Manage Me: A Vagabond Romance Read online

  Chapter 11

  Ryan

  I woke up to the sounds and smells of my shower permeating the room. I smiled to myself, relieved that Dakota hadn't left altogether. Waking up to her having left the room earlier had been more disappointing than I'd wanted to admit, leaving me with a hollow ache in my chest that I hadn't wanted to admit had been caused by one small woman with brown eyes deeper than the Bay, but who was I kidding? I'd been excited to continue our scintillating conversation from the night before. Finding her bra on the floor had provided with a strange sense of relief, as it meant I would definitely be seeing her again, and when she'd followed me back to my room, it had taken all my self-control not to sweep her up into my arms immediately.

  Now, I pushed off the covers and leaned over to check my phone, where I had messages waiting for me from several smug assholes.

  Jacob: I was waiting for the magical beard powers to make themselves known!

  Drake: Good for you, but you owe me huge. Just remember that the accountant is coming over this afternoon to add me to some of the paperwork.

  I groaned and got out of bed, making my way over to the bathroom. The glass doors of the shower were fogged, but I could make out Dakota's shape, rinsing out her long, long hair, made several shades darker by the water weighing it down. I spent a minute taking her in, watching the play of water over her. She turned, opening her eyes, and gave a little shriek when she saw me waiting there. She opened the door, a pissed look on her beautiful face. "Jesus, make a noise! Knock or something, but announce yourself. Don't stand there waiting like the dude from Psycho."

  "The dude from Psycho didn't wait. He just started stabbing. Would you prefer that?"

  The annoyance on her face faded to something else; a coy interest. "Maybe not stabbing, but I could see myself enjoying some poking."

  "Keep showering, you've yet to clean out that mind of yours. Take your time; I'll be out in the lobby."

  I turned but stopped when I felt a damp hand on my arm pulling me back toward the shower. Dakota was half leaning out, and as soon as I got close enough, she pressed her lips to mine, working my mouth open with her tongue.

  The sensations and smells of her wet lips on mine, my soap on her skin, were almost too much, and I moaned into her mouth. All too soon, though, she pushed me away. "Go away. I'm showering," she said, closing the door with a smug look on her face.

  I went out to the lobby where I saw Drake shuffling papers behind the desk. I walked up to him and tapped him. "Hey."

  He looked up at me, cocking his eyebrows. "Hey."

  I looked down at the desk. "What do we need to go over?"

  "Invoices, a few of the reservations for this week, and Lauren's message."

  I shot him a confused look. "Lauren left a message?"

  "She told Amelia to tell me to tell you-"

  "This seems unnecessarily complicated."

  "-That you'd better be treating Dakota right, or else it's a waste of a vacation day."

  I rolled my eyes. "Tell Amelia to tell Lauren that Dakota can tell her it wasn't a waste."

  Drake made a gagging noise. "Gross."

  "Don't be a prude. Now let's do some work."

  We managed to bury ourselves in our work for a little while before Dakota came back out of the bathroom, hair still wet and looking around for me. I cut Drake off in the middle of his sentence and walked out to talk to her.

  "Busy?"

  "Yeah, a little. Sorry."

  "Don't be. I'm the one who interrupted your workday."

  I cupped her face in my hand. "I'm glad you did."

  She blushed, turning her mouth into my palm and kissing my hand. The sweet intimacy of the gesture took my breath away.

  "I'm gonna go find Lauren; she's probably sleeping away the rest of her hangover. But let's talk later."

  "Be sure to ask her about her message."

  She looked confused. "Why would she leave a message?"

  I shrugged. "You'll have to ask her. That girl is a mystery."

  "Okay, whatever. I'll see you later."

  I watched her turn around and leave, shocked by the easy intimacy of the interaction. I went back to the desk, pulling out my phone as I did.

  Ryan: Let's go to dinner with Lauren and Dakota.

  Jacob: Cool. I'll see if I can get off work early.

  Ryan: Just get off when you get off, and we'll meet you.

  Jacob: I'll text you.

