by Claire Raye
Shaking my head, I force my mind out of the gutter as I ask, “What’ll be?”
Sienna and Ruby glance at each other before turning back. “Shots!” they both shout.
Laughing, I reach for two glasses and a bottle of tequila, before grabbing a small plate with some lemon slices and a saltshaker. I give them both generous pours, leaving the bottle on the bar as I say, “Cheers.”
They both down their shots quickly, slamming the glasses down on the bar top signaling they want another. Just as I’m pouring them, Mila walks over, her fingers grabbing one of the glasses before she quickly throws it back.
“Whoa, hey, are you even old enough?” I ask, really not wanting to get fired just as I’ve gotten a foot in the door with the whole manager thing.
Mila shrugs, giving me a smile as she bats her eyelashes at me. “Sure I am,” she says, pulling an ID from her back pocket and sliding it along the bar.
I glance down at it, knowing it’s fake without even having to look. Ruby told me she was younger than her and I already know Ruby is the same age as Sie and me, so there’s not a chance in hell Mila is old enough to drink.
“Umm,” I say, tilting my head at her. Just as I’m trying to come up with some excuse that doesn’t kill the buzz the three of them obviously have going, Adam swoops in, picking up Mila’s ID and giving it a once over.
“Looks good to me,” he says, grinning as he turns to Ruby’s sister.
Mila squeals instantly, clapping her hands together as she shouts, “Oh my god, your accent!”
Adam chuckles, shooting me a sideways glance that clearly says I told you so, before he leans down on the bar and gives Mila his undivided attention.
Turning back to my sister and Ruby, I raise my brows, but Ruby just waves off my silent question as she takes a seat on one of the stools and says, “Don’t even bother. She’s crazy, remember?”
I shake my head, still not sure if I should let the whole underage drinking thing go or not, but figuring it’s Adam’s problem now and I can just feign ignorance if anything happens.
“So, what have you guys been up to tonight?” I ask, pouring them another round of drinks before grabbing them two glasses of water.
Sienna shrugs as she pulls out her phone. “Not much, drinking and chatting,” she says, tapping away at her screen.
Ruby rolls her eyes, jerking a thumb at my sister as she says, “Reid’s been sexting her all night. Apparently, they can’t handle a night apart from each other after all.”
Sienna slaps at Ruby’s arm even as she continues texting. “We can,” she huffs. “But obviously he misses me.”
I chuckle, knowing it’s not just him that misses her as I turn my attention to Ruby. “Fucking hopeless, aren’t they?” I say, as I too roll my eyes in mock disbelief.
Ruby laughs and it’s adorable, especially the way she lets out a little hiccup afterward. I chuckle, refilling her water as I push the glass closer and encourage her to drink it.
They end up hanging out at the bar until closing time, having a few more drinks, although I do try to cut them off a few times. I manage to avoid serving Mila all night, which isn’t hard given she seems intent on spending her night flirting with Adam.
Still, given I am taking on the manager role, I really need to let him know he shouldn’t be serving her either, but I figure I’ll worry about that tomorrow.
“Okay, we’re gonna go,” my sister announces as she slides off her stool.
“Wait,” I say, not really comfortable with them walking home this drunk, even if there are three of them. “Let me finish up and I’ll walk with you,” I say.
Sie glares at me, but Ruby smiles as she says, “We can wait.”
I nod gratefully before making my way down to Adam. “Come on, let’s get this place closed up,” I tell him. “I gotta walk them home,” I say, jerking my thumb over my shoulder.
Adam grins. “I can take them,” he says, glancing at Mila.
She giggles before disappearing down to where Sienna and Ruby sit. “Dude,” I say, holding a hand up. “I let it fly tonight, but seriously, it’s a fake ID. She’s underage and we can’t be caught serving her.”
Adam lets out an exhale. “Twenty-one is such a dumb age,” he says, shaking his head.
