There Was You

“So, what have you got planned for the rest of the night?”

Iker, who’d been staring at Riley who stood across the room, jumped a little at the sound of Isabella’s voice before he turned around, watching as she retook the empty seat at his side. It had been a little while, after Riley had walked away from him, a little over an hour had passed, but despite the meal being over, it didn’t seem like anyone was leaving any time soon, something which meant Iker was stuck at the table, his eyes hopelessly stuck to the brunette who moved around the room, talking animatedly with members of Marisol’s family and people he knew to be friends of Nuno’s. He knew that she was avoiding him, since they’d walked back into the restaurant, he was confident that Riley hadn’t sent more than one look over in his direction, and it irked him, even if he had tried not to let it show. He didn’t like that things between them seemed to have gotten complicated.

Meeting Isabella’s eyes, he blinked a couple of times before he fixed an apologetic smile onto his features. “Sorry” he murmured “I was somewhere else. Did you ask me something?” he asked politely.

Isabella smiled. “I asked what you have planned for the rest of the night” she mused “I mean, if you’re free, we could go and get a drink together. It’s been nice getting to know each other, no?” she prodded.

Iker nodded his head, smiling gently. “It has been” he mused “But I...uh...I’ve got plans this evening” he stumbled out.

Isabella’s expression tightened a little, but she quickly fixed it, smiling at him again. “That’s OK” she mused “I’ll just give you my number and we can set something up” she added as she reached past him, collecting a napkin from the table.

Jotting her number down, she neatly folded it up before she leant towards him, tucking it into the pocket of his shirt. “Call me sometime” she cooed before she pushed herself up, walking away from the table.

Iker watched her go for a few seconds before he let out a sigh in relief.

“You OK?”

Iker jumped, not expecting Riley’s voice, before he turned around in his seat, his eyes meeting hers for a second before she looked down, fixing her stare on her feet. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you” she mumbled “I just...I was thinking of getting out of here soon and I was wondering if you were still...you know what? I’ll just call a cab” she added, attempting to take a step away from him.

Iker, however, was quicker, gently capturing her hand in his. “I’ll drive you home, Riley” he murmured.

Riley glanced down at their hands for a second before she shook her head, making no attempt to look up at him. “You don’t have to” she muttered “I mean, it’s out of the way and...”

“It’s ten minutes from here” Iker interrupted softly “And I drove you here. It makes sense that I take you home” he added.

Riley shifted her feet, briefly thinking about arguing with him, before she nodded her head, peeking up at him slightly. “OK” she murmured “I’ll just go and say goodnight to Marisol and Nuno” she added.

“I’ll go and pull the car around” Iker replied “See you out front in a few?” he asked.

Riley hesitated before she eventually nodded, untangling her fingers from his before she sped across the room, something which caused Iker to sigh gently before he shuffled out of his seat, making his way towards the door.

~#~
“This is your stop” Iker mumbled, gently pulling his car to a stop outside of Riley’s apartment building.

Riley, who’d been staring out of the window, breathed out a soft laugh. “I did recognize my own apartment building” she joked softly “It’s almost like I live here or something” she added, sparing him a brief look over her shoulder.

It had been quiet, despite the journey back to her apartment being short, it had been filled with a stifling silence, and Riley wanted to try and ease it, not liking the atmosphere which lingered around them. She wasn’t surprised by it, after she had pulled away from Iker, she hadn’t known what to say to him and so had taken to avoiding him for the rest of the evening, something she knew would upset him, but she hadn’t been able to think of anything else. It had been awkward before, but with a second avoided kiss between them, she couldn’t quite bring herself to act as though nothing had happened.

Iker shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. “Really?” he mumbled “You just want to make jokes right now?” he asked.

“Iker...”

“What was that earlier, Ry?” Iker interrupted softly.

Riley blinked a couple of times, surprised that he had cut her off, before she shook her head, keeping her stare fixed out of the window. “What was what?” she muttered.

“Riley” Iker complained.

“I told you what it was” Riley countered softly “I told you how I felt. I told you that I care about you, that you are...that you’re more than just some friend of mine, and in response to that, you stared at me like a deer in headlights and then seemed to try and kiss me and so I pulled away from you. You didn’t say anything, and I worried that if I let you kiss me, then I’d forget that you’d said nothing, and I didn’t want to do that. This...us...it means too much to me and in that moment, I wasn’t sure it meant as much to you. I’m still not sure” she admitted as she turned in her seat, her grey eyes meeting his.

Iker held her stare, his dark eyes searching hers for a few long, quiet seconds, before Riley shook her head gently pushing the car door open. “That’s what it was” she mumbled before she pushed herself up, making her way towards the door of her building.

Iker hesitated for a split second before he shoved the car door open, jogging to catch up with her. “Riley” he called, watching as she walked into the elevator.

Riley glanced up at him, her forehead furrowing slightly, before she leant forwards, gently pressing the button which kept the door open.

Iker padded inside of the elevator before he stopped ahead of her, taking a few seconds to think before he let out a soft sigh, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You are...” he breathed “I want to...you’re...”

Riley just stared at him, patiently waiting for him to find the words he was looking for, before the elevator came to stop, causing her to step around him, making her way towards her front door.

Iker watched her walk around him before he followed, still trying to come up with the right thing to say to her.

“I just want to know what you’re thinking about” Riley mumbled, looking through her handbag in search of her door keys “I want to know if...if you think the same things about us that I do or if you don’t. Whatever it is that you think about...”

Iker took a hold of her hand, tugging on it gently so that she turned to face him before he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers as his hands moved to hold her close to him. Riley let out a soft gasp is surprise, but didn’t pull away, allowing Iker to kiss her tenderly for a few long seconds before he carefully pulled back, creating a gap of just millimeters between their face. “That” he whispered “I think about that a lot. And you. I can’t tell you how much I think about you, Riley” he added, gently smoothing some of her hair off of her face.

Riley closed her eyes at his touch, a faint smile on her face.

Iker marveled at her soft smile before he closed the distance between them again, encouraging Riley to melt into another soft kiss.