Page 83 of Class Clown

“I do like it when people follow my suggestions.”

He hooked a hand around my neck and kissed me hard once more. “I am in this with you, Ruby. Fifty-fifty. Are you with me?”

Like I had a choice after his perfectly wonderful speech.

“Yes,” I whispered, shaking out of the daze as his hand dropped. I swallowed and cleared my throat. “I want to be.”

“I’m going to hold you to it.” He smiled, gesturing for me to follow him to the back door to make our way down to the main parking area.

“Okay, then. Good thing there will be no vibes here for my friends to discover next week.”

His low chuckle was cut off by the sound of the back door closing behind us.

Chapter 20

Ruby’s Truth: When in doubt, trust your true friends.

By the time Aryn and Meredith arrived, I’d gotten my head back on and had decided to be open to whatever happened with Nico. He’d said he was all in, and I could admit that I’d never had a guy get under my skin this way. I was the queen of games and banter, and Nico was shredding that all up with his constant sincerity, which had my insides bouncing between joy and terror.

I knew my attention would be divided with my friends being here for a few days, but I was optimistically curious to see if Nico’s actions would match his words. I had no reason not to trust him, he’d certainly never let me down, but words didn’t always mean much to people. Actions, however, they never lied.

My friends pulled up in Aryn’s car and I ran toward them before the dust had even settled. My hair flew around me, and my smile stretched across my entire face as the sight of them made me giddy with happiness. Aryn, with her wild waves of auburn hair and her bright smile, barreling right back toward me, with perfectly moody Meredith following her more sedately – it was perfect. The three of us hugged, and I laughed as they allowed me to bounce them around in a circle until we were dizzy and had to stop.

“You’re here!” I squealed.

Meredith nodded as she smoothed her sleek black hair into place and tugged her button-front shirt back down. “It took us all day, but it’ll probably be worth it.”

“Of course it’ll be worth it.” I turned to Aryn with a grin. “Did you wake her up too early?”

Aryn nodded. “6:30 a.m. Meredith was even less happy than this Meredith is.”

Meredith shook her head. “I am alive thanks to diet cola and a driving need to prove to Brooks that I’m a good road-tripper.”

“Brooks isn’t here,” I responded.

Meredith hooked a thumb towards Aryn. “Like she won’t be giving him a full report when we get back home.”

Aryn bounced on the balls of her feet, stretching a little to ease the strain of an all-day car ride. She was dressed in her typical athletic gear and looked ready to take the place on. Meredith, however, was eyeing it all with a sort of wary curiosity, like she’d wait to give her judgment until she saw how it played out.

Aryn clapped her hands together. “So, the view is gorgeous and everything, but when do we get to set eyes on this roommate of yours? I’ve been dying to meet him.”

Meredith held up her phone. “I’ve been tasked with getting more pictures and all the details you don’t want to share.”

I airily waved a hand. “Who knows where he is right now? As the assistant director he’s kept pretty busy.”

They both looked around at the growing crowd of arrivals, with the usual hugging and some tears from both parents and kids, and I did my best to herd them back towards Aryn’s car to get their luggage.

Meredith dug her heals in, her sharp bony body managing to stop me. “I see him.” She pointed. “Over there, right?’

I turned to look, and as had become the norm, my pulse jumped at the sight of him. He looked good, standing tall and straight as he observed everything. Today he wasn’t wearing a ball cap, and the slight breeze ruffled his wavy hair. His hands were clasped behind his back and I wanted to catch his eye and watch his shy smile grow when he saw me.

“Yeah, that’s him,” I responded with forced nonchalance. “He looks totally surrounded by people who need him.”

Aryn laughed. “He’s standing alone. You should introduce us.”

I waved a hand. “There will be plenty of time for that later, seeing as we’ll be bunking together.”

“I smell avoidance,” Meredith muttered and Aryn nodded her head, but at least they started walking toward the car with me.

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