Page 111 of What are the Risks
“Get out of here. You’re messing with my beauty sleep.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
I’m going to enjoy this
Ryker
I was barely paying attention to the conversation happening around me... something about a party tonight. I vaguely noted mention of the hockey team being there, but I wasn’t about to let that drama distract me from a night with Ruby – a date night at that.
I’ll admit, I was kind of anxious. The only restaurants I knew in town were those that served steaks, burgers or pizzas. I needed to step up my game so that tonight stood apart from all the dinners we’d shared in the past.
I nudged my cousin. “Where’s good to eat around here? You know, somewhere nice.”
With just the five of us guys crowded around the table, Brady was the safest bet for suggestions. Tori had stayed back at our house to finish off an assignment, otherwise I would have asked her.
Brady shook his head. “I’m not giving you date night advice until you fess up. Out with it, man. Are you dating Ruby?”
“We’re not dating.”
“You tapping that?” Pat smirked.
I glared at him. “No.”
Not yet at least. I couldn’t speak for later. Though honestly, I had no expectations. As ready as I was, I wasn’t going to rush anything. This was Ruby we were talking about.
“But you’ve been praying to ever since that pic,” Kyler snickered.
“His entire life,” Evan chimed in. “That photo just unlocked a new level of horniness for our oblivious QB.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Evan was right. That picture had certainly alerted me to how attractive I found my best friend. Add in the timing of her breaking up with Noah, it felt a bit like fate.
“What happens afterwards?” Brady pressed, seeming to be the only one taking this seriously. “Can you and Ruby go back to being friends after whatever this is?”
“Sure we can,” I dismissively answered. “Now, restaurants?”
*
I kept the guys distracted for most of the afternoon so that Ruby could rest. By the time we returned home, it had almost been five hours.
We’d detoured past the mall, where Evan proceeded to try on several versions of a plain white tee before buying two which looked identical to me... but apparently they weren’t.
As I eagerly headed straight for the stairs, the guys snickered.
“Where are you running to?” Pat teased.
“Going to wake up your girl?” Kyler snorted.
“With your penis?” Evan chided.
Refusing to give them the reaction they were looking for, I casually flipped them off over my shoulder and kept climbing. If there was ever anI-told-you-soexpression, they were all wearing it right now.
All those years of insisting I didn’t see Ruby like that... ruined. Whenever we returned to just being friends, they’d never take me seriously again.
I paused outside my door, listening for signs that Ruby was still asleep, but instead, soft music drifted through the other side. Nudging it open, I found her and Tori sitting in front of the full-length mirror – Ruby’s eyes shut while Tori carefully applied her makeup. At least I think that’s what was happening. Beauty wasn’t my area of expertise.
As I set down my keys, Ruby’s eyes blinked open. She’d switched her glasses for contacts, which always made the green in her irises stand out.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on in here?”
