Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)(107)

The moon creates a silvery glow and the babble of the creek      gives the moment a mystical quality. The darkness isn’t so frightening with      Ryan. With him I can believe that I am a princess with a wreath of flowers and      ribbons crowning my head and he is my prince sworn to protect me from the evils      in the night.

Ryan releases my hand and turns his baseball cap to wear it      backward, a sure sign he’s going to kiss me. My insides flutter. The enduring      cockiness that exudes from Ryan fades and he shoves his hands in his pockets      while shifting. “I wasn’t going to do the writing competition, but I am now. I      talked to Coach today and told him I’m not playing next Saturday’s game.”

“Why wouldn’t you have done the competition?” I’m confused.      Ryan has a gift. Why wouldn’t he use it?

“My dad, he didn’t want...” Ryan shakes his head. “It’s not      important. You’ve opened my eyes to a lot of things and I wanted to let you know      that you’re a big part of this. A huge part.” He shrugs and for the first time I      see Ryan unsure of himself. It’s an odd thing to watch from someone who is      always nothing less than perfection.

“You’ll be perfect.” Some lives are blessed. His is. Mine      isn’t. I’m not sure how I helped, but at least he’ll have another good memory of      me. I have ten days to tuck in as many good memories as I can for the both of      us. I don’t want him to hate me forever. I want him to look back on our time      together and smile.

Ryan sucks in a deep breath and his continued track down the      path of uncomfortable makes me restless. “My parents are going to be out of town      for a week starting tomorrow. They won’t be back until next Sunday.”

Awesome. “I get to use the front door?”

“Yeah. If you want. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to      come...I mean I want you to sleep with me...I mean.” Ryan swears under his      breath. “I want you at my house if you want to be there.”

If it was anyone else stumbling through that awkwardness,      I’d laugh, but it’s Ryan, so I choke on the chuckles. “Are you asking me to have      sex?”

His eyes widen. “No. I would never ask that. I mean, I      would. Someday. Now if I could. But no. No. We’ll wait. Ah hell, Beth, can I      screw this up any more than I already have?”

I smile at the word screw and Ryan catches it. He says a word I thought only pops out of      my mouth. Ryan’s cheeks turn red and the blush on his face makes me blush. God,      we’re standing here acting like two virgins.

In fact, this whole week we’ve acted like virgins. We do      this uncomfortable dance when I slip into his room and climb into his bed. He      waits forever to kiss me, no matter how many signals I give. And when we do      kiss—the fire between us is hotter than flames in hell. Then we reach certain      points where neither one of us seem to want to cross the line. I’m used to guys      pushing forward. I guess I could cross the lines, but the thought frightens me.      Such a squeamish-little-girl feeling makes me want to slap myself. It’s not like      I’ve never seen a guy’s penis before.

Ryan readjusts his hat and I tilt my head as I understand      the agony marring his beautiful face. “You’re a virgin,” I say.

I curse internally when Ryan flips his hat back and yanks      the bill hard over his face. Go ahead,       Beth, embarrass the boy a little more. Why don’t you ask him if he has a       small dick too? Talk about screwing things up. This is not the memory      I want Ryan to have of me, but the knowledge he’s supplied will ensure I can      give him something he’ll never forget: his first time.

I close the distance between us. He’s stiff when I wrap my      arms around him and press my cheek against his chest. “I don’t care. In fact, it      makes you more perfect.”

Ryan sighs loudly, but his body relaxes under my touch. His      strong hands caress my back and weave through my hair. “I’m not perfect,      Beth.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Ryan!” Chris yells close to the tree line. “Get your sorry      ass over here. Logan took on a dare.”

“Of course he did,” mumbles Ryan. He keeps his arm around my      shoulder and leads me back into the pasture.

Logan stands beside Chris and wears a crazy grin on his      face. “Do you still have those bungee cords in your Jeep?”