Page 9 of What are the Risks
I tangled my fingers through his cleanly washed hair, though instead of parting his lips, Noah nervously chuckled before placing his hands on my hips and edging me back an inch.
“Your mum is downstairs, Ruby.”
“So?”
“So what if she comes up here?”
“She won’t,” I said. “She has pies to prep.”
“Ruby, if your mum caught us fooling around, I’d never be able to look at her again. Not to mention your dad would murder me.”
With a defeated sigh, I gave up on my terrible attempt at seduction. Once Noah had his mind set on something, nobody could change it.
“What do you want to do then?” I asked.
Noah kicked off his shoes before falling onto my bed. “How about we watch a movie.”
I frowned. “You don’t want to go out and do something?”
“Nah. I’m kind of hungover. I caught up with some old school buddies last night and things got out of hand.”
Noah and I didn’t share the same school friends. While I’d hung out with them in the cafeteria or at parties, they werehispeople, not mine.
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
He pushed off from the headboard, reaching forward to wrap his arms around my lower back. “If we head into town, we’ll spend the whole day bumping into people,” he complained. “I don’t want to share you. We barely have much time together as it is.”
Lifting my hand, I ran my thumb along his freshly shaven jaw. “You know, you could come tomorrow. Ryker and his family would love having you there.”
Noah raised a challenging eyebrow. “And my family would appreciate it if you spent Thanksgiving with us.”
I sheepishly grimaced. “It’s not that I don’t want to see your family–”
“I know, babe. I get it.” He trailed his fingers along my ribs. “But for the record, once we’re engaged, you and I will need to start making our own traditions.”
My heart skipped a beat and a nervous flutter started in my stomach. “Once?”
Noah flashed me his picture-perfect smile. “All in good time, Ruby Wilson.”
CHAPTER FOUR
I’droyallyfucked up
Ryker
Coach was a family guy, so he’d cancelled practice this week so that every player could go home for Thanksgiving. With a game still to play on Sunday night though, I’d forced myself out of bed for a run – especially knowing how much of Ruby’s mum’s pies I’d put away today.
Close to wrapping up my six-mile route, I turned onto Ruby’s street. No matter how far I ran, I always felt relief when her house came into view. It meant mine was less than two blocks away.
Alongside her SUV, Noah’s flashy car – the one he’d driven all through high school and left behind when he went to college – was parked in the driveway.
I wasn’t a sports car guy, and that’s exactly what Noah drove. It was so low to the ground, I’d practically need to squat to get into it, and I had no clue where my legs were supposed to fit.
As I passed, I glanced up at Ruby’s bedroom window. The drapes were drawn, which wasn’t all that surprising given it was still early – at least early to Ruby. Unless she had a reason to be awake, she considered anything before nine a.m. to be the middle of the night.
Cranking up my music, I dialled in on the final stretch until I was slowing to a stop in front of my house. Unlike Ruby’s quiet place, mine would already be chaos. I’d slipped out before anyone elsewoke up – making the most of the calm before the storm – but that hurricane would have well and truly hit by now.
Mum would be prepping the food. Dad would be hovering while repeatedly offering to help, only to be shot down just as many times. And my older sister, Savannah, would be wrangling her three-year-old twins.
