Page 86 of What are the Risks
He was a flirty guy by nature, but he’d undoubtedly turned it up. I guess now that Noah wasn’t in the picture, he had no reason to hold back.
I’ll admit, the attention was kind of nice.
“I thought a nurse would need a steady hand,” he teased.
“I can locate a vein like my life depends on it. A plastic cup is another story.”
He chuckled. “Stick with me, Ruby, and I’ll get you through.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders, gently guiding me away as the next players approached the table. It was a good thing we weren’t playing again. I was already feeling lightheaded.
As we watched on from the side, Evan kept his arm around me. It was a literal and figurative weight on my shoulders.
As vanilla as it was, no guy other than Noah had touched me like this. The only person who’d come close was Ryker, and even then, his touch had always felt innocent – whereas for Evan, innocent wasn’t in his vocabulary. He wouldn’t touch a girl if he wasn’t hoping to get something out of it... or her.
Nerves rippled through me, causing me to shiver. Evan noticed, bending down to whisper in my ear.
“Are you good?”
“Ye – yeah.” I cleared my throat. “I need the bathroom.”
He nodded. “Same.”
The music was much louder once we climbed the stairs, and the dance floor was packed. As Evan navigated us through the thick crowd, I caught sight of the back of Gretchen and Ryker climbing the stairs. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were going upstairs to do.
I’d convinced myself moving on fromthe kisswas the right call, so why did the idea of Ryker hooking up with another girl sting so much?
When I slowed down, Evan turned over his shoulder, checking what the hold-up was. As he followed my gaze, understanding clicked.
“Don’t stress, Ruby. You can use my bathroom instead.”
Thank goodness for that. The line downstairs was snaking around the hallway.
If Evan hadn’t been guiding the way, I would’ve stopped at Ryker’s door out of habit.
As we passed, I braced, expecting to overhear the unmistakable sounds of sex, but there was nothing audible coming through the walls. They were probably only just getting started with foreplay.
After unlocking his door, Evan stepped to the side so I could pass through. I’d never been in his bedroom before. The layout was similar to Ryker’s, but the vibe was entirely different. There wasn’t a single trace of feminine influence in here.
Evan was nowhere near as tidy either. While Ryker wasn’t a clean freak like Noah, everything in his room still had a place. Like dirty clothes lived in the hamper, not on the floor, which seemed to be Evan’s MO.
Evan gestured for me to use the bathroom first. I hadn’tactuallyneeded to go – it had been the nerves talking – but now that I was here, I figured I might as well.
After washing my hands and tag-teaming with Evan, I waited at the foot of his bed. Figuring Tori and Brady were likely caught up with each other, and Ryker was... occupied, I wasn’t overly keen on heading back downstairs. I didn’t know many other people here.
Hoping to avoid any drunken texts or late-night missed calls from Noah, I’d switched off my phone and left it in my suitcase. With nothing to distract me, I watched the lava lamp on Evan’s dresser, the blobs floating and forming new shapes. Only he could have a lava lamp in his room and somehow make it seem cool.
After emerging from the bathroom, Evan casually leant in the doorframe, not seeming in a rush either. “Did you want to crash in here tonight?”
All the blood rushed from my face. It was like a skydiving instructor had just told me it was go-time – because, apparently, the idea of hooking up with someone and jumping out of a plane triggered the same amount of panic in me.
He chuckled. “Relax, Ruby. I’m not inviting you to a fuck-a-thon. I’m offering you a place to sleep – fully clothed – since Gretchen has stolen your spot in Ryker’s bed.”
Though Ryker had hooked up with girls during my past trips to Phil-U, this was the first time he’d taken one into his room. Usually he was more considerate of where I was going to crash. The fact he hadn’t thought about it – or he simply didn’t care – wasn’t a great feeling.
“You’re right. I should’ve figured she’d be staying with him tonight.” I frowned. “Wait, you don’t want to get me naked?”