  I sighed and settled into the rest of the day.

  ***

  Dinner that night seemed to mark a new beginning for my time with Dakota; it could not have been a more different meal than the first one the four of us had shared. I was surprised Jacob had even come, but I supposed that the lure of seeing a certain long-legged blonde with a loud laugh was too much to ignore.

  Dakota seemed to be an entirely new person, cracking jokes that had everyone around the table in fits, revealing facts about San Francisco she'd looked up that day that I, as a lifelong Bay Area native, had had no idea of. The more I looked at her, though, the more I realized that she wasn't a different person. She was exactly who she'd been from the moment I'd met her; she'd just come out from behind the brick wall she maintained between her and the rest of humanity. Seeing her easy-going personality, the use of that barrier confused me, but for the moment I let it go. It was too new to push into her privacy; I wanted to give her a little bit of time and space with which to get to know me.

  After dinner, we'd walked for a bit around Chinatown, and Lauren bought a mini bonsai tree to take back to her apartment in LA. Jacob got quiet at Lauren's mention of leaving but shook it off with a laugh and a joke the way he always had. Dakota and I exchanged a look, sharing a mutual contemplation for the quick bond our loved ones had formed.

  After a few hours, Jacob had leaned over to whisper something in Lauren's ear, and she'd nodded eagerly. She walked over to Dakota and pulled her aside, whispering quickly and motioning at my brother and me. She gave Dakota a quick peck on the cheek and walked back to Jacob, nodding solemnly at me before hooking her arm into his and walking off with them.

  Dakota and I stood there, looking after them for a moment before turning back to each other. Her hair waved around her in the air coming in from off of the bay, and there was a mischievous light in her eyes that I'd noticed had come back to her. I swallowed the lump in my throat that had formed at her beauty and cleared my throat. "Do you want to keep walking around?"

  "Not really."

  A very, very pregnant pause.

  "Do you?"

  "Not even a little."

  I grabbed her hand and hailed a passing cab. It was probably going to be more expensive than a rideshare, but I didn't want to wait another minute to start moving back toward the hostel. Besides, the things I was planning to do to Dakota in the back of the car would definitely have brought down my Über rating. If they were noticed.

  Chapter 12

  Dakota

  It was just a fling, I said to myself before I even opened my eyes the next morning still wrapped up in Ryan's arms. This wasn't good; I was feeling too comfortable, too at peace with this man I hadn't even known for five days.

  What was happening today? When I'd started getting to know Cody, it had taken three months for me to feel comfortable enough with him to climax, much less to spend the night with him and tell him about my dad. And honestly, with Cody, I'd gotten used to never entirely getting there. There had always been something missing with us, some kind of chemical that ended up making it a relief when we'd stopped sleeping together.

  And yet, you did get used to a person. After years with Cody, I figured it would've taken me at least a few weeks to even consider kissing another person, no matter how much Lauren might've joked about getting under someone else. But when presented with the opportunity, I'd figured I could have a fun night with Ryan and take one step toward forgetting about Cody. Just one small step so I didn't feel like the future was impossible.

  But as I l
ay wrapped in Ryan's arms, I couldn't help the feeling that whatever that whatever that ingredient was that I'd been missing with Cody, I'd finally found here.

  Control yourself.

  Apparently being around him was a dangerous scenario, as everything I had always considered to be necessary started to morph when I was around him, so I slid out of the bed and went to enjoy his large, private shower; a major luxury when you'd been camping out of a car and sharing communal bathrooms with large groups of women. Not that I minded sharing a bathroom; I'd never had a private bathroom in my life. But I did appreciate a hint of privacy now and then.

  The water warmed me instantly to my core as I dipped my head back and let it run through my hair. Looking around, I realized I'd forgotten a washcloth, so I opened the shower to grab one. I'd forgotten the lack of a bath mat though and couldn't help my shriek of "Oh, SHIT!" as I landed flat on my butt.

  "Are you okay?" Ryan burst through the bathroom.

