Page 44 of Save Me
“Oh,” I groan as I stretch and yawn at the same time, “I’m going to have a bath. You ok to entertain yourself?”
He grunts at me, too lost in his game-playing to really say anything more coherent. I begin to walk out the door but decide to turn back just before I leave him to it.
“Riley, I need you to not tell Mum or Mal that I was late. Can you do that for me?”
“Mal? Don’t you mean Dad?” he asks with a deep-set frown. “What’s going on with you two anyway? And where were you this afternoon? You’ve never missed Sunday lunch.”
“Well, get used to it, buddy,” I tell him with a sad sigh. “From now on, my Sunday lunches are elsewhere. And sorry, slip of the tongue, I meant Dad, of course. So, can you keep quiet? I’ll owe you.”
“Sure, but I always collect on my debts,” he says cheekily.
I roll my eyes, placated by his agreeing to remain schtum, then really do walk away. The last thing I want is for Mal to go running to Oliver to tell him that I’ve been MIA all afternoon, especially seeing as my friendly driver must have kept quiet for me. I can only imagine how much he would feel the wrath of my fiancé if he were to find out.
By the time I get out of a steaming hot bath, which has transformed me from a drowned rat and into a semi-passable human being, the rain has turned apocalyptic. However, I’m enjoying the sound of the wind rattling at my windows while I sit in my bed, feeling all snug and safe. Tonight feels like a comfy PJs kind of affair, with a quick brush through my knotted hair and a juicy book to get lost inside of. The day has been full of rapidly changing emotions; fear and dread over Oliver, followed by elation over Xander’s kiss.
Oh, to be Riley’s age again, shooting fictitious monsters on a TV screen and only having to worry about homework. It is for moments like earlier, when I had caught him being completely lost inside of his game and without any other stress, that I must go through with my marriage to Oliver. He deserves a childhood that was as happy as mine, as well as a future, even if it takes away my own.
I make a long ‘mmm’ noise as I indulgently slip inside of my covers, suddenly feeling like I ran a marathon today. Just as I let my heavy eyelids drop, I begin to hear the distinct sound of something tapping on my window. At first, I ignore it, guessing that it must be the storm. I imagine Bodhi’s probably night-surfing, causing Annie no end of worry as she tries to keep a close eye on his naked butt riding over the mounting waves. The tapping persists to the point where I huff noisily and force myself to get up and look out of the window, grabbing my phone on the way in case it’s a real-life monster. Given everything else that’s happened since I moved here, I wouldn’t even question this happening to us on the very night my parents decided to venture out.
Low and behold, there actually is a dark shadow of a figure lurking at the bottom of our house, bending down to pick up more stones to throw at my window. My heart jumps in my throat as I tentatively open it to lean down and get a better look.
The figure hears the squeak of my window and looks up, simultaneously dropping his hood to reveal his identity. I half gasp, half nervously laugh when I see Xander, completely soaking wet with slick black hair. Just looking at him, is embarrassingly doing something to my insides, something which I can’t describe without blushing.
“Xander?” I call out as quietly as the storm will let me. “What the hell are you doing?!”
He grins cheekily, before attempting to climb up the side of the building, having grand ideas of being a romantic Spiderman. However, he looks more like I did when I had tried to climb up the ropes in Phys Ed. FYI, it wasn’t pretty, and I totally failed at it.
“Get down, you idiot! You’ll break your neck!”
“Is that any way to talk to your Romeo? Ouch, fuck!”
I giggle when he slips down the trellis in a rather undignified heap, looking very unlike his normal popular boy persona. I guess I bring the stupid out in him. Though, strangely, this thought makes me even more attracted to him.
“Mum and Dad aren’t here, go around to the front door and I’ll let you in!” I yell before closing the window and rushing down to open the door. He is literally soaked through to the bone, but still looks every bit as delicious as he normally does. “Well, you certainly picked a good night to try romance!”
“I thought that would be uber swoon-worthy!” He grins with his teeth and dimples on full display. “Can I come in?”
“You shouldn’t,” I reply, biting anxiously at my lip, “but seeing as you saved me when I was drowning, I better return the favor. Just don’t make any noise, Riley is upstairs on his Xbox.”
“Yeah? What’s he playing?” He cranes his head up the stairs, looking genuinely tempted to go and join him.
“Seriously?! Your romantic gesture is plummeting like a lead balloon!”
He laughs menacingly as we climb the stairs and head into my room, which thankfully has a lock on it. I head straight to the bathroom to grab a towel, leaving him to remove his wet jacket and a spray of water all over my carpet.
“You’re going to have to take your clothes off, Romeo,” I instruct him, only to immediately blush because hearing my words out loud only makes them sound even more cheesy than they did inside of my head.
He arches a playful eyebrow, looking like a complete devil sent to tempt me into all things naughty. He then starts to strip off his t-shirt, boots, and jeans. Standing before me, in just his fitted black boxers, I have to bite my lips together to stop my mouth from gaping wide open. He is literally the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen, maybe even more so than Alexander Skarsgard.
“You really are Captain America, aren’t you?” I giggle as I chuck the towel over to him.
Apparently, my compliment goes down well as he grins broadly, showcasing the dimples in his cheeks. He begins to rub the towel over his hair, before wiping his face. As soon as he hangs the towel up, I begin to feel self-conscious and turn away, it only just occurring to me that there is a virtually naked man now stood in the middle of my room. As if sensing my trepidation, he walks up behind me and wraps his large muscular arms around my waist, with his chest pressing against my back.
The man only wearing his underpants, starts to kiss my neck, causing my nerves to ramp up a few thousand notches, but in a good way. Unlike with Oliver, I don’t want Xander to stop, so I move my hands over the top of his and look over my shoulder so I can see his face while he touches me. He smiles softly, looking a little nervous himself, before spinning me around to face him. Moments later, we are kissing with our lips moving to taste one another with more urgency. He begins to use his body to push mine toward the bed until the backs of my knees hit the smooth linen on top.
“Xander…” I whisper with warning.
“No need to panic, Moneypenny,” he says gently, “I just wanna hold you tonight, I promise.”