Forced by Love

I was right. When Riley came to pick me up a few hours later, his jaw dropped. Eve had forced me into a dark blue cocktail dress with matching two-inch heels. And she even put the horrid make-up on me. Ugh... I did not like this. But as I could tell, Riley did.

"Stop staring." I ordered him.

"Lacey... You look..." Riley trailed off.

"Horrible?" I finished for him. He shook his head.

"Wonderful." He said. I blushed. Eve nudged me forward onto my porch. She handed me my clutch before she completely pushed me out the door.

"Go get him, tiger." Eve said loud enough that Riley heard it. I blushed even more as Riley chuckled. "Take care of her tonight." She said to him. "Bring her back before 12." I rolled my eyes at her. Riley nodded nonetheless.

"Got it." He said as he gently pulled me away from my porch. We soon got into his car and he started driving. "You look really nice tonight." Riley said. I blushed again.

'Thank... You don't look so bad yourself." I replied. Riley grinned.

"I look pretty, don't I?" He said as he flashed me a charming smile. I laughed out loud at that.

"I hate to admit this, but yes. You're even prettier than me." I said.

Riley sighed, "I told you this before; don't say that..." I shrugged. "Lacey, look at me." He said. We just came to a stoplight and I knew this stoplight took awhile to change. I sighed and looked to face him. "You are beautiful; don't forget that." Riley said, looking me straight in the eyes. I nodded slowly. He smiled and leaned closer to me.

Before his lips touched mine, I glanced towards the stoplight. I pulled away from him. "It's green." I said. He groaned and glanced at it. He sighed heavily and pulled back all the way.

Just when I thought he was going to press on the gas pedal, he didn't Instead, I felt his warm lips smash onto mine. I was surprised to say the least. But I quickly composed myself and I kissed him back with just as much passion. All too soon though, he pulled away and quickly pressed his foot on the gas pedal and drove off. A few people honked at us from behind.

As Riley drove, I glanced at him. I saw a smirk slowly make its way onto his face. I hesitantly reached my hand up to my mouth and wiped the side of my lips. When he kissed me, my strawberry lip gloss smeared. It was the kind of lip gloss where if you get it in your mouth, it tasted sweet like candy. Strawberry candy, to be exact. Not that I would eat my lip gloss...

I glanced at Riley again and saw him lick his lips, tasting the lip gloss. Is it just me or was that just utterly sexy? I blushed as I watched him.

"Mmm..." Riley moaned slightly. "Strawberry; my favorite..." I blushed darker.

"Riley, you're so weird..." I muttered, turning to face to the road.

"Yeah, but you love me for it." He replied. I shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not..." I said as I thought about it. I mean, do I really hate Riley all that much? I wasn't sure.

After a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. I looked up to read the sign. I noticed it wasn't French. It was Italian. Riley brought me to an Italian restaurant. After he turned off the engine, he quickly unbuckled his seat belt, got out of the car, rushed over to my side, and then opened my door for me. Aww... How sweet...

"Thank you..." I said as I took his offered hand. I held my clutch in my other hand. Riley closed the door after I got out.

"No problem, love..." He replied. I couldn't help, but bite my lower lip because of that. Love? Is that a new nickname for me? When he said it, I felt my heart flutter. The butterflies in my stomach increased in number. I discreetly placed my palm onto my stomach. I was hoping it would calm my nerves and my butterflies, but it didn't. "You okay, Lacey? You look a bit pale..." Riley pulled me out of my thoughts. Before I could reply though, I felt his warm hand on my forehead. I was unable to speak for a few seconds. "Lacey?" Riley called again.

"Huh...? Yeah... I'm fine..." I finally replied. He nodded slowly.

"We don't have to do this tonight. If you're not feeling well, we could always do this some other time..." I heard the slight disappointment in his voice. I shook my head quickly.

"No, it's fine. I'm just a bit nervous..." I admitted. Riley smiled warmly at me.

"It's okay; don't be nervous." He said as he held the restaurant door open for me.

"I can't help it. Are you nervous?" I asked him. He smiled sheepishly at me.

"You want the truth?" He asked me. As soon as the waiter saw his face, we were quickly seated. Riley didn't even need to say anything.

"Of course." I replied. He smiled at me again.

"The most nervous I have ever been in my life." He said. I had to smile at that.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." He replied. I smiled, leaned over, and quickly pecked him on the lips. Riley seemed surprised when I pulled away. "What was that for?" He asked me, a small smile playing across his face.

I shrugged. I honestly didn't know why I did that... "I don't know..." I said. "To calm your nerves, I guess..." I looked at him. "Did it work?" I saw him debate on it. And then I saw a sly grin slide onto his face.

