Chapter 17 #2
“No. Not yet.” I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her onto my lap. “Right now, I just want to hold you.”
With her legs draped across me, she rests her head against my shoulder and sighs contentedly. “You ok?”
“Yeah. I’m good.”
She kisses the underside of my jaw and nuzzles into me. “Take me to bed.”
Ruby
When I step into the kitchen the next morning, I expect to see Liam there as usual.
Instead, Connor is standing at the stove, flipping a pancake in the cast-iron skillet.
He’s wearing what looks like Liam’s black sweatpants and a worn Oak Ridge Fire Department tee.
The clothes are obviously too big for him, which isn’t saying a whole lot.
Connor is muscular, just not quite as big as his brother.
“Morning,” he says cheerfully. “Pancakes?”
“I’ve never turned down breakfast food before. Not gonna start now.” I pour myself a cup of coffee and add in some of my favorite creamer as I settle myself at the island.
“It is arguably the best meal of the day.” He slides a plate across to me, along with a bottle of maple syrup. “Liam’s in the gym. Could we talk?”
“Mmmm. I see how it is. Ply me with food so I’ll be more agreeable.” I take my first bite of breakfast and stifle a moan the second the flavors hit my tongue.
He lets out a quiet bark of laughter. “I’ll admit that is a perk, but I didn’t plan it that way.”
I gesture for him to continue as I shovel more food into my mouth.
“I’m sorry for everything, Ruby. I was a stupid, selfish kid.”
“It was a long time ago. I appreciate the apology, but I really don’t harbor any ill will toward you.
Teenagers do dumb shit.” I spear another bite of the pancake and swirl it in the pool of syrup that’s gathering on the outside of the plate.
“Was I hurt? Hell yeah, I was. But I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on our relationship over the years, and I’ve come to terms with the fact that you and I were never going to work out. ”
“That’s true, but not for the reasons you might think.” He fidgets with his hands the same way he always does when he’s nervous. It’s nice to see that some things haven’t changed. He takes a deep breath and says, “Ruby, I’m gay.”
“And water is wet,” I deadpan.
His mouth drops open. “You know?”
“Yeah. Well. I suspected.”
“You suspected.”
“Are you just going to repeat whatever I say?”
“No. Sorry. I’m just surprised. That’s not exactly the reaction I anticipated.”
I stab another forkful of pancake and wave it in the air as I speak.
“I’ve been in the music industry for years.
I’ve played concerts around the world in front of millions of people.
I have an entire number with drag queens in my show.
You hang out with a bunch of queens long enough, you learn to recognize some of the signs.
” I slip the fork between my teeth and chew. “Besides, you just confirmed it.”
He smiles. “What is it they call us? The Ruby Lynn Gays. Honestly, it’s a little too on the nose for my taste.”
I giggle. “Yeah, there’s that, too.”
“I’m a card-carrying member,” he adds. “Have been since the beginning.”
“But what about everything you said at prom?”
“I was a jealous piece of shit. You were doing your own thing… chasing dreams outside of our hometown. I knew you were going to do amazing things, and I was just some fucked up kid who couldn’t even admit that he wasn’t into his girlfriend like that.”
“Wow, thanks for that.”
“You know what I mean. You’re fucking amazing, Ruby. One of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I just wasn’t romantically or sexually attracted to you. Not for lack of trying, obviously.”
Connor was my first, back when we were just two clumsy kids trying to work out the logistics of sex. It wasn’t great, and we didn’t make a habit of it.
“We were awkward as hell,” I say.
Footsteps carry down the staircase, and Liam appears, snagging a piece of bacon off my plate. I smile up at him as he takes a bite. His hair is wet from his shower, and he smells way too fucking good. The pancakes are phenomenal, but I’d much rather have Liam for breakfast.
“If we could maybe not talk about you two having sex, that would be great,” he says around a mouthful.
“Only if the same rule applies to you two,” Connor counters. “Love you both, but I don’t need to know about whatever it is you do upstairs.”
Liam leans in next to my ear. “Not just upstairs.”
“I heard that. Would pancakes and bacon shut you up?” Connor says.
“I had a smoothie this morning, so I’m good. Aiden still asleep?”
I check my phone for the time and frown. Aiden’s usually awake by now. “I’ll go check on him.”
Rising onto my tiptoes, I kiss Liam on the cheek and head to Aiden’s room. I knock softly on the door in case he’s indecent, but he doesn’t answer. “Aiden. It’s me. Are you up?”
