Right at noon the doorbell rang, and there on the other side of the door stood Teddy, wearing an old WWE No Mercy T-Shirt with the sleeves cut off, jeans and a pair of sunglasses. My mouth falling open as my eyes skimmed over his large biceps, his muscular frame, all the way down to his tight jeans. I closed my mouth immediately swallowing, rolling my eyes as I suddenly felt the blush covering my skin.
"Hey." Teddy spoke, leaning against the doorframe, his free hand holding an old beat up toolbox.
"Hey." Was all I could think of to respond, the word coming out higher than I intended.
"You gonna let me in?" Teddy asked smiling. I nodded my head before slowly stepping to the side, letting him walk by me, his cologne reaching my nose as I inhaled deeply, before shaking the thoughts from my mind.
Although the cupboard was already fixed, Teddy had no problem walking the house finding things that he demanded needed to be fixed, everything from the small drip on the kitchen faucet, the creaking door of the upstairs closet and currently him and Richie were outside fixing the dining room chairs that wobbled. I looked out the back window watching as Richie and Teddy were hard at work on the chairs, it surprised me that Richie was actually helping out, but deep down I knew he looked up to Teddy so I'm sure that played a big part of it. Richie was sanding the leg of one of the chairs, while Teddy was staining another chair. I had come into the kitchen to get things ready for dinner, but got distracted when I glanced out the window and happened to notice Teddy take off his shirt, tossing it aside, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm.
"Whatcha doing?" The sound of Richie's voice startling me, as I jumped.
"Uh…cooking dinner." I said softly, looking anywhere but back out the window. I heard Richie crack up laughing before continuing into the kitchen.
"Teddy says these chairs are dry and can be brought back in." Richie spoke, placing the chair he held under the table, before glancing back to me.
"Next time I come in, you might want to actually be cooking something…just a thought." Richie added, walking out of the back door laughing loudly, as I rolled my eyes making my way to the fridge.
It was only an hour or so later that I had a dinner of spaghetti prepared, as I set the table. I smiled watching as Teddy and Richie carried in the last two chairs from the outside, sitting them at the table. Richie immediately running upstairs to wash up for dinner, as I continued to chop up tomatoes for the salad.
"Smells good in here." Teddy said smiling, as he leaned against the counter next to where I was, crossing his arms across his bare chest, his shirt resting over his shoulders around his neck.
"Thanks. I'm not gonna lie, I do make a pretty good spaghetti." I said blushing, glancing over to him.
"Anything I can do to help?" Teddy offered, glancing around the kitchen.
"Nah, everything's about done...if you want, my bedroom is at the end of the hall upstairs, feel free to use my bathroom to wash up." I offered with a smile, watching as he chuckled.
"You telling me I stink?" Teddy asked his eyebrow perked.
"No! You just look a little…sweaty." I said blushing turning back to the chopping board, putting the knife down, dumping the chopped tomatoes into the bowl.
"Ewww…" Teddy mocked me with a high pitched voice, opening his arms walking closer to me.
"Don't you get me all sweaty junior!" I threatened, backing up from him as he walked closer to me, I maneuvered around the table, as he continued to follow me. I giggled as I darted around the table, Teddy quickly changing directions, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me against his body.
"Uh Oh, What are you gonna do now?" Teddy teased laughing as I struggled to free myself from his grasp, both of us laughing.
"Is dinner ready?" Richie yelled running down the stairs with Rachel right behind him, both of them stopping in their tracks as they looked at Teddy and I in the kitchen. The moment taking an awkward turn as I stood up, taking a step away from Teddy, a wide smile on his lips as he walked by me.
"I'm gonna go wash up." Teddy spoke with a smile, as he walked past Richie and Rachel, making his way upstairs. I blushed, turning back to the counter, grabbing the salad and putting it on the table, as Richie and Rachel sat at the table, both with knowing smiles on their lips.
"Did we just walk in on some kind of sex game?" Richie asked honestly, causing Rachel to giggle as I spun around to face my brother.
"Richie!" I exclaimed, setting the placemats down on the table.
"What?" He responded as I rolled my eyes.
"We're just friends." I repeated, looking from brother to my sister, then back to the silverware I held in my hand.
"So the half naked man you were in love with in high school, holding you tight no more than 10 minutes ago is something you do with all your friends? Cause it sounds like some sort of sex thing to me." Richie added, taking a sip of water out of his glass.
"How do you even know what a sex thing is?" I asked concerned turning to look at my brother.
"I'm 16, I know more than you think I do." Richie added proudly, as I ran my hand through my hair.
"Yeah, for all we know it could have been some sort of dominatrix thing." Rachel added calmly into the conversation.
"What?!" I exclaimed, looking to my young sister.
" The learning channel had this whole show about it on TV a couple nights ago. There was this lady who was a dominatrix, and a dude who liked to be treated like a baby." Rachel explained, glancing to Richie who was chuckling softly.
"Ok, first off I'm canceling the cable and internet tomorrow, cause I can't take any more surprises from you guys, and number two I'm not a dominatrix nor do I own a pair of leather panties and a riding crop…" I finished glancing up seeing Teddy standing in the doorway of the kitchen, freshly washed, a wide smirk on his lips, as he was trying his best not to laugh. A whole new wave of blush attacked my skin, as I covered my face with my hands, hearing my brother and sister laugh loudly, as Teddy slowly walked into the kitchen.
"I walked into that conversation at the wrong time." Teddy said with a smile.
