Casey's POV

I jumped at the chance of seeing Riley again. Ever since I knew he'd gotten his memory back, I was excited about spending time with him. I'd missed him a lot over the past month. Sure I wanted more than his friendship, but our friendship meant a lot more than the stupid feelings I'd developed. I wouldn't let my jealousy over his relationship ruin that.

I wanted to sulk. Oh trust me, I wanted to sulk that he'd chosen her while I was right there, but nothing good was going to come out of that. The best thing for me was to not ruin what we had...and woo him gently.

I laughed.

I actually laughed at my last thought as I walked towards the town park. I was not in the department of wooing people, I wasn't good at it. I'd never really tried, but I figured I'd be terrible. I wasn't the hottest guy to have ever walked the earth. I wasn't the best talker. I didn't have assets to show off.

I wasn't even sure of Riley's sexuality. He could be straight for all I knew. I was at least certain he liked girls. He had a girlfriend. I'd walked in on them as they were about to kiss.

I spotted Riley sitting on one of the benches as I entered the park. I walked over to him, sat on the bench and enveloped him in a squeezing hug, rocking him sideways.

"Hi Mr. Adonis", I said when he disentangled himself from me with a "sheesh".

"Adonis?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Yes! You have a girlfriend, a hot one at that! You have got to be Adonis", I said.

What the hell was I doing?

"I'll have you know I have a great personality", he said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes.

"So, how did you get your super uptight mom to let you out? She chased me away the other day".

"Can we not talk about mom or Mandy?" he asked. He seemed annoyed.

"Um, sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to feel the wind in my hair", he said. "Let's go do something crazy".

Those words were the recipe for disaster, or the recipe for a really wonderful evening. I should have told Riley to go home and rest, but he just looked so handsome with his begging eyes and I...I fell again.

"Well, I don't have a motorbike, but I have a bicycle. It's still in pretty good shape", I said.

"This is why I love you so much", he said happily.

"Because I let you be reckless?"

He shook his head. "Because you know when I really need you".

My breath got caught in my throat. I smiled. How could I not fall for him when he said those kinds of words?

"And don't you dare say you let me be reckless, you are more uptight than my mom".

I glared at him as we stood up.

We didn't spend a lot of time at my house. I had initially just thought only Riley would be riding, but he coerced me into riding with him. He took Calvin's bike and I took mine. The bicycles were in no shape and form cycling bikes, considering that we'd gotten them when I was 14. They were big enough for the older-us though.

We set out on the road, with no idea where we were going. It wasn't the destination that mattered, it was the ride.

It felt amazing riding with Riley. We rode slowly at first, which I knew wasn't ideal for him. He loved speed and when he couldn't take it anymore, he picked up speed. He just looked so alive, even though riding a bicycle was a lot more physically-demanding than riding a motorbike.

"Race you babe! Come on, loser buys food!" he shouted, with his hair trailing behind him.

He made a turn that would take him out of the town. I wasn't so sure we should have been that far from home at that time of the day, but I rode on behind him. Besides loving the sight of a happy Riley, I actually like the ride myself. I felt free. It was probably because we didn't have a fully coherent vision of where we were going to end. I was going on another adventure with my best friend.

"You've never actually bought food in your life. And where the hell are you going?" I shouted.

"I don't know!" he shouted back, looked behind him and snickered.

I hmph-ed in indignation.

He turned into a dirt path I hadn't seen. With how late it was, I was concerned. The sky was getting dark, signaling the beginning of nighttime. Walking in the town at night was slightly okay, turning into dirt roads out of town was not.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked

"Yes", Riley said.

Tall green trees surrounded us. They were mostly coast redwoods, with tall stems, wide trunks and luscious green leaves. The surrounded us as we rode. The air there was fresh and wonderful to inhale. Up ahead, I could see some fog.

Riley must have seen it too because he turned. He slowed down this time so I could catch up to him. Then we rode into a clear section full of shrubs. The tall trees disappear behind us. Just as the trees had disappeared, the shrubs disappeared and we were greeted by luscious green grass.

The whole place was just beautiful. It was so peaceful. The night sky was now blue-black and littered with stars like they were glitter applied by a six year old.

At the end of the green grass, a stream of water passed by peacefully. You could hear the sound of falling water, a sign there was a waterfall close.

