Plus, it’s been fucking fantastic hanging out with my sister and Reid again, the three of us finding our way back to that inseparable threesome we always had going on for most of our lives.
And then there’s Ruby. A girl who I know is nothing more than a friend, despite how much she occupies my thoughts and my dreams. But she’s also a girl who gives me back my life, who makes everything feel so fucking normal again, that I just don’t want to leave.
I’m too afraid of shit going back to the way it was.
Not to mention that I just really like hanging out with her.
By two-thirty, I’m bored shitless, so I pull on my running gear and jog over to the campus and where I know Ruby has her class. I’ve met her after class before, mostly because I just want to remind that creepy ass professor she has that she’s totally off-limits, but there’s never been a situation when I’ve run into him.
If anything, Ruby is usually walking out with her friends, laughing and chatting until she sees me and we walk back home together to go for our run.
Today though, I watch as her friends leave the building, a couple of them tipping their head in my direction because I guess they recognize me now. I don’t see Ruby though and when I glance at my phone, I see it’s been ten minutes since her class ended.
I push off the wall I’ve been leaning against, ready to head inside and check that she’s okay when she suddenly comes barreling through the door, her face white and clutching her bag in a death grip. She’s walking quickly, her head down, so she doesn’t even see me as I move in front of her, my hands grabbing her shoulders to stop her.
“Hey, hey,” I say softly, as I crouch down a little to see her face. “You okay?”
She lifts her head, her eyes wide as they scan my face. “Yeah,” she says, swallowing hard. “What…ah, what are you doing here?”
I shake my head, as though dismissing her question, because that’s the least important thing in all of this. “Ruby,” I say. “What happened, are you alright?” My gaze flicks to the windows lining the side of the classroom, but I can see it’s empty, no sign of the asshole teaching her class. “Did he do something to you?”
Ruby shakes her head, her mouth set in a firm line. “No, it’s nothing,” she says. “Seriously, I’m fine.”
She tries to pull away from me and I reluctantly let her go, not wanting to feel like I’m forcing her to say anything. Fuck knows I know what that feels like. Instead we both turn and start to walk home, walking side by side in silence.
Eventually I reach over and take her bag, gently easing it from her grip before slinging it over my shoulder. Ruby offers me a small smile, before she turns away. By the time we get home, I’m convinced she’s going to bail on our run. She hasn’t said a single word to me since we left campus, and while I’m absolutely positive something happened back in that classroom with the creeper, I have no idea how to bring it up.
Although I’m definitely going to be waiting for her after every fucking class now.
“You ready to go?” she suddenly asks.
I look up to find Ruby standing in the living room, dressed in her running gear.
I open my mouth to ask her if she’s sure she wants to do this or if she’s really okay or if she wants to talk about what happened back in her class. But then I’m reminded of all the times Reid or Sienna asked me this shit and how much I didn’t want to talk about because all I wanted to do was forget it.
“Yep,” I say, smiling at her. “Pretty sure I’m gonna kick your ass this time, too,” I add teasingly.
Ruby finally laughs and it’s fucking amazing. “You wish, pretty boy,” she says, walking past me to the front door.
“Pretty boy?” I say, smacking her on the ass as she walks by without even thinking about it. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that!”
Ruby giggles again, opening the front door and heading outside. I follow her out and we both start to run, each of us pushing the other to go further and harder with every stride.
By the time we get back home, we are both laughing our asses off, the old Ruby back as she stands bent at the waist, her hands on her knees.
“Shit, have you been secretly training or something?” she says, each word punctuated by a hard gasp.
I force a laugh out, mirroring her pose as I reply, “Maybe I’m just trying to impress my trainer.”
Ruby scoffs. “Is that right?”
We both straighten and I give her a wink. “Yeah.”
After I’ve showered, I head into the kitchen to start making dinner. I’d grabbed stuff earlier to make nachos, including a bucket of margarita mix. It’s the middle of the week and I’m pretty sure everyone has class tomorrow, but fuck it, it seems like a night for relaxing and having fun. I actually think it might be the first night all four of us are home and hanging out together. And I kind of love that.
“You know how to cook?” Ruby asks as she wanders into the kitchen, her wet hair all pulled into a knot on her head. She’s dressed in a pair of fitted sweatpants and an oversized sweater that hangs off one shoulder, and it takes everything I have in me not to pull her into my arms and kiss the shit out of her.
Instead, I shoot her a quick look. “I do,” I say, grinning. “Makes the whole package that much more attractive, doesn’t it?”
Ruby throws her head back and lets out a loud laugh, back to her old self again, as though whatever happened this afternoon after her class has long been forgotten. “It is appealing,” she says, crossing her arms as she leans against the counter. “I’ll give you that.”
My grin widens as I give her a wink. “I can teach you, young padawan,” I tease, wondering if she’ll get the reference.
My question is answered as her arms fall to her sides and her mouth drops open in shock, her eyes widening. “Holy shit,” she says, breathless. “We are so watching Star Wars tonight.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Well, whatever you do, don’t mention that to Sie until she’s at least, hmmm…” I pause, hand on my chin as though I’m thinking, “at least three margaritas in. She hates Star Wars.”
Ruby’s mouth drops even more. “Well fuck.” She exhales hard, her warm breath tickling the back of my arm as she reaches for the bottle of tequila. “I literally have no idea how she and I are still friends,” she says, as she starts to mix our drinks.
I laugh, shaking my head as I wonder if it’s at all possible that Ruby and I could ever be more than friends.
Chapter Five
Ruby
We’re all sitting around the table pigging out on nachos and street tacos, laughing and talking about our day. It feels so normal, like Caleb has always been here and I don’t want him to ever move out. Even though I’m sure he’d love his own space.
“What were you up to today, Sie?” I ask, the conversation floating back and forth between all of us sharing what we’ve been up to.
“World’s longest bio lab,” she replies, rolling her eyes and even though she loves to bitch about the length of her classes and their intensity, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t get over how many people don’t review the lab before class and then have a million fucking questions.”