I stared at the phone a second longer, then typed.“Maybe. I’ll let you know. Thanks, girls. From the cold, shriveled bottom of my heart.”
I felt better now that the people closest to me knew where I stood. Even if they weren’t here physically, I could lean on them.
And then it hit me—earlier, I’dliterallyleaned on Sebastian. Let him hold me. And I hadn’t flinched. Somewhere along the way, without me even noticing, he’d made it into the short list of people I leaned on.
That hadn’t always been the case. My friends thought it was strange, but they knew me: once I trusted someone, that was it, they were in. But letting men in was different. Riskier.
Early on, I’d learned the cost. If I offered my heart, it got stomped on. That wasn’t a theory—I’d tested it through school, over and over. My heart was out there, shiny on a silver platter, with no takers. And no givers, either. So I adjusted. Lightly crushing on five boys at once? Safe. No expectations, no heartbreak. Later, having men I could never have landed in high school want me? Even better. I’d enjoy the ride, then send them on their merry way without so much as a scratch to my heart.
So I stayed loyal to the one rule that worked: don’t get attached.
And if it wasn’t broken, I didn’t fix it.
Sebastian was my friend. And it wasn’t broken. Especially with the benefits part front and center. So why screw that up?
Yet here he was, inching closer to the inner orbit of my carefully guarded galaxy—if to use a metaphor he’d love.
Shaking my head to ban these thoughts, I sent a short text update to my mom and Alan—her partner. We spoke and messaged regularly, but right now, I had to keep it short. I didn’t have the energy to manage their endless advice, suggestions, and opinions. My mom was like Aunt Amy—my dad’s sister, so technically her ex sister-in-law—minus the expertise, and I didn’t need either one of their meddling. Alan would probably say I should save money and let him fix the place, when in reality, hecouldn’t even fix the leaky water tank in their toilet. And my brother was busy chasing his next career milestone, anyway.
I leaned back, my head against the headrest, and closed my eyes for ten quiet seconds. Then I sat up, pushed my shoulders back, and got back to work, starting with the pre-booked guests. Some calls were better made personally.
Next, I’d knock on the doors of the current guests to apologize for the noise and mess starting tomorrow. Thankfully, most were checking out in the next two days anyway, and I’d come bearing Coral Bay Spa coupons as a peace offering.
It wasn’t fun, but it was mine to tackle. And I wasn’t about to half-ass it.
8
Sebastian
HER TEXT MADE ME SMILE.
“Still standing = 10/10. Proud of you,”I typed back.
I then grabbed my keys and drove from my parents’ to Coral Bay.
Ruby opened the door in shorts and was braless under an oldStar Warstee. Her curls were a little undone, her face bare.
She looked drained. And beautiful.
“You didn’t have to,” she said, eyeing the bag.
“You say that, but you know you’re not going to leave me any spring rolls.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let me in. “God, that smells amazing. I forgot to eat.”
We sat on the floor like we used to, ever since the Force Alliance club meetings, backs against the couch, the food spread out between us. Back then, pizza was all we could afford.
“I let the temp staff go,” she said, not looking at me.
I paused. “How’d it go?”
She shrugged, grabbing a noodle with her chopsticks. “No one threw a plate at me, so I guess it went fine.”
“That’s your bar for success?”
She gave out a tired smile. “Thank God it’s after Labor Day. Most were already off schedule because we have only a few occupied rooms currently, and even those are checking out soon. So I only had to tell the rest they’d wrap up by the end of the week.”
I pressed my lips together, feeling her struggle. “You’ve had a rough day.”
