Samantha
“Happy Birthday, Sam!”I raised my red solo cup into the air and let out a wild laugh as my friends cheered for me.Today was proving to be my best birthday yet, hands down.My friends had planned a rager for me in the woods just outside our small town of Greenswood.A bonfire blazed, and several kegs had been tapped.I was feeling good and tipsy and happy as I danced to the music blaring from someone’s pick-up.I was eighteen at last. A woman! The future was mine for the taking, or some sentimental crap like that.Whatever. I didn’t have to think about that just yet. I just wanted to enjoy my party and forget about everything else.Smiling, I spun in place and screamed out the lyrics to the song that was playing.Suddenly, I noticed a familiar figure emerging from the surrounding trees.He was tall, with shaggy blonde hair and familiar golden eyes. Eyes that were just like mine. I came to a stop. It took a few moments for my vision to clear, but when it did, I let out a squeal of delight.“Jason!” I threw my cup to the ground and rushed forward. “You came!”Chuckling, he opened his arms as I threw myself into them.“Of course I did,” he told me. “Couldn’t miss my baby sister’s birthday party, could I?”I gazed up at him with wide eyes. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad! They can’t know I’m drinking!”Chucking me under my chin, he said, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell. Just don’t do anything stupid, all right?”“Stupid? What could I do that’s stupid?”Before Jason could answer, another person stepped up beside him. Startled, I turned my gaze and froze.“Wh-what are you doing here?” I murmured.My brother’s companion gave me a small smile.I often dreamed of that smile, as well as the sparkling, blue eyes gazing at me. He was slightly taller than my brother, with dark brown hair and wide shoulders. He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, and I had been all but obsessed with him since the age of twelve.“Don’t be rude, Sam,” Jason teased, smacking me lightly on the head. “Ryan wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Say thank you.”I swallowed and gazed up at Ryan Carson, my brother’s best friend, and my longtime secret crush.“Than-thank you,” I murmured, feeling suddenly shy despite the alcohol buzzing through me. I always felt shy around him. It was frustrating as hell, because I wasn’t a shy person by nature. I was outgoing and social. The life of the party, really, but when it came to Ryan…I was a crumpling, awkward mess.“Seems like you’ve been having fun,” Ryan said with a smirk, looking at me in a way that made me melt.I blushed and nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.“Ye-yeah,” I stammered, my lips twitching into a goofy, little grin. “It’s been a good party. Lots of fun.”“Glad to hear it.” He chuckled.I gulped. There was something I wanted to ask him. Something I’d been wanting to ask him for a long time but had never had the courage to say.At that moment, though, the words were on the tip of my tongue, on the verge of spilling from my lips before I could stop them.Luckily, before I could mutter a single word, Jason clapped Ryan on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go get a drink. I’m going to need one to hang out with all these kids.”Ryan chuckled and nodded before flashing me another smile.“Don’t let us get in the way of your fun,” he said with a wink.Struck speechless, I watched as he and Jason walked toward one of the kegs. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off him. He was just so…perfect.I let out an unbidden giggle.“Sam! What are you doing? Snap out of it, space cadet!”Blinking, I turned just in time to catch my friend, Jessica, rushing toward me with a wild grin. She threw her arms around my neck and laughed.“What? Sorry!” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “I, uh, guess I’m more buzzed than I thought.”Jessica glanced in the direction I had been staring and her mouth dropped open and realization dawned on her face.“Ahhhh, I see.” She grinned. Turning her gaze back to me, she wiggled her eyebrows. “I see your Prince Charming has arrived. I thought he and Jason were still at school?”“Fall break,” I murmured, my gaze finding its way back to Ryan. “I knew they were coming home, but it never crossed my mind that they’d come here.”Jessica let me go and moved to stand beside me. We watched the two older men for several moments in thoughtful silence.“Are you going to tell him?” Jessica asked after a while.I scoffed. “Are you kidding me? No way!”“Why not?” Jessica questioned. “It’s the perfect night for it! You’re legal, you’re tipsy, and he’s here and available.”