Where: Rylie's Townhouse
When: June 30, 2012; The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
What: Plans are made for the pair's big flight. And also making out.
It was quite the party. It didn't end near as abruptly as the last one Rylie and Zan had been present at, music and goers tapering off as the hours grew later or earlier depending on your preference. Until finally it was considered well done and ended on a good note. The refreshments of both legal and questionable origins were packed by their handlers and disappeared, the makeshift area struck down and the sound equipment hauled away.
Overall, one to remember.
And remembering is done best some couple hours away still, at Rylie's home. Zan had waved her ahead inside to clean up or change or just sent her ahead of him while lugged the equipment back inside. He hasn't made the effort to move it any further than the entryway, left against the wall and out of the area of travel. With the last trip of gear in hand, he closes the door behind him before moving in to set the final load down with the rest of the stuff.
Frankly, Rylie's first order of business after these things is a shower. She doesn't come back downstairs until well after he's moved everything inside, and when she does, she's still toweling her hair dry. Shorts and a t-shirt seem to be the order of the night, not pajamas, though, considering it's late enough to be considered an early rise at this point. Not planning on sleeping, apparently.
Which might be why she goes tot he kitchen to start on some coffee. "Thanks for moving that stuff," she says as she discards her towel over a stool there in the kitchen. "You can't image how long it takes me to get all that in here."
He's in the kitchen, half sitting against the counter by the time she's reemerged from showering. Zan looks up and smiles, one shoulder pushing upward to shrug. "It's no problem," he replies. "Figured I could manage it, let you go unwind. I'll get it put away in a bit."
"Don't worry about it. It can sit there," Rylie says with a wave of her hand in the vague direction of the entryway. She comes over to stand in front of him, using the excuse of reaching for the mugs behind him to get nice and close.
"You want some coffee?" she asks with a crooked smile, opting to look at him and grope blindly for appropriate glassware. Luckily, the handles are pretty telling.
"Sure, it seems like coffee time." Zan grins faintly as he meets her gaze, watching her expression. He remains partially perched against the counter, unmoved from in front of the mugs. But he lifts his hands, first reaching as though he were going to help with the mugs. Instead he brushes his hands over her arms and shoulders, coming to rest on her waist.
The brush gets a softer smile out of Rylie, her eyes closing for just a moment or two before she looks at him again. One mug is set down on the counter behind him, but she's taking her time finding a second one. "Unless you're planning on a nap or something," she says, turning her smile into a smirk as she looks over at him. "But I'm going to assume college left you with the skills to pull and all nighter here and there."
"Might nap later," Zan answers, grinning. His head tips forward, touching his forehead to hers. "Sometime. Eventually." He lifts his head enough to kiss her forehead, then tilts his head a little to gaze at her again. "I've got hours left in me before I crash." He smiles and leans in to kiss her cheek this time, murmuring, "You still want to sneak off to the Bahamas?"
Once the second mug is set down, Rylie doesn't seem to bother with excuses for being close. She just lingers, since she just happens to be there already. And there are kisses, which make it difficult to decide to move away. She leans into the kiss against her cheek, and lets out a little sigh. "Hmm? Oh, of course I do. Tuesday? After work, I was thinking. If you're still up for it. If not, hell, there's a beach we could drive to in five hours." But she is pretty set on seeing a beach for the Fourth, apparently.
"Well, I know you had your heart set on other vacation spots," Zan quietly teases. He chases it with another kiss, just against her jawline. "Of course I'm up for it, though. We could leave once it's light out if you wanted." His hands slip around to clasp behind her, gently holding her. "We could even leave now, for that matter."
"Minot will always be there," Rylie says with a gentle laugh, a sound that cuts of at the next kiss. His hands around her can feel a subtle shiver, but she covers it with a shift of her weight onto her left foot. Her arms slide around his neck, and she smiles at those last words. "You make a very tempting offer, you know that?"
"No reason we can't go sooner," Zan points out, smiling. "Work and school won't miss us too much. And a whole week at the beach?" He grins and lightly nuzzles her cheek. He pulls her closer, sneaks another kiss in against her jaw. "But if you want to wait until Tuesday, I guess that's okay."
Rylie's groan is a protesting one, in place of any voiced protests. Probably because he's right. No big meetings this week, not with the holiday. And all the arrangements for the festivities have long since been made and are weeks out of her hands. "It really isn't fair, making me make choices while you're distracting me."
Zan grins, but leans back to watch her again. Completely innocent and devoid of any distractions. Mostly. His brows lift a little, an effort to look pleading with puppy dog eyes marred only a little by the slight curl of a smile.
A sigh follows that look, and Rylie moves one of her hands to prop up her hip. "Oh, don't you think you can con me, Caldecott," she says with a laugh on her words. "I'm a rock." She gives him a wink, playful, and picks up the mugs again to moves them over to her French press. It leaves her back to him, but only while she's pouring the coffee.
"What look," Zan asks, chuckling. He watches her, with a little grin. He moves off his perch to cross over to her. Coming up behind her, his arms slide around her waist to clasp in front of her. His chin rests lightly on her shoulder. Still all innocent. "We could be there by the evening," he whispers against her ear. "Overnight in Florida and cross into the Bahamas come sunrise."
