Chapter 20

twenty

. . .

Ruby

The day had been so much betterthan I’d anticipated. Perhaps it was the company. I really liked everyone in this group, which was saying a lot because most people annoyed me after a while.

It could also be that I was just in a good mood from all the fabulous sex I’d had last night.

The postcoital daze.

The orgasmic bliss.

Either way, it had been a great day. Cutler was by far the cutest kid I’d ever met. Cool and quirky and uniquely himself.

I’d changed clothes and was just finishing eating a cookie that Demi insisted I try because she’d made them, and she wouldn’t tell any of us what was in them.

“Should Cutler be eating these special cookies?” Nash teased, because they’d all asked if they were cannabis cookies.

“Hey, Pops. It’s Beefcake. And I like the cookies,” he said, leaning his head against my arm as he sat next to me on the bench by the fire pit.

“Fine. I’ll tell you. These cookies you all love so much are made with applesauce and gluten-free flour.” Demi beamed.

The guys all groaned, and Peyton, Saylor, and I all told her how fabulous they were.

“I’m going to hit it. How about you pack me up a few to drop off with Lionel? I’m heading over to the hospital now,” River said.

I turned, and my gaze locked with his. “I’m going there, as well.”

“Well, what do you know… you’re both going to the same place,” Kingston teased.

River flashed him the bird before turning his attention to me. “Did you walk here?”

“Yes.” I raised a brow.

“You want a ride to the hospital? We’re both going to the same place.”

My heart raced, per usual, and I was considering talking to a doctor about a medication to get this madness to stop.

But how do you medicate yourself for something that only happens around one particular man?

I’d caught him staring at me several times today, and that was only because I couldn’t seem to stop looking at him.

River Pierce was not the guy you fell for.

He was heartache just waiting to happen.

The professor was the kind of guy you went all in on. There was no room for heartache there. And that was how I liked it.

“No, thanks. I prefer to walk.”

His lips turned up in the corners just the slightest bit. “Suit yourself. See you there.”

Demi handed him a baggie of cookies for my father, and we both said our goodbyes to everyone and walked out toward his car in silence. He paused when he reached for the door handle and dangled the keys around on his finger.

“Last chance. It’s awfully warm out here today,” he said.

“I like the sun,” I lied. My shoulders were sunburned, and I was overheated from all my time in the water today.

“Said no vampire ever.”

“Can you not come up with anything else than calling me a bloodsucker?”

“Sure. I think you’re an amazing cocksucker.”

A laugh escaped my lips, and I quickly corrected myself and started walking before shouting my lame response over my shoulder. “Takes one to know one.”

When I turned down the street leading to the hospital, he drove past me slowly. “You’re looking a little red, Queenie. Sure you don’t want to get into this air-conditioned car? You might get sun poisoning.”

“Well, I’m heading to the hospital, so I’ll seek medical attention there if needed.”

“All right. See you later.”

He drove off, and I tried to talk some sense into myself. Why was I so drawn to him? Was it the sex? Obviously, it had been mind-blowing, but I’d been drawn to him even before the sex.

It was classic behavior. I’d had an unstable childhood. An unfit mother figure.

I’d had to grow up far too young.

Of course, I’d be drawn to a walking tornado.

A sexy, tempting, witty wrecking ball.

But I knew better than to let this go any further. I’d dipped my toes into the sexually explosive waters, and now it was time to tap out.

Or tap that.

Damn. There I go again.

No more River Pierce.

I needed distance and space and all the willpower that I could muster.

My phone rang, and I pulled it from my back pocket and saw Dereck’s name on the screen. It had been a while since I’d spoken to him, so I answered the call.

“Hey. How are you?” I asked.

“I’m well. How about you? How’s your father?” His voice was deep and void of emotion. He was the calmest person I’d ever met. There were no highs, no lows, no ups and downs with him. He was always steady.

Which also translated to extremely boring.

But at least there was no drama.

“He’s doing all right. He’s in a rehab facility, and he’s got a long road ahead of him, but he’s making good progress.”

“That’s good news, Ruby. I, er, I wanted to reach out for a few reasons.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Well, Dean Langston came to speak to me yesterday about the letter of recommendation that I wrote for you. He’s really hoping you take the position in the fall. Have you considered it any further?”

I sighed. “I just don’t know that teaching is what I want to do. I was honest with Dean Langston that I have applied for several jobs, and I just want to weigh out my options. He said that he wanted to hold the position for me for a couple of weeks to give me time to decide.”

“I understand that. But you could always take it and see if you like it. You were the strongest TA I’ve ever had. You’re very relatable, and the students like you.”

I saw the hospital a few feet ahead, and I was ready to get out of this heat. “When do you think I’d need to let them know?”

“I would make a decision pretty soon. These aren’t positions that come up often, and there are a lot of people who would jump at the opportunity to teach at one of the most prestigious universities in the country.” There was always a bit of arrogance in his tone when he spoke, but he was a humble guy when you got to know him. We were from two completely different worlds, but aside from our work ethics, we didn’t have much in common. Our twelve-year age gap was probably the most exciting thing about our short-lived, passionless relationship.

“All right. I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll try to buy you some more time,” he said. “I do miss you, Ruby.”

I winced because I hadn’t expected that. There really was nothing to miss. We didn’t know one another well enough to miss each other. We had a very professional relationship until we crossed the line two months before I graduated.

