Page 60 of Let It Be Me

I watch the door until he disappears and then turn back to Ruby, who’s grinning like she just stepped out of a getaway car.

“Think he knew?” She comes over and presses her body to mine like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“With you wiping my kiss off your lips and your shirt half-buttoned like that? Nah, I’m sure he thought we were just out here trading stock tips.”

Ruby’s smile disappears, and she looks down at her chest—to discover she’s wearing a dress.

“Gotcha.”

She gives me a playful smack on the chest, then lets her hand linger. “Asshole. Like I’d wear a button-down.”

“Not that I care what he suspects. My friends think we’ve been sleeping together since middle school.”

“Really? Then why is your heart beating like you’re about to have a heart attack?”

I cover her hand where it’s pressed against my chest. “It was like that before he showed up.” I fight the urge to slide her hand down my abs to my eager dick.

Ruby holds my eyes for an instant, then smiles and drops her gaze. Shy Ruby isn’t something I ever thought I’d see. “You better get in there before Reeve takes your precious spot.” She pushes me gently away, but I grab her hand.

“Hey. I wasn’t going to get back together with Allison.”

“You were thinking about it.”

“No, I was thinking about why it was so hard to tell her I’ve been over her longer than we’ve been broken up.”

“What did you figure out?”

“Guess I was just holding on to an old idea about how things have to be, about the life I’m supposed to want and the life I actually want. I had to let that go.”

We’re approximatelyforty-five minutes into this thing—Ruby and Lorenzo, more than friends—and I understand why guys who fall for her fall hard and fast; she lights one match and instantly you’re on fire.

While I play beer pong, she floats around the crowded room and finds a couple of people to chat with, but she keeps hitting me with these looks, all subtle smile and dancing eyes. Like she has an incredibly dirty secret. Like everything about this party is boring her except me. I keep glancing at Cash next to me at the table to see if he notices, but he’s oblivious. I’m the only one who sees it.

I shouldn’t be surprised. Back in school, her ability to communicate silently and without detection from teachers was masterful—mouthing words, passing notes, expressing aparagraph’s worth in a single look. I just didn’t expect her to use those skills for seduction.

Or it could just be me. I’m still a little stunned by what’s happened here tonight. When I woke up this morning, the last thing I imagined was finding myself in a relationship before the day was out. If that’s what this even is ... a relationship. Shit. Whatisthis?

Across the room, Ruby’s hand is fingering her necklace, and the way her fingers are splayed has her pinkie dipping down into the hint of cleavage her dress offers. I decide I’m not going to ask questions like that tonight. No, I’m going to think about the possibilities. All the things that were always off-limits. Kissing. Touching. Tasting her bare skin. What’s mine to take now?

Near the end of the second round of beer pong, I take a dive. Ruby’s driving me wild, the energy flowing from her like a magnet that scrambles every other signal in my brain and draws my eyes to her like no one else exists. I’m kind of a legend at beer pong, so everyone watching gives me shit. It should hurt a little, but it doesn’t. I’ve never cared less about losing.

Ruby’s chatting with Cash’s sister, Maisy, on the other side of the room. When she glances over and sees me coming, she says something to Maisy, turns her back to me, and walks away. She never glances back. She doesn’t need to. She knows I’m following her. Through the kitchen, past a group of football players smoking weed, up the stairs. No one gives us a second look. This is the beauty of our friendship. My closest friends know we keep things strictly platonic, and everyone else assumes we’ve been sleeping together forever. Either way, the two of us walking upstairs together isn’t noteworthy.

I find her sitting on the bed in Reeve’s room. Closing the door, I point at his bed. “I would do anything for another kiss, but I won’t touch that.”

She stands and puts her arms around my neck like she’s been waiting here for me all night. Ruby can make you believe whatever you want to believe about yourself.

I put one hand around her waist, and with the other I brush her loose hair back from her face. “So are we really doing this?”

“What?”

“Us.”

She curls her fingernails into my neck. “I think so.”

“Does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want?”

She smiles a shy kind of smile but holds my gaze. “I think we can do whatever feels right.”

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