Morgan
The next morning when he woke up, he took a moment to enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. At first, he had trouble pinpointing where it came from, but then he remembered Ruby, with her soft voice and intoxicating aura.
He reached for Blue who lied next to him and scratched behind his ear.
He only hoped the whole encounter hadn’t been a dream.
First dates were always awkward enough, much less when someone was visually impaired.
If it weren’t that they tiptoed around the obvious, they’d constantly force him into accepting help or pet Blue without permission.
Ruby had done none of that, even when she had offered help, it had been second nature, like telling him where she’d put his fork or when she guided Blue outside.
He let their conversation repeat in his head, his heart fluttering with all the details he remembered. Her giggles and laughs had him grinning even now. When his phone rang, he turned and saw Manuel’s number on the screen.
“Hi.”
“How was the date?” his youngest brother asked curiously.
“She stood me up.”
“Bitch.”
Morgan laughed and let his head fall back to the pillow. “But then the cute waitress asked if we could have cake together, so my night was saved.”
“And cake was all there was to it?”
“We’re going out tonight to see the Zoo Lights.” He could almost see his brother’s surprise through the speaker. “Her idea.”
“She does know you’re blind, right?”
Morgan rolled his eyes. “No, Blue must have forgotten to explicitly state what his job is.”
“What time are you meeting up?”
“Why? So you can follow us around like a creep?”
“Basically. Not like you can judge how cute she is until you’re already kissing her.”
“I hate you.”
“Who cares?”
“Clearly not you.” Morgan sighed, trying not to let insecurity burst the cosy bubble Ruby had built around him.
“Look, we’ll see how it goes today and if you promise to behave, maybe I’ll let you meet her.
I have a good feeling about this one. She was entirely open and not one bit awkward. Curious, yes, but I don’t mind that.”
“Good, that’s all I want for you. Tell me how it goes, okay?”
“Will do.”
With that, Manuel was gone, leaving Morgan to bask in his bubble just a little longer.
When Blue had had enough of his laziness and demanded he be taken outside, he got dressed and started his day by taking Blue to the dog area of the apartment complex.
Their friendliness towards pets in general had made him choose this place over others.
Legally, they couldn’t deny him because of Blue since he was service animal, but acceptance made life easier.
After breakfast, his Harry Potter Lego set had him occupied for most of the day, with only breaks for short walks for Blue. He had plenty of work ahead of him that evening, after all.
Once darkness began to fall over the city, Morgan selected a grey long-sleeved Henley and black jeans from his closet.
A golden necklace, rings, and earrings completed his outfit.
He took a picture in the mirror, zooming in to make sure he looked okay.
Admittedly, he always loved seeing his tattoos peeking from behind his shirt collar.
He always kept his hair short so there wasn’t much styling to be done.
With Blue’s harness and backpack over his shoulder, he made his way downstairs and stood by the front entrance. It didn’t take long for a car to roll up, with Ruby’s cheery voice greeting him seconds later.
“You two look absolutely handsome.” Shit, was he blushing? Thank goodness she saved him from a response. “No harness, so that means I can greet Blue as well, right?”
“That’s right—go ahead.”
Ruby pulled him into a side hug before kneeling to give Blue some attention. “I love how you two matched the accessories. Gold suits you both.”
“Thank you.”
“C’mon, let’s get you two in. We have lots to do tonight.”
“Are you always this excited?”
“Apparently I always have high energy levels, but it goes wild during Christmas.” Ruby laughed and led him to her car. “Is Blue okay in the back?”
“I would prefer if he could be in the front with me.”
“Of course!”
Once he heard the door open, Morgan gave a command, “Blue, in.” The dog hopped in, settling on by his feet while Ruby walked around to the driver’s side. “What else do you usually do around Christmas?”
The engine started and Ruby drove off. “Lots of light displays and Christmas markets. The Nutcracker Market is a must of course. Some concerts as well. It really depends on work and who I can convince to go with me. I kind of burned my family out years ago.”
“Well, I’m not a grinch so I’m down.”
“Are you sure? I can be quite a handful,” she teased.
“I assure you I’m more than capable of handling a handful like you.”
Ruby giggled lightly, getting his heart fluttering once more. “I’ve been wanting to go to the Gingerbread Village in Spring for quite some time, but I’ve heard it’s not worth the drive unless you have other plans there.”
He pulled out his phone and searched for it, finding that she might be right. “Fun to take pictures.”
“Yeah, but with bad traffic that might be an hour drive just for that.”
“That’s not too bad with the right company. Since you planned the Zoo Lights, maybe I’ll find something for us to do in Spring.”
“Don’t you want to wait and see if this date turns out to be a disaster first?”
He crooked a brow, a smirk quirking his lips. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but you’re stuck with me.”
“And why is that?”
“First you asked me out, then you had me grinning all evening with that intoxicating bubbliness of yours and you know the etiquette around a service dog. You’re not going anywhere, darlin’.”
“And now you have me blushing so hard my face feels like it’s on fire.”
“Maybe too much too soon, huh?”
“You’re honest, I like that.” Ruby changed the topic of conversation, and he was happy to follow along. “So what do you and your brothers do for a living?”
“I buy out bankrupt companies and sell them for a profit.”
“Didn’t see that coming. What made you choose that? I mean, I’m sure I must have missed that on career day.”
“If a car is too broken to be fixed, what do you do?”
“Scrap it for parts?”
“Correct. We assumed we could do the same on a much bigger scale.”
“What was the first deal you made?”
“A laundromat. It was going to die with the overhaul of the neighbourhood. So, we pooled our money, bought it with the land, and sold it in pieces.”
“And it worked because you kept going.”
“It did, though the land payout was the highest after we held onto it for a few years.”
“Because the demand for it grew?”
“And the value of the neighbourhood rose dramatically. It’s always a risk and not everything we touch turns into gold, but we’ve learn with each failure.”
“I like that mentality. I dream of doing art full time and oftentimes I have to look at my older creations to remind myself that each one gets better.”
That got his attention. “You’re an artist?”
“I am.”
“What kind of art do you do? Or would it be create?”
“I don’t mind either. I’ve tried a few things over the years, but I found my niche a year ago in the bookish world, bringing authors’ characters to life.”
“Tell me more. What do they do with the art?”
“It really depends on the author, some use it for their covers, others just as ways of bringing scenes to life.”
“So, there are books out there in the world with your art on them.”
“Not a lot as I’m just starting out, but yes.”
“You must be very proud.”
“I’ve actually been thinking of making a trophy shelf.”
“Do you feel comfortable sharing some artwork with me?”
“They are all on my Instagram.”
Phone still in hand, Morgan typed in the username she rattled off, finding a profile filled with gorgeous drawings. He was also excited to see a few pictures of her. As suspected, she was a luscious redhead. “You drew all of these?”
“Yes.”
He scrolled through, losing himself in all the characters that she’d brought to life. “They’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.” When the car stopped this time, Ruby turned off the engine. “We’re here, but maybe you want to check your phone’s location to be sure I didn’t kidnap you.” When Morgan eased open the car door, she added, “You’re safe—no one’s parked next to us.”
It was settled: Ruby was his and he would keep her as long as he could.