Page 93 of What are the Risks
Tori glanced up from her phone when I stomped into the kitchen. She was dressed in a pair of cargo pants, a sheer top and black bralette. Her outfit was way more fun than mine.
“I hope you’ve worked through your hangover, because I need a drinking partner tonight.”
With a smile, she slid a shot glass my way.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
I’m listening
Ryker
As always, Lastlings was crowded. The only silver lining was that the hockey team had an away game, so at least I was spared from any drama on that front.
As for my personal life? A total fucking shit show. I was not handling this whole jealousy thing well.
I had no idea what it was that was stopping me from talking to Ruby like an adult. It’s like I’d just turned two – not twenty-two. She hadn’t acknowledged me once since we arrived, and that was almost three hours ago.
On the way here, she’d jumped in the same Uber as Evan, Brady and Tori, leaving me stuck listening to Pat and Kyler’s seedy stories about the flexible positions they’d had their cheerleaders in last night.
They’d mentioned Lindsay and Kyah were cheering at a Phil-U soccer game tonight, which thankfully meant there was no chance I would bump into Gretchen. The last thing I needed was Ruby jumping to conclusions about that.
As I hovered by the bar, I subtly checked on her for the one thousandth time this past hour. She was in a booth with Tori, so naturally Brady was there as well. Pat and Kyler were too... along with Joey fucking Nazaar.
As he leaned in to whisper something in Ruby’s ear, my neck twitched. I’d just come to terms with finding Ruby attractive, but this caveman possessiveness was something else entirely. I wanted to storm over there and scream, “Mine.”And yeah, I was fully aware of how toxic that sounded.
I let out a quiet groan when Evan strolled over, waving a server down. He was the last person I wanted to deal with.
“Sup, man,” he said.
I swallowed my pride. “Sup.”
After placing his drink order – which took doubly as long because he couldn’t help but flirt with the female bartender – he turned away from the bar and let out a soft whistle.
“Looks like Ruby is going through with the Nazaar set up.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Nah.”
Well,thatbothered me. It was proof Ruby shouldn’t have fallen for his lines, or whatever the hell he’d fed her last night. While it wouldn’t have meant much to him, I’m sure it had meant a hell of a lot to her.
“So, are you ready to admit you’re mad at me?” he pressed.
“I’m not mad at you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, you’re mad at yourself. You fucked up with Ruby and you know it.”
“How?”
“Ghosting her after you kissed her.”
“I didn’t ghost–” Thrown, I shook my head. “She told you I kissed her?”
“She did.”
“What else did she tell you?”
Evan chuckled drily, reaching for the beer the bartender had just set down. “Nope. I ain’t getting in the middle of this.”