I hear Jerry rustling the hay in the bottom of his enclosure, but not a single peep from Aiden. I crack open the door and peek inside. Aiden is still in bed with the covers pulled up to his chin, but his face is damp and his brows are drawn together like he’s in pain.
Padding softly into the room, I sit on the edge of his bed and place the back of my palm against his forehead and then his cheek. It takes mere seconds to realize he’s burning up.
The door creaks, and I turn to find Liam standing there.
“He has a fever. We should wake him.”
“Ok. I’ll get the kit.”
“Kit?”
“When Aiden was little, he was diagnosed with failure to thrive. I think they call it something different now. Anyway, it meant that he was more susceptible to illness and infection. His fevers were always abnormally high, so I keep a kit on hand in case he gets sick.”
The more I learn about Aiden’s childhood, the more I want to protect him. He’s had so much shit thrown at him in his short life, and he’s still the sweetest kid in the world. I know several grown ass adults who aren’t as well-adjusted as Aiden.
I try to keep the worry from showing on my face. The last thing Liam needs is the nanny panicking over a fever. “I’ll try to wake him.”
Liam leaves, and I press my hand to Aiden’s cheek. “Hey, little man. Can you wake up for me?”
He doesn’t stir. I pull back the covers a little bit, hoping the cool air will rouse him.
Sure enough, his eyelashes start to flutter against his cheeks, and he blinks up at me. “Ruby?” he says, his voice low and groggy. “I don’t feel good.”
He starts to sit up, but I place a hand on his shoulder and stop him. “Don’t get up. Your dad went to get the kit for you.”
Liam returns with what appears to be a tackle box and sits on the opposite side of the bed.
“Dad,” Aiden croaks out. “I feel yucky.”
“I know, bud. We need to get your fever down, ok? I need you to take this.” He holds out a small cup with pink liquid.
Aiden leans forward enough for Liam to help him tip it up. He winces as he swallows, and Liam follows it up with a juice box chaser.
“Good job,” Liam says.
I smile and pat his knee over the comforter. “I’m impressed. I used to hate taking that stuff.”
He looks up at me, face pale and eyes pleading. “I think…” Aiden doesn’t get to finish his sentence as he vomits into my lap. It’s mostly a mixture of medicine and juice, and it instantly soaks through my sleep shorts. “I’m sorry, Ruby,” he whines.
“It’s ok.” The smell hits my nostrils, and I gag.
Liam snorts.
I pin him with a warning glare. “Don’t you dare laugh at me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Go get cleaned up. I’ll work on getting the sheets swapped out.”
I emerge from the hallway looking like I just won a Kids’ Choice Award.
“Whoa. What happened to you?” Connor asks, his nose wrinkling.
“Can’t talk. Need to shower.” I take the stairs two at a time, doing my best not to breathe in through my nose.
When I reach the upstairs bathroom, I turn on the shower to the hottest setting and toss in a shower bomb.
I don’t bother taking off my clothes before I step inside, letting the hot water wash away the slime.
I inhale a deep lungful of the lavender steam and strip out of my slimy pajamas, then I proceed to scrub every inch of my body until my skin is rubbed raw.
I’m a big baby when it comes to two things: blood and vomit.
I stay under the spray until the water runs cold and my fingers are pruned. The steam billows from the shower when I step out of the glass enclosure, and Liam is right there holding out a towel.
“You ok?” he asks, wrapping me up in the fluffy fabric.
I smile softly. “Better now. How’s Aiden?”
“Fever’s coming down. He’s already passed out in the guest bedroom. Connor’s looking after him.”
He glides his hands up and down my arms and sinks to his knees, sliding the towel over each leg, one at a time.
I probably shouldn’t be enjoying the view, but the sight of Liam at my feet is really doing it for me.
When he’s finished drying every inch of my body, he swaps out the towel for my plush bathrobe.
Linking his fingers with mine, he tugs me into the bedroom and sets me down at the edge of the king-size bed. “Stay here.”
“Yes, sir,” I say with a sarcastic salute.
He shakes his head in exasperation and walks back into the bathroom, returning with my vanilla body lotion.
Kneeling behind me on the bed, he slips the robe off my shoulders and sweeps my damp hair off my neck.
The lotion bottle clicks open, and he squeezes some into his hand, warming it before he glides his rough palms over my skin.
He massages my neck and shoulders, releasing all of the tension I didn’t realize I’d been holding. The robe pools at my hips as he works his hands lower, gliding over every roll and curve of my body with expert precision, like he’s drawing a map of my imperfections.
“You have a cluster of freckles right here,” he murmurs. His lips touch my right shoulder and linger there while his fingers work at a knot in my lower back.