Chapter 49
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Screw saving face
Ryker
Mum and Cherie were beyond drunk. Most of the guests had left an hour ago, but they weren’t showing any sign of slowing down. They’d taken on the responsibility of finishing off all the open bottles of wine.
God help us all.
I’d Snapchatted plenty of their drunken antics to Ruby. She’d responded to a few on her tea break, but she’d now been quiet for a while, so I was guessing she was back at work.
“Ryker, honey, come dance with us,” Mum called out.
They were living out their Coyote Ugly moment, dancing on our kitchen island like they were in a bar.
“Not a chance, Mum.”
“Don’t reject your mother on her birthday,” Cherie scolded, a playful edge in her voice.
Doug came to my defence. “Leave him be, Cherie. Can’t risk him getting up there and injuring himself.”
I snickered. “Thanks, Doug.”
He was standing beside my dad, watching their wives with a mix of second-hand embarrassment and pride.
“I spoke to Ruby before her shift, and she mentioned you stayed with her for a few nights in Ohio before coming home,” Doug said, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Did you get up to much?”
“Umm.” Nothing he wanted to hear. “We just hung out.”
“How’s she doing?”
After I’d been done with her? I liked to think sore yet satisfied. Our time together had been short, but we’d managed to sleep together once more last night and again in the shower this morning.
In no way had it scratched the itch. If anything, it only made me want her more. Barely twelve hours ago I’d had her pinned against her tiles, yet it already felt like I hadn’t touched her in months.
Whatever this feeling was, I needed to get it out of my system before the end of the summer, because trying to visit Ruby if she moved to Tacoma would be near impossible once football started up.
“Fine, I guess,” I answered. “She said work has been busy.”
Doug stoically nodded. “That’s what she tells Cherie and me whenever we call.” He lowered his voice, which was pointless because I could already barely hear him over Mum and Cherie’s impromptu karaoke. “Cherie is worried that Ruby is downplaying the breakup.”
Oh. We were talking about Noah. Sometimes I forgot Ruby was in the midst of a messy breakup – an easy mistake to make when we were distracted by getting each other naked.
“She seems fine to me,” I bit, careful not to sound too sour. “You know how independent she is.”
“Perhaps it’s a blessing. They’d been dating since such a young age,” Doug countered. “Maybe they’ll end up together, but just need some time now.”
I sure fucking hoped not. In my mind, Noah was exiled from Ruby’s life for good. When she’d told me there wasn’t a chance she’d reconcile things with him, I’d assumed she’d meant forever. Here’s hoping I hadn’t been wrong.
“Did you hear South Carolina’s quarterback was dropped,” Dad said.
Of course I’d heard that.
“Their backup quarterback isn’t ready,” he added.
All I could manage was a nod. I knew where Dad was going with this. His theory echoed the guys from the team, and Coach, and everyone else obsessing over the Draft.
“We’ll see,” I dismissively said. “I don’t want to get my sights set on anything.”
Dad and Doug hastily averted their gazes when one of the mums screamed. We all jumped to attention, expecting either Mum or Cherie to have taken a dive off the countertop, but they were only having a blast, still dancing to the music.
“Are you good to keep an eye on them?” I checked, stifling a yawn.
I was wrecked. I hadn’t slept as much as I normally would last night – all for a very worthy reason – but I was paying the price for it now.
Doug nodded. “Escape while you can. One day that’ll be your wife and then you’ll be stuck staying up until she passes out.”
An image flashed through my head of Ruby up there with our mums. Then to her kitchen with Bri, Daisy and Jaz.
And finally, in my house with Tori. In each version, I saw myself leaning against the fridge, amusedly watching on as Ruby had the time of her life – and I didn’t hate a single one of those scenarios, not even a little.
*
Ruby: What are you doing?
Ryker: Just walked into The Dime.
Back in high school, The Dime was the place to be. It’s where all the college kids partied whenever they came home, so highschoolers were forever trying to sneak in.
Ruby: Why are you there?
Ryker: Stefan’s idea. I’ve barely seen him since we’ve both been at college so I’m trying to be a nice big bro.
Ruby: Sounds fun.
Ryker: It would be more fun if you were here. What are you doing?
Ruby: I just got home from work. I’ll probably have dinner then take a bath.
I nearly dropped dead on the spot. The mere idea of Ruby silky and naked in a steaming bath was enough to turn my brain into a clusterfuck.
Ruby: It would be more fun if you were here...
I agreed. And honestly, the thought of stealing my brother’s keys and driving two-and-a-half hours back to Ruby’s place was pretty fucking tempting.
“You want a beer?” Stefan asked, heading for the bar.
“Ah, sure. Just need to take a leak first.”
And try to shake off this semi.
When I came back, Stefan had found a table with his high school friends. I could see some of my old school buddies too, hanging around the pool table.
Sometimes my hometown felt more like a small town. You bumped into people wherever you went, which was a blessing and a curse.
Back in high school, as graduation had neared, I hadn’t felt a burning desire to leave. But now that I had, I couldn’t imagine still living here. At least not for a long time to come.
My friends spotted me and made their way over. As expected, the number one topic of conversation was the Draft. Whenever I tried steering the attention from me and talk about what they’d been up to, it always circled straight back.