"They thought that we were playing some sort of sex…" I trailed off, as Teddy's eyes grew wide, a wide smile on his face as I blushed even redder, looking down at my feet, before I cleared my throat.
"You know what? It doesn't matter, let's just eat ok?" I said frustrated, grabbing the salad dressings from the fridge, placing them on the table before I sat down next to Teddy, ignoring the chuckling from the other side of the table, and Teddy's amused glances.
Dinner was actually really nice and a lot of fun once we all got past the awkward beginning. I don't think I've laughed that much during a dinner in a while, looking around the table I couldn't remember the last time all of us even sat at the same table and here we were having a great time. I smiled listening to a story Teddy told about being on the road with the crew, and his friends, you could tell how much he loved his job and it really showed. I smiled hearing Teddy ask Richie and Rachel about their projects, and I even joined in telling about my essay I had just turned in and an upcoming test.
I grabbed two beers out of the fridge, walking out onto the porch, sitting on the steps next to Teddy. I handed him the beer, as I leaned against the small handrail, looking out at the darkness, enjoying the sounds of the night.
"I really wanted to thank you for everything you did today." I said softly, taking a small sip of my beer. I watched as he swallowed a swig of his, smiling, before turning to me.
"You don't have to keep thanking me. I wanted to do it." Teddy spoke seriously.
"I've been trying to do my best keeping this house together." I admitted, resting the beer on my knee, taking a deep breath.
"You can't do everything Riley." Teddy said softly, slightly sliding closer to me, bumping me slightly with his shoulder, causing me to smile.
"Now you don't have to…You have me." Teddy finished smiling, taking another drink of his beer.
Silence filled the air for a moment, my mind trying to process what Teddy had just said, it scolding me for thinking anything more than just a friendship. My mind was actually convincing me that I should apologize for him spending time with me and my siblings.
"You've been great to us Teddy, It's just…I know we have to be cramping your style." I admitted seriously, hearing Teddy chuckle.
"And what style is that?" Teddy asked.
"I'm just saying that it can't be easy having a love life when you're spending your time with us." I admitted, tucking a strand of my brown hair behind my ear, feeling his eyes gazing at me, as I avoided looking at him.
"Remember when you said things have changed?" Teddy asked as I nodded my head.
"Well, I'm not the same skirt chaser I was in high school, I've changed too Riley." Teddy admitted, my body tensing as his hand reached out, resting on my denim covered knee.
"But still.." I started watching as he lifted his hand that held his beer, holding out a finger silencing me, as he swallowed the beer that was in his mouth.
"And if being with you, and Richie and Rachel is cramping my style, than maybe I enjoy having my style cramped." Teddy finished, sighing deeply before taking another drink of his beer. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at how serious he became during his little speech.
"Is there anything else you want to get off your chest there Junior?" I asked sarcastically, a smirk on my lips, as I turned my body to face him.
"Actually there is…" Teddy spoke, standing to his feet, casually pacing in front of me, as if he was thinking about what to say.
"I'm tired of you thinking that I don't want to be here, or that I'm forcing myself to be here. Riley, I'm here and doing these things cause I want to. I want to be here." Teddy spoke seriously, his eyes meeting mine, before I looked down to my hands, trying to hide the blush, feeling that he was close to me as he kneeled before me on the steps.
"I'm not sure what happened to make you think no one would spend time with you, maybe it was those guys you talked about, the one's that couldn't handle the baggage.." Teddy started again, this time his voice lower, and much calmer. My body jumping, when his hand reached out, grasping my chin as he lifted my view to meet his, his eyes dancing with mine.
"Those guys weren't good for you then. You need a man better then that." Teddy whispered, his lips curling into a smirk. My breath held as I watched his eyes glance down to my lips, then back up to meet my own.
"So where do I find this man?" I spoke, trying to keep my voice steady, hoping it would sound more sarcastic than scared.
"I don't know, but I'll keep a look out for him" Teddy answered smiling, his hand leaving my chin, gently moving to dig into my hair, his fingers gently diving into my hair, as he leaned in closer, his lips just inches from mine. My body was nothing but a puddle, butterflies in my stomach, no air in my lungs, my heart telling me this was what I wanted since I was in high school while my mind told me to panic and run away. I stood froze watching, not sure what I was expecting to happen, as he continued to close the small gap between us, stopping just a mere inch from my lips. I could feel his warm breath against my lips, his eyes staring into mine.
"Now that I know what you're looking for." Teddy whispered, a wide smile growing on his lips, and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me as I laughed out loud. I couldn't help the blush that attacked my skin, as I looked away from his gaze, shaking my head, laughing. I could hear his deep chuckles, as I playfully pushed his body away from me, watching as he lost his balance and fell onto his butt on the dirt across from the steps. I laughed even harder as he laughed out loud, holding the beer still in his hands.
"Help me up woman!" Teddy playfully yelled, as I rested my beer on the steps, walking towards him, as he grabbed onto my hands with his, tugging me down to the ground with him, both of us laughing out loud, as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight against his body. I giggled uncontrollably, as he held me between his legs, holding me tight against his body, his legs trying to wrap around my body as well.
"Remember how we used to wrestle all the time?" Teddy spoke, his breath cascading over my ear, as a shiver went down my spine.
"Oh it's like that huh?" I teased, trying to get free from his grasp, as I watched him reach out setting his beer on the last step, before our small wrestling match ensued in the dirt.