Ch. 16
POV: KORI
I stare at myself in the mirror, admiring the eyeliner and mix of red and orange eyeshadow. I run the tube of lip gloss over my lips and then pick up my red scarf, wrapping it around my head and tying a knot at the base of my neck. The pirate costume had only ended up costing me $20, and it came with a fake sword and everything. I smooth the folds of the dress down, the gold necklaces at my neck jingling softly, and I grin as I slide on some gold bracelets and then gold hoop earrings. My hair's resting on my shoulders, the dark blue of the tips standing out wildly against the white and red of the costume and scarf, and yet I couldn't bring myself to dye my hair a different color. Not yet, at least.
A knock at the bathroom door has me turning to smile at Kansas. He's leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Do I look good?" I ask, spreading my arms out wide so he can see the entire outfit.
"Good enough to join the pirate king's crew," Kansas says, winking. I laugh and throw my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. The scent of him surrounds me, and I bury my nose in his chest to savor it, to remember the feel of this hug, his warmth.
"Ready to go?" He pulls back from the hug, stepping back to admire my costume again. His eyes dart to the sword at my side and he raises an eyebrow.
I unsheathe it and poke the tip against his chest. "It's plastic, officer, don't be alarmed."
“Yeah, like I’d trust a pirate.” Kansas laughs. “Come on, let’s get you to that party.”
I follow him out of the bathroom and downstairs, where my dad is standing in the kitchen. He's rifling through a folder filled with papers, but he looks up when he hears us coming. His eyes widen when he sees me, and slowly a grin spreads across his face. I feel an overwhelming sense of pride wash over me as I grin back.
“You look great, beautiful,” my dad says, and then he nods towards the living room. “I’d like a word with you before you two leave.”
“Of course, dad.” I follow him out of the kitchen, sitting down on one of the couches in the living room. “What did you want to talk about?”
My dad stays standing, and he walks from one end of the living room to the other before saying, “I heard Ryland Park is back in town.”
I nod, unsure of where he’s going with this.
My dad purses his lips, staying quiet for a second, like he’s choosing his words carefully. “I want you to stay away from that boy. He’s dangerous and unpredictable.”
My mouth falls open. “Dad-“
“Koraline, I’m serious,” he interrupts, shaking his head. “I don’t know what that bastard Simon Park is playing at, bringing that boy back here, but it’s obviously nothing good and I don’t want you to have any part in it.” At my incredulous look, he adds, “Have you forgotten the summer before your freshman year? My condolences to Austin and his family, as well as Hannah and hers. Simon Park is a dangerous and disloyal son of a bitch, and I have no doubt that he ruined that young man before he could become something. He's turning more and more into his father every day. I wouldn’t be surprised if Simon pressured that boy into initiating that whole fiasco. But even if so, there’s blood on that boy’s hands that I don’t want you getting involved with.”
I can’t help myself from speaking again. “Dad, I-I know things look bad, but nothing was ever confirmed, and Ryland-“
“Are you seriously arguing with me on this?” His eyes flash angrily, the first real hint of emotion I’ve seen from him in a long time. “This is not a debate, Koraline. I don’t want you near that family at all. Why would you want to be associated with that?”
I’m quiet for about 10 seconds before responding. “I’m sorry.”
It’s not the right answer, and I can feel him staring at me, but I keep my eyes on the carpet. After what feels like an eternity, he turns and walks back into the kitchen. I place my hand over my chest and take a breath, trying to calm my pounding heart.
Thinking about the facts of that summer, it’s certainly not a stretch to say that Ryland could be the one who did it. But something about that has never seemed right to me, at least not fully. There’s got to be more to the story. A part of me wants to investigate, if only to clear his name and find out the truth, but I know for a fact that Ryland doesn’t want anyone digging into his past. If anything, he’s hoping for everyone to forgot it all happened.
I couldn’t imagine being in his position.
I stand on shaky legs, slowly making my way back to the kitchen. Kansas is at my side instantly, his eyes scanning my face.
I try for a grin. "Ready?"
He looks like he wants to say something, but instead goes, "Yeah, let's go."
