by C. Morgan
“What makes her so special, then? Except for the fact that she’s the fresh wunderkind to have gotten a spot at the clinic?” She held my gaze through our cameras, but even though my eyes were on my sister’s, my mind was on Ruby.
What makes her so special? Now that I knew her better, that was actually a pretty fucking easy question to answer. “She’s hot, but she’s also brilliant. And she has an incredible work ethic. And she doesn’t take my shit. She gives as good as she gets, but she’s still somehow vulnerable at times. It’s just… she’s going to be someone one day.”
“So will you,” Emily said, but her voice sounded far away. My brain was solidly focused on Ruby and all the other things I wanted to tell my sister about her. As if she’d read my mind, she smiled and inclined her head. “Tell me everything, Bry. I can’t wait to hear all about it. This Ruby wouldn’t be the reason you’re suddenly apologizing for things, is she?”
“She is, actually.” I grinned when I thought back to the day Ruby had been as surprised by my apology. “You want to hear a funny story? I made her cry one time, and her response was that she was going to help me up and into my chair.”
“That doesn’t sound funny at all.” Em frowned.
“Wait until you hear the rest of it,” I said. “Trust me, sis. You’d love this girl.”
Not that I loved her, obviously, but for as far as fuck buddies, friends, and therapists went, she was pretty fucking cool.
Chapter 27
RUBY
Late on Friday night, Hadley got back to our room while I was taking a break from studying. I looked up from my laptop where I was sitting on my bed, watching an episode of my all-time-favorite teen drama.
“Date night done early tonight?” I asked, surprised to see her back at all. Their Friday night date nights didn’t often end in her coming home to me.
I didn’t even have to ask if everything was okay between them, though. It was obvious that my friend was on cloud nine. She was blushing, smiling like an idiot, and had that dreamy sparkle in her eyes that only Daxton could put there.
It was the first time I was seeing her like this that I actually envied all those signs of being in love. Must be nice to have it all figured out with the boy of your dreams.
She flopped down on her bed, then rolled onto her side to face me and nodded. “Dax had to get to some meeting at the house. It’s a brothers-only thing. He wanted me to hang out in his room while I waited, but neither of us know how long it’s going to take and I told him I’d rather come back here. It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“I know,” I said, totally meaning it. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight, but there’s something I’ve been wanting to bounce off you for a few days now. We’ve just been missing each other all the time.”
“It sucks that our schedules are so hectic at the moment,” she agreed. “Shoot. I’m listening. What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Do you want to tell me about your date first?” I offered. “You’re looking as loved up as always. Want to tell me what Dax did to make it happen this time?”
“Nope.” She pushed herself up on her elbow, resting her head in the palm of her hand as she gave me a look that was equal parts curious and accusatory. “You’ve been holding back on me for long enough. If you really want to, we can talk about my date later. Right now, I want to know what you’ve been waiting to soundboard with me. I’ve been wondering when you were going to come to me about whatever’s been on your mind these last few weeks.”
“It hasn’t been on my mind for weeks,” I protested.
She arched a brow at me. “Bullshit. Every time I’ve seen you, which hasn’t even been all that often, your head has been somewhere else. And I know what your face looks like when you’re thinking about studying. It hasn’t been that. There’s something going on with you.”
I thought about arguing, but then I realized just how pointless it was. I wanted to talk to her about Brysen anyway. Might as well stop stalling.
It’d taken me days to find the time to talk to her when we were alone and neither of us were on our way out. Prolonging the inevitable was just silly.
“Fine,” I admitted. “You’re right. There is something going on with me. I didn’t realize that it was so obvious that he’s been on my mind for weeks, but he has been. I just didn’t know I needed to talk about it until earlier this week.”
“Him, huh?” She grinned at me. “He got a name?”
Mentally preparing myself for her shock, I felt my cheeks heat as I closed my laptop to give my hands something to do while I said it. “Brysen Burke.”
She made a strained sound at the back of her throat, her bright brown eyes shooting wide open as she stared at me. “Brysen Burke? The Brysen Burke? Ruby! I thought you were just working with the guy. I knew that kiss at the fight that night couldn’t have been the end of it.”
“You saw that?” I asked, going so red I was sure I was glowing by now. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Of course I saw it.” She rolled her eyes before laughing at me. “It happened right next to me, didn’t it? I haven’t said anything because you didn’t say anything. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t spoken about him at all. We talked about him, the accident, the rumors… You just neglected to mention that you’ve been seeing him.”
“I haven’t been seeing him,” I squeaked. “We’ve just been spending a lot of time together and it feels like there might be something more brewing there.”
Hadley nodded, a contemplative expression passing over her features. “Well, I definitely remember what it was like to be there. Hit me with it. What’s going on between you and the baddest boy of them all?”
I scoffed. “He’s not that bad.”