“You don’t know he’s available. Maybe he’s got a girlfriend back at college.”The mere thought had jealousy shooting through me, and I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. Jessica snorted.“Right, I doubt he has a single girlfriend,” she replied. “He’s probably got a harem built up by now.”I scowled at my friend. “Don’t say things like that. He’s not that kind of guy.”“Right, right, he’s perfect.” Jessica chuckled and shrugged. “Not a manwhore at all, despite the many rumors saying otherwise. It doesn’t matter, though. If you’re going to make a move, you’ve got to do it tonight. You’ll never get a chance like this again!”“I don’t know why you think I have a chance at all!” I exclaimed. “He hardly knows I exist. If he weren’t Jason’s friend, I’d be totally invisible to him.”“That’s not true,” Jessica insisted. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He’s totally interested.”I gave her a skeptical look. “Bullshit.”Shaking her head, Jessica said, “No! I swear. I’ve seen it. There were a few times at your house that I spotted him watching you when you weren’t paying attention.”I blinked, stunned. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”“I didn’t want you to get worked up,” Jessica explained. “But honestly, I think you have a chance tonight. Come on. Do it! For your birthday!”Chewing my lip nervously, I let my gaze stray to where Ryan and my brother were standing.SamanthaThey were huddled around one of the kegs, cups in hand, talking to each other, seemingly unaware of the girls hovering around and eyeing them with obvious interest.He looked so cool and at ease. I began to wonder if maybe I should tell him how I felt. Maybe Jessica was right…what better time would there ever be?Maybe I was drunker than I’d thought.Whatever. Alcohol might be just what I needed to gain the courage to talk to him.“Okay.” I nodded.Jessica appeared surprised. “Okay?”“Yeah!” I clapped my hands together, pumping myself up. “Yeah, I’m going to do it. You’re right! Why not? Why shouldn’t I tell him how I feel?”“Hell, yeah!” Jessica declared. “That’s my girl! What are you going to do, exactly?”I pondered that question a moment before saying, “I’m…not sure. I think I’ll probably just wing it?”Jessica nodded in approval. “Love it. Flawless. Now, get on over there and get your man.”She shoved me forward. After a few seconds of stumbling, I regained my balance an
SamanthaHe sounded suddenly nervous, his voice cracking at the end of his words.“What?” I felt a surge of panic. No, no! He was supposed to say yes. Did he think I was kidding? This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. The way he’d been looking at me earlier… “Why not?”Ryan released a long, shaking breath before saying, “Look, Sam, I’m flattered, really, but you’re…you’re just a kid. Plus, you’re my best friend’s sister! There are some lines guys just don’t cross.”“You just told me I’d grown up.”He clenched his jaw, and his cheeks turned a slight tinge of pink.“Yes, I did,” he stammered. “Look, you’re a beautiful girl, but your brother…”I surged forward to stand directly in front of him. I reached up and clutched the front of his shirt.“Ryan, please,” I pleaded. “It’s the only thing I want.”He took hold of my shoulders but didn’t immediately push me away.His fingers curled into me, and he seemed to want to hang on tight to me.I watched his eyes as he stared down at me, and I c
SamanthaHe went still but didn’t try to break free.I felt some reassurance in that, so I kept kissing him.At last, he let out a snarl and slanted his lips over mine, taking control of the kiss and deepening it.He cupped the back of my head and tilted it.His other hand snaked down my torso to wrap around my waist, pulling me tight against him.Everything became a blur as our tongues clashed as the kiss went on and on.I was overwhelmed with sensation as Ryan touched me.I felt so giddy I couldn’t think straight.All I was certain of at that moment was that I didn’t want this to end. It just felt too…good.“I gasped his name when he moved his lips from mine to kiss along my jaw and down the side of my neck. “Please, don’t stop.”“I don’t think I can,” he hissed. “Damn it, Sam, do you know how hard I’ve tried…tried to…”“To what, Ryan?” I whispered, stroking his chin with my fingertips. “Tell me.”He gazed down at me with a furrowed brow and shook his head.“No,” he growled. “No mor