"I don't know... Maybe you should try it again... Just to make sure..." Riley said. I rolled my eyes, but leaned in again nonetheless. This kiss was a bit longer than the first one. I pulled away first though before a waiter came by to our table. I coughed nervously and darted my eyes around the restaurant. I picked up my menu and scanned the list of food names. "So what are you thinking about getting?" Riley asked me. I look up shyly.

"Well..." I started. "The chicken pasta sounds good..." I trailed off, looking back at the menu.

"So you're going to get that?" I shrugged.

"I guess..." A waiter came by a little later. Riley was polite enough to order my food for me. But the thing is, he ordered it in Italian! Italian! I was honestly surprised. Riley could speak Italian! When the waiter left, I gaped at him.

"What?" He asked. I snapped out of my trance and answered him.

"You speak Italian?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Yeah..." He replied, nonchalantly.

"You speak Italian, but you don't even know your math homework?!" I asked him incredulously. He shrugged again.

"I grew up speaking Italian. Math; I actually had to learn that in school." He said.

"You grew up speaking Italian?"

"Yeah, I'm part Italian. My grandfather was Italian. I spent half of my childhood with him, speaking only in Italian when I was around him." He explained. I nodded.

"That's so cool..." I commented. He shrugged again.

"Yeah, it was cool... Sometimes... It was annoying sometimes when he used ti get mad at me and cuss at me in Italian when I didn't know what they translated into in English yet." I laughed at that. "But other than that, he was pretty fun." I nodded.

"Am I ever going to meet him?" I asked him. I saw a frown make its way onto his face.

"Sadly, no. He died two years ago." He said sadly.

"How?" I asked. I didn't mean to pry, but the word left my mouth before I could stop myself.

"Lung cancer. "He replied simply. "He sure loved his cigars."

"I'm so sorry..."

Riley shook his head. "No, it's fine..." He said. The waiter came by a few minutes later with our food. At first, it was awkward, but then the mood between us lightened.

By the time we finished out dinner, Riley and I were all smiles. Did that sound lame? Whatever... WE both had a good time.

After Riley paid the bill and tipped a hefty amount of money, we made our way out of the restaurant. I linked my arm with his as we made it to his car. When we got there, I let go of his arm as he opened my door. In less than a minute, my door was closed and Riley was already in his seat, starting up the engine.

"You know, it's still pretty early..." Riley trailed off.

"And...?" I prompted.

"Wanna go to the pier?" He asked, glancing at me quickly. I smiled at him.

"I'd love to." I replied.

"Good." He reached for my hand. When his skin touched mine, I felt an electric shock run through me.

We arrived at the pier about fifteen minutes later. We both quickly got out and made out way out to the pier. I heard my heels click against the wooden boards of the pier. Riley's footsteps were a muffled thud. Just before I was about to open my mouth to speak to Riley, I heard my cell phone go off. I forgot to put it on silent...

I quickly dug through my clutch purse. I found my cell phone at the bottom of my purse. I looked at the caller ID and quickly answered the call.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Lacey."

"Hey David. What's up? I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can this wait?" I said, glancing at Riley. I saw him tense up from his relaxed state when I said David's name.

"What are you doing?" He asked me. He was curious.

"I'm... on a date..." I muttered, turning away from Riley.

"A date?" David asked.

"Yes, a date."

"With who?" I rolled my eyes at his question.

"With Riley, of course. Remember? My boyfriend?" It felt weird saying that.

"Oh..." I could hear the slight sadness in his voice.

"You okay, David?" I asked him.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I'll call you back later. When you aren't on a... date..." He said the last word in distaste.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye..." David replied before I hung up the phone. I placed my phone back into my clutch purse and faced Riley.

"Sorry..." I apologized. Riley shook his head.

"No, it's fine. That was David, right?" He asked me. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, he didn't know I was on a date tonight." I replied.

"Oh..." I saw Riley's eyes trail off in the other direction. "You want some ice cream?" He asked when his eyes met mine again. "I mean, we haven't had dessert yet..." I smiled at him.

"Sure." I replied. He smiled as he grabbed my hand. He gently pulled me to the ice cream cart, near the pier shops.

"What flavor do you want?" He asked me. I though about it for a second.

"Hmm... Cookies and Creme!" I exclaimed. Riley chuckled.

"Okay." He faced the ice cream man. One Cookies and Creme and one Mint Chocolate Chip, please." The ice cream man nodded and started scooping the ice cream. "So..." Riley started.

"So..." I repeated.

"You and David are close, huh?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Yeah, he's my ex-boyfriend as well." I said. Riley had a look of shock on his face.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We were really close, then later on, we got together. And then we broke up and became just friends again."

