“That’s the last box.”  Rylee settled back on her heels as she surveyed the room around her.  She was crouched down next to the last empty box from storage and her stuff from Justin’s, and she was so ecstatic to be all moved into her new apartment.

“Thank God.  Jeeze, Girl, I didn’t know you had so much stuff.  It didn’t seem like this much when we moved it the first time.”  Trace flopped down into the arm chair next to Rylee, and Justin quickly threw himself onto the couch.

“That’s because I did most of the packing myself.  Believe me, it was just as bad the first time.”  She pushed herself off of the floor and padded over to Justin, nudging him to scoot over.  He rolled onto his side, his back pressed against the back of the couch, and Rylee climbed up next to him, snuggling into his arms.

“You did well, babe, this place looks good.”  He kissed her temple and pulled her tightly to him.

“Thanks.  I’ve still got some stuff I want to get, but for the most part I’m all done.  I have to give all the credit to Noah, though, because he left me with a lot of his stuff.”

“Oh, I meant to tell you, Noah said that we’re all invited out to dinner with him and Casey next weekend to celebrate our moves.”  Trace’s voice seemed distant and quite and he looked about ready to fall asleep.

“Wake up, Tracey, you’re not sleeping here.”  Rylee threw a pillow at his head.

“Why not?  This chair is so damn comfortable.”  He threw his head back against the head rest and let out a long sigh.

“Well, you can stay if you want, but Justin and I have a lot of rooms and furniture to christen…so…”  Trace bolted upright and held out his hand to stop her.

“Please, don’t say anymore.”  He scowled at her giggling form.  “You two are disgusting, do you know that?  I’m so out of here.”  He lifted himself from the chair and threw a few dirty looks at the couple as he made his way to the door.  “I’ll call you tomorrow, Justin.”

The door clicked and Rylee let out another laugh.  “Oh, that’s never going to get old.”

She turned to face Justin and was a little startled by the intense look on his face.  His eyes were focused on her, and she felt a chill run up and down her back.

“What’s that look for?”

He smiled softly.  “I’m just so damn proud of you, Rylee.  Seriously, you’ve done such an amazing job and pulling everything back together, and it makes me really happy to see you like this.  I was worried for a little bit that I was losing the girl in I fell in love with, but seeing you like this lets me know that she never left.”

Rylee sat back a little, shocked at his little outburst, but touched at the same time.

“I feel good, Justin.  I feel content with things and I feel like I found what I was missing.”  She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second before opening them to look straight into his.  “I know we’ve been avoiding the topic for a while now, but I’m not sure I can ignore it anymore.”

“What topic?”

“I’m in love with you, Justin.”  It was his turn to sit back in surprise.  “I’m not quite sure when it happened, but I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, it just never seemed like the right time to say it.”

“Rylee, I-”

“Let me talk, k?  I need to get this out.”  He nodded his head and closed his mouth, eager to hear what she had to say.

“I knew that you were going to be dangerous the moment I met you in the studio that first day.  I was pretty upset to learn that you were with my best friend, especially since I felt that I never held a candle to her.  But I couldn’t seem to stop myself from feeling something, even when I knew it was only going to cause problems, I couldn’t stay away.  Being with you has made me happier than I’ve felt in a really long time, and I just…I love you, Justin.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you,” Rylee squealed when Justin rolled over on top of her and place loud, smacking kisses all over her face.

“I love you, too, Rylee Jean.”  He grinned at her.  “I’ve been hoping you would get here, because I’ve been waiting here for a while for you to catch up.”

“I like to take my time, I guess.”

“You know what, though?  That’s just fine with me, because this has to be one of the most incredible moments I’ve ever had.”

Rylee made a face at him, “Now that was just cheesy.”

“But it’s true.  I’ve watched you struggle through so much, and I knew that a lot of the time I was partly to blame for that struggle.  So, I’m just…it feels really good to know that we made it through all that and we still feel something for each other.”

“I would hope so,” She smiled at him, loving the feeling of happiness that washed over her when he kissed her forehead softly.

“I’m glad we took some risks, Ry.  Because I can’t imagine what life would be like if we hadn’t hooked up on the studio counter.”

Rylee let out a loud, boisterous laugh, causing Justin to join in.

