Chapter 4

4

“ I fell down the steps at the Grand Colony Ballroom and broke my wrist on prom night,” Ruby said, nibbling on a sweet potato chip. Sasha jerked her head up from where she was sliding a bowl of Southwestern Black Bean Salad in front of Esme’s daughter, Holly. Both of them stared at Ruby.

Holly broke the silence first. “You went to prom?”

“That’s your takeaway?” Ruby shut her laptop and threw her hands in the air. “Just that I went to prom?”

“I went to school in the States,” Holly said. “Not to Catholic school, but I knew plenty of girls who did. They didn’t tend to have proms. I’m curious.”

Sasha was intrigued, herself. “I’ll tell you about my prom if you tell us about yours.”

Holly’s head swiveled, beachy blonde waves flying. “ You went to prom?”

“You’re gonna love the story,” Sasha promised. “But Rubes, you first.”

Ruby shrugged. “I mean, the broken wrist is the most exciting part of it all. I was the sparkly beard for my gay bestie, Michael Colangelo. You’ll meet him at the wedding, Sash, he’s an old friend of the family. Like I call his mom Aunt Gabriella old. Anyway. He went to public school, and I went to prom with him. That’s it.”

“And the wrist?” Sasha asked.

“I’ve never worn heels much.” She extended one foot out and pointed at her battered black combat boot. “It turned out to be a wet night, not a good one to be wearing rhinestone sandals with toothpicks for heels. I lost my balance, missed a step, and went right down. They’re concrete steps and I probably should have broken more than my wrist, but I was lucky. Although the nuns did make sure to let me know I deserved what I got for going to a sinful public high school prom.”

“Well, that’s fucked up,” Holly remarked. She propped her chin in her hand and slid her gaze over to Sasha. “Your turn, Ms. Top Chef.”

Sasha stifled a chuckle as she picked up a cocktail glass and began to mix Holly and Ruby a pair of sparkling hard cider cocktails that she liked to call Fletcher Fizzes. “Buckle up, ladies. It was 2004 and I was in a floor length, hot pink zebra-print gown. And yes,” she grinned, sliding the drinks in front of them and enjoying the dropped jaws, “my hair was long enough to put in an updo, and I wore platform heels…”

“It’s less than a month to the wedding,” Ruby stated, turning the shiny lipstick-red motorcycle helmet around in her hands. Her stomach was bubbling up with nervous acid. “Is it a good idea for us to go riding a motorcycle like this? What if we crash somewhere?”

“Don’t you trust me, Rubes?” Sasha’s eyes were wide and earnest under the curly cloud of her bangs. She held up her own helmet, a shiny dark blue thing that reminded Ruby of astronauts or science fiction movies. “I’ve been riding for years. You’ve seen me riding with Dykes on Bikes.”

“I know, but…” She’d never been on a motorcycle in her life. But she had known that Sasha loved riding hers, and any real girlfriend would be able to talk about sharing that great love at least a few times. To talk about what a thrill it was, and how nice it would feel to be so close to your loved one…

But also, she could hear her mother in her head, screeching, Irresponsible! Reckless! Dangerous! Don’t you remember the Greenfield kid from two blocks away that bought a bike and crashed it the same day? Horrible tragedy, the family moved away, never the same.

“We’re gonna stick to low speeds, residential streets. It’ll be all right, Ruby.” Sasha’s voice was soft and reassuring. “I promise. I’ll keep you safe.”

Ruby believed her despite her nerves. Sasha was experienced. They would be fine. She took a deep breath. “Be brave, Rubes,” she muttered to herself. With a firm nod to Sasha, she started to buckle her helmet on. Her fingers fumbled with the clasps.

“Here.” Sasha stepped up close and helped her out, her short fingers warm under Ruby’s chin. She looked focused as she adjusted the straps, making sure they were snug but not cutting into Ruby’s skin. It was nice, Ruby thought. She always felt like she was being fussed over, taken care of by Sasha. If this is what Sasha treated her friends like, then surely any girlfriend would be lucky.

Once they both had their helmets on, they stepped over to the motorcycle and Sasha mounted up. “You remember what I told you? What was in that video I showed you?” she asked.

