Hello you lovely people, first of all, I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update- I am getting caught up in revision for finals, so yeah. Then I was gonna update on Friday or yesterday, but I got distracted by one hell of a jennoist riot :p Secondly: PLEASE READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER, EVEN IF YOU DON'T USUALLY. IT'S IMPORTANT (good important, not bad important) :p
Disclaimer: I didn't own Glee last time, and funnily enough, I haven't acquired ownership in the past few days either, so…
"Here Ry, here," Marley told her boyfriend, directing him down a different street, where there was a large and currently hiring bar that a friendly guy named Rob from her musical theory class worked at, and had, on Marley's request, managed to get Ryder an interview. They reached the place and paused outside, Ryder reaching up to frantically fix his hair, which, due to its length, had a tendency to become easily windswept.
"How do I look?" he asked Marley, wanting to make a good impression.
"Very handsome," she replied sincerely, smiling sweetly and giving him a quick kiss. "You should go in, you're due in five minutes and it'll be a good impression if you're extra punctual. I'll wait for you out here, maybe browse in that thrift store over there. Good luck!"
"Thanks," he breathed out, with a tellingly nervous sigh, before leaving her outside and entering the bar.
Marley tried to remain discreet as she watched him shake hands through the window with who she presumed was the manager, as she crossed her fingers inside her pockets, where she was shielding her hands from the cool Autumn breeze. To say that she really hoped this would be it was an understatement; she had been helping out Ryder for several days now to no avail- the CV they had created together had scored a couple more interviews than before, but they had still come to nothing. However, Rob had told her that this place was getting quite desperate for staff, so perhaps Ryder's lack of experience wouldn't be such a defining factor here.
Marley distracted herself from the worry of Ryder's employment issues by allowing her mind to drift onto another defining thing: Ryder's shoulders and arms in the tight shirt he was wearing. She couldn't pretend she hadn't been thinking about it more and more lately. It was probably the sharing a bed thing, and how easy it now was for her and Ryder to, before they even knew it, turn chaste, pre-sleep cuddles into passionate, at times hour long make out sessions, hands wandering to places they previously wouldn't have done. A few nights ago, during one of these encounters, Marley had even taken both Ryder's hands off her waist, and confidently placed them on her chest, taking delight in his own glee- and it had been that way since.
It had actually nearly happened, she recalled with a silent grimace, one night in summer, when they had gotten home from a date to find that Millie was still on her late shift at the restaurant she was working at until the new McKinley term started. Rather than kissing Ryder goodbye then him driving home immediately, she had invited him in, sensing an opportunity for more goodbye kisses than usual, without the watchful hawk-eye of her mother. They had been making out on the couch, and Marley had realised what she wanted. One thing had been on its way to leading to another, both their shirts had been shed, and jean buttons were being popped when they had gotten the jump of their lives upon hearing Millie opening the front door, and Marley's mother had found two dishevelled, just about re-dressed, and very embarrassed teenagers in the living room.
Things had been slightly awkward in the few days that had followed that unfortunate interruption, and by that time, Marley was off to NYADA and their spark was fading- but now they were living together, spending so much time together, and the spark had been very much rekindled into a roaring fire. Marley knew one thing.
She was ready.
Marley was interrupted from her epiphany by Ryder, his expression hard to read.
"That was quick!" she exclaimed. "How'd it go?"
Rather than saying anything, he grinned instead.
"They gave you a job?" She asked with a delighted squeal.
"Sure did," he replied happily. "Only just over minimum wage, but it's a start, right? And they don't have much staff right now so they said I can have as many hours as I want so…yeah! I start on Monday!"
"Baby that's so great," Marley whispered, standing on her tiptoes to give him a congratulatory kiss. "I'm so proud of you." Ryder smiled bashfully in response, taking her hand, before they both made their way towards the subway to go home.
{x}
It was late evening, and they were both getting ready for bed, beginning their usual routine of changing separately before they joined again- or so Ryder thought. He turned, and was shocked to see Marley pulling her t-shirt daintily over her head, leaving her in just her jeans and bra, before looking at him right in the eye and smiling at him in a way he had only ever seen her smile once before- on that night in summer before her Mother had interrupted them.