  He didn't waste a minute before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around me before helping me up. It took me a moment to stabilize myself and ensure that I hadn't actually hurt anything.

  "I'm sorry for waking you," I groaned and rubbed my butt a little. "I was just trying to get a washcloth."

  "You scared me to death. Are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern in his eyes as he rubbed my arms with the towel.

  "I'm okay. I mean, my butt might need some attention," I joked, cocking my eyebrows at him.

  My comment was enough for Ryan to switch from concerned to eager. He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me, reaching his hands to gently cup my ass.

  "Happy to oblige. How much attention do you think you need?"

  "I was mostly kidding. I was just finishing my shower," I replied nervously.

  "Good, I'll get in with you. I can't seem to trust you to shower without hurting yourself."

  My mouth went dry as he tugged on my towel and threw it across the room before shucking off his own clothes and pulling me into the still-running shower with him.

  "Good morning," I said, tilting my head to the side to give his hands access to my neck.

  "You're shaking. Are you cold?"

  "No." I wasn't, not even a little. In fact, I might have been running a little too hot.

  He reached around me and grabbed the bottle of body wash, letting it drip down my back and drizzling it over my breasts. After setting it back down on the shelf, Ryan worked up a lather on my body with both hands. His hands moved in steady, consistent circles, working the soap into my skin. Thoroughly. As he got in closer, reaching his arm around me to massage my breasts, I felt his erection press into my lower back, just above where I'd landed, hard, on my behind. A little closer and I'd have two sore spots.

  I smiled, thinking of the chemistry we'd already experienced over the last few days, and pushed back against him. He groaned, a deep, throaty growl of pleasure that had me quaking

  "I'm glad you stayed the night," he said, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.

  "Me, too," I replied.

  I reached behind me and wrapped my arms around his neck as I pressed back against him. He was so much taller than me that he had to stoop a little to press his kisses to my shoulder as the fingers of his very dexterous right hand made their way down. He traced the outside of my slit slowly, almost lazily, before pushing his finger inside.

  "I want to spend the day with you again. Are you doing anything with Lauren?" he whispered in my ear.

  "I don't... I don't remember," I said through a gasp, unable to concentrate on anything as he teased me.

  "Let's figure out something fun to do, yeah? I'm sure we can think of something."

  "Ryan, stop talking," I groaned through my teeth.

  He pushed me up against the shower wall, pressing his teeth gently into my shoulder. Not quite biting me, but also not kissing me in the gentle way he had been.

  "I don't have a condom. Let's get outside."

  Maybe it was the insane feeling of being around him, but I wrapped my arms tighter around him, keeping him there. "Have you been tested recently?"

  He was quiet for a minute before replying, "Last month. I'm clean."

  "You're sure?"

  "It's been a while." He rubbed his thumb over my nipple as his other hand continued its treatment of my clit. "Are you sure?"

  "I'm protected, and I want you. Right now."

  That was enough for him. Pushing forward, he sank into me, the position of him being pressed against my back allowing him even deeper access. I gasped as his penis reached a new depth that I hadn't yet experienced. With him or anybody.

  He continued his various attentions to my body as he plunged into me again and again, with one hand massaging my breast as the other one ran its continued circles over my clit, all the while continuing to rain kisses and nibbles over my neck. What a multi-tasker. All too soon, I felt myself rising, hitting yet another one of the breathtaking summits Ryan was so adept at bringing me to. I buried my hands in his hair, rubbing his scalp and arching my neck back as he plowed my depths.

  "I'm so close, Ryan..." I murmured. All too soon, I felt myself quicken and clench around his length. He paused inside of me, groaning as he indulged in the feeling of my coming around him. He continued to push into me, his groans becoming more and more guttural.

  "I'm right behind you." With a few more strokes I felt him tense and pull out, just a few moments before I felt a completely different kind of heat hit my lower back. I smiled as his cum hit me; I hadn't asked him to pull out, but I appreciated that he'd done it.

