I wasn’t sure what stage of grief she was currently circumventing, it seemed like she was always in all five stages… well, four, actually, she hasn’t accepted her loss yet. We’ll get there eventually, but we still had a long way to go.
My phone rang in the middle of starting dinner. Ruby was just turning on the oven and I was pulling vegetables from her fridge. We were supposed to make a vegetable lasagna for dinner, but it looks as if that wasn’t going to happen.
“Go for Cap.”
“I need you at the club, now!” Zodiac barked.
“What’s going on?”
“Just get here,” he yelled, the line instantly going dead.
Ruby gave me a sullen look. She was looking forward to making dinner just as much as I was.
“I got to get over to the club.”
She frowned. “And let me guess, I need to come with you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sorry. Whatever it is, it’s important, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for.”
Her brow scrunched in frustration. “And let me guess, you don’t trust me to be alone?”
“It’s only for a couple more weeks, Ruby. Then, hopefully, it won’t be a factor.”
She looked pissed off, but I didn’t really blame her. It’s hard knowing that people don’t have faith in you, especially when you’re trying so hard to get better. And Ruby was definitely trying, she just wasn’t quite there yet.
“Well, on the bright side, it will be my first time going to a strip club. Titties for all.” She held up her hand in a triumphant fist, like she just won a marathon.
The robust laughter that bellowed out of me had her blushing, but then she was laughing too.
“What can I say, I’m a girl that can appreciate a good titty. They do have good titties, right?”
That was a trick question. I could tell. The way her mouth tugged up, playfully smirking, as her stare dared me to say the wrong thing. I wasn’t going to fall for it. Nope. Not me.
The only response she was getting was a shrug, knowing no response was better than saying the truth. Our girls definitely had the best titties in town, but the only ones I wanted to look at now were Ruby’s.
She smirked. “Smart man,” she said, winking at me. “Come on, take me to my first strip club, Cap. Maybe I can get a job there or something?” she teased.
“Absolutely not!” I yelled, instantly righting my stance.
“Aww, why not?”
Because no man can see you naked but me.That was my first thought. But bullshit came out of my mouth instead. “That would set you back, Ruby.”
She giggled. “But imagine the tips I could get. My tits are fabulous.”
If I were any other type of man, my initial response would’ve been, ‘why don’t you show me so I can be the judge of that?’ But I kept my tongue. Doing whatever I could to stay as professional as possible.
Her wicked smile kicked up again. “Men are so easy,” she informed me, waltzing past me to my bike. “Well, are you coming or not?” she questioned.
I ran over to her, unable to stop smiling. “You want to ride the bike?”
She nodded. “Kinda got a taste of it the other day, and want more.”
“Did you want to ride your own bike?” I asked.
She shook her head, glancing over at the beautiful piece of machinery that any biker would be itching to ride. “I’m not ready for that yet, sorry.”
Taking her hand, I smiled. “It’s okay, Ruby. Don’t worry about that part. I’m just glad you want to get on a bike again. That’s big! And I’m so proud you’re taking the steps necessary to overcome your grief.”
