Page 91 of What are the Risks
But he wasn’t the person I needed to have that conversation with. Ruby deserved to hear it from me first, before anyone else.
Taking my silence as a blessing, he slipped back into his room, shutting the door with a smug and arrogant smirk.
*
Ruby took a long sip of her Coke before lounging back in the booth. We were at the local diner, grabbing a greasy bite to eat.
I hadn’t had a chance to speak to her alone. Tori had waltzed into my room just as Ruby was getting out of the shower, demanding we get food to cure her hangover. She was too far gone though. She’d only managed two bites of her burger before pushing the plate away.
Brady gently rubbed his hand along her back – the ever perfect boyfriend – while Kyler subtly eyed off her leftovers. He’d finished his food within minutes, woofing it down like a true athlete.
Pat hadn’t emerged from his room before we left, and Evan had decided not to come, which I was grateful for. I’m not sure how Ruby felt about that though.
She was acting normal, like last night had been any ordinary night. But to me, it was so far from it that I couldn’t keep up the act. I was unusually grumpy, which everyone seemed to have picked up on. I’d blamed it on being hungover. Clearly everyone else had been too drunk to notice I went to bed sober.
“Did you have a good night?” Tori asked me.
At least I assumed she was looking my way. It was hard to tell since she was wearing her sunglasses, despite being indoors.
“It was great,” I lied. “Thank you for organising all of it.”
She wasn’t to blame for everything that had gone wrong last night. That was on me. And Evan.
“How was your birthday sex?” Kyler snickered, trying to distract everyone as he snuck some fries from Tori’s plate.
“Non-existent,” I told him.
“What do you mean?” Brady asked. “I saw you go upstairs with Gretchen.”
“To end things,” I clarified. “Not that there was anything to end. But long story short, that’s done.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I tried catching Ruby’s reaction, hoping she looked at least a little relieved – anything that might suggest there may still be a shred of hope for me – but all she seemed interested in was her food.
“Looks like Ruby picked up your slack,” Kyler teased, nudging Ruby. “I might’ve been drunk, but I do recall you disappearing with Evan.”
With a light smile, Ruby shook her head. “Evan let me crash in his room because I didn’t want to cockblock Wheels. That’s all.”
So that’s how she was going to play it? Lying. If we weren’t in front of my friends, I would’ve called her out on it. Evan had already told me they’d hooked up. There was no point denying it.
Brady’s brow furrowed, clearly as unconvinced as me. “Are we really supposed to believe Evan let you sleep in his room without making a move?”
Ruby laughed as she reached for her drink. “That’s fair. I guess you’ll just have to take my word that nothing happened. He was a perfect gentleman.”
That drew a sharp laugh from my cousin. “Evanandgentlemandon’t go together.”
“Neither doesRubyandone-night stand,” she returned, subtly glancing at me. “Looks like you’ll just have to trust me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
That felt like a dig
Ruby
I’d just finished getting ready, wearing a black turtleneck with wide-leg jeans and a leather jacket. It was icy out, and I was choosing comfort over fashion tonight.
We were meeting Ryker’s team at Lastlings, Phil-U’s most popular sports bar. If it wasn’t Ryker’s actual birthday, I would have made an excuse to bail. I wasn’t in the mood to party.
It didn’t help that I’d barely slept last night. While I’d trusted that Evan would keep his hands to himself, it was strange sleeping beside a guy who wasn’t Noah or Ryker.
