Page 30 of What are the Risks
I loved an evening out with the girls and was always the first to put my hand up for a good time, but a jam-packed bar with overly loud techno tunes was not my idea of a fun date night.
“What if we lived somewhere else?” I said, raising my voice to be heard over the music.
Noah shifted beneath me. “What are you saying, Ruby?”
A chillness had crept into his voice, one I’d always known would accompany this conversation. Sober, I’d known not to broach it, but the alcohol coursing through my veins had my usual filter failing.
“I’ve enjoyednotliving in Detroit,” I admitted. “It will always be home, but I’m not ready to go back.”
“I start a position at Dad’s practice in the summer,” Noah reminded me.
“Do you really want to work at your dad’s practice?”
Even tipsy, I instantly knew that was the wrong thing to say. Noah stiffened beneath me, and the hand he’d been resting over my thigh stilled.
“Ideally,” he drily sneered. “Iamabout to graduate with a dental degree.”
“That you can use anywhere,” I hurriedly clarified. “Does it have to be Detroit? At least not straight away. We can end up there.”
Noah snorted. “Gee, thanks, Ruby. Thanks for agreeing to move back to our hometown like we’d always planned on–”
“You don’t have to get stroppy,” I grumbled. “I was just suggesting–”
Noah wasn’t hearing it. He nudged the guy beside him, the one in a deep conversation with Jaz. It took a few attempts before Jaz and the guy understood and slipped from the booth.
I guess Noah wanted out.
I fell off his lap, landing on the sticky vinyl seat. Without looking back, he stalked off in the direction of the bar.
While part of me wanted to follow him and finish our conversation like adults, I’d been dating Noah long enough to know how to handle his moods. He needed space and distance, I just hoped it didn’t exceed seven minutes. Otherwise I’d be stuck sitting alone while everyone around me kissed their date at midnight.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Climb on, baby
Ryker
Fuck.
My first thought of the new year and that was it – fuck.
My head had a pulse of its own.
I took a deep breath, trying to piece together last night and figure out where it had all gone wrong. Probably when I’d stupidly ended up at a New Year’s Eve party at the hockey house.
As revenge for our bet, Grace had sent Levi and me on a wild goose chase across campus. She’d decided whoever found her first by midnight would win her and put an end to the wager once and for all.
Deep down, I knew it was Holloway she’d hoped would find her. I assume he had, because after leaving Levi on the landing, I hadn’t seen either of them.
It hadn’t bothered me in the way I’d expected. As I’d explained to Ruby, it wasn’t Grace I was hung up on, it was the idea of her. Not to mention I hated fucking losing to Holloway. We might be chummy enough now, but I was still competitive as hell.
After midnight, I’d allowed my teammates to feed me drinks to drown my sorrows. And if I remembered correctly, those sorrows had led me into Gretchen’s arms.
One glance at the scratches on my chest and the smudged makeup on my spare pillow was all the reminder I needed for it to come back to me, flooding my mind piece by piece.
We’d definitely fucked last night. In fact, I think she was –bingo.My shower had just turned on.
I dragged a hand over my face as an incessant noise nearby had my patience waning. What the hell was it – and could it shut the fuck up? My head was already knocking on death’s door, and this sure wasn’t helping.
