“That’s all you do, Ash. You fuck up. All you’ve done since we met is hurt me. I know you hate me, and I understand it, I do, but fuck, it’s time to give it up. We’re fucking stuck with each other now whether we like it or not.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Ruby.”
“Well, you’re fucking good at it.” She marches toward me, stopping before we’re in touching distance. “Excuse me.”
“No.”
“No? You’re going to keep me locked in here?”
“Until you hear me out, yeah, if that’s what it takes. I don’t want to fight with you, Rubes.”
“That’s all we’re capable of, haven’t you realized? We’re toxic, Ash. A disaster waiting to happen. All we do is hurt each other, our parents are fighting. It’s just...” She throws her arms out from her sides. “It’s pointless, Ash. Now get out of my way and let me get on with my life.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“I don’t really give a shit what you want right now. I gave you what I thought you needed in Seattle, and all you did was throw it back in my face. So go and find Krissy, or one of the others, I’m sure they’d happily be your little toy until you get bored of them.”
“No,” I spit, stepping into her space and forcing her to back up until her ass hits the edge of the desk. My fingers grip her jaw as my body presses against hers. “I don’t want them. I couldn’t give a shit what they would happily do for me. I want you, Ruby. Just you.” My eyes stare down into her green ones as they fill with tears. She tries to shake her head, but my grip is too hard for her to move much.
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” I sneer, closing the space between us until my nose brushes hers.
“What do you want, Ash? What do I need to do for you to let me out of here?”
A smile curls up at my lips at the possibilities.
“Tell me what I need to know.”
“Which is?” she asks, forcing herself to sound bored by this whole exchange but I know it’s fake. I can see the heat in her eyes behind her tears, and I can feel her pulse thundering against my fingers.
I lean in closer, brushing my cheek against hers until my lips tease the shell of her ear.
“Tell me you’re mine.”
She tenses but no words pass her lips.
“Ruby,” I growl. “We both already know it’s a fact, but I need to hear you say it.”
“A fact?” she spits. “To you maybe, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t belong to anyone.”
Pulling back, I rest my forehead against hers, my breaths racing out past my lips and mixing with hers as I stare down at her.
“Please, Ruby, I need—”
I’m too lost in her to see her hands lift. Her palms slam against my chest and I’m so shocked by her strength that I back up, putting some space between us.
“I don’t give a shit what you need right now, Ash. I care about what I need, and that’s not to be anywhere near you.”
Before I get a chance to respond, she’s ripped the door open and flown through it.
“Fuck,” I bark, tugging at my hair until it hurts. “FUCK.”
I take a step back until my ass hits the desk and I rest back, tipping my face to the ceiling.
All this shit is new to me. I want to tell her how I feel, that I’m serious about all this but I’ve got no fucking clue how to do it.
I’m surprised to find the gym empty when I emerge sometime later, I was expecting the team to be waiting for me to teach me a lesson for hurting one of their own.
The bell rings as I’m making my way down the hall and I’m forced to abandon any lunch plans I had in favor of finding my next class.
All I can hope is that she’s in it.
But it seems that’s wishful thinking because I don’t see her again for the rest of the day, I do, however, spend my last two classes in the firing line from the team and the squad’s death stares.
As first days at a new school go, it’s not been the best. Things don’t get any easier either when I finally locate the locker rooms after school to join in with the team’s conditioning session to discover that Coach is busy, and that Jake is in charge and that his sole intention for the session is to see how far he can push me.
By the time he lets up, my entire body aches and is covered in sweat. It’s been too long since I’ve done that kind of a workout.
“I think I might have underestimated you,” Jake admits, coming to stand beside me as I get dressed after showering off the mud and grass that covered almost every inch of me.
“Oh yeah?”
“That would have broken most guys.”
“I’m not just any guy though.”
“So I see.” Another guy comes to join us, Ruby’s friend’s boyfriend, I think.
“You think he’s got what it takes?” he asks Jake but stares at me.
“It’s early days. Let’s see if he lasts the week first. Chelsea might kill him first.”
“I can hear you,” the blond guy, who I can only assume is the dad to Chelsea’s baby pipes up from the other side of the locker room.
“Fuck off, Dunn. Don’t even pretend you were gagging for a bit of that when she went all momma bear on this guy’s ass,” Jake shouts much to a few of the guy’s amusement.
“Not denying anything. Might go home and try to get her pregnant all over again though. Ow,” he complains when someone throws something at him.
“Do we need to have another conversation about Ruby?” Jake asks me as the other guy’s brow rises possessively.
“Nope. I know what I want. But if you wanted to help me out, you could put in a good word to Ruby.”
“Not gonna happen, man. You gotta dig yourself out of your own shit.”
“Great,” I mutter, turning away from them and continuing to get dressed.
“So, same again tomorrow?”
“Can’t wait.”
“Coach and I are going to be picking next year’s team soon. Captain too.”
I don’t reply and I think it pisses him off but he lets it go.
“Aces?” he asks the rest of the locker room and after a few minutes, they all start disappearing. I have no idea if that was a group invite that included me, but I make no move to follow.
By the time I’m ready, they’ve all disappeared, leaving me to walk to the parking lot alone. I climb on my bike and head for home, wondering if Ruby will have met the team at Aces or if she’s hiding from me in her room.
I get my answer the second I show up at home because her little blue car is sitting in the driveway.
Stopping in the kitchen for a drink and some food, I make my way upstairs, marching straight past my own door and straight to hers.
I knock knowing that she’s inside, but I get no response.
“Ruby?”
“Go away.”
“You wanna hang out?” It’s a long shot, but I figure it’s worth it. “Do that chemistry assignment together?”
“No.”
I can’t help but smile at the bite in her tone. “Ruby?”
“What, asshole? I’m busy.”