Chapter One Hundred One: If There's Anything to Say

Author's note: Response has been depressingly low, but I'm hoping that this is because I deleted a chapter and the system thought you'd already reviewed, and not because I'm failing in my craft?
Ryan glanced sideways at Jake and subtly edged away from him. Ever since they'd made their agreement, they'd come no closer to fulfilling it. The tension was getting at both of them. Brief contact was torture.

As the taxi pulled up in front of Haley and Nathan's collosal townhouse, Jake jumped out to help out Ryan. Their hands touched and his nerves tingled in response. His dreams were filled with her.

Ryan used her key to gain access to the house, and they entered its unusually empty vastness. She easily slipped off her shoes and left them by the closet. She still acted as though she lived in this house, though she hadn't lived in it in years. Jake watched her bare feet dance on the cold marble, her red painted toenails.

"Come on. They just wanted us to water the plants, we can go home in a minute," he said nervously. She twirled around, her skirt flying.

"Please, I used to live here. We can do whatever we want," she said.

"This is my roommate's brother's place. I don't really feel comfortable doing whatever I want here," he said.

"We're in mansion full of alcohol and anything else we could possibly want. The owners are away and our apartment is tiny and hot. Can't you just feel the central air conditioning?" she said convincingly.

"No, they turned it off. Come on Ry," he said.

"Spoilsport. We're staying," she said staunchly, wandering off to the kitchen. He rolled his eyes but followed her.

"God, why did I ever move out?" wandered Ryan. She was sitting on the edge of the marble countertop, swining her legs against the cabinet, eating Rocky Road ice cream out of the box.

"Because you hated it here. Nathan was depressed all the time and it was all dreary," he reminded her.

"Yeah. Then his true love came back and made everything all better. But I don't think I could handle living with Nina and Eve all the time, and Nathan and Haley and their rabbitness. Good thing I have you," she said.

"Definitely. Are you done? I kind of have an idea," he said slowly. She nodded agreeably and hopped off the counter.

"Now this is a good idea," said Ryan.

Jake grinned at her and relaxed. They were in the hot-tub in the basement gym of Haley and Nathan's house, right by the indoor pool.

"Well, I'm just full of great ideas. But not as much as this. This is a nice house," he conceded.

"I kind of love it. Leigh and I used to search for secret passages. And on the second floor corridor there's all these portraits of the last few generations of Scotts, and once Nathan drew a mustache on our grandfather, and it was months before anyone noticed," she said, giggling.

"That sounds nice," he said.

"You guys have a bad impression of our lives. They were good. Nathan and Lucas weren't really angsty until that summer. We had fun. We were all close growing up, and my parents really loved each other," she said. He reached out to touch her hand. She gripped his hand and pulled herself in to him. She straddled his waist and leaned in to kiss him.

"Not here, babe," he muttered. He lifted her off of him before getting out and offering his hand to help her.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"As in we have to find some place else. Come on," he said. She smiled to herself as they walked back upstairs.

They stopped on the main floor to eat and drink for a time before heading upstairs. He expected her to lead them to her old room, but she took a detour and he followed her.

"This is Haley and Nathan's room," he observed, glancing around.

"Yeah. It's the best one. King sized bed, balcony," she said, pointing out the various favorable aspects of the vast room.

"Nice."

"Yeah. The bed is awesome. See?" she said. Only slightly influenced by alcohol, she climbed up on to the bed. He watched in amusement as she began to jump up and down on the bed, her hair bouncing around her.

He stared as she grinned and lit up the room in the way only she could. Her blue eyes danced. She shone.

She noticed in surprise as he climbed onto the bed and stood up. He snaked an arm around her waist and dropped down on to the bed with her pinned underneath him.

"Good bed," he remarked, before leaning down to kiss her.

She groaned as his lips trailed down her skin. In all her other sexual experiences, she'd been the guiding force. She'd slept with two boys who hadn't the faintest idea of what they were doing, and she'd led them to what she'd thought would please her. Jake needed no instruction. He was an experienced, tender, passionate lover. The only one she ever wanted.

His lips found hers again, and his tongue slipped in to her mouth. She withdrew her hand from his hair to work the buttons on shirt. After she'd unbuttoned them he ripped off her own, not troubled with such time wasting procedures. She giggled before he kissed her again, drowning out all conscious thought.

Jake's fingers sought the zipper off her jeans before his lips travelled fully down her body. She trembled in anticipation as his tongue sought her pleasure point.

Her body began to shiver, waves of pleasure building inside her, desperate for release. She sunk her nails into his shoulders.

"Oh sweet Jesus... Jake..." she moaned.

Reminding himself that no protection was needed, Jake was unable to hold off any longer. He slowly slid inside of her, taking care to not hurt her. When she'd relaxed, he slowly began to move in and out. He shut his eyes tightly, not ever remembering such an intense pleasure. Ryan linked an arm around his neck to pull him in closer to her, and he thrust deeper inside of her.

Finally he withdrew and looked down at her. Her eyes had been closed, but she opened them as she sensed his stare on her. Her eyes met his, and she looked almost frightened for a moment, frightened he'd see beyond her lies.

"It would never work," she eventually whispered.

"Yeah." Jake paused for a long time. "I know."

Halfway through the night, Jake looked over to see her on the other side of the bed, her back to him. He rolled over to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, deciding that just this once, he had the right. He kissed the nap of her neck.

"I love you," he whispered, not knowing himself if he meant platonically or otherwise.