I can’t say I disagree with him, but it still doesn’t change things. “Whatever, it’s still the legal drinking age in this country, so next time…” I trail off, hoping he gets my drift.
“Okay, okay,” he says, even as his gaze drifts over my shoulder to where the girls sit, his grin widening. “At least she’s not underage when it comes to other things though.”
“Oh, fuck,” I mutter, shaking my head.
By the time the bar is finally locked up and clean, the girls have sobered up a little. Still, I’m glad they aren’t stumbling home alone and as Sie slips her arm through mine, her head resting on my shoulder, I nudge her and ask, “You have fun tonight?”
“Yes,” she says, half sleepy, half still drunk.
“Cool,” I say, chuckling.
“Are you sleeping at Reid’s?” she asks, turning to look up at me.
I raise a brow. “You change the sheets since the last time you slept there?”
She smacks my chest and I laugh. “Yes,” she scoffs. “Although I bet Ruby wouldn’t mind if you crashed with her,” she adds, widening her eyes as she glances at Ruby and her sister walking arm and arm in front of us.
“Shut up,” I murmur, gently elbowing her side, even as I try to stop the smile.
Sie presses up on her toes, her drunken whisper not entirely quiet as she says, “I think you like her, and I know she likes you!”
I pinch her side this time. “Okay, Captain Obvious, time to shut up now.”
Sienna huffs, but she doesn’t say anymore.
When we get back to their place, I watch as they head inside, declining their invitations in for another round of drinks, knowing they are all about five seconds away from falling asleep. Instead, with a final wave in their direction, I head down the street to Reid’s house, grateful I left all the lights on so I’m not coming back to total darkness.
Inside, the house is quiet, which instantly makes me uncomfortable. So after taking a quick shower, I pull on some sweats before turning on the TV. Then I grab a beer from the fridge and collapse on the couch as I settle in for what I know is going to be an uneasy night’s sleep.
As much as I don’t want it to happen, I’m positive I’ll be having a nightmare tonight. It’s not just the unfamiliarity of this place or the silence of an empty house either; it’s the absence of Ruby and the comforting warmth of her body beside mine.
I take a sip of beer, just as my phone chimes out with a ping to indicate a text message. Reaching for it on the table, I chuckle when I see Ruby’s name on the screen.
Ruby: OMFG, my sister is passed out in my bed, snoring her head off!
Me: LOL…well, I have it on good authority that the couch is pretty comfy.
The bubbles indicating Ruby is typing a response pop up and disappear several times and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s too drunk to type properly, or because she doesn’t know what to say next. Eventually though, another message comes through.
Ruby: I know. I have slept there with you remember
I grin, remembering that night not just because it was the first time I didn’t have a nightmare, but because it was also the first time she and I slept together. God, the feel of her body next to mine, the way she smelled, how warm she was.
The fucking hard-on I had when I woke up.
Ruby: I like sleeping with you…
Her message surprises me and I have to chalk it up to her drunkenness that she would say something like this. Figuring she won’t register the full implication of my response either, I type out a message back.
Me: I like sleeping with you too.
The sound of a ping, followed by a giggle just outside the house has me lifting my head, but before I can react, I
see Ruby, standing on the front porch of Reid’s house dressed in nothing but a tank and a pair of boxer shorts.
I jump off the couch and open the front door. “Jesus, Ruby, what are you doing?” I ask, my heart pounding a little as I automatically scan the street. “You shouldn’t be out in the middle of the night like this.”
Ruby puts her hands against my bare chest, pushing me back inside as she kicks the door shut behind her. Her feet are bare, her phone in one hand as she wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head on my chest. I can feel the warmth of her breath on my skin, the tingle of goosebumps as they spring up.
“I missed you,” she slurs.
I chuckle, unable to stop myself as I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Uh huh, and you’re sure it’s not the snoring sister that’s driven you from your house?”