SamanthaPleasure shot through me like a bolt of lightning.I gasped and thrashed my head from side to side.Some of the pain eased, and he slid in deeper. He continued rubbing my clit in tight circles, and my body seemed to melt under his touch.I groaned and relaxed, and he finally was able to sink into the hilt.Ryan paused, holding himself over me as if giving me time to adjust to him as he continued playing with me.“That’s it,” he murmured. “Just like that, baby. I can feel you relaxing around me. I’m going to start moving again, all right?”I dug my teeth into my bottom lip and nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence.Ryan began to slide out of me. When only the tip remained inside me, he pushed back in.There was a small amount of discomfort, but there was far more pleasure than before.Ryan continued to move, pumping in and out of me faster and faster. I gripped his shoulders, hanging onto him as tightly as I could. I feared I would fly away if I didn’t cling to him.Our m
Samantha – 7 Years LaterBaconsizzled, and I carefully flipped it in the pan, doing my best to avoid the grease splatter.In another pan on the next burner over, I scrambled eggs, all while keeping an eye on the toaster nearby.There were a lot of moving parts, but I was used to it.There were always multiple balls in the air that I had to juggle, and it was pretty much second nature to me at that point.“Henry!” I called as I began scooping food onto plates. “Breakfast is ready. Come down now, please!”As I turned to place the plates on the little kitchen table behind me, I heard the pounding of small feet on the staircase just outside the kitchen door.The next moment, a little boy came barreling into the room. His dark brown hair was a wild mess, and his familiar blue eyes glittered with the kind of eager excitement that only young kids seemed capable of feeling. He was still dressed in his dinosaur footie pajamas. He was so adorable that it made my heart ache.He scrambled up into
SamanthaWhen they were done, I began clearing the table and said, “Jason, can you help Henry get ready for school? I’ll get things cleaned up here.”Nodding, Jason helped Henry down from his chair and took his hand to lead him back upstairs.When I was alone, I sighed, bracing my hands on the kitchen sink and hung my head. I didn’t want Jason to know that I was barely holding it together.Things were a lot tighter than he knew. I was barely scraping by with my job at the bookstore downtown. I loved working there and knew I could have a future there if I was able to stick it out just a little longer.I was determined to make it on my own, though.For six years, I’d taken care of myself and Henry without anyone’s help. Not because I had to, but because I refused to rely on anyone else for anything. I’d put my faith in another person before, and I’d been left burned and heartbroken…and pregnant.Gritting my teeth, I forced my mind not to go there, not to think of him.I heard footsteps
RyanThis place hasn’t changed a bit.After seven years away, I was back in my hometown for the first time, and it was like I’d never left.I drove along the main street, checking out all the downtown shops I remembered from my childhood. It was so strange, and I felt on edge. Like I didn’t belong there anymore.I supposed I really didn’t. I was not the same person I’d been when I’d left.The town may not have changed much, but I had. I’d gone out into the world and made a name for myself. I’d built an empire and dominated my profession. I’d taken my father’s small shipping company and grown it into a multi-billion-dollar international conglomerate, all by the age of twenty-nine.Yet, as I drove through my hometown, even after being away for so long, I somehow felt like a kid again.Jason was the only person I’d come back to this place for, which was ironic since he was also part of the reason I’d stayed away for so long.I’d considered turning down the invitation to the wedding, even
“How is your sister?” I asked, my throat tightening.“Good.” Jason shrugged. “Busy. Stubborn as ever. I was just at her house this morning.”I was careful not to let the reeling emotions deep within me show. I still felt immense guilt about leaving her the way I had the night we were together. I shouldn’t have had sex with her in the first place, but I’d been a real dick bolting right after.I’d just been so freaked out. I couldn’t understand what had come over me that night.Sam had always just been my best friend’s little sister. That night, though, when she’d approached me, something had seemed to unlock within me. She’d always been pretty, but she’d been suddenly stunning. Sultry. Sexy.I’d lost total control of myself and crossed a line. I hadn’t known what to do afterward. I’d panicked, and then, I’d left town completely. Had I run away? As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I couldn’t really deny it. I’d been terrified of Jason finding out, but over the years, he’d never brough