Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
It’s just you and me
Ryker
At least we’d gotten that conversation out of the way before our drinks arrived. Ruby had been her usual, relaxed self during dinner and the ride home. But the moment we entered her silent, empty house, she tensed up again.
Rather than turning on the hallway lights, she walked straight up the dimly lit stairs. I blindly followed her, hoping I didn’t roll an ankle in the darkness. Fuck knows how I’d explain that one to Coach.
Once in her bedroom, she took off her coat and draped it over the back of her desk chair.
The moonlight filtering through the partially open drapes cast a soft glow over her. After all those years of seeing her one way, I could hardly remember ever thinking of her like a friend.
Even the smallest everyday gestures now – like shrugging off her coat, taking a sip of wine, or bumping her arm against mine – felt loaded with tension.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she faced me with a breath of courage, her wide eyes holding mine as if she expected me to pounce.
The unspoken message was clear – tonight was the night. We had the place to ourselves, there was no alcohol clouding anyone’s judgement, and we’d both said how much we wanted this. But first...
“You want to watch a movie?” I asked, flopping onto her bed and sliding against the insanely high and cushiony headboard.
Last night had been one of my best sleeps in a long time. Ruby’s bed was insanely comfortable, like a marshmallow mixing with cotton candy. I’m sure my physical therapist would have something to say about sleeping on a bed this soft, but I was willing to ignore it for another night.
“You want to watch a movie?” Ruby checked, frowning.
“Uh-huh. Something actioned packed. Maybe with a car chase or two.”
“Okay.” Picking up the remote from the dresser, she threw it my way. “You choose something. I’m going to freshen up.”
After kicking off my shoes, I scanned Netflix and settled on the most cringiest looking action movie I could find. Something about a group of high school students saving the world from a pack of rabid monkeys they’d accidentally created in their school lab. Seemed plausible enough.
I was aiming for the perfect balance – something interesting enough to distract Ruby, but not too exciting that she became invested.
“Do you want any snacks? Popcorn? A drink?” she asked when she walked back into the room five minutes later.
“Nah. I’m good. Come here.”
Albeit a little guardedly, she climbed onto the bed beside me and nestled beneath the arm I held out.
Watching a movie with Ruby? Something I’d done countless times. Cozying up to Ruby? Kind of new. Knowing this was a segue to sex? Exciting and terrifying all at once.
Twenty minutes into the action-packed monstrosity, the movie magic started having the desired effect. Ruby was hooked – and by hooked I meant critiquing how bad the plot was.
“The blonde girl is the worst,” she complained. “I hope she’s the first to get ravaged by a monkey.”
I chuckled. “That’s cold, Rubz.”
“She was the one who added the bad chemical to the experiment. It’s time she faced the consequences.”
Despite the music hinting something big was about to happen, I couldn’t tear my attention from Ruby.
She still had her contacts in, so there was nothing obscuring her wide eyes as she gaped at the TV.
How had I gone all this time without truly realising how beautiful she was?
It’s like I’d brainwashed myself not to notice.
“What does she have to be crying about now?” Ruby grumbled. “Nobody’s even died yet. She’s going to lose her mind when that inevitably happens.”
Pushing her hair aside, I pressed my lips to the soft skin behind Ruby’s ear. Her tangent died off instantly as her eyes fluttered closed.
I swept my tongue along the curve of her neck, tracing a path across her throat until my mouth found hers.
It was all over after that.
I tugged Ruby onto my lap, where she comfortably settled with a leg on either side of mine. Just a few weeks ago, that alone would’ve rattled us. Now, I couldn’t imagine this not feeling normal.
“I thought we were watching a movie,” she teased. “I’m invested in Monkey Rampage now.”
“Fuck the movie,” I growled.
Without waiting for a response, I grabbed the remote and killed the TV. Ruby didn’t protest as my mouth claimed hers.
As my body reacted to the way she was grinding above me, the weight of the moment hit. This was Ruby – my best friend. In all the years we’d known each other, I’d never once pictured things would lead here.
As we moved together, an easy and natural rhythm forming, the rest of the world ceased to exist. I forgot about finals, and the Draft, and what our parents would say about this. I was so fixated on this girl in my lap that the universe could implode, and I wouldn’t even realise.
Ruby edged back, her eyes searching mine as she nibbled on her lower lip. It was already swollen from mine.
“Are you nervous?” I asked, gently running my thumb across it.
“Big time. Are you?”
