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“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Again, I’m met with silence, so I continue to do what I do best for her and distract her from the outside world like she does for me.
“Are you sore?” I whisper in her ear.
She rolls over to face me. “No.”
“Perfect.” I grab a condom from my dresser and allow us both to forget our worries.
I’ve never felt more found than being lost in her.
Fifteen
Kyleigh
“Have you talked to your dad?”Ruby asks, handing me a creamer.
When I showed up here this morning, Ruby surprised me with a container of cold brew she bought at the grocery store. Sure, she put it on the counter unopened and said it was on sale and that was the only reason she bought it. I smiled, opened it, and poured it into my beer mug filled with ice. Maybe she’s more open to change than she thinks. Baby steps.
“No, but I need to. I haven’t been to work in two weeks, and I assume if my mom had told him already, I would’ve heard something about it.”
“You gotta rip off that Band-Aid.” She pours herself a cup of hot coffee and sits on the stool on the other side of the bar.
“Any takers on the sale of this place?” I change the subject, not wanting to think about what might be happening between my parents right now.
This friendship I’m finding with Ruby is weird, since we only meet up before Rowan comes to get me after his morning workout. At first, I tried to play hard to get with him, but now I feel as if I spread my legs every time he’s around. Not that there are any complaints on either of our parts.
“No. I’m starting to think maybe I jumped the gun. I think when the boys left to move in with their women, it was a knee-jerk reaction.”
“Boys? Women?” She’s never mentioned having children before.
“The Grizzlies. Before this group of clowns, some of the Chicago Grizzlie players lived here. Miles Cavanagh, Damon Siska, and Cooper Rice. Cooper actually owns the apartment part of the building, and I own the bar, but don’t tell anyone that. Anyway, one by one, they all found love and wanted out of the bachelor pad. I didn’t want to get to know another group of boys, but…”
“Tweetie won you over?” I ask, laughing before taking a sip of my coffee.
“Sadly, he has, but it’s also your boy. Plus, Hensley and Bodhi are good people. I’m just tired. I don’t have those legs like you do to run around this place all day anymore.” She sits up straighter and sips her coffee.
“Why don’t you just get some help? Someone to work for you?”
“It’s hard to find someone reliable. I put up a sign once, and all I got were young girls like you who wanted to find their way into the boys’ apartments. Plus, have you looked around this neighborhood? It’s turned into a trendy area, and I’m not that type of person.”
The bell rings for the back door, and I assume it’s a delivery. Ruby goes to answer it, and I check out the bar. Back in college when I thought I was going to drop out, I worked at a bar for a while. I had so much fun, and it brought back my creative juices because I wasn’t obsessing over school every day. Maybe…no. I have some money from my grandfather’s trust I just got on my birthday. It’s not much, but enough to start over somewhere. But this place is right under Rowan’s condo. How weird would that be when this thing is over? I’d still be an owner and have to see him coming and going with other women. No thanks.
I hear Ruby bossing the delivery guy around out back, telling him to wheel it into the storage room. She comes back and opens the register, taking out a check.
The check reminds me that I have my own rent to pay. Sure, I have a paycheck coming from my mom, but I don’t think I can ever work for her again. Shit, am I really considering buying a bar?
I would never want to leave Ruby in a lurch if this thing with Rowan goes south, but right now, things are going strong.
“These delivery people keep getting lazier and lazier. Then again, I’m sure if you were out there, he would’ve taken it all the way to Timbuktu if you wanted him to. It sucks getting old and losing your looks.” Ruby sits back down.
“Ruby, he should be doing it because it’s his job.”
She huffs.
“Hey, um…since I’m unsure what I want to do with my life, how about maybe I buy your bar?” She opens her mouth, but I put up my hand. “I worked at a bar in college. Sure, I’m rusty, and I’d need a lot of your guidance on the day-to-day operations. Maybe we just kind of do a trial run?” She opens her mouth, but I continue on. “I can’t do anything involving my actual skillset right now. It reminds me too much of my mom.”
She stares at me for a long moment, and I’m ready for her to turn me down. “You want to buy the bar? And work here when you’re not fucking Landry?”
