Page 31 of What are the Risks
I reached for my side table, fumbling for whatever it was. After knocking over a water bottle and empty box of condoms, I located the vibration – my phone.
Ruby’s face filled the screen, her name flashing with an incoming call. Her caller ID was a goofy photo that I’d taken of her nearly a decade ago. Beneath her braces, she was grinning toothily at the camera, her glasses teetering on the edge of her nose. I’d taken plenty of photos of her since that I could update it to, but I couldn’t bring myself to swap it out. I loved the photo too much.
If the call had been coming from someone else, I would’ve screened it already. I was way too hungover to deal with anyone – except Ruby. She was always my exception.
Rolling onto my side, she beamed at me as I answered her call. Even though she was much older now, her smile was the same as it had been ten years ago.
“Happy New Year, Wheels.”
“Happy New Year, Rubz.”
Her brow lowered as she studied the screen. “It’s almost midday. What are you still doing in bed?”
“I had a late one. How was your night?”
Her smile fell. “Not great. Noah and I got in a massive fight. He just left and we didn’t really make up.”
“He left you in his frat house alone?”
“No. He ended up coming here to surprise me.”
I was nervous to overstep, worried about reigniting our last argument when it came to Noah. But I was assuming Ruby wouldn’t have brought it up if she didn’t want to talk about it.
“What did you fight about?”
“It doesn’t matter. It was stupid.”
“I doubt both of those things.”
“I don’t want to start the new year being a Debbie Downer.” Her shoulders fell with a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to start it with mental scarring either, so cover up, Wheels. Your sheet is almost too low for this conversation to remain PG-13.”
Snickering, I tugged the blankets safely up to my chest. They smelled like a combination of perfume and sex. I’d be chucking them in the laundry once I was up.
Ruby’s head tilted to the side, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Is that a hickey on your neck?”
I dumbly glanced down, but of course I couldn’t fucking see my own neck. Man, I must’ve been drunk if I allowed that to happen. The team would absolutely give me hell for it.
“I’m guessing you didn’t spend New Year’s Eve alone,” Ruby said.
“You guessed correctly.”
“Does that mean you’re over the hockey player’s girlfriend?”
I nodded. “Well and truly.”
And I meant it. There were honestly no hard feelings. I was happy they’d found each other. It must be something special given Levi had broken hisno girlfriend rulefor Grace.
The night we’d gotten drunk together after Grace discovered the bet, I’d realised then how much she meant to him. The guy was on another level. I’d never seen him so... shattered.
In the four years we’d been at Phil-U, Levi had never been anything other than confident. If that’s what love did to you, maybe I wasn’t ready for it.
The blank expression on my best friend’s face was another reason to avoid it. Even though she’d called me, Ruby’s thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
“When are you visiting me next?” I asked. “I haven’t seen you since last year.”
“You’re better than that, Wheels.”
“No. I’m not.”
