“Hey!” She was even more striking out of her work clothes, or maybe that was just the confidence she radiated. “Thought I'd swing by and see how you're settling in. Did you decide to head out after all?”
“We haven't decided yet,” Ruby said, setting down her menu. “Still recovering from the drive.”
“Where are you coming from?”
“Illinois originally. But we've been making a lot of stops.” Ruby's smile was easy and natural, friendly in the way she was with everyone. “Antique stores, veterinary clinics, you know, the usual road trip activities.”
Evangeline laughed, pulling up a chair without being invited. “Veterinary clinics? That sounds like a story.”
“Oh, it is.” And Ruby launched into the tale of Sparkle, complete with dramatic hand gestures and Evangeline listenedwith rapt attention, laughing in all the right moments, her body language openly flirtatious.
Celeste grudgingly participated in the conversation in short sentences but mostly watched it all, her hands clenched in her lap under the table. The jealousy was irrational, she reminded herself. She had no claim on Ruby. She'd literally just told Ruby, twice, that nothing could happen between them.
But watching another woman flirt so openly with Ruby made Celeste want to flip the table over.
“So what do you do? When you’re not rescuing birds?” Evangeline twirled a lock around her finger, her eyes never leaving Ruby’s face.
“I'm an artist. Painter, mostly.”
“That's amazing.” Evangeline's eyes lit up. “I've always wanted to meet a real artist. Do you have a studio? Do you show your work?”
Ruby answered, humble and charming, and Evangeline ate it up. She mentioned an art gallery downtown that Ruby should definitely visit and offered to take her there herself if Ruby wanted. She even suggested they could grab drinks afterward.
Celeste sipped her water and tried not to imagine doing violence to the tablecloth.
Finally, Evangeline glanced at her watch. “I should let you ladies eat. But seriously, Ruby, if you want that tour of Beale Street, I'm around.” She pulled out a pen and wrote her number on Ruby's napkin. “Call me. Or don't call me. But definitely call me.”
She winked and sashayed away.
Ruby looked down at the napkin, then at Celeste. “She was nice.”
“Very nice,” Celeste said flatly.
“Very forward.”
“Yes.”
They ordered dinner, steaks and wine that Celeste barely tasted, and Ruby spoke at length about her plans for when they got to New Orleans. It was normal conversation, but Celeste couldn't stop thinking about Evangeline's hand on Ruby's arm and the way she'd looked at Ruby like she wanted to devour her.
After dinner, they headed back upstairs. They stopped in the hallway between their rooms, and Ruby turned to say goodnight.
But instead of saying goodbye in return, Celeste covered the short distance between them and kissed her instead.
This time, it wasn't tentative or exploratory. It was possessive and claiming, fueled by jealousy and want and the desperate need to prove something she couldn't quite articulate. Her hands fisted in Ruby's shirt as she backed her against the wall, kissing her like she was starving and Ruby was the only sustenance that mattered.
Ruby made a surprised sound that quickly turned into a moan, her hands coming up to run along Celeste's back. Celeste pressed even closer, eliminating any further space between them, her body flush against Ruby's. She could feel Ruby's heartracing, the way she trembled slightly, and taste the wine on her lips.
“Your room or mine?” She breathed against Ruby's mouth, her voice barely recognizable.
“Yours.”
They stumbled through the door, mouths never separating and hands everywhere at once. Celeste kicked the door shut and heard the lock click with immediate satisfaction. Then they were falling onto the bed in a tangle of limbs, and Celeste's brain finally went blessedly quiet.
Ruby's hands slid under her shirt, fingers tracing patterns on bare skin that made Celeste arch into her touch. She kissed along Ruby's jaw, down her neck, tasting salt and the faint remnants of her perfume. When she found the pulse point at the base of Ruby's throat and bit down gently, Ruby gasped and pulled her closer.
This was madness. This was everything she'd sworn she wouldn't do.
This was perfect.