“Maybe not to you, but I can start listing the incidents he’s been involved in, or at least accused of being involved in, just this semester. The list will be extensive enough to make my point for me.”
I raised my hands. “Fine. Fine. I know. What happened to you having a thing for the bad boys?”
“Oh, I do.” She grinned. “I’m very happy with the one I’ve got, though. I just didn’t know you were into that too.”
“That’s probably because I’ve never been before,” I said. “Honestly, I hate myself just a little bit for even letting things between us get this far.”
She tilted her head, ready to listen without so much as a hint of judgment in her eyes. “How about we go back a step? Tell me what’s happened and what you mean when you say you’ve let things come this far.”
Hadley didn’t interrupt me once while I told her everything, listening intently and only smiling or frowning at some parts of the story to tell me she heard every word I was saying. Now that I had her, I didn’t hold back. The only details I spared were the personal ones about the sex, but I did tell her how good it was between us.
When I ended with him accepting my offer to sit at the same table at the dinner, she just blinked at me in surprise. “You’re doing the meet-the-parents thing already?”
“Seems so,” I said. “When I told him we could try to get seats at the same table, I wasn’t thinking about it like that, though. It only occurred to me after that that was exactly what the practical implications of the offer would be.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I believe you. The question is whether he’ll believe you, or if he’ll think you orchestrated the whole thing to make you guys seem like a couple to your folks.”
“If that’s what he thinks, then he doesn’t know me at all,” I said. “I really did just want to help him. That’s not really what I’m worried about, though. It’s probably not going to be a fun night for anyone involved, but it’s still just one night.”
“You’re worried about what happens after?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I’m worried about what I want to happen after. And why I want certain things to happen. And what it means that I want them to happen.�
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“Ah.” She perked up, grinning happily as she looked me right in the eyes. “It’s going to be so amazing to be the person asking this question instead of having to answer it, but are you into him, into him, or do you just want someone to fuck your brains out?”
“Hadley!”
My friend played it completely innocent, holding her hands out to her sides as she batted her eyelashes at me. “What? It’s an important question to answer.”
I sighed, but I knew she was right. It was an important question, and the answer was the whole reason why I was talking to her. “That’s the thing. I think I’m into him, into him, even though I know I shouldn’t be. It didn’t start that way, I swear, but it’s gotten to the point where I don’t only want to sleep with him. I’m catching myself actually looking forward to spending time with him.”
“If that’s the case, then I’m pretty sure you’re into him, into him too,” she said, then searched my gaze as she frowned. “Why shouldn’t you be, though? I know he doesn’t have the greatest reputation, but Dax used to be called Dax the Dick. Remember that?”
“Sure, but it’s different with Brysen,” I said. “Dax’s family situation wasn’t great growing up, but his parents came through for him and helped straighten him out when it mattered. I doubt Brysen’s would ever do the same.”
“So?” she asked. “They’re both grown ups. Lots of people have crappy family situations and don’t end up as crappy pricks to everyone. Trust me, you can’t win this argument with me. I’ve had it with myself and with Daxton too many times.”
“I don’t doubt it.” I chuckled softly. “That’s one of the reasons why I love you so much. You aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said.”
“Right back at you.” She grinned, but then gave me a pointed look. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Pausing for a moment to collect my thoughts, I sighed eventually and just came out with it. “Brysen has a lot of darkness in him. If I get involved with him, I know he might hurt me. Not physically, but you know what I mean. I also know our relationship could be tumultuous at best.”
“Or it could be really good,” Hadley suggested. “It’s possible that Brysen’s still trying to figure out who he really is. God only knows how much growing up Daxton had to do before we got to where we are now. Brysen could be at the start of that learning curve.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I’ve definitely seen a part of him that I don’t think many people have. There’s more to him than he likes to pretend there is.”
She winked at me. “You’ve seen parts of him I know for sure I haven’t seen.”
I laughed. “That too, but it’s kind of beside the point.”
“I know.” She stared into the middle distance for a second before bringing her gaze back to mine. “Maybe Brysen just doesn’t know how to be with a woman who won’t tolerate his bullshit. He might need help trying to figure that out.”
“Is that my job, though?” I asked, super conflicted as I considered what she’d said. “I’ve never believed in being with a man I wanted to change. If I want to change him, then surely he’s just not the right man for me. I don’t want to be responsible for finishing the job of raising him, either. It’s a mess.”
“Things were very rocky with me and Dax in the beginning,” she said, her eyes soft with understanding. “He even wanted to leave me in Hawaii, or did you forget that fun little fact? My point is, look at us now. We’re more in love than ever. He’s changed, but I didn’t change him. I also don’t feel like I’ve had to finish raising him. I just think that what happened with me made him realize that he wanted to change. Wanted to grow up. Wanted to be better.”
“How did you know he was ready for that?” I asked.
She lay her head back down on her pillow and groaned into it before glancing at me from between strands of hair. “I didn’t know, but sometimes, you have to take a leap and risk getting hurt in order to get something you never dreamed could be possible.”
