Chapter Fourteen
Ruby
Friday Night
Callahan’s Bar is louder than usual. Or maybe I’m more aware of it tonight. The clink of glasses. The low thrum of bass from the speakers. The hum of conversations layered over laughter.
Kansas City on a Friday night smells like beer, fryer oil, and people trying to forget their workweek. After the week I’ve had, I fit in this category.
Bella slides into the booth across from me, Dominic’s hand lingering on her shoulder before he walks toward the bar with Jake. Emily watches Jake go like he hung the moon and personally placed it in the sky for her viewing pleasure.
I take a sip of my water. I am so happy for them. I am also, very clearly, the third wheel. Fifth wheel. Whatever.
“You okay?” Bella tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m fine.” I bite back a sigh of longing. “Just taking in the romance like a holiday Christmas movie that’s so sweet it rots your teeth.”
Emily looks affronted as she descends onto the bench beside me. “We’re not that bad.”
“We’re not trying to be annoying.” Bella nods toward my drink. “You want something stronger?”
“I drove.” And they’re not. But they’re happy, and it’s impossible not to see it written on all four of their faces.
Dominic returns with drinks, sliding a glass of white wine toward Bella before taking the seat beside her.
Jake sets a beer in front of Emily and drops into the booth next to her. Their shoulders touch. Neither of them moves away. I arch my eyebrow and take another sip of water.
“You always drive.” Emily wraps her hand around the beer.
“I enjoy having an escape route.”
Jake raises his bottle in salute. “Smart.”
The conversation moves from work schedules to Dominic’s latest job-site mishap involving a client who wanted a tattoo with a misspelled word and finally lands on Emily’s EMT horror stories. Those are both terrifying and hilarious.
But every time Bella leans against Dominic, or Jake’s hand finds Emily’s under the table, something inside me twists. It’s not jealousy or resentment. Not exactly.
I love my friends, and I couldn’t be happier for them that they’ve found their person, but I can’t ignore the fact that I’m alone. It’s like watching everyone else pair off at the end of a dance while you remain standing against the wall.
Bella nudges my foot. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Ruby.”
There’s no point pretending with them. “Brent was at the gym again today.” I decide to go with a different topic—a safer topic than one that includes me and… No one.
Emily’s expression hardens. “The sleeveless creep?”
“That’s the one.”
“He bothering you? “Jake’s eyes narrow as he shifts into police mode. I wouldn’t want to be the criminal that tried to get one over on him.
“He follows. I deflect. He shows up again. It’s his cardio.”
Dominic raises his beer to his mouth. “Persistent.”
“Annoying,” Emily corrects.
Bella leans forward. “Did Greg say anything?”
“Yeah.” I trace the condensation on my glass. “He stepped in. After I showed Brent how to use a machine.”
Bella blinks as Dominic drops his beer to the table and lays his arm across her shoulders. “Why were you showing him how to use the machine?”
“Trainers were gone to lunch.” I lift a shoulder. “I tried to get him to wait, but he said he didn’t have time.” My frown deepens as my boss’s scolding flashes through my mind. “Greg has told me before to walk someone through basics if I have to.”
Emily frowns. “So what’s the issue?”
I let out a slow breath. “Greg came out of the office like I’d set the place on fire.”
Jake’s brows pull together. “He was mad at you?”
“Only me.” I take a sip of the now lukewarm water and wish I hadn’t driven.
“What did he say?” Bella leans against Dominic’s side.
“That I’m not a trainer,” I reply. “That I left the desk. That I wasn’t doing my job.”
Emily leans forward. “Was someone waiting?”
“No.” My voice is flat even though my irritation is not aimed at them. “The desk was empty. There was nothing to do.” A beat passes. “And the day before, he handed me a file and told me I did it wrong. I hadn’t.”
Or at least, I don’t think I did. Had he told me to change the file to alphabetical? It’s possible I’d zoned out when he was talking. It’s not like he’s the most interesting guy in the world.
Jake leans back, studying me. “That doesn’t sound like it’s about the file or showing someone how to use the machines.”
“That’s what I thought.” Clearly, my boss isn’t happy with how I’m doing my job.
Emily squeezes my hand. “You shouldn’t have to deal with either of those situations alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. Xavier was there when Greg got onto me about the file issue, and even though my boss thinks I’m failing, he was there to step in if Brent got too out of line.”
Bella tilts her head. “Did Xavier intervene?”
I wrinkle my nose. “Why would you think that?”
“Intuition.” She lifts a shoulder. “I just know things.”
“Whatever.” Bella is annoying with her constant observation of things. “He asked if I was okay.” The wine glass in front of Bella makes my mouth water. “I said I was. He didn’t argue.”
Emily leans back, crossing her arms. “Of course he did.”
“Of course he did what?” Right now, I’m finding them both annoying.
“Checked on you,” she says. “That’s his thing. Always keeping an eye on you. Making sure you’re okay.”
“That’s not….” I start, then stop because it is. “It was nothing.” I straighten my shoulders to ease the pain settling in my upper back. “He was there. He asked. End of story.”
Bella’s smile is soft, knowing. “End of this story. Not the whole one.”
Dominic bumps her shoulder. “Let the woman drink her water in peace.”
I raise my glass in gratitude. “You’re my favorite tonight.”
“Don’t let it go to his head,” Bella says.
Jake leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “For what it’s worth, if that guy crosses a line, you tell us.”
“I can handle it.” The words come out as if I’ve said them a million times. I don’t like pulling others into my problems.
Emily arches a brow. “You can handle it and still let people have your back. Those things are not mutually exclusive.”
I open my mouth to argue. Close it. Because she’s right, and I hate when she’s right.
The server drops off a basket of fries, and the conversation shifts again to lighter, easier topics. Plans for next weekend. A concert someone wants to see. Dominic arguing that country music peaked in 1998. And the frustration from the week drifts away.