Page 90 of What are the Risks
When her eyes accidentally met mine, she shrunk like she’d been caught doing the walk of shame. I guess she had.
I cleared the lump in my throat. “Good night?”
“Greatnight,” Evan answered.
With heated cheeks, Ruby gestured behind me. “Is, ugh, Gretchen still sleeping?”
I opened my mouth, planning to say that Gretchen had left last night, once we both realised she wasn’t the girl I wanted. But that wasn’t what came out.
“No.”
Ruby peered at Evan over her shoulder. “I’m going to take a shower then.”
When he pressed a kiss to her forehead, I clenched my jaw so hard I was sure I could taste blood. Thank the heavens she hadn’t kissedhim back, because even that PG gesture had turned the furnace within me up a few degrees.
I wondered how they’d both react if I tackled Evan to the ground. If only we’d played at different colleges, then I would’ve had an excuse.
I stepped aside so that Ruby could pass through my doorway. The moment she was safely back on my turf, I broadened my shoulders like a pathetic bouncer.
Evan shall not pass.
Once we both heard my bathroom door click shut, Evan lazily leant in his own doorframe, getting comfortable. He eyed me patiently, one eyebrow raised in challenge.
“Is there something you want to say to me?”
“No.”
“Sure there is. You’re pouting.”
“I’m not.”
He grunted. “Just ask, man.”
As much as I didn’t want to play into his hand, I couldn’t fight my curiosity. I had to know. And something told me he’d be less embarrassed to admit the truth than Ruby.
“Did you hook up with Ruby last night?”
He nodded. “I did.”
Well, fuck.
Any other girl, I’d probably congratulate him. He’d been vying for Ruby’s attention for years. But she was mine, not his. I didn’t care how possessive that sounded.
“Are you mad about that?” he asked, his head tilted with curiosity.
Mad? No. Livid? Hell fucking yeah.
I’d known Ruby my entire life. If she was going to satisfy someone’s crush, it should have been mine.
“You didn’t think about talking to me before hooking up with her? There are certain rules, man.”
“About exes and sisters,” he easily countered. “Last I checked, she’s neither of those.”
He had me, and he knew it. I’d been fucking loopholed. I couldn’t even argue by saying Ruby was like a sister to me, because the way I’d been thinking about her lately was definitely not fucking sisterly.
“Look, Ruby’s a grown up. It’s not up to you to decide who she can and can’t hook up with. So ifyou’vegot a problem with it for a specific reason, man up and tell me now. Otherwise, stay the hell out of it.”
He’d just given me an opportunity on a silver platter. To admit I was starting to feel something for her and I’d be thankful if he stayed the fuck away while I figured it out.