“That’s kind of you to say,” I said, making an effort to keep my voice light. I didn’t want to lie and say that I missed him, because I hadn’t really thought about him since I’d left. But I also didn’t believe he’d missed me. I think he missed the idea of me. The excitement of sneaking around with someone he wasn’t supposed to be dating. Having sex with a younger woman, maybe. But we hadn’t gone deep. I didn’t know anything about him other than his educational journey and the fact that he’d traveled a ton over the years.

“I think you underestimate your allure.”

“Thank you.” I approached the hospital, and I was desperate for a water now.

“You’re welcome. Let me know when you decide what you’re going to do. I’m guessing it’s your best option; you’d be foolish to pass it up.”

He was probably right, but his comment annoyed me at the same time.

“I’ll keep you posted. I’m at the hospital, so I need to go.”

“All right. We’ll talk soon. Goodbye.”

I ended the call and tugged the door open, on a mission to head straight to the drinking fountain, when I looked up to see River leaning against the wall near the gift shop. He wore a black fitted tee and dark jeans. His face was tan from all the sun he’d gotten today, and his hair was a wild mess of dark waves. He held a bottle of water between two fingers and dangled it back and forth, taunting me. “I thought you might be needing this.”

I didn’t say a word. I just hustled over to him and attempted to snatch the water from his hand, but he pulled it back.

“Are you seriously not giving it to me?” I huffed.

He leaned forward. His face was so close to mine that I sucked in a breath. “Just say it.”

“Say what?”

“Just say that you were being stubborn, and you should have just gotten in the car with me.” He smirked.

“Fine. I should have gotten in the car. Can you please stop torturing me and give me the bottle of water?”

“Was that so difficult?” He held it out to me, and I grabbed it and untwisted the lid before tipping my head back and guzzling the whole damn thing in one long sip.

“Thank you,” I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and tossing the bottle into the recycling section of the garbage can beside the elevators.

“You’re welcome.” He held the door open to the elevator and motioned for me to step on, and he walked in behind me.

We were silent, and I glanced up to see him watching me, but he turned away the minute my gaze caught his. We stepped off the elevator and walked side by side toward my father’s room.

“Did you have fun today?” he asked.

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“See, this town isn’t all bad.”

His comment struck me. He was right. I’d been avoiding my mother’s calls, and Rico seemed to be keeping busy with odd jobs that River had found for him. Zane had stopped by the bar twice this week and hadn’t asked for money or needed me to solve any major problems for him.

And I’d actually been enjoying being home.

“Don’t get cocky. It was one good day,” I said, as I paused at my father’s door.

“And one really good night,” he whispered in my ear and then winked before pushing ahead of me and walking in first.

The bastard.

“My two favorite people are here,” Dad said as he looked up from the chair he was sitting at, working on a puzzle.

A memory of doing puzzles with him as a young girl flashed through my mind. We’d spend hours working on them. He’d even had a few framed, and they hung in the hallway at the house.

I pulled up a chair, sitting beside him as I glanced at the box with a picture of mountains and a large lake. “This is pretty.”

“Yeah, it reminded me of the area we used to kayak to in that little cove.”

River pulled up another chair and placed it on the other side of him. “So, I’m one of your favorite people, huh?”

“Of course, that’s what you focused on. And by the way, you’re definitely his second favorite.”

“Well, you are his child. I would hope I didn’t knock you out of the top spot.”

“In your dreams,” I grouched and reached for a few puzzle pieces and got to work.

My father just laughed as we continued to banter back and forth before Dad jumped in and started chatting with me.

“How’s it going with Wendy?” my father asked as we continued working on the puzzle.

River was ridiculously competitive and pointed out every time he found a match and started keeping score.

“Better, actually. I haven’t been taking her calls lately. Her rent is paid. The boys are fine. And I’ve been busy at the bar.”

“That’s good to hear, Rubes. And the boys are men, keep that in mind. I hope you’re having some fun. I asked River to keep an eye on you for me.”

“I’m definitely keeping an eye on her. Showering her with lots of attention.” He looked up at me with this wickedly sexy grin on his face, and I wanted to lunge over the table and throat-punch him.

And also crash my mouth into his because I liked kissing him.

Damn it. This happened every time I was around him.

My dad didn’t even notice the comment he’d made. “Good. She’s always worked too much, and she’s young. She needs to have a little fun, too.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” River said.

We spent the next hour working on the puzzle and chatting, and every time I looked up, I caught River looking at me. We couldn’t seem to keep our eyes off one another.

“All right, I’m going to head home and change and get over to the bar.” I stood and kissed my father’s cheek.

“You work too hard, Rubes,” Dad said, smiling up at me. “I’ll try to get out of here as quickly as I can so you can get back to your real life.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got a few weeks to decide if I want to take that job at the university.” I didn’t necessarily want that job, but it wasn’t like I had a ton of other offers coming in, and the salary they were offering was impressive. I wouldn’t mind making enough money to live comfortably for once. To not stress over bills.

“You need a ride?” River asked, leaning back in his chair as his eyes scanned me from my head down to my feet.

Slowly perusing, as his tongue swiped out to wet his bottom lip.

I squeezed my thighs together and glared at him. “Nope. I prefer to walk.”

I heard him chuckle as I made my way out of the room.

I’d rather blister in the hot sun on my walk home than be alone with River Pierce in his car.

Because I already knew where that would lead.