River

His hand was on her waist.

I repeat, his hand was on her waist.

Didn't catch that? HIS HAND WAS ON HER WAIST.

And here I was, about to walk through the door, as calmly as I could force myself to be, but seeing Conner and Lea's proximity made me freeze in my tracks, and the calmness diminish. 

I clear my throat loudly, trying - with much difficulty - not to let the flare of jealousy portray on my face. But due to the way Lea is staring at me right now with a hesitant stance, I'm pretty sure I look like Hulk just before his transformation into the green monster. That's because Conner over here was just feeling up Lea.

Calm down. His hand was only on her waist, no big deal.

No big deal...My ass.

"Here's the man," Conner greets me as I clutch onto the bottle of water in my right hand a little too tightly. It makes a slight cracking sound under the pressure of my fingers. "Alright, bro? Haven't seen you in a while." Conner continues.

"Let's hope we don't see each other for a while after today as well," I reply, sarcastically. I like Conner; I just don't like his hands on Lee. 

A message to all men out there, just because you see an attractive girl, does that mean you have to put your HAND ON HER WAIST? No.

"Uhm...Do you two know each other?" Lea glances from Conner to me, displaying a look of puzzlement.

"I was about to ask you the same question, you two seemed to be getting a little bit cozy," I say, not completely answering her question. Her eyebrows furrow at my response as she takes in what I've just said, and then the blush that I like too much appears on the apples of her cheeks.

That blush is adorable.

"Wow, dude. No need to get offended." Conner says as he steps away from Lea with his hands up in surrender, and soon my death grip on the water bottle in my hand loosens slightly...only slightly. "I was just trying to help her."

"Help her with what? Getting into your pants?" I smirk, catching Lea's eye roll.

"Um, River, shut up." She says quickly. "The curtain fell on me, and he was trying to help me out. Okay?"

"Sure, but seriously, don't mind me," I state.

It's been weird. This past week, ever since Lea quite literally fell into my life, everything has been strange - from the way I feel when I'm around her, to my thoughts of her when I'm not. Now, the jealousy I feel as these two stand together just complicates things further. 

Get her out of your head, River. Now.

Last week I went to a party, and the boys and I were walking home, we overheard a deafening crashing noise a couple of streets away. We ran as fast as we could until we reached a little road called Chew Street. In the middle of the road was the remains of a collapsed house. Around it stood a handful of people, who all looked very grumpy and tired since it was late at night, but they couldn't peel their shocked eyes off of the devastation that was before them. I assumed the damage belonged to them. It was a small family of the mother, father, and daughter – but little did I know at that time, that the family would come to live under my same roof. 

From my first glance at Lea that night, I couldn't exactly explain it then and neither can I now, but a foreign feeling overcame me as her eyes met mine on that dark street. I snap out of my trance at look at her now. 

Get her out of your head, River!

"Wait, do you guys have a...'thing' going on?" Conner's eyebrows point upwards in a cheeky manner. 

"No." Both Lea and I reply simultaneously.

"Then...who are you?" Conner asks, evidently eyeing Lea up and down. 

I try not to let Conner's glances affect me, but my poor water bottle is being strangled.

Lea deserves someone like Conner. Emily had told me about him several times, of how sweet and gentlemanly he is, but I only met him for the first time when we all rushed to the hospital on the night of her accident. We've been good friends since, but seeing him with Lea now angers me.

She's not yours, River. Let her go.

"I'm Lea, currently sharing the same house as him." She nods towards me but keeps her eyes on Conner. "Who are you?"

"I'm Conner, Emily's foster brother." He smiles. "So wait, you two are living together? That's a little intense."

"Tell me about it." Lea jokes, peeking at me. 

"Are you adopted as well then?"

"No." She shakes her head, glancing at me from the corner of her eye, but instantly looking away. "My house collapsed – house mite infestation."

"Are you serious?" Conner asks, shocked.

That's it. I can't stand by and just watch them flirt.

She's not flirting, chill out man!

"Right, well, since you two are having a good time together, I'm just going to wait in the car until you come down Lea," I say coldly, instantly regretting it when I see her shocked expression. Reluctantly peeling my gaze off of her, I stride towards Em. 

Bending down slowly, I kiss her forehead before stepping away and starting for the door of the hospital room.

"Oh, and if the nurses ask about the curtain, tell them to send me the bill for repairs," I tell them both over my shoulder.

I have to get out of here before I do something stupid like shove Conner away from Lea or add in a sly comment that can really annoy her. 

Get out, get out, get out.