I appreciated how excited everyone was for me, but man, the pressure was a lot. It felt like every person I’d ever met was paying attention to the Draft. What if it didn’t go in my favour? What if, in some universe, I didn’t get drafted at all?
“You need another beer?” I asked, eyeing my brother’s empty glass.
My former backup quarterback had just had me cornered me for fifteen minutes, reminiscing about the glory days that were high school. This was my excuse to escape him.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Shooting an apologetic look to my old teammate, I ducked away from the table and headed for the bar. The line was huge – big enough to put me in a foul mood – and that mood only worsened when I noticed who was at the front.
Noah.
As he turned with two beers and spotted me, his smile fell. He looked the same as always, complete with a wanky fucking sweater. Seriously, where the fuck did he shop? I’d never seen a sweater like that in any guy’s store I’d ever been in – even the pretentious ones Evan dragged me into.
He began to stride towards me, then seemed to think better of it and went the other way.
Thank fuck.
Seeing him served as a bitter reminder that he’d cheated on Ruby – more than once – and continued to hassle her long after they’d broken up.
I hated his smug face so fucking much.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, instinctively going to text Ruby, but stopped myself. Worrying her wouldn’t help.
I wasn’t sure why Noah wasn’t at college, and frankly, I didn’t care. So long as he stayed on the opposite side of the bar to me, we wouldn’t have a problem.
By the time I returned to my brother and the rest of the guys, my mood had tanked even further. Thankfully they were all too drunk to notice.
“So Ryker,” my former linebacker started. “Any ideas who’ll pick you up?”
I sighed. Here we went again.
*
An hour later, my luck ran out. Noah’s friends had taken over the pool table, which meant he was less than six feet from me.
Stefan shifted between us, discreetly gesturing over my shoulder. “Dude hasn’t stopped staring at you for ten minutes.”
“I know.”
I could feel Noah’s miserable gaze on the back of my neck. It was making my skin crawl.
“Are you and him good?” Stefan checked.
“Not really.”
“Then maybe you should stand closer to your old football buddies. I have your back, bro, but fighting isn’t really–”
“No one is fighting,” I said.
As much as I hated Noah, I’d made a promise to Ruby.
Promise me that you won’t do anything stupid, Wheels. Think about the Draft. Hurting Noah could mess with your career.
To be honest, caring about my future was really hard right now. Noah had no idea how much he owed to Ruby. She was the only reason I was holding back.
Stefan stood up straighter. “Oh shit. He’s coming over here.”
I groaned. Great.
“Yo, Richardson.”
Even Noah’s voice was irritating.
Taking a steady breath, I grudgingly turned to face him. Those extra beers had clearly worked their way into his system. His hazy eyes barely held mine as he looked me up and down.
If he was sizing me up, I was willing to help him out. I was taller than him, I’d bet I could bench press more, and I was certainly more equipped at confrontation than a water polo player.
“Is Ruby with you?”
My first tether snapped.
“You don’t get to ask about her.”
“Drop the big brother act, Richardson. Ruby’s still my–”
“She’s nothing to you,” I cut in. “Not anymore. You made sure of that.”
As he shifted, he momentarily lost his footing and had to lean on one of his seedy friends for support. “I don’t know what she’s told you–”
“Everything. So save your breath and go find someone else willing to listen to the bullshit that comes out of your mouth.”
Noah simmered, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me like that?”
The crowd around us had began to realise something was going on. Noah’s friends were on guard, watching, and I could feel my former teammates starting to swarm around me.
I hoped Stefan had taken his own advice and moved out of the way. If anything broke out, I didn’t want him getting caught in the crossfire. I didn’t need another reason to want Noah dead.
“Look,” I began, forcing patience into my tone. “Just move on. Ruby wants nothing to do with you, and neither do I.”
Noah sneered. “I’ll bet you’re glad we broke up.”
“Whatever you reckon, man.”
“You’ve always hated me,” Noah continued, undeterred. He was far too drunk to read the vibes. “If you think running your mouth will turn Ruby against me, you’re wrong.”
“You don’t need me to achieve that, Noah. Sleeping with six other girls did the trick.”
A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd. Damn, I hadn’t meant to let that slip – not all the details were public knowledge. Noah was getting under my skin.
“Don’t act high and mighty,” he spat. “You’ve never been in a relationship.”
“I’d never cheat on someone, let alone Ruby. You’re a fucking idiot for thinking anyone even comes close to measuring up to her.”
“Honestly, you’re so bothered by this it’s like you’re in love with her or something.” Noah let out a harsh, ugly laugh, his bleary eyes widening. “Wait, is that why you always hated me? Because you were jealous I was the one who got to fuck her?”
The second tether snapped.
I stepped forward. “Watch it.”
“Oh my God! That’s it, isn’t it? You’re sleeping with her now that we’re finally done.” He dragged his hands through his hair, but the gel was so thick it didn’t budge. “I always fucking knew there was something going on between you two.”
Screw saving face. It was time to put this fucker in his place.
“There wasn’t anything going on when you were in the picture. Now you aren’t, you have no right to be pissed.”
He might not have the right, but there was no doubt he was pissed.
His nostrils flared. “I hope you think of me when you’re fucking her, Richardson. Enjoy my left–”
The final tether snapped.
Before I realised what had happened, Stefan was in front of me, shoving me backwards, and Noah was knocked out on the floor.