having Tiffany to talk to. “Hey,” Ruby said. “I’m so glad to see you. I just told Blake we were having another science group session today.”
“How did he take it?” Tiffany asked, her brow furrowed.
Ruby let out a sigh. “As expected. I think he’s going to divorce me as his sister if this group project doesn’t end soon.”
But at least she didn’t have to be looking over her shoulder while they met, since Blake knew about the meeting.
“And how do you feel about spending the morning with Drew? Although that’s pretty obvious by what you’re wearing.” Tiffany shot her a toothy, knowing grin, which lightened Ruby’s mood almost immediately.
“I don’t know what you mean.” But she couldn’t help laughing as she glanced down at her clothes. After trying on everything in her closet three times over last night, she had eventually decided to wear her dark-wash jeans and a filmy pink beaded tank—one of the most expensive things she owned. Tiffany had helped her pick it out, so she knew exactly how it ranked in Ruby’s wardrobe. Ruby had also gotten up an hour earlier than usual that morning to straighten her hair and make an extra effort with her makeup, without looking like she’d made an extra effort. Which wasn’t an easy task.
“You look really cool. Is that the tank you bought from Ziggy’s?”
Ruby hadn’t believed her luck when she had seen the top on sale. She’d been admiring it for weeks, and had even tried it on, but couldn’t afford to buy it until it had hit the clearance rack. She’d had it hanging in her closet, waiting for a special occasion. Which this definitely was.
“Thanks. Yes, this is the one.”
“I hope he appreciates it.” Tiffany looked Ruby up and down and nodded her head in approval.
Ruby sighed. Truth was that Drew was probably too wrapped up in his guilt and sadness to notice her stupid new tank. It seemed so insignificant when she thought of what he was going through. “He probably won’t even look at me. And it’s not like we’re going to be spending time alone since there are five of us in the group.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not getting excited about spending so much time with him today.” Tiffany nudged her and winked.
As usual, Tiffany had totally gotten it right. Even though Drew would hardly acknowledge her, the thought of being in the same vicinity for a few hours still sent butterflies whizzing around her stomach. Ridiculous, brother-betraying butterflies.
“I doubt he’ll speak to me.” She’d told Tiffany a few days ago that Drew had confided in her about the fire, though she hadn’t shared the details. And Tiffany was also aware that Drew had been avoiding her ever since. “He’s very good at blocking everyone out. He’ll just sit there and leave all the talking to Brad.” Ruby shuddered. It really sucked that the price she had to pay for spending hours in Drew’s company was dealing with Brad and his giant ego for the same amount of time.
“I’m sure you can change that. He can’t totally ignore you if you’re working together.” Tiffany smirked.
“If I want to change it, of course.” Ruby bit down on her bottom lip while trying to sort out in her head exactly what she wanted.
“You just said you did.” Tiffany tilted her head to one side, looking bewildered.
“I know.” Ruby leaned against the oak tree by the path. “It’s just complicated. One minute, I really want us to be friends. He needs someone to talk to about what happened. He can’t keep bottling everything up, which he is at the moment, because it’s destroying him. Then reality sets in, and I realize that it’s a stupid thing to wish for because it would lead to so much trouble.”
She didn’t just mean with Blake, although his feelings were important to her. She meant with herself, too. She didn’t think she’d be able to take on someone as complex as Drew, not in the least because of the worrying similarity he had with her
“How did he take it?” Tiffany asked, her brow furrowed.
Ruby let out a sigh. “As expected. I think he’s going to divorce me as his sister if this group project doesn’t end soon.”
But at least she didn’t have to be looking over her shoulder while they met, since Blake knew about the meeting.
“And how do you feel about spending the morning with Drew? Although that’s pretty obvious by what you’re wearing.” Tiffany shot her a toothy, knowing grin, which lightened Ruby’s mood almost immediately.
“I don’t know what you mean.” But she couldn’t help laughing as she glanced down at her clothes. After trying on everything in her closet three times over last night, she had eventually decided to wear her dark-wash jeans and a filmy pink beaded tank—one of the most expensive things she owned. Tiffany had helped her pick it out, so she knew exactly how it ranked in Ruby’s wardrobe. Ruby had also gotten up an hour earlier than usual that morning to straighten her hair and make an extra effort with her makeup, without looking like she’d made an extra effort. Which wasn’t an easy task.
“You look really cool. Is that the tank you bought from Ziggy’s?”
Ruby hadn’t believed her luck when she had seen the top on sale. She’d been admiring it for weeks, and had even tried it on, but couldn’t afford to buy it until it had hit the clearance rack. She’d had it hanging in her closet, waiting for a special occasion. Which this definitely was.
“Thanks. Yes, this is the one.”
“I hope he appreciates it.” Tiffany looked Ruby up and down and nodded her head in approval.
Ruby sighed. Truth was that Drew was probably too wrapped up in his guilt and sadness to notice her stupid new tank. It seemed so insignificant when she thought of what he was going through. “He probably won’t even look at me. And it’s not like we’re going to be spending time alone since there are five of us in the group.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not getting excited about spending so much time with him today.” Tiffany nudged her and winked.
As usual, Tiffany had totally gotten it right. Even though Drew would hardly acknowledge her, the thought of being in the same vicinity for a few hours still sent butterflies whizzing around her stomach. Ridiculous, brother-betraying butterflies.
“I doubt he’ll speak to me.” She’d told Tiffany a few days ago that Drew had confided in her about the fire, though she hadn’t shared the details. And Tiffany was also aware that Drew had been avoiding her ever since. “He’s very good at blocking everyone out. He’ll just sit there and leave all the talking to Brad.” Ruby shuddered. It really sucked that the price she had to pay for spending hours in Drew’s company was dealing with Brad and his giant ego for the same amount of time.
“I’m sure you can change that. He can’t totally ignore you if you’re working together.” Tiffany smirked.
“If I want to change it, of course.” Ruby bit down on her bottom lip while trying to sort out in her head exactly what she wanted.
“You just said you did.” Tiffany tilted her head to one side, looking bewildered.
“I know.” Ruby leaned against the oak tree by the path. “It’s just complicated. One minute, I really want us to be friends. He needs someone to talk to about what happened. He can’t keep bottling everything up, which he is at the moment, because it’s destroying him. Then reality sets in, and I realize that it’s a stupid thing to wish for because it would lead to so much trouble.”
She didn’t just mean with Blake, although his feelings were important to her. She meant with herself, too. She didn’t think she’d be able to take on someone as complex as Drew, not in the least because of the worrying similarity he had with her
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