"Oh." He said. The ice cream man smiled and handed us our ice cream.

"Thanks." Both Riley and I said.

"No problem." The man replied while Riley paid him.

"So what happened?" Riley asked me as we walked and ate our ice cream.

"What happened in what?" I asked in confusion.

"What happened with you and David? Why did you two break-up?" He clarified.

"Oh!" I said in understanding. "Well, he dumped me for the school slut." I said simply, shrugging. He gape at me.

"He dumped you?!" He said incredulously. I nodded slowly.

"Well, it was the school slut, Amy. She gets every guy she wants. And she wanted David then." I shrugged again. "You've probably already met her. She might have been trying to flirt with you." I said. He thought about it.

"No, I don't think I have met her."

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't think so." He replied. And then I remembered.

"Oh yeah! She's been on vacation for awhile. But rumor is, she back a week ago. And the reason why she hasn't been in school for another week is that she got mono from a lifeguard in Spain." I said. Riley full-out laughed at that.

"Are you serious?!" He asked me as he continued to laugh. I smiled.

"That's what I heard..." I said shrugging innocently.

"Remind me to never go near her." Riley said with another laugh.

"Will do." I replied simply.

"So let's get off the subject of the school slut who had mono and focus on other things such as finishing our ice cream." He said. I laughed at that.

"Okay. I can do that." And then we continued to eat our ice cream.

We finished our ice cream and continued to walk down the pier. As always, Riley reached for my hand. Our fingers entwined as we walked.

"The food back at the restaurant was great." I commented. "You go there a lot? I noticed that the waiters sort of knew you." He nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I go there a lot..." He trailed off.

"Oh..." I felt slightly disappointed. He must have been there many times with many other girls. I frowned. Riley must have thought what I thought, because he spoke up again.

"No! No, not like that!" He corrected himself. "My grandfather that I told you about, he used to own that restaurant before he... died..." He explained.

"Oh!" That makes sense now. "You got me worried there for a second." I said with a laugh. He laughed as well.

"Don't worry. When I'm with a girl, I'm faithful to that girl."

"Hah!" I had to laugh at that. "You? Faithful?" I asked him incredulously. He gaped at me.

"I swear I am!" He defended himself. I scoffed.

"As if! You, Riley..." I paused. I didn't know his middle name. "...something Worchester, the most perverted man I have ever met, faithful? I can't believe that. I can't imagine you being honest and true. That's just... crazy talk."

"Well, it's true. I don't; I won't cheat." He corrected himself. "I'm a one-woman man." I stared at him in disbelief. "Okay. Scratch that last line. I'm a one-woman per relationship man." I rolled my eyes.

"You mean to tell me that in a relationship, you only date one girl?" He nodded. "But I thought you've had tons of girlfriends?"

"I have." I stared at him in disbelief which seemed to be the millionth time tonight. "When we break up, I move onto the next girl." I gaped at him in shock.

"Have you ever had a long relationship?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Very few." he replied. I let go of is hand. I don't know why I still held onto it during our little... fight. That sounded weird. I placed my hands on my hips.

"Am I just another one of those short relationships, that if you get tired of me, you'd get rid of me?!" I hid the slight sadness and instead, let my anger show.

"I hope not..." He muttered, looking away.

"What?!"

"Listen to me, Lacey." He ordered. I slowly started to nod. "I like you. A lot. and I chose you for that reason. I hope you aren't one of those short relationships. I want you to be one of those few long relationships. I want you. I need you." I felt... happiness at his words. I blushed. And then he leaned in.

I can't describe how great his warm lips on mine felt. His big hands cupped my cheeks gently. His kiss was soft, but the emotion in that kiss was fierce. I hated how he gave me butterflies so easily, but... I love it at the same time.

When Riley pulled away, I was slightly panting. I didn't realize I wasn't breathing. He leaned his forehead against mine. He looked into my eyes, while I looked back into his through my eyelashes.

"But..." I started breathlessly. "We're not really 'together'..." I said. I saw a frown appear on his handsome features.

"You ruined the moment..." Riley commented, removing his large, warm hands away from my face. I grabbed his hands in mine. He seemed surprised at that, but quickly composed himself.

"I'm sorry, but it's true..." I said quietly.

"I know..." He replied softly. "I told you why we're like this though..." I nodded slowly. "Besides, it's not like you want to be with me... right?" I was surprised by his question, but I hid it well.

"Yeah, right..." I mumbled. To be honest, I've started to take a liking to him. Who would have thought? Me, Lacey Layne, actually spending time with him, Riley Worchester? And liking it? It's nonsense!