  He sighed, dropping his forehead onto my shoulder with a kiss. We both stood there, pressed against the cool tile of the shower, as our breathing slowed.

  "I think you missed a spot."

  He started to laugh, closely followed by my own chuckle. He reached behind him for the body wash again and used it to clean up the mess he'd made of my lower back.

  "Fuck, D. That was incredible."

  I turned around and stood on my toes to press a kiss to his lips. He didn't break off the kiss as he reached over my shoulder to turn off the water and push open the door. He grabbed a fresh towel for me and threw the one on the floor into the hamper. The moment hit me as a gallant move, which I registered as being pretty messed up. How low had my standards for a relationship fallen that being handed a fresh towel and a guy pulling out without being asked made me want to propose marriage?

  "Are you cold?" Ryan asked, pulling out another towel and covering my head with it, rubbing my hair vigorously.

  "Get off," I backed away from him and flipped over, wrapping my hair with the towel. It was only as I was coming up that I realized I was face-to-face with his groin.

  "Wanted to get a little closer, did you?" he laughed.

  "Careful with that thing, you'll poke an eye out."

  When I'd stood up, he gave me another sweet kiss and wrapped me tighter in the towel. Fuck; I'd have to be careful, or I might start falling for this wanderer, and love wasn't in the cards for me at the moment.

  I pulled on my clothes from the day before. It didn't matter, as I was just wearing them upstairs to change.

  When I got back to the dorm, I saw that Lauren hadn't come back yet. No surprise there, if she'd spent the night with Jacob, who we'd found out had only spent the night in the hostel as a favor to Ryan to check it out. I grabbed my phone and shot a text to her.

  Dakota: You up, girl?

  Lauren: Weirdo. Why do you wake up so early?

  Dakota: Going out for the day. Meet up later?

  Lauren: Yep. Now go away: going back to bed.

  Dakota: To bed? Or to sleep?

  Lauren: BOTH. Shut up!

  I chuckled, getting into my fresh outfit and running back downstairs. Ryan was waiting for me in the lobby, and I had to physically restrain myself from running up to him and jumping into his arms. We just weren't there yet.

  "Where are you taking me?"

  "How about the Golden Gate Br
idge?"

  "Won't it be super crowded?"

  "Okay, how about the Palace of Fine Arts?"

  "I don't know what that is," I shrugged. "I guess that means it's a good plan."

  "Deal, let me finish making you breakfast and then we will head out."

  In a matter of minutes, Ryan had made me eggs with, yes, a perfectly-cooked side of bacon. He poured some cups of orange juice and coffee, and we ate together as Drake crunched some numbers behind the front desk.

  I wasn't generally the most talkative person, but I'd never felt entirely comfortable with silence. I usually felt the need to fill quiet space with conversation. With Ryan, though, the quiet moments never felt filled with dead air the way they usually did with other people.

  We did end up übering to the Golden Gate Bridge first after all. The driver first took us to a scenic overlook where Ryan took a few pictures of me before having a passerby take one of the two of us together. Looking at the pictures of us, I realized that the first thing I noticed was my smile, and how happy I looked in his arms. In every picture I took with Cody, I always noticed things about myself that I hated. Looking at these, though, every flaw seemed massively unimportant.

  "How long are you guys planning on staying, again?" Ryan asked, holding my hand as we traversed the stairs down the hill toward the water.

  "I'm not sure. We still haven't really talked about it."

  He fell into silence again, and this time I did feel the need to fill it. Thinking of a coming time without Ryan made me sadder then I wanted to admit, so it didn't bear thinking about.

  "This path will take us straight to the Palace of Fine Arts. It's a bit of a walk though; maybe two or three miles. You up for it?"

  I nodded, excited. "I've never heard of this place, but then again I don't know all that much about the city. What is it? Is it like Hearst Castle or something?"

  He laughed. "No, it was never a private residence. It's more like a theater than anything else. To be honest, I'm not even sure why it's called the Palace. I've never been to any shows there, but the grounds are fun to walk around, and they make you feel like you're in Greece for a minute."