Ruby huffs, her eyes half closed as she keeps hugging me. Knowing she’s close to falling asleep, I lead her over to the couch, pulling her down with me. There’s no way I’m letting her walk back home like this, even if it is just two houses away.
She collapses against me, half sitting in my lap as her head rests on my shoulder, her face turned into me so her lips are brushing against my neck. I close my eyes, letting out a long slow breath as I try to stay calm.
“Ruby,” I whisper.
“Hmm,” she murmurs, snuggling against me.
“What are you doing here?”
She drapes her arm across my stomach, letting out a slow breath as she says, “Sleeping. I’m sleeping.”
I chuckle. “At Reid’s place?”
“Hmm, with you,” she says, seemingly on the verge of falling asleep now. Resigning myself to the fact that she’s here for the long haul, I settle back against the couch, quietly drinking my beer, my other arm wrapped around her shoulders as I allow myself to hold her against me.
Just one night like this I tell myself. Just one night.
Just when I think she’s fallen asleep, she jolts awake, her head lifting off my shoulder as she says, “Oh shit, do you think they’ve fucked on this couch?”
Chuckling, I ease her back against me. “God, you’re adorable,” I whisper, kissing the top of her head again. “Go back to sleep, Ruby.”
And then, with the TV on low, I close my eyes and fall asleep with her.
Chapter Thirteen
Ruby
My head is pounding when I wake up the next morning still curled around Caleb on Reid’s couch. The sun is streaming through the front window practically blinding me and making me feel like I might puke right here on the floor.
“Fuck,” I mutter, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes. My mouth tastes like I ate from a dumpster and my body feels like I slept in one. This is very different to the first time Caleb and I fell asleep on the couch together.
I shift my body off of his so I’m sitting next to him and he mumbles something, his eyes fluttering open.
“Where are you going?” he says, groggily as he lets his body fall to the side so he’s now lying flat on the couch.
“Mila is going to lose her shit if she wakes up and I’m not there,” I whisper, knowing if I speak too loudly my stomach may go in reverse. I swallow hard, but it does nothing for the bile rising up in my throat.
I scramble from the couch and rush to the bathroom, retching over the toilet and emptying everything I drank last night into it. My eyes are watering and my nose runny, and I fall back onto my ass, my back against the wall as I moan at my own stupidity.
Why did I drink so much last night?
I pull my knees up to my chest, resting my head on them; I close my eyes willing myself not to puke again. I have no idea how I got this drunk or really when I even decided to just show up at Reid’s house and force Caleb to let me sleep here with him.
“You okay?” he asks, handing me a wet washcloth and I wipe at my nose and mouth with it.
“Yeah, I’m fine. At least I still have my pants on this time,” I joke, trying to smile at him but finding everything just hurts.
“You girls obviously kept drinking after the shots at the bar, huh?” he asks me as he holds out a hand to help me up.
“Ahhh, shots at the bar,” I wail, my arm now linked though Caleb’s, my head resting on his shoulder as we walk back into the living room. “Don’t remind me.”
“At least it’s early. You can still go home and sleep it off for another couple of hours. If you want, I can take you out to breakfast later?”
Breakfast sounds like the last thing I need right now and even just picturing scrambled eggs or hash browns or sausage makes me feel like I’m going to puke all over again.
“Stop talking about food,” I whine now, shaking my head and blowing out a long slow breath.
“I know. I’m sorry, but if you feel up to it, let me know. I can take the three of you out, because something tells me you’re all going to need it.”
“I gotta go before Sie or Mila realizes I’m gone and come looking for me or worse yet, call the police.”
I feel like such shit, I don’t even remember to tell Caleb I’m sorry for drunkenly sneaking into Reid’s house and climbing all over him. I smell like rotten booze and puke and I’m sure I didn’t smell much better last night.
