 

Charlie's coming, and I decide to ask Hannah this time as well. I need to plan my cover early, nothing can ruin this night. I'm already buzzing with the thrilling thought of spending nearly a whole weekend with him.

When the bell rings, we gather our things and head back to his car.  As we drive past the front of the school, I imagine the kids looking in our direction are actually ogling us. It feels so great to be driven around in my boyfriend's car—more than great, honestly, I feel like a freaking rock star, and so does he.

After Gio spends some time chatting about basketball with my dad, we skip up the stairs to my room, and I close my door with just a crack left open. Gio falls back on my bed, arms spread wide, excited to be in my space for a change. I turn on my CD player and drop in my Sublime CD,  setting it to random. Caress Me Down comes on, and I turn it up semi-loud, then lay down next to him, playing with a button on his shirt.

"I love your room," he says languidly. "It's such a new house. I like that."

"Thanks," I smile at the beautiful boy in my bed. "I like that you're in it."

Unable to control myself seeing him lying there, I climb on top of him, straddling his hips, keeping my ears out for my dad on the stairs.

"Mmmm," he purrs, looking up at me. "I like this view."

"So do I," I smile deviously down at him. "You look so hot right now," I growl. His jaw drops.

"Hold up, baby," he studders, eyes wide, flicking them to the door. "We're supposed to be being good, remember?" 

"We'll keep our clothes on." I giggle, then lean down, whispering in his ear, "Get ready to roll on your front and grab a book if you hear my dad on the stairs." 

 "What!" his voice alarmed.  

His eyes grow as big as headlights as I gather his hands and hold them above his head. Then, I scoot off his hips higher up on his stomach, and with my other hand, my finger lightly traces the side of his body over his chest, to his abs, over my thigh, past his hip, down to his knee, and back up the inside of his leg.

His breath catches as I get close, and he looks both exhilarated and petrified. "Ren!" 

"Shhh," I say, moving ever closer. 

"I don't think so," he hisses, quickly freeing his hands and flipping me on my back. He holds my hands tightly in one of his, grabs my neck, and kisses me passionately. This feels so dangerous and HOT!

"God baby, look what you did to me," he whispers as we both look down at his pants. Then he rocks his hips into the side of my thigh. "Do you feel this?" 

He kisses me, but I don't kiss him back, so he moves to kiss my neck. Somehow, Gio using those exact words triggers my memory of Jace and the other night, and I suddenly have to pull extra air in through my nose. I immediately withdraw from the moment. I let his hand roam my body, but I'm not feeling into it anymore. The song ends, and I hear the CD player click and change to What I Got.

Gio stops kissing me and studies my face. "Something wrong? I feel like you disappeared?" 

"Um, Gio," I begin. Am I going to tell him? Just get it out in the open? "Uhhh—" I falter.  A cold sensation prickles my skin, and my heartbeat thuds against my ribs. Suddenly, I feel like I'm falling. Why is this so hard? Why am I afraid to make him upset?

His brow wrinkles in concern, "You okay, baby?"

"I, I... I think it's the new hormones from the pill," I cover. "They're all over the place. My doctor said it should calm down soon." I swallow hard and scrunch my eyes shut tight, trying not to feel like the emotional rollercoaster I am.

I'll tell him another time. Maybe.

Gio's face falls. "Oh, okay." 

He stops and rolls over next to me, letting his leg drape over mine, spooning my side. There's a minute of awkward silence as he plays with the scoop neck of my shirt. The icky feeling is back in full force despite my attempts to push it down. Shit. 

"Hey," he says, changing the subject. "It's Valentine's Day this Friday. You want to do something after school?" 

"Yes!" Thank goodness. I've been afraid to bring it up, but I'm desperately hoping to have a better Valentine's Day than last year with Ryder when we did zip. "What do you want to do?"

"Um..." He clears his throat. "You wanna go out to the beach and then go to Bertolucci's?" He shrugs, looking a little unsure.

"Um, yeah! What's Bertolucci's?" 

"It's an Italian restaurant I've been to with my family. We passed it the other day on the way back from the beach."

Wow, I've never been on a real dinner date before! 

I'm kinda sure he hasn't either.

"YES! That sounds great!" 

Color dusts his olive cheeks. "Good cause I already made a reservation." 

My eyes grow damp as my hormones shoot me skyward. Back on the emotional rollercoaster we go!

No words come, so I just grab him by his shirt, put my mouth on his, and use my tongue to express all the romantic feelings in my heart. He eagerly kisses me back, caressing my face, pulling me to him, and soon he's climbing on top of me again. I'll tell him about Jace after Valentine's Day.

Thump, thump, goes the end of a broom on the ceiling below.

"Dinner's ready!" We hear my dad's muffled yell from downstairs.

"Coming!" we both yell back.

https://youtu.be/0Uc3ZrmhDN4

••• A/N •••

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this chapter, please vote for it by tapping the star :)

Should Ren tell Gio what happened? Or are her fears justified, and she should just let it ride?

It's Valentine's Day next Chapter!

There will be so much cuteness, and there will be so much hotness too.