Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Chase

She's left her mark.

I watch her run out of the room, and I'm frozen in shock. I'm not sure what the fuck just happened but that was the hottest moment of my life. Ruby is a force to be reckoned with. The moment our lips touched, my entire body was set on fire. I've kissed girls before but never felt fireworks exploding. I couldn't get enough. I needed to embed myself under her skin. I wanted to be inside her, buried as deep I can get. Everything faded. Nothing existed outside of her and the heat. I'd completely forgotten we were in a room full of people.

"Oh my God, gross. She made such a mess of you, Chase." Mindy's comment has me looking down at my lap. There's definitely a wet spot on my jeans, but it's not solely from Ruby. "You should go get the loser's stench off you."

I look up, pissed by her bitchy remark. I should've disinvited her as well. I won't make that mistake again in the future.

"Dude!" Baylor says. "That was fucking insane." He nods.

He can say that again.

"Insanely weird," his girlfriend chimes in, sounding annoyed by the fact that he enjoyed watching the show. "She just used him to get off."

I'm too fucked up in the head to get into it with her. I'm having a hard time processing anything that's happening right now. All I know is I need to go find Ruby. I need to make sure she's okay. And I need to have more of her.

I ignore the comments and am off to go get her. But right as I'm rushing out, I run into Kyler.

"Dude, what the fuck happened?" he practically shouts.

I shake my head. I'm still trying to figure that out myself. "Where is she?"

"She took off with my girl. Now, tell me why the hell she was crying."

She was crying? Shit. I should've stopped her. I should've told the girls to get out. I should've pulled her back into my arms and begged her for another kiss.

"We were playing spin the bottle and she landed on me. Next thing I know, she's kissing the hell out of me. Fuck, Kye. It was so fucking hot. But things went a little too far, and the others started making fun of the poor girl and laughing at her. She ran out before I could get my head out of my ass and do something. I need to go apologize to her."

He looks past me at the girls who are still laughing in my library. The evil glare in his eyes is matched with the way I feel. Cassie's not the only one who burned her bridges today. Mindy and Taya will be joining the bitch at the loser table. Hate to break it to Baylor, but his girlfriend is no longer welcome in our social circle. He can date whoever he wants, but I'm not going to tolerate anyone making fun of the poor girl.

"I'll text Presley." Kyler's attention returns. "See if it's okay to stop by her place. But first, you need to get these obnoxious fuckers out of your house."

He's absolutely right. I'm shutting this shit down, and then…I'm going after Ruby.

"The party is over! Get the fuck out!"

As soon as Presley opens her door, she gives me one hell of a glare.

"You don't have to say it, Pres. Where is she? Can I talk to her?"

She reluctantly nods, opening the door wider, and I see Ruby sitting over on the couch. Her eyes all red and puffy, and my stomach sinks lower. I shouldn't have let things go that far tonight. At least not in front of everyone. I should've lifted her from the ground and taken her to my room, let her ride me in private. But I was just so fucking consumed by the rush. I wasn't processing anything other than her hot body grinding over me. And that kiss… I felt it deep in my bones. I was so fucking shocked and turned the fuck on when she nibbled on my lip, licking into my open mouth like a fucking dominatrix. Teasing me with that tongue. I thought she was a shy little recluse, but there was nothing shy about the way she behaved. Her body was on fire, and I wanted to suffocate in the flames.

"Ruby," I say, slowly approaching. Her cheeks instantly redden, and it makes me feel like more of a bastard. "I'm sorry for what happened. I shouldn't have let things go so far."

She shakes her head. "I'm the one who's sorry, Chase. I don't know what came over me. I just… Nothing like that has ever happened before. I didn't know what I was doing. And then it just hit."

Is she saying she's never had an orgasm before? Holy shit. That makes what happened even hotter. And now my dick is trying to make a mess out of my clean pants again.

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you in front of your friends."

I sit down next to her on the couch, reaching out and squeezing her leg. "No, Ruby. You didn't embarrass me. And those girls are not my friends. I'm sorry for what they said. They won't ever be invited to another party again."

She looks up from her twisting hands, and I can't get over how pretty she is. Even puffy from crying, her face is really pretty. I don't think I truly ever got to see her face under those thick glasses she wears, but her eyes are stunning.

"You don't have to stick up for me, Chase. I appreciate it, but I'm not trying to make your life difficult. It was nice of you to invite me tonight, but I won't ever be going to another high school party again."

I reach for her hand, pulling it onto my lap. "No, Ruby. Don't hide again. That makes them win. You need to go into school Monday and act like nothing happened tonight. I want you to hold your head up high and show everyone that my girl isn't going to let some bitches rattle her."

"Your girl?" She looks up from our locked fingers. "What does that mean, Chase? I'm a literal person. You need to explain so I don't confuse your words."

I shift closer, wishing I could pull her onto my lap, but I think that would be too much for her. "It means I want you to be my girlfriend, Ruby." My eyes drop to her mouth. "I want to kiss you again." I lick my lips, inching in closer, but she pulls her head back, and tugs her hand out of my grasp.

"No, Chase. I'm sorry, but I can't be your girlfriend. Tonight was a mistake. We both got wrapped up in the moment, but I'm not that girl. I'm not some wild, adventurous girl who's free of insecurities. I'm the girl who sits in the corner and reads so people won't notice me. Hoping to get through a day without someone tripping me or calling me saggy tits. And I know you were never part of that crowd, but up until tonight, you never noticed me either."

I feel like I've been kicked in the balls, and they're turning blue on impact. "We can't turn back time, babe. But what I saw tonight, I liked. A lot." I liked talking to her in the library. I love that after being humiliated today at school, she showed up looking hot as fuck with her head held high. And I sure as hell liked that even though she was beyond frightened, she took the dare and kissed me. And I definitely liked everything that happened after that.

"You liked the outfit and the lipstick, Chase. But me… The only thing you think you know about me is that I'm some kind of tramp, willing to ride your cock in front of a room full of people." She stands from the couch and points to the door. "I'm sorry, Chase. But it's been a really shitty day, and I'd like for you to leave."

There are a million fucking things I want to say, but everything is jumbled up. She's right. I ignored her for years. Then suddenly, I find out she has a set of tits and kisses like a siren and I'm here trying to make her my girlfriend. But it's more than that. Yet, she's not going to give me a chance.

I storm out the front door, feeling like a fucking moron. I'm an emotional basket case, a dumb jock running down the field not knowing which side I'm supposed to score on. I expected to show up here, apologize for what happened, and then ask her on a date. But my head got tangled and now I've been benched.

I call for Kyler as I head to his truck, knowing he's out here somewhere with Presley. When the lucky bastard finally gets into the car, he practically tells me I'm an idiot for trying to kiss the girl again. The problem is, I've never been this fucking flustered before. I like the girl. But two days ago, I literally thought she was an awkward freak. Now, I feel like she's left her mark on me and I don't know what to fucking do about it. Bottom line is, I want her to give me a shot.