“Yes.” With care, Ruby put a hand on Sasha’s shoulder and a foot on the peg she’d been shown. She boosted herself up on the cargo box, swung her leg through and over, and sat down. Not the smoothest motion, she thought, but not bad for her first time. The bike was still upright, that counted for a lot in her book.

Ruby grabbed Sasha’s waist, enjoying the scent of her friend’s worn black leather vest for a moment before she pulled her visor down. Sasha lifted herself up and bore down on the kickstarter a few times, bringing the bike to rumbling life beneath them. A thrill of excitement rattled through Ruby as they took off.

She felt the wind as it made the low red ponytail at the nape of her neck stream out behind them like a banner. I should have braided it up , she thought, her hands absently squeezing Sasha a little tighter. It’ll take forever to comb all the tangles out.

Yet somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Even though they were cruising through the residential streets of Lincoln Heights at a nice and leisurely 25 miles per hour, there was still something exciting and even a little romantic about this whole experience.

And it was a little erotic. Ruby’s face went hot under the helmet as the engine of Sasha’s vintage Kawasaki throbbed between her legs. She’d always been a girl who liked a big, powerful vibrator, something that made her whole pussy hum. She squirmed in her seat as arousal began to wash through her.

Although she had to concentrate and move with Sasha as they turned corners, Ruby couldn’t get her mind off of what was happening in her core, her pussy warm and heavy as the motorcycle’s vibrations worked her over. “Can we go faster?” she shouted, hoping Sasha could hear her.

Sasha kept her eyes on the road but yelled back, “Only if we get on the freeway.”

“Do that. Go there,” Ruby commanded, biting her lip. “Get on the freeway.”

She could sense that Sasha was surprised, but all the same, she began to point the bike towards Highway 5. Smoothly, they merged onto the on-ramp and then into the traffic. Sasha weaved the bike in and out amongst the cars and trucks that surrounded them. The sudden increase in noise and danger around them should have made Ruby panic, but all she felt was the waves of beautiful, rumbling vibrations rippling through her.

An intense feeling began to build up as they danced their way through Los Angeles traffic, a mounting tide that ebbed and flowed through Ruby and made her breath begin to hitch. She swallowed hard, her fingers tangling up in Sasha’s vest as all she could think about was the closeness, the vibration and the tingle that arose within her.

A sharp release waved through, a slight orgasmic shrill as the bike pulsated below her. Ruby had to bite back any moans that tried to emerge from her throat. She’d never been quiet in bed, but she couldn’t let Sasha know what was going on in the Kawasaki’s passenger seat. With Herculean effort, for the first time in her life, Ruby managed to moan quietly, her fingers white-knuckled and her calves almost cramping with the intensity of the experience.

She became aware that Sasha was steering the bike back off the freeway, aiming for a gas station just near the off-ramp. As the Kawasaki came to a halt, Ruby began to take stock of herself. Her face always flushed, so she was happy to keep the helmet on and the visor firmly down for a minute until that subsided. And she wasn’t about to get off the seat while Sasha was in sight; if there was a damp impression on the leather, she wanted to dry it off surreptitiously.

And she had no idea how she was going to look Sasha in the eyes for a while. She’d never once had any kind of sexual thoughts or vibes around her dearest friend, and she needed some time to unpack what had just happened. And, Ruby thought, a delicious shiver rippling through her, to relive some of it with her Hitachi wand at home.

Sasha turned the bike off and dismounted, turning to look at Ruby as she pulled off her helmet. “I didn’t want to go too long for your first time,” she said, and once again Ruby was grateful for her own helmet and visor as her face flushed. “And I’m thirsty. You wanna come with me to get a drink?”

“Um, no, I’m a little…” Ruby’s mind whirled. How to describe her current physical state innocently ? “My legs, they’re…”

Sasha chuckled. “Ah yeah. I remember my first passenger ride. And I didn’t even get taken on the freeway. Sit, recover. You want a Diet Coke?”

“Yes, please,” Ruby replied in a mildly strangled voice. Sasha looked at her a little oddly, but then just offered her a friendly little smile and turned to disappear into the convenience store. As soon as the door shut behind her, Ruby scrambled—carefully—off of the motorcycle and lifted her helmet visor a bit to peer at her seat.