"Have you been here before?"

Riley shook his head as he stopped and got off his bicycle. I got off my bike too and we set them on the grass.

I looked behind me to see the shrubs we'd left behind. I could also see the tall tress just behind them.

"How'd you know we'd emerge...here?" I asked.

"Instinct? It's beautiful isn't it?" he asked.

I nodded. "...but also not safe. We should go back".

"Why do you have to be such a spoilsport?"

"I'm being responsible. We literally just upped and came here. No one knows where we are. What if something happens?"

He smiled assuredly and took my hand in his. "Nothing will happen, I promise".

"How can you promise?"

"I just can", he said. "Now, how about we get in the water?"

"Hell no!" I was quick to say.

He shrugged and smiled, letting go of my hand. "Suit yourself".

Before I knew it he'd stripped right down to just his boxers. I thought I'd stared at the place in awe. I was staring at him in utter transfixion. His body just looked so beautiful even though I couldn't see much of it. Every curve was carved to perfection, shaping his immaculate back leading all the way to his small waist.

Thankfully I was behind him so he couldn't see how he'd stunned me with his almost-naked body.

He walked over to the edge of the stream before doing the unthinkable and jumped in. He hadn't even gauged depth. Sure the stream looked deep but it could have rocks and stuff. Riley was getting more and more reckless. It was strangely a turn on.

I had to yell at myself to stop thinking such things. I looked over at Riley and found him playing in the water. His hair was wet and stuck to his face. I liked the sight of him moving around. He looked so carefree.

I walked over to the bank, picked up some rocks and walked back to sit cross-legged on the grass. I threw some of the rocks into the water, clear of Riley.

"This water is so good", he said. "Come join me"

I shook my head.

"Pretty please"

There was just something in his voice that drew me to him – or it could really just be the fact that I loved him.

I shook my head, determined to retain some sanity. I'd followed him to the middle of a forest. I was already crazy.

I got out my phone to look at the time and found some text messages I had ignored. Riley took that time to sneak up behind me. I felt his wet arms around me as he engulfed me in a hug.

"You're getting me wet!" I protested.

"That's the point".

He wasn't just getting me wet. He was getting me flustered. It was okay when I was the one hugging and teasing him. Now he was the one doing it. I didn't have control anymore. It was dangerous.

I sighed. "I'll get in the water if it'll make you happy", I said. I needed him to let me go.

"Perfect", he said and let me go.

He got back in the water and I stripped and joined him. He was right, the water was really nice. I adjusted to it really quickly. I liked the feel of it on my skin.

I hadn't been in the water for long before Riley decided he wanted to play. We chased each other and of course sprayed as much water as we could on each other's faces. Riley tried restraining me by holding my body against him. It was perfectly natural for us to be that close. At some point it had been perfectly natural. It wasn't anymore.

I hated how I was feeling. I was ruining things. When he had his arms around my waist, I momentarily embraced how good that felt. I closed my eyes, with my face obscured by his head.

The moment felt perfectly wrong. There was this spark around us, something enchanting that floated between and around us. My heart seemed to beat to the rhythm of his. The treed far away seemed to whisper sweet-nothings. I could swear I saw the stars wink when I opened my eyes.

"You won't spray me again?" Riley was asking.

"I won't", I managed to say.

"Good boy", he said and let me go.

I nodded and turned away from him, deciding to swim away to avoid making the moment awkward. With how I was feeling and the unnatural things I was experiencing, I was definitely going to turn the moment awkward.

A few minutes later we were lying on the grass undressed. It was comfortable – the grass I mean. Everything else was just delightful. Riley's body was eyecandy for me, and though I tried not to look, I couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Mandy and I".

Great.

"It's okay. It's actually cute. I could see she liked you from the start. She seems ecstatic", I said. I doubt he saw my grim face with the darkness around us.

"We should head to town now. You owe me food", he said.

I wasn't excited about leaving, but it was for the best. We got dressed and headed out in our bikes. We got pizza and ate on the lawn outside my house just to show my dad I was okay. He definitely wasn't okay with me not being in the house but he eventually let me stay outside.

"I had an amazing time Casey", Riley said as we ate. "We should go there again. It can be our place".

Our...I loved that pronoun.

"Might not want to tell our parents about it", I said and laughed.

"Definitely!"