“Nothing. It's complicated and boring.” Ruby stood, gathering their empty containers with more force than necessary. “We should probably get some sleep. Noah said he'd be here early tomorrow.”
Celeste looked like she wanted to push, but she didn't. Instead, she helped clean up, their movements synchronizing in the small space.
They took turns in the bathroom. Celeste went first, emerging in pajamas that were somehow both modest and attractive—soft cotton pants and a fitted t-shirt that made Ruby's mouth go dry.
She grabbed her own clothes and retreated to the bathroom, taking longer than necessary. She brushed her teeth and washed her face twice, then gave herself a stern talking-to about inappropriate attractions to straight women.
When she came out, Celeste was already in bed and lying on the far edge like she was trying to take up as little space as possible. The lamp on the nightstand cast soft shadows across her face.
Ruby climbed in on the other side, hyperaware of every point where they almost touched. The mattress dipped slightly under her weight, and Celeste shifted minutely away.
“Night,” Ruby said.
“Goodnight.”
Ruby turned off the lamp, plunging them into darkness. She could hear Celeste breathing and feel the warmth radiating from her body despite the careful distance between them. This was going to be a long night.
She lay awake for what felt like hours, listening to Celeste's breathing eventually slow and deepen into sleep.
She had never felt this drawn to someone before. Or maybe she had, and this was just what attraction always felt like—consuming and impossible to ignore. It was intriguing to see the intelligence in Celeste’s eyes and sense that underneath all that control was someone desperate to break free.
Ruby wanted to be the one to help her break free.
But that was unlikely. In addition to being straight, Celeste was also recently divorced and dealing with the aftermath of her marriage ending. She probably wasn’t thinking about romance at all, and definitely not with another woman.
Stop torturing yourself,Ruby thought.Go to sleep.
Eventually, exhaustion won. Ruby drifted off, her dreams full of brown eyes, slow smiles and the ghost of citrus shampoo.
She woke to early morning light filtering through the window and the sound of running water. Celeste was in the shower.
Ruby sat up, running a hand through her sleep-mussed hair. Her phone on the nightstand showed 6:47 AM. Noah would be here soon with his shipment. She needed to get moving, get dressed and stop lying here thinking about the woman she would be spending a couple more days with.
She began undressing, pulling off her sleep shirt and wrapping a towel around herself. She reached into her duffel bag to pick out new clothes for the day and her towel slipped from her body.
The bathroom door opened.
Time slowed to a crawl.
Ruby stood momentarily frozen, wearing only her bra and sleep shorts. Celeste stood in the doorway, wrapped in a towel, her hair wet and dripping onto her shoulders. Their eyes met.
And Ruby saw it—clear as day, unmistakable and electric.
Desire.
It flickered across Celeste's face before she could hide it and her gaze grew heated. She parted her lips slightly, stealing Ruby’s breath. Her eyes dropped, just for a second, traveling over Ruby's exposed skin before snapping back up.
And in that moment, Ruby knew with absolute certainty: Celeste wanted her. As shocking and out-of-the-blue as it was, Ruby had seen that expression before. She knew want when she saw it.
Ruby's breath caught in her throat and her heart hammered against her ribs. Every nerve ending in her body came alive, hyperaware of Celeste's gaze on her skin.
Then reality crashed back in and Celeste's eyes widened, as if she'd just realized what she was doing. What she was revealing.
Chapter Nine
Celeste
Celeste had cast her gaze down, away from Ruby's exposed skin and tried to school her features into something neutral, not revealing what she'd been thinking.