“Oh, that sounds so…cheap,” she giggled.  Their’s was a unique beginning, that was for sure.

“I think it sounds sexy…”  He nipped at her exposed neck and shoulders.  “Now, what were you saying about christening this apartment?”

Rylee’s cheeks flushed a little from the heated stare Justin was sending in her direction.  The sexual tension in the room rose by degrees and she suddenly felt very hot.

“I was thinking we could start in the bedroom,” Her voice didn’t sound as confident as she wanted it to, but his direct gaze was making her nervous.  And Rylee had never really been one for talking dirty, or anything like that.  It made her feel self conscious, but somehow, Justin made her want to let all of that go.

“Nah,” He leaned in and traced his tongue across her collar bone. “The bedroom is too far away.  Let’s start right here.”

His hands snaked their way up under her tank top and Rylee shivered at his light touch.  His lips were making their way down her neck and toward her breasts as his hands made quick work of her shirt.  She lifted up so he could pull the material over her head, and when she sank back down into the couch she could feel his strong hand on her back.

Justin unhooked her bra and pulled it off in one smooth motion, throwing it across the room.  He skin was warm and slightly damp with sweat from all the moving they’d done during the afternoon.  He dipped his head down and placed kisses down toward the valley of her breasts, taking time to stop and pay attention to each soft mound.

Rylee was trying to focus on breathing, because Justin was currently taking her breath away. 

It was a little strange for her, this feeling.  Although she had been in sexual relationships before, she had never been in one like this.  It felt as if they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, and Rylee had never wanted a man as much as she wanted Justin.  She wanted to touch him and feel him and be with him in every way possible.

She stopped his lips from their attack on her stomach so she could remove his t-shirt.  His warm, hard skin felt like heaven up against hers, and she was desperate to have him closer.

“Justin…”  She breathed out, trying to pull him up so she could connect their lips.  He scooted up the couch, gently putting weight on his arms so he wasn’t crushing her.

“Ry…”  Their mouths connected in a deep kiss, both of them getting lost in the sensations.  Rylee could feel Justin tugging at the waist band of her track pants, and she attempted to lift up so he could slip them off easier.

Through the haze of sex that had clouded their minds, a sound caused both of them to stop.

The buzzer sounded, signaling someone was at her door.  Rylee groaned at the person’s timing, but Justin refused to let her move off the couch.

“Ignore it, they’ll go away soon enough.”  He returned to his task of getting her naked, but she stopped him again.

“It could be the land lord or something, I can’t just ignore it.”  The buzzer sounded again and Rylee pushed at Justin’s shoulders so he would move off of her.  He reluctantly sat up, but not before leaning in and getting another kiss.

Rylee grabbed her bra off the floor and searched for her shirt, which had landed across the room.  Justin put his t-shirt back on and adjusted his jeans.  He hoped it was a quick visit because he really needed to finish what they’d started.

Rylee ran to the door when the buzzer sounded for the third time, and she was shocked to open the door and see Christina standing there, looking a little frazzled and nothing like her usual self.

“What are you doing here?”  Rylee’s guard went up, her stance rigid.  Justin couldn’t see who was at the door, but from the way Rylee had suddenly stiffened he could make a good guess.

“We really need to talk, can I come in?”  Rylee stared at Christina for a moment before holding the door open so the girl could enter the room.  Christina hesitated a moment when she saw Justin sitting on the couch, watching her.

“How did you find this apartment?”  He was upset that she had tracked down Rylee because he had really been hoping that that whole mess was over and everyone could just move forward.

“I…ah…”  She looked nervous, “I went to the studio and begged the receptionist to tell me her change in address.  I said it was an emergency.”

Justin’s anger rose.  “I’m going to have to have a conversation with her, because she’s not supposed to give out any personal information to anyone.”

A thick silence fell over the room; the sexual tension had evaporated to be filled with another, more uncomfortable silence.  Rylee stood at the door, hoping that this visit would be quick and that Christina would leave.  She didn’t have a whole lot to say to the girl, at least nothing that was very nice.

Christina shifted from one foot to the other, eyeing Justin before turning to face Rylee.

“Can we talk?”  She glanced back at Justin again, “Alone?”

