Chapter 44
1106words
"You're right it's not, but love is never fair" "Who said anything about love?"
"Yeah Lin chill you're making it worse"
"Sorry but I'm just saying there's a lot to be uncertain about, but clearly you're sure of how you feel. Shouldn't that tell you something?"
Ryder nods knowing Lin has a point
"Ok so calm the fuck down, go fix your hair because it's a mess... and maybe change that shirt," Tamsin pats him on the back before walking away.
"What's wrong with my shirt?"
"Nothing" Lin shakes her head with a smile, "you got this!" She gives a thumbs up and walks away too.
Sitting in his desk chair spinning around Ryder tries not focusing on the time, but rather waiting for the second he hears the doorbell. After spending 5 minutes making himself look somewhat presentable he just has to wait now. With no real clue of what he'll say, Ryder hopes Shia will know where this is going and finally admit it before he does.
Stepping off the bus Shia walks towards Ryder's apartment unsure what this is even about, he just knew for sure something wasn't right, that phone call didn't feel normal.
Entering the building Shia climbs the stairs until he's on Ryder's floor, nervous but prepared for whatever Ryder had to tell him. Maybe it won't be bad— maybe it has nothing to do with them. Shia hopes this isn't Ryder deciding their vastly growing friendship was too much for him, and Ryder doesn't want to be around him anymore. If that's the case then he's not prepared to hear it
Unable to sit still Ryder walks out of his room heading towards Lin's door, as soon as he lifts his fist to knock, the doorbell goes off.
Immediately his heart stops and not even a second later Lin opens her bedroom door, "he's here!"
She smiles widely seeing Ryder just standing there
"Lin my fucking heart is pounding," Ryder tries to breathe "I know" she nods as he panics, "it's fine trust me."
"No it's not" Ryder shakes his head, "I don't know what I'm doing"
Walking from the kitchen as Tamsin opens her mouth to speak Shia rings the doorbell again, "Ryder just fucking fake it, ok?" She says turning him to walk towards the door, "as soon as you open that door don't even think, just say the first thing that pops up in your head."
Terrible idea but he decides to try it anyway
The girls tiptoe to the kitchen hiding to eavesdrop, and when Ryder thinks he's alone he reaches for the knob then pulls the door open.
All his worries wash away the minute he lays eyes on Ryder, Shia can't help but smile offering a simple "hey."
"Hi," Ryder's breath is caught in his throat
Noticing how quickly Ryder breaks their eye contact Shia's brows furrow and he asks, "you ok?" Ryder shakes his head, there's no way he can speak right now, everything in him wanted to come
out as a scream. He knows Tamsin said to just say anything but he can't, nothing he said right now would make any sense. So he doesn't say anything, instead, he does the first thing he can think off, letting go of the door Ryder steps forward until he feels Shia's hair against his forehead.
Not getting a chance to react Shia feels Ryder's lips pull on his, and before he knew it they were kissing.
There wasn't a moment in his life during something like this where Ryder didn't have to fake it. No he's never had sex, but doing anything else with a girl never felt good. It's never felt like this. Shia quickly adapts to his situation and wraps an arm around Ryder's waist holding him so close against his chest. Ryder could feel himself coming undone as Shia gently pulls at his bottom lip feeling as Ryder's fingers get lost in his hair.
Their first kiss was not rushed, when he's ready to pull away, Shia just takes a breath as he slowly parts their lips, but he keeps his forehead against Ryder's. "Is this what you had to tell me?" He asks with a smile as his arm is still holding Ryder close
The boy nods, "I'm sorry it took me so long to get it"
"It's ok you're worth the wait," Shia says and can tell by Ryder's reaction that he made him blush. Finally stepping apart Ryder takes Shia's hand pulling him from the door that was left open as they kissed. Taking Shia to his room Ryder shuts the door locking it, he stands against the door watching as Shia takes off his jacket throwing it anywhere. They look at each other and Shia takes slow steps until he has Ryder boxed in against the door
With the prettiest smile Shia gently taps his nose against Ryder's, feeling as Ryder's arms wrap around his neck Shia continues to lean in wanting his turn to kiss Ryder first. Feeling himself melt as Shia gently takes his lips Ryder isn't sure how long he'll be able to stand there, all the thoughts going around his head about what he wanted to do already. It's only been a couple of minutes and Ryder felt himself wanting to rush
Shia begins trailing kisses from his chin to his throat, the wet open mouth kisses against Ryder's skin were driving him wild. He could smell Shia's hair getting a whiff of his shampoo, his mind was officially lost.
"I want to see your tattoos" Ryder says almost like a demand, before he kept quiet always curious to see more of Shia's tattoos not just the ones on his arm, but how do you ask someone who's just your friend to take their shirt off for you? He was always too shy to ask But there's no being shy now, Ryder knows what he wants and he needs to know if Shia would give it to him.
After hearing the request Shia steps back causing Ryder's hands to fall off him, his eyes never leaving Ryder's, Shia reaches for the neckline of his long sleeve shirt pulling it over his head with no hesitation. Ryder's eyes fall to his bare chest, the different drawings and colors all catch his eyes at once, Shia's looked like the prettiest canvas, but Ryder couldn't help but wonder.
"Did they hurt?"
