‹ Prequel: Trouble-Maker
Sequel: Summer Boy

Infinite

Needless

Ronnie and I stayed after everyone had left to help Ryan and Jacky clean up their house. It wasn't incredibly messy since I'd managed to pick up along the way and have relatively clean friends, but it was still a bit disheveled. In the living room, I picked up a few plastic cups and shoved them into a black garbage bag.

Ronnie stayed in the backyard and cleaned up after the kids, who managed to sprawl some chairs around the yard when they played a game after they all finished eating. With all of us, it didn't take any time at all to clean up the boys' house. Ronnie took the trash to the curb and then pushed back through the screen door when we were done.

I was sitting on the couch with Jacky and the puppy when he came back in. He curved around the coffee table and dropped down next to me, the puppy between us.

"Are you ever going to name him?" I asked, petting the dog's head.

Ronnie pulled his eyes away from the flat screen and ran his hand down his dog's back. "What about Charlie?" he questioned, asking me and the puppy simultaneously.

"Charlie," I called the dog. The little black dog looked up to me at the sound of my voice aimed at him. "I like it," I told Ronnie.

"Then Charlie, it is," he stated.

We stayed at the duplex for a little while longer, chatting with the guys and Jenn about the night. I curled my feet up under me and rested my head against the back of the couch as Ronnie talked about something with the boys.

"You ready to head home?" Ronnie asked me a little while later, causing my head to snap up as I looked at him.

I nodded a minute later, after the words had soaked in. "Yeah," I confirmed, "I'm really tired."

Ronnie nodded and began saying goodbye to the three of them. I stood up too and handed Charlie's leash to Ronnie. "Thanks guys," I said to Ryan and Jacky, "Tonight was great. Thanks for letting it happen over here."

"No problem," Ryan replied, wrapping his arm around Jenn's shoulders. "Happy birthday, man."

They got up off the couch and said their goodbyes. I hugged each one of them and thanked them again before Ronnie, Charlie, and I headed out into the darkness and climbed into my car. Charlie rode in the backseat on the way home and Ronnie drove. I sat in the passenger's seat and watched the way the road looked in the darkness.

"Happy birthday, Ron," I said softly, reaching across the console to run my fingers through his hair.

He turned his head and glanced at me for just a moment before his eyes were back on the darkened road. I moved my fingers to his cheek, moving them down to his sharp jawline. Words weren't necessary as he turned and kissed the palm of my hand.

When we got home, I helped Charlie out of the backseat and led him to the front door. Ronnie let us in and we climbed the stairs and walked down the hall side by side. Since he had his keys out, he unlocked the apartment door and pushed it open.

"This is home, Charlie," I explained to the young Pitt Bull as Ronnie unclipped him from his leash.

"You can go on the couch," Ronnie said, pointing at the dog, "But stay the hell out of my bed."

I chuckled and shook my head at the man. "He's definitely going to sleep with us, baby," I told him, slipping out of my shoes.

"The hell he is," Ronnie replied, "There's hardly enough room for the two of us. We're not squeezing a dog in between us."

I pursed my lips and unzipped my jacket. "We'll see," I murmured as I tossed my jacket onto the back of the couch.

Ronnie quietly scoffed at me and pulled his boots off of his feet. "Are you going to bed?" he questioned, tossing the black shoes towards the door.

I shrugged. "Probably put in a movie or something," I said softly, "Do you want to watch one with me?"

He just nodded. "Be there in just a minute."

I nodded and headed towards the bedroom as he led Charlie over to the couch and helped him up. I walked into our bedroom and dropped onto our bed sideways, stretching out as my muscles thanked me. After a moment I stood up and went to the closet to change into different, more comfortable clothes.

I pulled one of Ronnie's shirts off the hanger and found a pair of my own shorts in the laundry basket in the bottom of the closet. I pulled my shirt off and slipped the bigger one over my head. I was stepping into my baggy shorts when Ronnie came into the room.

"What do you want to watch?" he questioned, his arms wrapped around my waist. He dropped his chin onto my shoulder and pressed his lips against my neck. I titled my head back onto his shoulder and closed my eyes, loving the feel of his mouth against my skin.

"It's still your birthday," I whispered, reaching up to touch his soft hair, "We don't have to stop celebrating just yet."

"Yeah?" His fingers slipped under my, his, shirt and pressed into my hips.

I turned around slowly and brushed his hair back. I littered kissed along his collar bone and up his neck until my lips were at the edge of his. "Yeah," I whispered, drawing out the word.

His hands moved up my back and pushed the shirt up and then completely over my head. His mouth was back on my skin and moving closer to my own. I slipped my hands under his shirt and ran my palms over the hidden tattoos. Ronnie's chest moved as he breathed and I felt the rhythm, my own breathing starting to match up with his.

Ronnie backed up and sat down on our bed. I stood between his legs and pushed his shirt off of him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth against his. He applied more pressure and stood up. With his hands on my back, he turned us around and gently pushed me onto the comforter.

He held himself above me and kept his mouth attached to mine. I chuckled when I couldn't get his pants unbuttoned. I stopped kissing him so I could look at what I was doing and he groaned when I still couldn't get his belt off and his pants unzipped.

He stood up and did it for me. I pushed the tight fabric off of his hips and met his eyes. "This is much better when you wear looser pants," I commented, giggling as he rolled his eyes.

He pulled down the blankets and I crawled under them. I ran my hand up and down his side comfortingly while he climbed back in and covered his body with mine.

The lights went off never came back on. A while later I laid against his warm skin and stared into the darkness. The clock on the dresser told me that it was no longer Ronnie's birthday, but since we hadn't been to sleep, I still considered it his night.

His fingers ran up and down my arm and mine gently rested against his side, tapping a rhythm that was stuck in my head. My eyes closed and I was at ease with the feel of him next to me. "I love you," I whispered into the darkness.

He pressed a kiss against my hair. "I love you, too, Att."

I fell asleep soon after, wrapped in Ronnie's arms with my head on his shoulder. Now, he was a year older and a year wiser, and drastically changed from the person he was a year ago. This Ronnie was more mature, more responsible, and a better human being than he'd even been.

I went to sleep with him on my mind and stayed dreamless all night. I didn't need to dream, because like Ronnie's needless birthday wish, I was living everything I ever wanted out of life. In that moment, on the brink of consciousness, there wasn't one thing wrong with my world.
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:) A simple, soft chapter.
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