It did look a little suspiciously shiny, but not really any different than if she’d only sweated in it. Still, she grabbed a handful of rough brown paper towels from a window washing station and wiped the leather clean and dry.

She didn’t dare try to get back on without Sasha there to balance the bike, so Ruby just paced around until her friend emerged from the convenience store with a bottle of red Gatorade in one hand and a Diet Coke in the other. She was smiling, clearly happy with how their ride had gone, and Ruby could only keep blushing furiously under her helmet. To her great relief, however, she found herself able to meet Sasha’s gaze—albeit still guarded by the shelter of her helmet visor.

“Hey, you didn’t have to get off the bike, I told you to stay on there,” Sasha chided as she handed the cold soda over.

“I couldn’t, I was too excited after the ride,” Ruby said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. She tucked the soda under her arm and unbuckled her helmet once her face didn’t feel like a hot tomato anymore.

Sasha beamed. “I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I was surprised when you said to go on the freeway.”

Somehow, Ruby didn’t choke on her first sip of Diet Coke. Enjoyed it? Putting it mildly… “I was feeling brave.”

“I guess so! I’m proud of you, Rubes.” Sasha looked a little bashful, and she was fidgeting with the cap of her Gatorade bottle. “Thank you for coming along with me.”

“I’ll definitely be able to talk about our rides together, it’ll be a nice touch.” If I leave out some details…!

Sasha perked up. “Yeah, it will.” She took a long swig of her Gatorade and recapped it. “You ready?”

“Ready?” Ruby blinked. “Ready for what?”

“I’ve got to take you home, don’t I?” Opening up the cargo box, she put her drink inside and reached for Ruby’s. With suddenly limp fingers, Ruby relinquished the bottle. “Come on, I’ll get on, you hop on behind me. It’ll be even better this time.”

“I bet,” Ruby squeaked, jamming the helmet back onto her head before Sasha could see her face go scarlet. She’d forgotten entirely about getting home! As she waited for Sasha to get back onto the Kawasaki, Ruby rubbed her sweaty palms down along her thighs. Things were already starting to heat up again under her panties as she thought about their journey back down Highway 5…

“Well, I think we have to talk about the last topic. The one we’ve been avoiding,” Sasha said, a week before they were due to fly to New York.

Ruby looked up from her laptop, her face creased in adorable confusion. “Eh?”

She was tucked away in one of the Lounge’s more secluded booths, still working her way through her Highlander romance. Sasha had heard her swearing at someone named Declan every time she’d come over with a snack or drink refill, and she finally decided that it was time she interrupt her friend and force her to take a break.

She’d come armed with a grilled mushroom and onion flatbread—on the Lounge menu as the ‘Fierelli Special’—and a mango passionfruit milkshake heaped with whipped cream and a pile of extra maraschino cherries. Carefully, she placed them on the table and slid into the bench seat opposite Ruby. Then she pushed the laptop lid down and shoved it aside. “We need to talk about…” She paused, and her face got warm. “Our histories.”

“Our… oh.” And at that, Ruby’s cheeks went even redder than Sasha knew her face was going. But why? Though they’d never specifically discussed sex and dating before, Sasha knew that Ruby was no more a vestal virgin than she was herself. And she was a romance writer! What the hell could be making Ruby go redder than the cherries leaking their sugary juice into her milkshake?

Ruby’s answer didn’t provide so much as a kilowatt of enlightenment, at least not at first. She tugged at the collar of her snug white t-shirt and swallowed, her cheeks still a becoming rosy hue as she began to speak. “I don’t have much of a history, even at my age. I mean, I made out with plenty of girls in high school. But when I got to college…” Her blush extended up to her hairline. “Well. Everyone said that was when I should experiment. Find out what I liked…” She trailed off.

Sasha leaned forward and touched Ruby’s hand. “You don’t have to spill all the gory details.”

“I’m not, I mean…” Ruby looked down and shook her head. “There aren’t any details. I’m not a virgin, you know that. But college is when I found out that I’m just not built for casual sex. I tried, I tried a lot . But it was always so awkward and sometimes I’d just get up and leave in the middle of it all.”