“Well, that’s comforting.” I sighed, but I knew she was right.
There was no way to know for sure how things would end. It was up to me to decide if the possibilities of how good it might become between us was worth risking really starting anything in the first place. And that decision wasn’t as simple or straightforward as it seemed at all.
Chapter 28
BRYSEN
An elaborate, upscale dinner had been set up in one of the halls on campus. There was a string quartet playing to welcome the guests and a long bar that ran across one of the walls. Unfortunately, Tommy would be making sure that I stayed far, far away from it.
A dance floor had been cleared in the center of the room and the tables had been placed around it. Every last one of them was decorated so heavily, it wouldn’t surprise me if the legs gave out before the food was even served.
The people milling around were all dressed up, the women in fancy dresses with up-dos that’d probably taken hours and the men freshly shaven and in their tuxes. Mom had tried to wrangle me into a tux when they’d come past my room earlier to pick me up, but I’d gotten away with a three-piece suit instead.
Not sure that’s much of a win.
Emily looked like a mint meringue, though. I figured she’d definitely gotten off worse than I had tonight.
She rolled her eyes behind Alison’s back when she caught me grinning at her, then jerked her head forward again as people started approaching us. My parents had insisted that we should all arrive together, and I was pretty sure we cut a stiff and rigid picture as we walked into the hall.
No one seemed deterred or intimidated by what we looked like, though. So maybe we didn’t look as unnatural together as a family as I thought we did.
As always, my parents transformed into true enigmatic socialites as soon as they were surrounded by others. They were suddenly all smiles as they shook hands with other alumni, parents, faculty, and staff. Tommy’s energy was infectious. Anyone and everyone wanted a chance to shake his hand or buy a second of his time before the dinner started.
Emily and I muttered our hellos and answered the few questions that came our way, but we mostly hung back. We knew how this worked and what was expected of us. These events might be the bane of my existence, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t been groomed to know my place at them.
While my family got bombarded by other families as pretentious as ours, I found myself looking around the room. I told myself I wasn’t looking for her but deep down, I knew better. Knowing that Ruby would be here too was the one thing that’d been making the prospect of having to come here this evening tolerable.
The main doors opened again just as my gaze ran past them, and I sucked in a breath when she finally appeared. She was standing between an older man and woman who I assumed were her parents, but other than registering that she was with them, I didn’t pay any attention to them just yet.
I couldn’t.
My eyes were glued to her, my tongue suddenly feeling like it was about to slide down my throat as I stared at the goddess standing in the doors. Ruby was hot even in those scrubs she was always wearing, but she really did look like she belonged among the ranks of the divine tonight.
A deep red, strapless dress clung to her petite figure, accentuating every curve all the way down to her ass before it flared out. Her hair had been swept away from her face and styled to stay that way, but it was loose and hanging in soft waves to the middle of her back.
Shiny, teardrop shaped studs adorned her ears and she wore a thin necklace with a small golden charm nestled at the hollow of her neck. I wasn’t used to seeing her wearing a lot of makeup, but she’d gone all out tonight. Her eyes were smoky and her cheekbones high and shaded. To top it all off, she had on lipstick that matched the color of her dress.
Something primal stirred inside me, and I suddenly had to fight off an urge I’d never had before. The word mine ricocheted around my head when I saw a few other guys looking at her. All I wanted to d
o was go over there and lay claim to her as my own. So fucking weird.
Once I’d gotten my head and my body back under control, I decided that going over to greet her was acceptable. As long as I didn’t act on any of those strange thoughts or urges, I’d be just fine.
As I turned to go to her, my mother caught my arm and flashed me a small but meaningful smile. “Be polite, Brysen. We’ll take our seats at the appropriate time.”
Translation: Stay put and don’t go running off. I sighed, but nodded. There will be plenty of time to catch up with her later.
Just because I couldn’t go to her right now didn’t mean I could drag my attention away from her. As if she felt the heat of my gaze on her, she turned her head toward me, her eyes meeting mine as she lifted her hand in a wave and smiled.
Even with all these people and the distance between us, when her eyes were on mine, I felt that odd connection with her that I’d felt so many times now. That powerful tug at the center of my chest that commanded me to get closer to her. She’s too far away.
It wasn’t easy, but I managed to shake it off. It was ridiculous to think that it was real, anyway. I didn’t feel drawn to people. Ruby was just a friend who I had chemistry with and who I happened to think was pretty cool. That was it.
Regardless of how much I tried to defy the urge to at least look at her if I wasn’t going to go to her, I kept finding my gaze back on her every few seconds. Whatever. It’s not because I’m drawn to her. It’s just because she looks damn sexy in that dress.
As I watched, Hadley and Dax approached her. She smiled and hugged them before introducing them to her parents. When she motioned to the older couple, I finally turned my focus on them as well.
