The Light Between Us by Beth Morey

though, I just want to hang out with him.  For all that he's apparently a massive womanizer . . . there's just something about him.”
     
    “ You like him!” Padme squealed again, louder. 
     
    “ Yeah,” Ruth said, waves of hot and cold running over the sweaty expanse of her skin at the realization.  “I guess . . . I guess I do.”  She swallowed, hard, still smiling, knowing she probably looked goofy and not really caring. 
     
    Padme gazed at Ruth for a long moment.  “Look, I'm all for teaching him a lesson.  But . . . I think you should call him.  Tonight.  Ask him out.”
     
    Ruth's stomach clenched in anxiety and excitement.  “You don't think he'd see that as weird?”
     
    “ I think he'd see it as relief.  And it's not everyday you meat an insanely beautiful guy that you're actually really into.  Especially that you are really into.  I say go for it.” 
     
    “ Okay.”  Ruth grinned, then bit her lip.  “Okay.  You're right.  I'll go for it.  But,” she pointed a finger at her friend, who was grinning back, “if this tanks, it's on you.”
     
    “ I am totally good with that.” 
     

Chapter 4
     
    That evening, Ruth sat on her bed, staring at her phone.  She'd brought up Derek's number – she glanced at the clock – damn, ten minutes ago now, but couldn't bring herself to press “send.”  Every time she moved to do so, her throat seized up. 
     
    “ This is ridiculous,” she informed her phone.  Ruth had showered and gotten dressed up to go out with Derek, all without having made any actual plans with him. 
     
    I should just go out and write , she thought, looking at the clock again.  It was only seven thirty.    Plenty of coffee shops were open for several more hours.  She could hole up in one of her favorite nooks with her beloved characters, writing them deeper into life.  That was her definition of the the perfect night out. 
     
    Or it used to be.  Until Derek. 
     
    She couldn't believe that it was only last night that she'd locked eyes with him for the first time.  It felt like so much time had passed, that so much had happened.
     
    And really, she supposed that quite a bit had happened.  In the space of twenty-four hours, she'd gone from writing romance novels to living one.  Ruth wondered if she and Derek would make a very good story.  It certainly wasn't feeling so great at this point.
     
    In fact, it felt like torture, sitting here, alone, with the silent phone, agonizing over do-or-don't. 
     
    “ Just do it,” she told herself, the words sounding awkward in the quiet of her bedroom.  What's the worst that could happen?
     
    Drawing in a deep breath, she hit “send,” wincing as she pressed the phone to her ear and heard its ringing.
     
    There was a click on the other end and then loud background noise.  “Hello?” a woman's voice said.  Ruth felt a sudden cold sweep over her.
     
    “ Um,” she said, tongue feeling thick, “sorry, I'm looking for Derek.  Wrong number, I guess.”
     
    “ No, he's here,” said the woman.  “Hang on, I'll get him.”  Then, sounding farther away, Ruth heard the woman yelling his name into the din. 
     
    Quickly she shoved her thumb against the “end” button, her breath coming fast and shallow as she stared at the phone.  Ruth clenched her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry, not to feel the hurt throbbing hot and sharp through her veins.
     
    A woman had answered Derek's phone.  A woman.  Another one.  The reality of this felt like a knife sliding into her, slow and inexorable and excruciating.
     
    Ruth slammed the phone onto her nightstand, rolling over onto her back, limbs flung out across the bed, limp.  She'd wanted him, wanted this thing with Derek to be an actual thing.  A relationship. 
     
    You like him!   Padme's gleeful words from earlier played through her mind.  Her head ached.
     
    She'd liked him.  In spite of all her misgivings and the obvious issue, she'd