I let go of his warm hands to run my own hands up and down my cold, bare arms. Of course, Riley saw this. He quickly slipped off his smart jacket and handed it to me.

"Here." He said simply. I slowly reached for the jacket.

"Thanks..." I muttered. I hung the jacket loosely on my shoulders. He smiled at me in return. Riley, once again, captured my hand in his as we continued to walk down the pier.

After about half an hour or so, I couldn't stop the yawn that slipped from my mouth. I looked at Riley and his smiled gently at me. "Tired?" He asked me.

"A little..." I muttered.

"Come on. I'll take you home." He said. I nodded slowly and followed him back to his car. When I got in, I put on my seat belt and got comfortable on the black, leather seats.

Before I fully dozed off in his car, I realized he was finally pulling up onto my driveway. I woke myself up and straightened in my seat. Riley parked and turned off the car. We sat in silence for a few seconds.

"So..." Riley started, unbuckling his seat belt. I unbuckled mine as well.

"So..." I repeated. "Tonight was fun." I said with a smile, looking at Riley. He smiled back at me.

"Yeah, it was." He replied. I felt his arm slowly snake over my shoulders. I chewed the inside of my cheek gently.

What now?

I quickly glanced over at Riley and caught him staring at me. "What?" I asked. He didn't say anything. He just leaned down and kissed my gently on the lips.

I don't know what came over me, but I rested my hands on his cheeks and kissed him back. I pulled him closer to me as he pulled me closer to him. When he pulled away for just a fraction of a second, I pulled him right back in and pressed our lips together once more. Riley didn't mind though.

We continued to just sit in his car and just... well... kiss. That is, until I ran out of breath and had to pull away.

"I don't have your cell phone number..." I mumbled, trying to draw attention away from my flushed face. He leaned his forehead against mine and chuckled.

"Well, I don't think I have yours..." He said with a smile. I smiled back and we both pulled away, grabbing our cell phones. We exchanged our phones and punched our numbers into them. When we returned each others phones, Riley gently held my hand and kissed it. "I'll be sure to call you from now on." He said with a wink. I blushed again.

"O-okay..." I shakily replied. I shut my eyes and mentally slapped myself.

What an... uncool reply!

I heard a light chuckle escape Riley's lips. I opened my eyes and looked towards him. He wore a small smile on his face.

"I'll walk you to your door." Riley said politely. I nodded in response, saving myself from embarrassment. Riley, once again, got out of the car before me and opened my door. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from grinning. After I was safely out of the car, he closed the door after me. He almost instantly linked our hands together as we walked towards my front door.

When we got to my front door, we both turned to face each other. "Tonight was surprisingly fun." I said again with a smile.

"Surprisingly?" Riley questioned with a chuckle. I giggled.

Oh my gosh! Did I just giggle?!

"Yes, surprisingly." I confirmed. Riley shrugged.

"At least it was fun." He said, stepping closer to me. I smiled at him as he pulled me closer by my waist. I didn't even hesitate as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Before our lips even touched, we heard someone cough loudly next to us.

"Ahem!"

We both pulled apart and looked at Eve who had her hands on her hips. I blushed red from embarrassment. I can't believe she caught us about to kiss. But it could have been worse. She could have caught us actually kissing. I tried to not think that as I desperately tried to say something that wouldn't embarrass me any further.

"Um..." I said. I mentally slapped myself.

Smooth...

"You brought her home on time." Eve stated.

"Yes, he did." I said once I could speak again.

"Good job." She said. Riley smiled.

"Thank you." He replied. Eve nodded as Riley turned towards me. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He said. This time, I nodded. He placed his hand on the back of my neck and gently kissed the side of my mouth. "Goodnight, Lacey." He murmured, a small smile on his lips as he said my name. He pulled away from me and looked at Eve. "And goodnight to you too, Eve." Riley said.

"Goodnight." Both Eve and I said. Riley flashed us both a charming smile before he got in his car and drove off. As soon as his car was out of sight, Eve started jumping up and down excitedly.

"Aww! You are so damn lucky!" She exclaimed, pulling me inside my house. "And you're even wearing his jacket!" She said with a huge smile. I looked down. She was right. I was still wearing his jacket.

"Oh... Yeah..." I said for lack of better words to say.

"Did you enjoy your date?" Ivy asked me from my couch, a bowl of popcorn in her lap.

"Yeah... Very much so..." I murmured quietly, fingering the collar of the jacket slightly. I bit down on my lip to keep me from smiling too wide.

To be honest, I really enjoyed tonight. I didn't want it to end. And I still can't believe how much I enjoyed it. And how much I liked it. I couldn't believe I actually didn't want to leave Riley's company.

What's happening to me?

I thought to myself, still smiling.