I follow him towards the garage door, but I stop in the doorway. Against my better judgement, I turn to look at my dad one more time. He's back at the kitchen counter, his nose buried in the folder again. He looks up and meets my gaze.
"Have a good night, beautiful," he says with a nod.
Swallowing, I say hoarsely, "Bye, dad."
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When we pull up to the old barn, Kansas blinks. "This is the place?"
"Yeah, some guys in the class rented it out or something," I say, unbuckling my seat. I'm practically shouting since we can hear the music from here, and I can see the flickers of bright orange and red behind the house.
Kansas turns to face me, running a hand through his brown curls. "Kori, I..." he clears his throat and starts over. "I want you to be safe, alright?"
"I will be-"
"Not just tonight. Every night." His body shifts so that he's fully facing me. "Call me if anything happens. Call me if nothing happens, honestly. Seriously. Don't be afraid to just call."
I nod, a lump forming in my throat. "Of course, Kansas. You know I'll miss you. But this is a huge opportunity for you, especially if you're going to take over the business one day. I'm proud of you."
He laughs softly, his eyes glistening. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, get out so I can give you a real hug."
Laughing, I step out of the car and race around the front, meeting him for a hug again. He embraces me tightly, lifting me off of the ground for a little. "I love you, Kori."
"I love you too, Kansas."
When we break apart, he takes my face in both palms and kisses my forehead. "We'll be back before you know it, I promise," he says. "I won't let him stay away for long this time."
I nod, too emotional for words now. With one final hug, Kansas steps back into the car and drives off. I stand there for a moment, watching silently until the car fully disappears. Then, with a deep breath, I turn toward the barn and start walking.
Inside, the music is almost deafening, and it's about a million degrees hotter with all of the bodies packed together. Everyone's in costumes, ranging from cowboys to witches to movie characters to memes. I texted our group chat on the drive, and Zack responded that they were outside sitting by the fire. I move through the crowd as quickly as possible, almost getting caught up in a dance contest with another pirate, but I finally find the back door and step back outside. My eyes light up at the sight of the huge bonfire, easily twice my size, the heat of the flames warming my face and body. There's logs and benches around the bonfire filled with more people, others off the sides standing and chatting and dancing, and I start moving towards the bonfire.
POV: RYLAND
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I've had my eyes on her since she stepped out the back door. The light from the bonfire reflects off of her, casting her in a brilliant red and orange glow as she draws nearer. It's infuriating.
She's looking around, and when her eyes fall on me, her footsteps stutter like she's thinking of making a run for it. No doubt she didn't expect to see me here. I've lost the element of surprise, but at this point, I couldn't care less.
She's looking away instantly, and I watch her approach her friends and fall into easy conversation, taking a drink from Grace's cup. Just like that, I've vanished from her thoughts. After about ten seconds of restraint, I push off of the fence I was leaning against and say, "I'll be back."
Eddie looks away from the girl who's been plastered to his side since we arrived to give me a thumbs up. I stalk towards the bonfire, where Nevaeh, Grace, Archer, Zack have been sitting for a while, and plant myself between Kori and Grace. Here, the heat from the bonfire feels 10 times hotter.
"Hello there," I say. Her mouth falls open. "So sorry to interrupt. Super important Romeo and Juliet stuff to discuss." And with that, I take her wrist and yank her away from the crowd. I can hear Grace shouting at me, but I choose to ignore it.
"Ryland!" Kori gasps. "What the hell are you-"
"Shut up." I lead her away from the bonfire and back inside the barn. Maneuvering through the crowd, I pull her up the rickety steps to the second floor and push her into the first room with a door that I see.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kori snaps, spinning around to face me.
"Shut up!" I hiss, my brain running on overtime, hyperfixating on the burst of adrenaline rushing through me. I take the collar of her dress in my fist, walk her backwards until she's up against the nearest wall, and then kiss her.
Her mouth falls open in shock, but then she's kissing me back, and it's absolutely everything. I release her collar and cup the back of her neck in one palm, my other hand wrapping around her waist. My fingertips dance over the soft material of her outfit, and she shivers and exhales roughly in my mouth. Her tongue sweeps against mine, and I taste her and feel like I've swallowed sunlight.
