I chuckle. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” I say. “You want something to eat? I can make it for you.”
Ruby shakes her head. “No, no food,” she says.
“Some Tylenol?”
“Already took some,” she says, before taking a large mouthful of coffee. She swallows the warm liquid, letting out a loud groan of satisfaction that sends a jolt of electricity straight down my spine as a million other ways she might make that sound flash through my brain.
What sound would she make when she comes?
The thought is there before I can stop it and I have to take a mouthful of my own coffee just to stop a groan at the thought of Ruby, writhing beneath me as I worship her body with my fingers and my tongue, till she’s moaning my name and coming hard.
“What I really need is to go back to bed,” she says, her voice interrupting my little fantasy, but only to add more fuel to the fire by talking about her and bed.
Fuck me.
“Maybe you should skip classes today?” I suggest, my brain already going into overdrive at the thought of her, in bed, knowing that with Reid and Sienna going to class, we’d be here all alone together.
Ruby exhales, finishing her coffee as she stands. “I wish I could,” she says, rinsing out her cup. “But I have a group thing in class that I can’t skip.”
I swallow hard, both relieved and disappointed that she can’t stay. “You don’t have a class with that creepy professor do you?”
Ruby shakes her head. “Not today.”
“Good.”
She turns to me, smiling now. “I’m starting to see what Sienna means about the protective thing.”
I step toward her, putting my cup on the counter before turning back to her, gently placing both hands on her shoulders. “Promise me you’ll tell me if he does anything,” I say, my voice firm, but low.
“Caleb…”
I shake my head once. “I mean it, Ruby,” I say. “I have a—”
“I promise,” she says, quickly cutting me off. “I better go,” she breathes out, her body sagging a little. “I’m so jealous you get to spend the day on the couch.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, but I gotta work tonight, so when you’re done for the day, you’ll be here relaxing on the couch, while I’m having to go.”
She smiles. “True.”
“You should come in,” I suggest, the words out before I even think about it. “Hang out, have a drink.” Ruby scrunches up her nose at my suggestion and I laugh. “You’ll be feeling better by then, I’m sure,” I tell her. “Besides, hair of the dog helps.”
She shakes her head at me, but she’s smiling. “Maybe,” she teases. “Okay, shit, I better go, I’ll see you later.”
“Have a good day, Ruby.”
I’m pouring a second cup of coffee when Reid wanders into the kitchen, doing that guy-style half hug from behind thing he’s been doing with me lately. “Caleb,” he says, reaching for a cup.
“Reid,” I reply, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “You okay?”
Reid shrugs. “Yeah, I’m all good.”
I give him a quick once over. “No hangover?”
Reid laughs as he turns and leans back against the kitchen counter. “No,” he says. “After two years here, I’ve gotten enough practice on handling a drinking session on a school night.”
I smirk at him, realizing it’s the total opposite for me. I rarely drank back in Providence. Not just because I had a walking example of the dangers of too much alcohol living with me, but because there was too much that had to be done. Trying to salvage the bar on a hangover was definitely too much to cope with. Hell, it was probably part of the reason Dad had screwed it up so bad.
It’s probably why I acted the way I did with Ruby last night too, so un-used to the effects of that much alcohol.
“And Sie, how’s she?”
Reid grins. “Sleeping, but that’s only ‘cause I wore her out.”
I roll my eyes, shaking my head at him, but not biting because I know that’s the only reason he says this shit to me. It is weird though, because back in high school, talking about girls is what we did. Even when he came out here to school, we’d still talk, and he’d always fill me in on whatever or whoever he’d been up to. Now though, when it involves my sister, it feels fucking strange to hear him talk about her in that way.
“So what happened with you and Ruby last night?” he asks, cheekily slipping it into the conversation, a wide grin on his face as he watches me, waiting for my response.
“What do you mean?” I reply, playing dumb as I shove a hand through my hair.
He shrugs. “You two looked pretty cozy on the couch together.”
I let out a breath as I take another sip of coffee. “Nothing, dude, we’re just friends.”
“I see,” he says, almost to himself. “So you didn’t, you know, hook up or anything after we went to bed?”
“No!” I say, my head snapping up. “Jesus, she’s Sienna’s best friend.”
Reid bursts out laughing, throwing his head back as though this is truly the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “Fuck man,” he says, still laughing. “Pretty sure Sie gave up any right to call you on that shit the second she and I got together.”
“Maybe,” I murmur, knowing that’s not the issue here anyway.
“Anyway,” he continues. “I know she’d be cool with it, seriously. So why don’t you?” He pauses, grinning at me. “You seem to get along and my guess is you think she’s pretty hot?”
I roll my eyes again. “It’s not exactly that simple.”
“Why?” he asks, arms out in question. “If you like her, do something about it.”
“And what if she doesn’t like me?” I ask. “What if she’s just happy with us being friends?” It’s not just that though. It’s all the other things us being a couple would mean. Like how she’d find out just how messed up I truly am.
“Nah,” he says, shaking his head as he finishes his coffee and immediately pours another cup. “She likes you.”
I push out from the table and walk over to the sink, rinsing out my cup. “Well, it doesn’t matter, because nothing can happen.”
“Why?” Reid asks, arms crossed over his chest as he turns to meet my gaze.
My eyes flick around the room before meeting his. “Look at me, Reid. I’m sleeping on a couch at my sister’s house,” I say. “I’ve got no life plans, no savings, no car. And my head’s a fucking mess.” I point to it as if to reinforce my point.
“Dude,” he says, standing in front of me. “None of that material shit is important, you know that. And you do have money and plans and who gives a fuck if you’re sleeping on your sister’s couch. She loves having you here. Hell, so do I.” He pauses, his gaze never looking away from me. “And as for this,” he adds, reaching out so his hand is cupping the back of my head. “This isn’t permanently broken, you know that. There’s nothing wrong with you, Caleb.”
I meet his gaze, see the truth in his words, along with the shadows of guilt I know he still feels about all of this. Taking a deep breath, I let it out on a long exhale, nodding once. “Well, whatever, I’m pretty sure Ruby and I are firmly in the friend zone,” I say, my mind immediately going back to last night, to that lingering kiss she gave me that could have so easily turned into something more.