As I pace down the hallway, I unscrew the lid of the water bottle and take a large few gulp, finishing almost all of the water, before screwing the lid back on and throwing it into a bin. With a chest heaving up and down in an agitated sigh, I make my way to the elevator. 

After pressing the elevator button, I dig into my pocket to retrieve my phones, sending a message to Georgia.

Come over to my house for a bit.

The elevator doors open to reveal an empty shaft, and I step in before turning to face the hospital corridor I just paced through. To my surprise, Lea is at the far end, looking from right to left, until she sees me in the elevator, staring directly at her. 

My heart drops as my jaw slacks but thankfully I close my mouth quick enough to make sure she doesn't see through my blank expression and notice my surprise. I clench my jaw tighter to ensure that it doesn't drop again, meanwhile pressing the button to ensure the doors stay open to welcome Lea into the elevator.

With a quickening pulse and clammy palms, I watch as Lea rushes down the corridor towards the elevator, the stray strands of hair from her bun flowing behind her. Finally, she steps into the shaft, and I drop my finger from the button to allow the doors to close firmly behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why all of a sudden the change of mood?" Her eyes pierce mine as her voice echoes through the small elevator that has us enclosed. If I take one step closer to her, I will be close enough to...kiss her.

Having not pressed any number on the button pad yet, the elevator is still although my head is spinning. Shivers crawl all over my body from taking a quick glimpse at her plump lips. She stares back at me with wandering eyes, waiting for a reply, but all I can think of how good she might taste...

Stop, stop, stop, get her out of your head and press the ground floor button!

So, I eventually listen to the voice in my head and press the ground floor button, burying my phone back in my pocket, still never taking my eyes off of her. We're on the seventh floor; it should take us at least forty seconds to get to the ground floor if there aren't any interruptions.

Should I?

No, get her out of your head!

"Are you...Are you mad at me for some reason?" Lea speaks once she understands that I'm not going to reply to her earlier statement.

My eyebrows furrow at her words, and the elevator starts to move downwards. Thirty-nine seconds, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six...

"What? No...Lea, I'm not..."

That's it.

I don't have enough patience to continue my sentence, so instead, I take the daring step towards her, wrapping my arms around her small frame and pulling her towards me. Closer, and closer and closer. A gasp escapes her lips; she looks up at me in shock. Leaving one arm wrapped tightly around her back, I bring my hand up to her face and stroke a few strands of her hair away from her face, allowing me to see how beautiful she is. 

Thirty-two seconds, thirty-one, thirty...

I cup her cheek with my hand after stroking it for a couple of seconds, then cautiously and hesitantly lower my face to hers, allowing her time to say reject and turn her head away.

Lea, if you don't want me, then I won't force myself onto you. I may be a player, but I'm not a monster.

However, she does the exact opposite of what I thought she would do; she closes her eyes as if to anticipate my lips against hers. Both of our breaths are now mingling together hectically, both our chests are heaving uncontrollably.

Twenty-five seconds, twenty-four, twenty-three...

I close the gap between our lips hastily, eager to feel her against me, to taste her sweetness. I press my lips against hers, lightly at first, but then roughly because to be quite honest, I want to get as close to this girl as possible.

What am I doing?

She kisses me back, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling her body closer to mine if that was even possible. Electricity sores through my veins, igniting every cell with an undefeatable fire that cannot be extinguished. My hand that is cupping her cheek moves slowly down her neck, enjoying the feel of her skin. Then, I take it to her waist and squeeze the fabric of her clothes and the skin beneath it.

The elevator door opens with a 'ding' to the ground floor of the hospital, and we have to rip our lips away from each other reluctantly. Nonetheless, I never let go of her body; I might go mad if I do. Seeing no one keen to enter, I press the button that closes the door before someone else comes into this shaft and press the press the button that which takes you to the highest floor of the building. As soon as our privacy returns to us, we twist to face each other.

Pleasantly, Lea smiles a genuine smile.

I smile back at her, happy and joyful, before pushing her gently against one of the elevator walls. More than willingly, our lips meet again. I can't help pressing my body against hers, crushing her into the wall behind her. She is just as craving as I am, by the way her finger nails claw at my back and rummage through my hair, messing it up I bet.

My whole body is shaking, sweating, quivering, and I can't help but lick her upper lip with my tongue, asking for an entrance. Welcomingly, she opens her mouth and allows my tongue its longing desire. Once our tongues meet, the fireworks within me set off frantically, and I moan loudly.

This is pure bliss. 

***