Ruby's fingers worked at the button of Celeste's jeans, and reality slammed back into focus with a sharp, resounding thud.
“Wait.” Celeste pulled back, breathing hard. “Wait, I can't—”
She shook her head as more words poured out.
“I'm sorry. I can't do this.” She scrambled off the bed, putting distance between them. Her whole body was shaking, although whether from desire or fear, she couldn't tell. Everycell in her body was screaming to go back, to finish what they'd started, but her mind would not let her. “You should go.”
Ruby sat up slowly, hair mussed and her shirt half-unbuttoned. She looked so beautiful and wrecked and Celeste wanted her so badly it hurt.
“Wait!”
Ruby held up her palm.
Chapter Twelve
Ruby
Ruby had always been a romantic at heart. The kind who preferred slow-burn relationships over quick hookups, who believed in building something real.
She'd never been one for casual sex, for bodies without connection or pleasure without the promise of more. Every relationship she'd entered, she'd entered with hope and the belief that this time, it would be different. This time, she'd found someone who could give her what she needed.
Claire, Melissa, Sarah—they'd all disappointed her in the same way by asking her to be smaller and more secret. And Ruby had learned, painfully, that she deserved better than that.
But standing in Celeste's hotel room, watching her unravel, Ruby was willing to throw every principle she'd ever had straight out the window.
Because her attraction to Celeste wasn't just physical. It was deeper and more consuming. It had been building since that first moment in the car, perhaps even before that. And now, with Celeste looking at her like she was afloat on the sea and Ruby was the only life raft in sight, Ruby couldn't walk away.
Even if she knew she should.
“Wait,” she said again, because Celeste needed to hear the thought formulating in her mind. “I need to ask you something.”
Celeste's arms were still wrapped around herself, in a defensive pose. “What?”
“Does your hesitation extend to this?” Ruby gestured between them, her heart hammering. “To sex?”
She was quiet for a long moment, her eyes searching Ruby's face like she was looking for the right answer written there. Ruby waited, giving her space to think, even though the silence was killing her.
“I don't know,” Celeste said finally. “I've thought about it. About being with someone. But the fear of being caught, of someone finding out—” She shook her head, and Ruby saw the weight of years in that gesture. “Even though Braden and I weren't romantically involved, I couldn't risk it. So I just... shut that part of myself down and didn’t let myself think about anyone sexually.”
Ruby's chest ached on her behalf. Over a decade of denying herself something fundamental and living half a life.
“And now?”
“Now I'm in Memphis. Miles away from home, from anyone who knows me.” Celeste's voice was barely above a whisper, but there was something fierce underneath it. “Now I'm standing in a hotel room with you, and all I can think about is what it would feel like to stop fighting this.”
Ruby's heart was racing so fast she could hear it in her ears. “What are you saying?”
“I'm saying…” Celeste held eye contact before continuing, “I'm not averse to a sexual relationship here and now. But itwould have to be short-term and entirely physical. I can't offer you anything else.”
Short-term. Entirely physical. I can't offer you anything else.
Ruby felt something break open in her chest. This was everything she'd sworn she'd never accept again. A bond that had to stay hidden and connections that couldn't grow into something real. A person who wanted her body but couldn't risk wanting more.
She should say no, walk out of this room and protect her heart before it was too late.
But it was already too late, wasn't it? She'd already fallen into shallow waters. And one night with Celeste—even if it was all she could have—felt better than the prospect of nothing.
Just one night.One night to get this out of your system. You can have this and then walk away.