“Hey Caleb,” I say, turning around as I stand in the front yard, him leaning against the doorframe. He’s watching me with his gorgeous blue eyes, watching like he doesn’t want me to go, and I feel it too. There’s a connection between us that goes beyond just sleeping together and it roots itself deep in my chest. I feel safe with him and the trust I know he has in me is something he doesn’t just give away willingly.
“What, Ruby?” he calls back, my name like a song on his lips, like he longs to say it over and over and I swallow hard again, my thoughts lost.
“Ruby!” Mila’s voice screeches and when I turn around, I see her barefoot and slinking through the front yard of the house next door to Reid’s. She’s in exactly what she went to sleep in last night, which is barely anything but hot shorts and a tank top. Her hair is matted and disheveled, her makeup from last night smudged across her face.
“Oh my god, Mila! What the fuck are you doing? Are you doing a walk of shame right now?” The appalled tone falls from my lips with such conviction that I don’t even realize I look like I’m doing the exact same thing.
“Don’t you dare!” she yells out, pointing an accusing finger at me, her mouth falling open. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m going home,” I assert, hands on my hips now, my hangover put on hold for the moment. “Nothing happened here. I just slept on Reid’s couch since you were snoring… Wait a minute!” I shout and now it’s me pointing a finger in Mila’s direction. “You were asleep when I left. Did you seriously sneak out and find someone to hook up with at like three a.m.?” I sound completely judgmental like our mother, my nose wrinkling up in disgust at both what Mila has done and at the way I sound like our mother.
“There’s a perfectly good couch at your own house,” she teases, her words said in singsong, like she doesn’t believe that I just came here to sleep.
“Stop throwing this back on me and anyway, you had to have known I was gone when you went out to find some trashy hookup in the middle of the night!”
The two of us are screaming at each other in Reid’s front yard, the sun rising higher in the sky, but it won’t be the sun that wakes the neighbors. It will be our loud asses, carrying on about something that doesn’t really matter. Well, it kind of matters because at least I was with someone I know. Who the fuck knows where Mila was?
“Stop being such a judgy bitch,” Mila spits out, stomping past me and tossing a shoulder into me as she does. “You have puke in your hair!” she screams now as she passes me.
“So do you!” I scream back, storming off after her.
When I look back over my shoulder, Caleb is still standing in the doorway, a smirk painted on his perfect face, a dimple showing on his left cheek. Just seeing his face calms
me instantly and I want to go back to sleep on the couch with him and forget this ever happened.
“Bye Ruby,” he calls. “Go home and get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”
I wake a second time to the sound of cooking in the kitchen, pans being moved and water running as Mila mouth-breathes next to me like Darth Vader. My lips curl into a sneer as I listen to her, wanting to smother her with a pillow. The arguing didn’t stop in the yard, continuing once we were in the house and only stopping when Sienna screamed at us to shut up.
She was only carrying on about me staying the night with Caleb to deflect from the fact that she snuck out and shacked up with some random guy. She just doesn’t see how unsafe that really is and I do realize I sound like our mother, but had I been home, I would’ve been worried about her. Not to mention that our parents would’ve killed me if something had happened to her.
“Stop thinking about killing me in my sleep,” Mila mutters, her eyes still closed. “I’m still pissed at you, too.”
“Do you have any idea how unsafe it is for you to be sneaking around in the night looking for a guy to hook up with?”
“Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. Got it,” she growls, rolling over and taking the pillow with her, her head now buried under it. “You’re a hypocrite,” are the muffled words I hear from underneath it.
“Yeah, maybe, but still. Next time at least tell me where you’re going.”
“How could I tell you when you weren’t here?” she fires back and I giggle a little, my anger dissipating.
“See? I’m right.”
“You’re not right,” I huff out, tossing the blanket over her as I leave her and her damn good argument in the bed.
I walk into the kitchen and find Caleb cooking a bunch of eggs, the smell not nearly as nauseating as it would’ve been just a few hours ago.
“Hey,” I say as I collapse in a chair, rubbing my hands over my face. “Sie up yet?”