“A bit,” I admitted.
She looked surprised by that. “Really? Why?”
“Because I’m doing something I really want to do, with someone I really want to do it with.”
With a sweet smile, Ruby rocked back on her heels then raised her arms in the air. I took the prompt and peeled off her sweater. There was nothing on beneath it. Not a crop. Not a bra. Nothing but perfection.
Ruby giggled when I grazed her left breast, but not in an inappropriate or even immature way. It was her way of staying us while we did something very not us.
Getting to her feet, she slipped out of her jeans, leaving herself in nothing but a lacy pair of black underwear. Though they were so sheer that she may as well have been naked.
With her eyes glued to mine, she bent over, stepping out of her thong and leaving it on the floor with the rest of her things.
Like a teenage boy, I gawked at her beautiful body, too overcome to do anything other than stare. I held my breath as I drank her in. Her skin was milky smooth, curving around subtle hips and perky breasts – breasts that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into.
Vulnerability danced in Ruby’s eyes as I studied her, mapping out every feature and detail, and committing them to memory. While I could happily do so for hours, I kicked into gear.
Standing up beside her, I grabbed my shirt by the collar and pulled it over my head. As I dropped it on the ground, I caught a satisfied look on Ruby’s face.
“All the protein has paid off, Wheels.”
I cocked my head. “You like what you see?”
“I love what I see. I can’t wait to lick those abs.”
Chuckling, I unzipped my jeans. Ruby’s dark gaze tracked every movement I made, her eyes narrowing to slits as I slipped out of my pants and boxers in one motion and kicked them away.
My dick leapt to full awareness when she licked her lips. It remembered exactly how they felt – the warmth, the wetness, the depth.
Gently grabbing Ruby’s chin, I titled her head to look up at me. “Do you realise how fucking beautiful you are?”
Not waiting for an answer, I crashed my mouth over hers, causing her to inhale sharply.
My dick pressed against her stomach as I backed us up until she bumped against the closed door. Reaching my hand between her thighs, she opened her legs obediently.
We both moaned when my fingers parted her, stroking her slick centre. It was reassuring knowing she was as turned on as me.
Crouching slightly, I pulled one of Ruby’s nipples into my mouth.
Her head fell back, smacking against the closed door. “My boob is in your mouth,” she breathed.
“It is.”
I switched to the other one, giving them equal amounts of attention.
“And you’re fingering me.”
“Is that okay with you?”
“It’s more than okay,” she panted.
My fingers glided over her smoothly, taking their time to find the spots that made her breathe harder. I’d poured years into perfecting football, and I was more than willing to put in the same effort when it came to Ruby.
As she pressed onto her toes, grounding against my hand and really getting into it, my dick jerked, imagining her riding it the same way. We’d get to that. But first, I lowered to my knees.
Hooking one leg over my shoulder, I stroked my tongue along Ruby’s silky warmth. Her hips shook against my face when I returned to the spot we’d figured out last time, the one that had her needily whimpering.
“Wheels, I am not going to be able to stand if you keep doing that.”
Letting out a choked laugh, I rose to my feet and lifted Ruby without warning. She squealed in surprise.
“How heroic,” she teased as I carried her to the bed.
“Are you always this chatty during sex?”
She yelped once more when I dropped her on the mattress.
“You’re not very gentle, Wheels.”
I knelt between her legs. “Do you want me to be gentle?”
Her throat wobbled. “Nope.”
“Good. Because I have a feeling I’ll enjoy throwing you around.”
Gripping the backs of her thighs, I slid her to the edge of the bed and got straight back to work. With her lying down, I was able to push the limits, sucking on her clit until she was writhing, before slowing my pace and having her growl in frustration.
When her hips started moving faster, I met her need, adding a finger for her to ride. Having a front row seat to her like this gave me a high I’d never known. I could do this all night, make her feel good for a lifetime.
Ruby’s back bowed off the bed, her chest heaving in desperation.
“Ryker.”
“Let go, Rubz.”
She did, moaning loudly as her orgasm rocked through her.
Her fingers tightened in my hair, locking me exactly where I was – like I’d even think about moving.
I was struggling to hold on to my last bit of self-control. Feeling her spasm against my mouth was electric. A way bigger turn on than all the porn sites in the world combined.
“Fuck, baby. That was hot,” I said, pressing a kiss to her hip when she eventually fell still.
Her hooded eyes found mine as she pushed onto her elbows. “Can I touch you now?”