Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
I’m glad it’s you
Ruby
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was my throbbing head. The second was that I was alone.
Ryker was gone.
Panicked, I sat up quickly – too quickly – causing the pounding in my head to worsen. The blankets from his side had been smoothed over, as if he hadn’t slept there. The groove in his pillow was the only tell that he had.
Unease settled in my stomach, churning last night’s alcohol. I’d messed up. Even drunk, I remembered how angry Ryker had been in the stairwell. As for the rest of the night? My memory ended there.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed his things were still here. His duffle was on my ottoman, his cap was placed on my dresser, and his hoodie was thrown across the back of my desk chair.
I might have some grovelling to do, but at least he hadn’t run for the hills... yet.
Swinging my legs out of bed, I noticed a cold glass of water on my side table, along with two Advil. Picking them up, I managed to swallow the pills without dry retching. I’d dodged the hangover nausea, but the headache was hitting me hard.
Stealing Ryker’s hoodie off my desk chair, I slipped it on over my pyjamas – had I put these on last night, or had he been forced to dress me like a child? – then headed downstairs. Hopefully one of the girls was awake and knew where he was.
“Morning,” Bri cheerfully chirped when I walked into the kitchen.
I groaned, rubbing at my temples. She was much too chipper considering she’d stayed out later than I did.
“Hey. Have you seen–”
My question died off.
Ryker was leaning against the fridge, a tee hanging around his shoulders and his bare chest on display. I couldn’t help but stare. He had the perfect chest. Muscled and toned, but not too bulky.
The sweat trickling down his skin accentuated the hard panes, and the creases outlining each of his abs was almost cartoon-like. Like, seriously, how many sit-ups must a person complete to have abs like that?
“I woke early, so I went for a run,” he explained.
Snickering, I lowered into a barstool. “Of course you did.”
Figures while I’d been sleeping off my drunkenness, he’d been getting miles in. Sometimes our priorities were so far apart.
“He also got us coffee,” Bri said, sliding a takeaway cup my way.
There were still two cups in the disposable tray, which meant Jaz and Daisy were still sleeping or they hadn’t come home. For Daisy, my money was on the latter.
“I’m going to grab a shower,” Ryker said, pushing off from the fridge. “Did you want to get some breakfast after?”
“Sure. Sounds great.”
As he passed, he stopped to kiss my head. The gesture was so tender and sweet, and it instantly put me at ease. It didn’t seem like he was carrying a grudge about last night, but that didn’t mean I expected him to let it go without some type of open and honest conversation.
Bri patiently waited for Ryker to leave the room, drumming her fingers on the lid of her coffee cup. The instant he rounded the corner, her gaze snapped to me.
“What happened last night?”
I let my head fall against the counter. “I made a fool of myself thanks to those shots. Then I passed out in the car on the way home... at least I think that’s what happened.”
I chose to leave out the stairwell specifics. Talking to Bri about my insecurities had led to my dumb behaviour in the first place – not that she was to blame. But as blurry as last night was, one thing was crystal clear – Ryker was the person I needed to talk to whenever I was freaking out.
“It’s not too late to join him in the shower,” she suggested, a coy smirk playing on her lips.
I took a long sip of my coffee, ignoring her completely. While Ryker had bought something generic for my friends, he’d gotten my order exactly right, even down to the type of milk I liked.
Bri set her takeaway cup down. “There’s a gig in town that I’m dragging Jaz and Daisy to tonight. It’ll be a late one.” She held my gaze intently. “Would you and Ryker like to join us, or would you prefer some time alone?”
My fears were still there, but beneath them all burned a stronger feeling.
I wanted Ryker.
If I chickened out now, I had no doubt it would be one of the biggest regrets of my life.
With a subtle shake of my head, I let out a slow, calming breath. “We’ll just hang here.”
Bri nodded, pleased. “Good answer.”
*
By the time dinner rolled around, Ryker and I found ourselves seated opposite each other at my favourite cozy restaurant. His leg immediately found mine beneath the table, resting against it as he studied the menu.
I could handle this level of physical touch. It was easy enough imagining his leg was just part of the furniture – not that I was actually doing that. I didn’t mind Ryker’s affection. If anything, I wanted it.
We’d spent the day sightseeing, but not the typical Ohio touristy things. Ryker had wanted to see the hospital where I worked, the college I’d gone to, and my favourites spots in the city. He’d been so interested by each place, like he was slowly piecing together a puzzle.
“What’s good here?” he asked, reading the specials board over my shoulder.
“Everything.”
“Want to share a few things?”
“Sure.”
He set his menu down. “You order. I trust you.”
I frowned at him over the top of mine.
“What?” he shot back, mirroring my expression.
“Have you always been this perfect, Wheels?”
“Perfect?”
“Come on. Leaving out Advil, getting coffee for my friends, letting me choose all our food, not making me feel like a total idiot after I tried mauling you in a stairwell...”
He smiled softly. “Are you ready to talk about that?”
“No.”
“You brought it up.”
“My mistake.”
I’d been waiting all day for Ryker to mention last night, but he hadn’t yet. I knew I could be a mature adult and address it myself, but I didn’t have the nerve. The hangxiety was at an all-time high.
The waitress returned to take our orders.
“Anything to drink?” she asked after I listed off our mains.
“Just a Coke for me please.”
Ryker nodded. “Same for me, thanks.”
I didn’t want any haziness clouding my thoughts tonight. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen later, but I knew whatever did, I wanted to be level-headed. Sober Ruby had sounder judgement.
Ryker rested his elbows on the table and leaned in, a gentle smile on his face. “Mind if I clear the air?”
I let out a sigh. “Go ahead.”
“I don’t have expectations when it comes to sex, Rubz. I don’t pick girls based on their flexibility, or their ability to stand on their head, or even their preference about ass stuff.”
My cheeks were already on fire. Why did drunk Ruby have to voice every outrageous thought? And why did Ryker have to remember every single one of them?
“It starts with attraction and I go from there,” he continued.
“And for the record, I am ridiculously attracted to you, Ruby.” He held my gaze with an easy confidence, like we were discussing the weather and not the idea of taking each other’s clothes off.
“I don’t need wild, freaky, or super kinky.
I just want you, Ruby – you’re all I want. ”
Holy, hell. Where was the waitress with my drink? I could barely swallow.
“You always know the right thing to say, Wheels.”
He reached for my hand, moving his thumb in circles across my palm. “Maybe give me a chance to say it before you get in your own head. We learnt the hard way at the beginning what happens when we don’t communicate with each other, Rubz. I don’t want to mess this up again before it begins.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I returned, interlacing my fingers with his.
Full hand holding in a restaurant was PDA overload for me, but based on the softness on Ryker’s face, he appreciated it.
“And about Noah being the only other guy...” I pushed through the discomfort of talking about something so intimate, wanting to reciprocate Ryker’s openness.
“I’m glad the next guy is going to be you.
I know we’re not dating or in love or anything like that, but we are something.
And call me old fashioned, but I think I’ll always be the type of girl that needs a little something. ”
Ryker grinned so hard his dimple appeared. “I’m glad it’s me too, Rubz.”