“Ready?”
She nods, and I head for the door, but it opens before we get there. Natalie comes in with a pile of books in her arms.
She sets them on the counter with a huff of annoyance or maybe just exhaustion from carrying so much up two flights of stairs before she even notices us.
“Oh, hey. Sorry, didn’t know you’d still be up. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
When Ruby doesn’t say anything back, I look at her and see she’s not really here. She’s moving, but that’s about it.
“We were headed to get food. Want any?” I offer. Not that I want her to come. I’m not sure if having me for company is what Ruby wants, and she’s too stuck in her own head to tell me right now. But I’m saved from having to make small talk with the roommate as she shakes her head.
“No, but thanks. I’m just going to crash. Been up for what feels like days trying to get this research paper written. Next time, though.”
I give her a chin lift and open the door. Ruby walks out it without a look or a word to Natalie. She notices, based on the frown on her face, and I just shake my head.
“Bad day is all. Nothing against you.”
I know she and Ruby are close, but not close enough that she knows what’s going on. They used to be closer, and I know they’re busy, but I can tell there’s a strain in their relationship that wasn’t there at the beginning. Not sure if it’s because Ruby’s holding back from telling an outsider club stuff or if she’s making sure Natalie doesn’t turn into another Abigail issue and cause problems.
Ruby might not like the club right now, but she seems to never lose her loyalty to it.
“Okay. Drive safe.” Her voice is small, like her smile.
I give her another chin lift and leave, shutting the door softly on the way.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I make sure not to trip over my feet when I see Ruby. She isn’t in her car like I expected but on the back of my bike. Waiting. For me.
Again, I just chalk it up to me knowing where we’re going, and she’s still too out of it to be driving. This is not her claiming me. This is not her saying that she wants to be on the back of my bike forevermore.
This is just a ride. One of convenience. That’s it.
And I keep telling myself that when I get on and start her up. Even before I back out of the parking spot, her arms are around me and her head’s pressed to my back. I should make her use a helmet, but I can’t find it in me to tell her to move. It feels too good.
Instead, I do something I rarely do: I drive the speed limit the entire way, even slowing down at yellow lights and not racing through them like usual.
When we arrive at the all-night diner on the opposite side of town from her place, she doesn’t bat an eye. It might not look like more than a run-down place with a handful of people and cheap plastic on the furniture, but it’s open.
She slides into the booth, knowing to take the one opposite the one with the clear line of sight. The waiter is quick to come over, asking us what we want.
I expected her to say something about needing more than the five seconds it took to get in here, but all she does is look at me.
“He’s ordering for both of us.”
My eyes widen a fractionat her words before I turn to the server and order. Her trusting me with making this decision? Just another thing I’ve wanted to do for months, maybe even years, yet never expected. Now I don’t hesitate to do it, and I cherish it as I do.
Ruby isn’t ready for everything I have planned. She might never be. But these small things? Letting me hold her? Having me drive? Knowing I’ll get something that not only she wants but needs? Well, shit, it brings a warm fuzzy feeling to my chest.
I like providing for her. Watching over her. Taking care of her. Anticipating her wants, her needs.
It’s empowering. I’ve never felt this way about a woman before. Never cared enough to learn about them like this. Even when the job was to watch and protect a female client in danger, it never went this deep. It was always just a job.
But now it’s more.
When the waiter puts down our food, she sneers at her plate.
“I wanted wings.”
“These are boneless.”
