went out with three girls since Valentine’s, and I didn’t want any of them.”
This fills me with such pleasure I’m almost embarrassed. A smile I want to hide tugs at my lips. I look down at my plate.
He laughs. “You can be happy about it, Ruby.”
The smile grows and I shrug. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m sure as fuck happy that guy you brought didn’t touch you.” He points to my plate. “We should eat.”
I pick up my fork again and spear a bite of pasta. “I only brought Tommy because of you.”
“I know.”
I’m beginning to wonder if there’s anything Chad Fellows doesn’t know. I almost take a bite but then I pause, and ask, “Did Ashley offer to sleep with you?”
“Yes.” The word is direct, without any hesitation.
I raise my eyes to his. “I’m still afraid.”
I don’t know why I say this, but I do. I want to admit it.
“That’s okay.” Chad reaches for my hand and squeezes my fingers. “All you need to do is trust that I’ve got you.”
With those words, something inside me eases, because I believe him.
Chad
I kept the rest of dinner a light affair. I made sure Ruby had plenty of wine, and I steered the discussion to casual first-date conversation. We discussed our favorite books, movies, and music. I discovered we had more in common than I thought. How we both liked foreign art films that nobody else wants to see. That we both liked to think looking at the lake, and both hated the same best seller everyone else loved.
It had taken a while, but she’d finally unwound and now she sat on my couch, tucked into the corner, a glass of wine in her hand. We were well into our third bottle and everything had become easy between us, except for the sexual tension that hummed like an electric wire.
She took another sip and settled into the cushions. “I can’t believe you know how to cook.”
I put my hand on the back of the couch, taking a long look at her body. She’s built lean, almost slight, but she has a full chest that’s out of proportion to the rest of her body. On another girl I’d suspect they were fake, but Ruby wasn’t a boob-job type. Sitting there, her black hair pulled back, her blue eyes glassy but happy; I have to work not to think of all the things I want to do to her.
All things that will have to wait. I never break my promise and I’m not about to start with this fragile, scared girl.
I smile at her. “Why’s that?”
She shakes her head and her ponytail swings. “In my house, that’s women’s work.”
I know Ruby grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana where her mom and dad, brother and sister and their families still live, but that’s as much as she’s told me. “Women’s work, huh?”
She laughs, rolling her eyes. “When I go home to visit it’s like I’ve stepped back into another era. The women cook and clean and take care of their men. The men sit around with their feet up.”
Another piece of the Ruby puzzle clicks into place. But I’m not going to call attention to how growing up like that colors her perception of domination. Those conversations are for much farther down the line. “Well, in my house, my mom was a diehard feminist. My dad is more traditional, but she put the kibosh on that—as she says—five minutes into the marriage. I have two brothers, one older, one younger. As the only female in the house she was determined to make sure we knew how to treat women.” I smile, thinking of my fierce mother. “She refused to raise helpless men.”
Ruby’s expression is sheer delight. “She sounds like someone I’d like.”
“You would, and my mom would love you.” I laugh and take another sip of wine, a pleasant, leisurely buzz sliding gently through my bloodstream. “I think my dad is continuously confused how he ended up married to her.”
“Do they have a good marriage?”
I nod. “They do. As my mom says, he’d go mad with a normal woman.”
Ruby chuckles, cocking her head to the side. “I
This fills me with such pleasure I’m almost embarrassed. A smile I want to hide tugs at my lips. I look down at my plate.
He laughs. “You can be happy about it, Ruby.”
The smile grows and I shrug. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m sure as fuck happy that guy you brought didn’t touch you.” He points to my plate. “We should eat.”
I pick up my fork again and spear a bite of pasta. “I only brought Tommy because of you.”
“I know.”
I’m beginning to wonder if there’s anything Chad Fellows doesn’t know. I almost take a bite but then I pause, and ask, “Did Ashley offer to sleep with you?”
“Yes.” The word is direct, without any hesitation.
I raise my eyes to his. “I’m still afraid.”
I don’t know why I say this, but I do. I want to admit it.
“That’s okay.” Chad reaches for my hand and squeezes my fingers. “All you need to do is trust that I’ve got you.”
With those words, something inside me eases, because I believe him.
Chad
I kept the rest of dinner a light affair. I made sure Ruby had plenty of wine, and I steered the discussion to casual first-date conversation. We discussed our favorite books, movies, and music. I discovered we had more in common than I thought. How we both liked foreign art films that nobody else wants to see. That we both liked to think looking at the lake, and both hated the same best seller everyone else loved.
It had taken a while, but she’d finally unwound and now she sat on my couch, tucked into the corner, a glass of wine in her hand. We were well into our third bottle and everything had become easy between us, except for the sexual tension that hummed like an electric wire.
She took another sip and settled into the cushions. “I can’t believe you know how to cook.”
I put my hand on the back of the couch, taking a long look at her body. She’s built lean, almost slight, but she has a full chest that’s out of proportion to the rest of her body. On another girl I’d suspect they were fake, but Ruby wasn’t a boob-job type. Sitting there, her black hair pulled back, her blue eyes glassy but happy; I have to work not to think of all the things I want to do to her.
All things that will have to wait. I never break my promise and I’m not about to start with this fragile, scared girl.
I smile at her. “Why’s that?”
She shakes her head and her ponytail swings. “In my house, that’s women’s work.”
I know Ruby grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana where her mom and dad, brother and sister and their families still live, but that’s as much as she’s told me. “Women’s work, huh?”
She laughs, rolling her eyes. “When I go home to visit it’s like I’ve stepped back into another era. The women cook and clean and take care of their men. The men sit around with their feet up.”
Another piece of the Ruby puzzle clicks into place. But I’m not going to call attention to how growing up like that colors her perception of domination. Those conversations are for much farther down the line. “Well, in my house, my mom was a diehard feminist. My dad is more traditional, but she put the kibosh on that—as she says—five minutes into the marriage. I have two brothers, one older, one younger. As the only female in the house she was determined to make sure we knew how to treat women.” I smile, thinking of my fierce mother. “She refused to raise helpless men.”
Ruby’s expression is sheer delight. “She sounds like someone I’d like.”
“You would, and my mom would love you.” I laugh and take another sip of wine, a pleasant, leisurely buzz sliding gently through my bloodstream. “I think my dad is continuously confused how he ended up married to her.”
“Do they have a good marriage?”
I nod. “They do. As my mom says, he’d go mad with a normal woman.”
Ruby chuckles, cocking her head to the side. “I
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