Looking over her shoulder, Rylie catches that look, her smile widening for a moment before she turns back to the coffee. Hers gets sugar and cream, although she ends up pouring too much in when he comes up to whisper in her ear. But it's okay, because it's a little abandoned as she leans back against him. "Exotic Florida," she says with a crooked smile, but she's not moving away this time. Not yet, anyway.
"Just for a the night," Zan murmurs. He holds her for a moment longer, pressing his cheek against hers. Then he loosens his hold, while not moving away or letting go completely, he's backing off a little. "Sunrise, though. As we fly over the ocean. Could be cool. And no one'll miss us."
When he eases back, Rylie turns around, her hands coming to rest on his arms. She looks at him for a long moment, but when she speaks, it seems like she isn't so much deliberating as thinking and pondering.
"Why is it that you've never asked me to make you go faster? Higher. Whatever. You've never asked. Why is that?"
For a moment, Zan almost looks confused. As if he can't quite place where such a question would come from. "I guess… it's never really crossed my mind as something I could ask you to do," he says after a moment. "I mean. It's your ability. Your talent. It wouldn't be right to take advantage of it, or to ask you to boost me on a whim, if ever. Maybe if circumstances were dire, but…" He shrugs slowly, brow furrowing yet with slight concern.
"But it's okay for us to use yours to fly to the Bahamas," Rylie points out with a tilted smile. Amused, maybe. "I just wondered," she adds, as if to reassure him in the face of that concern. "We can go today, if you want. I just need enough time to pack some clothes. And to send an email to your dad and my stand in." At least the holiday makes it a short work week anyway.
"Well, yeah. Because it's the Bahamas. And I made the offer to use my talent to get us there." Zan smiles faintly, still touched with worry, gazing at her. "I'm sorry, if I'm pushing you to go sooner, Rylie. I'd love to leave now, get there sooner, spend more time with you and away from everything here. But if you want to wait, square things away and leave in a few days instead, I can do that too."
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's a slow week." Rylie reaches up to brush a hand through his hair before it comes to rest at the back of his neck. "Although, I wouldn't be opposed to you kissing me a little more. You know, to really convince me." Her lips spread out into a grin, no pretense of innocence for her.
Zan's brows lift upward just a little, a grin tugging up one corner of his mouth. "You sure," he asks, about the leaving sooner rather than later. The kissing is taken care of after just a small pause for her answer, with his head turning to kiss her wrist first. And he steps in a little after that, moving in closer as his hands slide around her waist. Another kiss follows, this one placed lightly against her lips.
"Pretty sure," Rylie says, watching that first kiss with a slight smile. And when he steps in to kiss her properly, she leans in to meet him. And while it's clear from the way her hangs tighten on his arms that she'd probably like to liven it up some, she follows his lead in keeping it light.
He leans back a little, enough to smile and nuzzle her cheek. "Pretty sure," lilts upward into a question. Zan's arms tighten around her slightly as he sneaks in a kiss just beneath her jaw then against her neck before kissing her proper. It's drawn out this time, a deeper, lingering response.
Rylie nods to those words, eyebrows ticking up playfully just before she melts into stolen kisses. And she returns the kiss deeply herself. Taking a step or two forward, Zan finds the opposite counter with his back before she stops moving. But the kiss draws out, right up until Rylie pulls back to take a breath. Her forehead ends up against his cheek, even when she speaks up again. "I should pack," she says softly, convinced on the early departure, apparently.
Zan's arms stay around her, keeping her close even though he ends up backed against the counter. They tighten briefly when she breaks away, as if that would draw out the kissing just a second or three longer. The loosen a little, but he doesn't let her go to pack just yet, contenting himself with keeping her there for a moment or so still. His head turns a little, hardly enough to disturb her resting point, and he places a kiss against her temple. "Probably," he agrees, nearly whispering himself.
"You're not helping," Rylie complains, but just teasingly. She moves to rest her head against his shoulder, and for a moment, she just nuzzles against him. But kisses soon follow, making their way up his neck to his jawline, too. And she's not letting him go, either.
"Sorry," Zan offers softly, only slightly serious. He raises a hand to trail fingers along her cheek and down her neck to her shoulder while she rests her head on his shoulder. But at the kisses, he tilts his head back a little, eyes closing. After a moment, he tilts his head toward her, seeking to pull her into another kiss.
Rylie is easy to pull into that kiss, and she clings to him for those moments before she backs away to put him at arm's length. Her eyes narrow playfully as she looks over at him. "You stay put. I'm going to go pack and then we can get out of here. Yeah? I'll pack light, I swear."
Though he lets her go, it's a little reluctant. Zan lets out a slow breath and grins at her expression. But he nods and pops himself up to sit on the counter. His elbows rest on his knees, hands clasped in front of him, and his grin eases into a smile while he watches her.
Pointing a finger in his direction, Rylie watches him right back, as if suspecting he might be up to something. But it isn't long before she slips out of sight, taking the stairs two at a time as she heads off to pack.