Rylee’s eyes shifted over to Justin, and after a moment of silent communication she nodded her head.  He stood from his spot on the couch and threw a dirty look at Christina as he passed.  Stopping at Rylee, he made sure to give her a long, lingering kiss.

“I’ll be at the house, just come over when you’re finished here, ok?”  He waited for her to nod, her eyes expressing the fight she was gearing up for.  “Love you, Ry.”  He kissed her again, noting the small smile that graced her lips.

“Love you too,” She watched him walk out the door.  When it clicked shut, she spun around to face the girl that stood rigid in her living room.  “What do you want?”

Christina looked like she was ready to spit out something nasty, but she checked herself and let out a sigh.  “I wanted to talk to you, Rylee.  I think we need to have a chance to figure things out.”

“Figure things out?  You made your intentions pretty clear that day in the studio.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you were only hurting me to make yourself feel better.”  Rylee really couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.

“I wanted to apologize for that.”  Christina’s voice dropped to a whisper.  What was most unbelievable to Rylee was the fact that Christina was showing anything but selfishness about this.  It was a little hard to swallow that the girl would suddenly want to make amends, and Rylee had to guess that it was because of the guilt.

“It’s a little late for apologies, Christina.  You wouldn’t let me explain anything before, why should I give you the chance to say anything now?”

Christina’s hands twisted in nervousness.  “Because you’re a better person than I am?”

“Obviously.  I should’ve slammed the door in your face right after I opened it.”  She stalked over to the couch and threw herself down onto the cushions, getting some strength from the lingering scent of Justin that met her nose.

“I feel really badly for how I treated you.  I was just hurt and…and I was jealous.”

“You don’t say?”  The sarcasm was thick and biting. 

“What do you want me to say, Rylee?”  Christina was getting a little frustrated at the resistance she was meeting.  She had hoped that the two would be able to patch things over a little bit.

“Nothing, I don’t want you to say anything.  You said all you needed to when you pushed me out of your life and that’s not something I’m going to be able to forget any time soon.”  She stood, getting closer to Christina to make her point stick.  “I’m happy now, Christina.  I’m in love and I’m happy and I’m not stupid enough to let you back in so you can ruin it all over again.”

“You’re not going to even accept my apology?”  The truth of the matter was, Christina was pretty miserable without her best friend.  She hadn’t realized how much she had depended on Rylee before everything had happened, and she wanted her best friend back.

“Christina, I know that I did things to hurt you, but that was nothing compared to the hurt you dished out when you gave up on our friendship like it was nothing.  How can I trust you again if it was so easy for you to walk away in the first place?”

“I-”  Rylee’s hand stopped her sentence.

“No.  It’s too late for that.  You had your chance to do the right thing before.  We both fucked this friendship, Christina.  I should have talked to you about my feelings for Justin and you shouldn’t have done what you did.  It’s over now, and it’s never going to be again.”

Christina’s head dropped and she took in a breath to steady her nerves.  This wasn’t going the way she’d hoped it would.

“There isn’t anything that’s going to change your mind?”  Her eyes pleaded with Rylee, but the other girl shook her head.

“I don’t have room in my life for people that are going to treat me like shit.  I deserve better than that.”  She paused for a moment, “And you shouldn’t want people in your life that are capable of doing things like stealing boyfriends.  It’s over, Christina.  Move on and please…just leave me alone.”

This seemed to anger Christina a little.  “Well I hope you and Justin are happy together.”  The bitterness was back in her voice and Rylee was through listening to it.

“Get out.”

“What?”  Christina couldn’t believe that she was being kicked out.

“You heard me, get out.  I’m through with listening to you bitch about things.  Leave and don’t come back.  If you do I’ll call the cops and have them escort you off my property.”

“Whatever, bitch.”  Christina started to walk to the door, angry and sad that Rylee was closing the door on their friendship.

“Mature, Christina, really.”  Rylee held the door open and pointed out, making sure Christina got the point.  After the other girl exited, Rylee shut the door firmly and let out a sigh of relief.

She hadn’t known it, but that conversation needed to happen.  The closure she felt now was incredible, and as hard as it was to face all of that, Rylee was relieved that it was over.  She felt like she could truly move on with her life now and forget about all of the crap in the past.

Damn that felt good.