Alicia
The rest of the afternoon and evening on the boat was absolutely amazing. It was well past midnight when we pulled back into the slip, and Ryan invited everyone over to his place to spend the night. He also offered to drive Justin and Tammy, who were way too intoxicated to drive. The plan was to stay over then go to brunch in the morning.
I still couldn’t believe my luck at having Melissa seat Ryan in my section. He was hot, rich, and, craziest of all, actually a nice guy. And if he was as good in bed as he was a kisser…I kept looking at him, trying to figure out when reality was going to set in because this was definitely a too good to be true guy. But I’d spent nearly ten hours with him, and he was only growing more perfect.
Ryan drove all of us to his house, with me riding shotgun. With everyone in the back jamming out to the radio, Ryan put his hand on my thigh and squeezed. I knew by the heat in his eyes that he was thinking about our unfinished moment on the boat. I put my hand out, palm up, and he interlaced his fingers through mine. We stayed that way until he pulled up to the entrance gate of a private community.
A security guard leaned out the window of his kiosk and tipped his hat. Ryan waved, then pressed a button on the gate opener attached to his sun visor. It swung open majestically and we drove into an expansive, well-manicured community. The road wound around and around, going higher and higher. I was floored by the houses I was seeing. In all my life, I’d only seen houses that big in two places: the movies, and when I did the Map to the Movie Stars’ Homes tour in LA once.
We finally came to a gated property at the top of the hill. Ryan pressed the other button on the clicker.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said to me, pressing the other button on the clicker.
Nothing humble about it, I thought. “You live here?”
He shrugged. “I like the view.”
He pulled into the driveway, turned off the car, and everyone piled out. Quite the gentleman, Ryan met me as I was opening my door. He took my hand and closed the door behind me. When we walked into the house, I gaped again. It was huge. The kitchen was like something on the Food Network, with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a stove bigger than the ones at Afternoon Delight. The dining room table seated sixteen. Everyone walked through the kitchen and dining room like they were no big deal, and went into the game room located on the other side of the dining room.
“Make yourselves comfortable, everyone. What can I get you to drink?”
There was a bar in the game room and Ryan played bartender until all his friends had a cocktail.
“Honey, what would you like?” he asked me.
“A Captain and Diet Coke, please. And a tour of the house. Is the bathroom in this zip code?”
Ryan laughed. I loved how his face seemed to both relax and tighten when he laughed; his eyes shone and the tiny lines around his mouth were so sexy.
“I can give you both of those things. I insist on giving you the tour myself. There are a few special places I definitely want to show you.” He leaned across the bar and pursed his lips; I obediently kissed him. As I started to pull away he put his hand on the back of my head and kissed me deeper. His lips were smooth against mine and he tasted like the mint he’d been chewing from his mojito.
After a lust-soaked couple of minutes, he pulled back slightly and whispered next to my ear, “Alicia, you’ve been so awesome today, I can’t even tell you. Thank you. I’ll never be able to truly thank you, but thank you.”
“Oh, yeah, it was a real sacrifice having to go on a yacht. It’s amazing I haven’t killed myself out of boredom yet,” I said dramatically.
“Okay, okay I just wanted to make sure you’re having a good time.”
“You’re great, your friends are great, the day was great,” I assured him.
He handed me my drink and I took a sip. Add another positive to the list: the man made a perfect Captain and Diet, and added a lime just as I liked but hadn’t asked for.
“Ready for that tour?” he asked.
“Oh, I am so ready. Let’s go.” I jumped off the bar stool, turned around without looking, and almost ran into Reena.
“Hey, girl,” she said in a too-loud drunk voice. She looked at me with the spaced-out look of someone who couldn’t quite focus on what they were looking at but could manage the general area. I didn’t bother trying to make eye contact.
“Hey, Reena,” Ryan said. “I was just about to give Alicia a tour of the place.”
“Oh my God, can I come with? Wait, can I just give her the tour? I love giving tours. Come with me, Alicia.”
Before either Ryan or I could object, she grabbed my hand—making the drink slosh over the rim and onto the floor—and pulled me toward the doorway. Ryan opened his mouth to say something but I shook my head, smiled and mouthed, It’s okay.
Reena loudly pointed out the various rooms—living room, TV room, movie theatre, numerous bathrooms, foyer, patio, and deck. “That’s the biggest, most awesomest pool you’ll ever swim in in your life,” she said. “It’s fucking glorious, especially when you swim naked.” She pulled me toward her until we were nose to nose. I could practically taste the alcohol on her breath. “Do you like to swim naked?” she asked in the world’s loudest whisper.
“I like it just fine,” I said slowly, hoping that was the right answer. It was.
“Oh my Gawd!” she squealed. She danced around and nearly fell over. “I love it too! Ooh, ooh, we should totally go naked swimming!”
“Let’s do that after you finish giving me a tour, okay? What’s upstairs?”
Reena’s grinning face was flush with alcohol. “Ohhhh…you want to know where the beddyrooms are for you and Ryan. Did you know that he and I went out? Just for a while, a few months only. Not long enough to learn about the club, but long enough for me to spend plenty of time in his beddyroom. Come on!”
She ran out of the room and I followed her, wondering, What club? Of course, Ryan was rich so he probably belonged to lots of clubs and groups. Reena ran up the flight of stairs, stumbling as she navigated the steps so I followed at a safe distance. Once at the top, she stopped outside a door to the immediate left of the stairs.
“Shhhh.” She put her index finger on her lips. “Shhhh. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready,” I said, not sure why we were whispering since everyone else was downstairs.
“Ta-da!” she yelled as she flung open the door. “This is Ryan’s bedroom!”
My eyes grew large as I took it all in. It was enormous, easily the size of an entire floor of a normal house. There was a Jacuzzi in the corner, and the gargantuan bed was perched on a lifted, wooden frame that was so high there were steps built-in on the sides of the platform.
It was an exquisite room, and from the moment I stepped in I began to feel tingling below my waist and a pressure that would continue to build until it was released by Ryan in that bed. I couldn’t wait.