Mr. Romano's house was good for two things during the summer: getting drunk and getting laid. I planned on doing both when I was there, taking advantage of the last week before we'd have to go back to school.
"Turn that shit up!" Meghan yelled, tossing a look back to Hicks-full name Robert Hicks-who she'd already set her eyes on for the week.
We were a fairly large group, a mix of people who knew each other through various social connections and frat basements and living arrangements. Missy, Meghan and I went from sort of knowing each other, just being girls on the same freshman floor, to being inseparable in what felt like no time at all.
In response to Meghan's request, Hicks turned up the music on his portable speaker, a rap song with heavy bass that we all knew well.
Dylan and Ashland laughed with a sense of familiarity over some kind of inside joke or memory connected to the song as my boyfriend, Ryder, poured me a drink from the bottles in the kitchen.
He smiled as he handed me a cup of my favorite drink, rum and Coke, and kissed my forehead, his lean but muscular body brushing up against me. I knew every inch of him like the back of my hand, the familiarity of it exciting rather than limiting. We met partway through both of our freshmen years' and never looked back. I hadn't been easy for him to pick up but after some chasing, I was more than happy to call him my boyfriend. Plus, the fact that he was probably the hottest guy I'd ever met helped; he had these intense eyes and his skin was this gorgeous tan that worked with his light blonde hair. I found it hard to keep my hands off of him and he seemed to think the same about me.
"God, I can't wait to get you alone tonight,"
Ryder said, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in tight. Everything in my body felt like it was already on fire just by the suggestion of sleeping next to him, thinking of his strong hands running free over me. We'd had sex what felt like hundreds of times but being close to him never got old. He made me feel so sexy, like he could rip my clothes off of me any second and there were times when I really thought I'd let him.
It also helped that I knew we'd have one of the best rooms in the place. Mr. Romano was
Ryder's uncle, a wealthy, single man with a city penthouse and a giant cabin in the woods. He let us come up pretty much whenever we wanted and the first time Ryder and I had sex was in Ryder's designated room here. It had all felt so romantic and grownup; it was just us, away from the hustle and bustle of the campus, away from friends and prying eyes and roommates who refused to be sexiled. Even though I'd texted Missy and Meghan updates throughout the entire weekend, I still came back and relayed every detail to them and talked about how it felt no longer being a virgin. I felt like I'd gone through some sort of transformation from the girl who'd been too shy and too overlooked by the guys she had crushes on growing up, to this girl who the heartthrob of our Highmark University class couldn't resist. The confidence I'd built up was a rush; I dressed in a style that felt more me, met more people, danced at parties. And Ryder couldn't help but notice how quickly the flip switched from being pretty modest to texting him regularly about hanging out, occasionally treating him more like a booty call than a boyfriend during busy exam periods.
"Bea!" Meghan called for me and I detached from Ryder's embrace to meet her.
"What's up?" I asked. "Missy said she's going to try and fuck Dylan tonight," Meghan said. "Do you think Ryder will be able to somehow casually mention that there's a room for them?"
"Everyone already knows the rooms in the house are a free-for-all," I said and waved my hand. "Tell her to her act quickly, though. You know how people get as the night goes on."
This wasn't to say our friend group was super into sleeping with each other; it was just something that'd happen with some regularity.
Everyone other than me and Ryder were single and things would escalate quickly, especially when people were drunk or lonely or bored or just horny and with access to a private bedroom.
"Well, we all know you're set at least," Meghan said and winked.
Despite my best efforts, I blushed. Even though I was pretty much shameless, I was still a little shy thinking about how fortunate I was to have a boyfriend. And also to have friends who were always in his and my business.
"You have private access to a bathroom too, right?" Meghan asked. "People who say shower sex isn't fun aren't having it correctly. I had the best orgasm of my life in one of the showers at highmark" "Ohmygod you horndog!" I laughed. "Jesus. I never knew that."
"Sometimes a girl keeps her secrets," Meghan said and flipped her long, perfectly smooth auburn hair over her shoulder. She looked around the room until her eyes landed on Hicks again. "Do you think he's interested?
Like, genuinely?"
"Of course! He'd be stupid to pass you up."
Hicks was one of the relatively new guys to the group. He tagged along through Dylan, who he'd met through the Highmark baseball team.
"Fresh blood," Meghan joked when Hicks started hanging out with us more. But, with complete seriousness, he was.
I saw her pretty face go serious as she watched him to talk to Ariana, another relatively newcomer who was good friends with Missy but Meghan and I didn't know well. She was pretty in a confident, self-assured way, like someone who'd always been pretty and was always a girl guys would flock to. I even found myself a little envious of how magnetic she was and how lose and easy everything seemed for her. I watched as she laughed loudly but still cutely, teased Hicks, used just the right amount of sex appeal to keep him interested without seeming overt. It was an artform.