"Oh…um…" he stumbled out, his mouth immediately becoming dry as his eyes fixed on her toned abs, (no doubt helped by her rigorous dance classes,) and the small but pert breasts which were now only just hidden by her pink lace bra. "Did you want me to leave the room while you-"
"No," she told him immediately. Ryder opened his mouth to speak, but merely exhaled heavily, his mouth hanging open at the sight before him. Marley took this has a sign to continue talking.
"I've…been thinking a lot," she started, blushing slightly, "about us. About me. About what I want, what I'm ready for…Ry…" she trailed off, trying to calculate the best way to convey what she was trying to tell him. "I just…well you know how I was pretty much ready in summer…when we nearly…you know…"
Ryder gulped, and nodded, urging her to continue when she paused to yet again carefully choose her words.
"…Well…I'm there. I want to." She said simply, gesturing at her own bare torso as if to accentuate the message. "I love you, and I know you love me, and I'm ready for us to express our love in every way. Every way." she explained. "I mean…you still want to, right?" she asked, a nervous giggle escaping her lips as Ryder's dumbstruck expression didn't go unnoticed.
"Yes," Ryder blurted out immediately. "Hell yes. I'm just surprised you're being so…I don't know…forward…cos, y'know, you're…a…a virgin…" he stumbled out, and Marley chuckled.
"Just because I'm a virgin," she told him, "doesn't mean I don't have…urges."
If Ryder's mouth wasn't already hanging open, it really would have been after that comment. Marley chuckled again and stepped towards him, close enough to reach up and kiss him on the lips, surprisingly chastely, given what she was suggesting. With that, she took one step back again, nimble hands reaching down to pop the button on her jeans and slip them down, kicking them and her socks off her feet until she was left in just her underwear, before stepping towards him again. Ryder looked down, taking in almost all of her body.
"You're so beautiful," he breathed out. "I love you."
"Show me," she whispered shakily, the nerves making themselves known. "Show me just how much you love me."
Ryder leant down to connect their lips, once, twice, three times, before pulling away and removing his own shirt, delighting in the way Marley's eyes roamed hungrily over his chest, before taking her hand and leading her to the bed.
{x}
When Ryder awoke the next morning, he became immediately aware of the sensation of smooth bare skin amongst his own, and his mouth curled into a smile as he opened his sleepy eyes to take in the sight of his nude girlfriend, sleeping curled up in a small spoon position against him, her hair cascading over the pale skin of her exposed shoulder. He pulled himself away from her as gently as possible in order to leave the bed and pull on his boxers to get some breakfast, allowing him the opportunity to truly look at her, perhaps more glorious than ever in the morning sun which shone through the crack in the curtains…or maybe it was just the memory of what they had done last night which was making him biased. Either way, Ryder wasn't sure he had ever been this happy. He was living in a big city with his perfect girlfriend, the perfect girlfriend who now trusted and loved him enough for them to make love last night. When he had taken it all in, he returned to bed. Breakfast could wait a little while longer. It was a Saturday, which meant he didn't have anywhere else to be…and where would he rather be, than holding Marley in his arms?
IMPORTANT: Okay, now before you yell at me and say, 'why didn't you write any smut?' DO NOT FEAR. I'M GOING TO! It's just I wanted to keep this story safely in a T rating, so I didn't do it here. HOWEVER, I am (assuming you all want it,) going to grow a pair and write an M rated outtake-one shot of all the smutty details of what happened in between Ryder leading Marley to bed and waking up…I'm a little nervous, but if there's one thing ryley fanon needs, it's more smut, so I'm going to do my bit :p You can expect it sometime this week or next week.
Anyway. On to my reviewers from last time:
Ember411: He did :) I do enjoy a bit of Gilmore Girls, although I never watched it religiously. Lorelai is one of my many spirit animals though :p
RocioMelinatic-Ryley15: Why, thank you :)
TeaAndGlee: Aww, happy late birthday! Hope you liked this one too :)
Guest: Thank you so much! Ryley are perf, I wish rib had realised that…
Savannaramirez35: Thanks, hope you liked this chapter too, and sorry about the delay!
Jennoist4eva: Finn will be returning, I can assure you :) Well, don't you just read my mind! I assume you'll be reading the smutty outtake when it arrives, then ;)
Lauren xxx