“Oh.” Sasha sat back and blinked. “Oh, okay.”

She’d never heard of anyone doing such a thing. Her heart ached for college Ruby. She couldn’t imagine having such a hard time doing the one thing everyone thought college kids were supposed to do. She certainly had.

“I wanted to find the right person.” Ruby took off her glasses and played with them as she spoke. So, I kept trying and trying and trying and…”

“Rubes, stop.” Sasha gently tugged Ruby’s glasses out of her hands and set them aside. Then she wrapped those hands in her own. “I don’t think anyone’s going to ask us about all the nitty gritty bits. Just tell me about the ones you dated that your family is likely to ask me about.”

Ruby inhaled and closed her eyes before letting her deep breath slowly out. “Not many. No one I’ve ever taken home. Um, I think I only talked to Mom about a couple of them. That one Irish gal, Michelle, you remember her from a few summers ago? She was only in LA for a few months to do a music residency here. She liked my books, I liked her music. It ended well.”

Michelle had been a willowy Celtic siren with pale skin and a waist-length tumble of jet-black curls. Sasha did remember her well, remembered how Ruby had been immediately enamored with her the first time she’d unleashed her soulful Irish folk-rock on the Lounge, her guitar and voice like a silver flute weaving a spell that had captured everyone who heard it. How they’d been inseparable for weeks, heads bent over Ruby’s laptop as they wrote songs together.

Sasha had never hated another human being more in her entire life. And Michelle hadn’t deserved that; she’d always seemed lovely and her talent was undeniable. It was just that she clearly reached Ruby on a level Sasha couldn’t comprehend. What a relief it had been to see her sail back off to Galway.

No need to tell Ruby any of that, though. “I remember Michelle,” she said simply.

Ruby wiped her eye with the heel of her hand. “And then the other one I think I talked to mom and dad about was Antonia.”

Antonia . Now that woman barely deserved to be called a human being, and Sasha didn’t feel even a little bad about despising her. She’d been hired to wait tables at Indigo while she was pursuing a PhD in some kind of weird obscure subject, Oriental Pottery or something. Again, she and Ruby had connected deeply. But Antonia was not the sweet soul Michelle had been. She was a narcissistic emotional vampire who had jerked Ruby around for the better part of a year.

Sasha, Esme, and Cam had had to put Ruby back together after Antonia disappeared in the night without a word to anyone. That had been a year and a half ago.

“I haven’t dated anyone since Antonia,” Ruby said, her words matching the timeline Sasha was putting together in her head. “I feel like I’m just bad at identifying love, like… what’s a soulmate? I have no idea. I write all those books but I keep missing the mark…”

Sasha desperately wanted to get Ruby out of her head. This wasn’t what she had intended when she brought up the topic of their histories. She’d thought they’d have a fun and light conversation, maybe crack a few jokes about a list, like Alice’s Chart on The L Word . She wasn’t altogether sure what to do with this darker turn.

But while she was still casting about for something, anything that could break up the black storm clouds gathering over Ruby’s head, Ruby lifted her head, shook her hair back, and squared her shoulders. “OK, so that got depressing. Sorry, Sash. The book is giving me issues and it’s just bumming me out . I feel incompetent.”

“Well, you’re not,” Sasha replied loyally. “You’re a great writer. You’ll fix whatever is going wrong. You always have the best plots.”

“I forget that you’ve read everything I’ve written.” Ruby gazed at her fondly, and it warmed Sasha’s heart. “You’re such a good friend.”

“No, you’re such a good writer. Reading your stuff is a gift, Rubes. And you are…” Sasha swallowed. She felt like she was about to skirt a little too closely to her actual feelings. “You are a gift, too. Any woman would be so lucky to have you.”

“You’re too great to me, Sash. World’s best fake girlfriend.” Ruby tilted her head and smiled winningly. “Tell me about your history now. I feel like I remember you having a big ol’ hound dog phase…”

Sasha blushed. “Embarrassing.”

“But I’ll get to boast to my family that I’m the gal who tamed you, they’ll eat it up.” Ruby grinned. “Now, spill, lady. I do want all the gory details.”