I pull back suddenly, drawing in air. I'm already out of breath, and it's embarrassing. I'm distinctly aware of one of Kori's legs flung over my hip. She reaches up and takes my face in her palms, tilting my head down to press our foreheads together. Kori's red everywhere, a deep scarlet blooming across her cheeks, her ears, the top of her nose, her throat. She releases a shaky laugh and says, "Well. That was unexpected."
"Was it?" I murmur, turning my head to the side to kiss her palm. The greens of her eyes darken at the sight.
With a helpless groan, she surges forward and closes the small distance between us. This kiss is even rougher than the last, and something new and urgent beats to life inside of me. My hand slides up and down her back before moving down to her thigh, hitching up the fabric of her skirts. The feel of her skin is enough to send another burst of dizziness through me. The sword at her side keeps knocking against my thigh, and I'm tempted to toss both it and her costume off to the side. I tug at her hair with my other hand, her mouth with my mouth, desperate for any type of friction. Her fingers tangle in my hair as she guides my mouth open with her tongue, and my heart just about explodes at the realization that all of this is truly mutual.
And then another realization sinks in. Because this just simply isn't enough. I want more. More of everything. The physical stuff, yes, of course. My mouth against hers, our bodies fitting together. The sensation from her touch is beyond words.
But mostly, I want more of her.
The way her breath catches in her throat when something surprises her. The sound of her laugh. Her smile, bright and dazzling like light on water.
"Ryland," she says between kisses, catching my bottom lip between her teeth, "what are you wearing?"
I move her against me, pressing her against the wall and myself against her. "This party was a last-minute decision. It's homemade. Sue me."
Her fingers move over the headband buried in my hair, flicking the werewolf ears pinned to them. I feel, rather than see, her smile. Her hands move to my face again, running down the fake sideburns I've got on. "Eddie's idea?"
Groaning, I press my mouth to hers, this time hard and slow. It actually had been Eddie's idea, and I was too focused on planning how tonight would go that I hadn't argued with him about it. I'm wearing a ripped-up sports letterman jacket and jeans with furry brown hair poking out from all the rips, and we stole the headband from Eddie's little sister and glued the ears to it. Hopefully she won't want it back.
"Yes, it was," I say roughly, cupping her jaw.
She grins. "I love it."
I love you. I kiss the thought away, and she melts back into it with a sigh. "Don't mock me," I mutter against her lips, bucking my hips slightly, and her eyes flutter shut as she huffs a laugh.
I drag my mouth away from hers, pressing kisses to her jawline, her cheeks, her neck. All of this is so new, and yet I've never felt so alive. I'm weak beneath her touch, so fucking gone.
And then the sound of shouting outside the door has us both freezing.
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POV: KORI
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Ryland rocks backwards onto his heels instantly, his mouth swollen and red as strawberries. "Oh, fuck."
The sounds of people are getting closer. My skirts are hiked up my legs, and my scarf feels like it's halfway falling off of my head. Ryland reaches up frantically to fix it. "Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. Shit."
"Shut up!" I squeak, reaching up to straighten his headband and pat his hair down.
"Stop talking so loud!" Ryland releases a breath, scrubbing at his face with his hands. He turns in a slow circle, and it sounds like he’s trying to even his breathing. "Alright, Kiwi, here's the plan. This? You?" He gestures wildly to all of me. "Really doing it for me right now. So you're going to stay away from me for the rest of the night, or else I'm going to do some really bad things in front of a bunch of our classmates."
"Okay," I say slowly. Honestly, I feel a little woozy right now.
He drops his hands and faces me, stepping towards me. My back hits the wall, and I suck in a breath as he leans down and presses a kiss to the side of my neck.
"But after this party?" He murmurs against my skin, sending electricity shooting through my veins. "You and I are going to have some words. And if you try and ghost me again, as God is my witness, I will dig up every embarrassing picture of you from middle school and plaster them all over the school. Clear?"
He leans back and I stare up at him, breathing unsteadily. It takes three tries before I can finally get the word out. "Clear."
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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Ahh, I've been waiting to write this specific scene. More to come :)
-Zuffy <3
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and then Add to home screen.