"It'll be fine, Meg. Don't even worry about," I said. "Hicks is totally into you. If anything, you can just beat her to the punch."
"You think so?"
"Yes! You're a fucking catch and a smokin' hot babe. Go get your man," I said and Meghan laughed, throwing back her drink. I did the same and glanced back at Ryder, feeling inspired by Ariana to flirt a little bit.
His mouth turned upwards into a smile, his eyes the kind a man takes on when he knows he's about to get lucky into the double digits.
We have ample time and ample freedom and I was looking forward to using it.
"What's up, you crazy kids?" Joe cracked as he entered the kitchen. "Ry, you want to get the hot tub fired up? Or maybe we should hit the lake first?"
As if Mr. Romano's house couldn't get any better, it was waterfront with a private dock so we could go boating or swimming if we wanted. There was a porch close to the water where Ryder and I had watched to Fourth of July fireworks the previous year.
"Hell yeah," Ryder said and raised his voice
over the music. "We're moving outside to swim if you all want to tagalong." There was a wave of enthusiasm that passed around the room and we started migrating out to grab our bathing suits. Ryder smacked my ass as I departed.
I kept my bags in his room and was in the process of taking my shirt off when the door opened and Ryder walked in.
"Which one are you going to wear?" he asked, referring to my bathing suits.
"Which one do you think I should wear?" I asked. I'd brought four with me, hoping I could cycle between them throughout the
week.
"Personally, I'd like to see you not wearing any of them," he said and stepped closer to me in easy strides. When his hand met my body it was like falling into a routine, the movements as natural as breathing.
"We could get a quickie in," he said, leaning down so I could feel his breath against my neck, admittedly turning me on.
"They'll notice we're gone," I said, but I knew the argument was weak. My resolve was quickly breaking and all I could think about
was his cock that was pressed against me and progressively getting harder.
"Who cares? It shouldn't be surprising," he said. "We've all seen you and they know we've obviously fucked. You're so fucking hot, baby.
I'd be stupid to not want to get you naked every time I see you."
He kissed my neck and I felt myself fall into him. He kissed my mouth, his light stubble brushing my face as his hands explored me and my bare torso, my shirt now disposed of.
He guided my hand to his pants, making it clear how much he appreciated my form.
"I need you, baby," he said, his voice low.
There was a lot that I liked about Ryder, but I liked how much power I felt like I had when I was with him. The second he was horny he seemed almost hopeless, just waiting and begging for me to touch him. It made me feel powerful knowing that anyone could want me that badly. He'd fall back on his babys-something he really only called me when he was beyond ready to fuck me and signaled he'd only last a few moments before cumming- and asking me to touch him, to get him off. I'd never considered myself dominant in any possible way, but there were times with Ryder that I felt like I was the one almost always in control.
"Can you feel how horny you make me?" he asked and I unbuttoned his pants as he squeezed my ass.
I was about to get to my knees when the doorbell rang, echoing through the house.
"Were you expecting someone?" I asked and Ryder, still somewhat in a daze, shook his
head.
"I don't think so," Ryder said. "We all drove up together."
"Should we see who it is?" I asked and Ryder groaned.
"It's probably just someone doing door-to-door or a neighbor checking in or something.
Nothing to worry about. We can just focus on us."
"It's just that your uncle was nice enough to offer us this place and you know his one rule
"Jesus Christ, Bea," Ryder said.
"I'm just reminding you of what he always tells us when we're staying. We run the house and have to make sure everything is okay."
"Fine, I'll check the fucking door if it'll make you happy," he said and all of the previous
energy seemed to be zapped from the room.
Any power I felt like I had evaporated and left me feeling small and stupid for saying anything.
He buttoned his pants again, making a show of it and refusing to make eye contact with me. I threw on my shirt and followed him down the steps to the front door. Missy had already opened the door and was letting the person in.
"Kels?" Ryder said, stopping in his tracks on the steps.
"Hey, Ry," Kels said, her voice smooth and easy. I'd only ever heard of Kels, never meeting her in the time Ryder and I had been dating. I mostly just knew she and Ryder had been friends for basically their entire lives and Ryder mentioned her all the time. I wondered, briefly, if he talked about me to her as much as he talked about her to me.
He ran down the steps, our brief argument forgotten as he threw his arms around Kels.
She glanced up at me, her eyes flicking up and down my frame, sizing me up.
And, suddenly, I completely understood how
Meghan had felt earlier.