“So you really took him back? After what he did to you?”
This is the first time Connor’s spoken to me all day. I grab a sandwich and move forward in the cafeteria line.
“It’s complicated, Connor.”
“I bet.”
He grabs a drink and falls into line beside me.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful.” He glances over at Ethan, who’s sitting with the rest of our group. “The second he starts giving you warning signs, get out. Seeing you get hurt again would … well … that’d suck, okay?”
“Maybe it’ll work out this time.”
He gives a short laugh. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Ethan looks over, and when he sees us together, his expression goes dark.
Connor sighs. “Why do I get the feeling you and I won’t be allowed to be friends anymore?”
We pay for our stuff and head over to the table. As we approach, Ethan stands and puts his arms around me. Then he kisses me, long and deep, right in front of Connor. It couldn’t be more obvious that he’s staking his claim, unless he stapled a large “Property of Ethan Holt” banner to my back like a cape.
Connor rolls his eyes and sits next to Zoe. Ethan sits and pulls me onto his lap.
Everyone else seems oblivious, but all through lunch, the weight of the tension between the two men on either side of me sits squarely in the middle of my chest.
“So the conflict between Ethan and Connor escalated when you got back together?”
I sigh. “Yes. I mean, they never really liked each other, but at least they used to pretend.”
“You said ‘they all’ thought you were insane earlier. Who else gave you a hard time?”
“My roommate, Ruby.”
“She didn’t like Ethan?”
“No. She saw what I went through the first time, and I guess my bitterness rubbed off on her. When we first got back together, she was sort of … intolerant.”
“Ethan! Get out of the fucking bathroom! You take longer than a girl!”
Ruby bangs on the door and grunts in frustration. To say she’s not pleased about me and Ethan getting back together would be an understatement.
“Why does your goddamn boyfriend take so fucking long in the shower?” she asks as she drops down next to me on the sofa. “It’s not like he needs to whack off anymore. You two are constantly fucking.”
“He just likes long showers, I guess.”
“Fucking prima donna.”
“Ruby, be nice.”
“I am being nice. Being nasty would be going into the kitchen and turning on the hot water.”
Her face lights up with mischief.
“Ruby … no.”
She laughs and runs into the kitchen. I hear the faucet running for about three seconds before there’s a manly bellow from the bathroom.
“Fucking goddamn sonofabitch!”
I sigh.
It’s like living with children.
Ethan appears in the doorway, dripping wet, towel draped around his waist, his expression like a storm cloud.
“Where is she?”
Ruby pokes her head out of the kitchen. “Who? Me?”
He glares at her. She smiles sweetly.
“Stop being a pain in my ass.”
“Okay, as soon as you stop dating my best friend.”
“Hardly the same thing.”
“Wrong. You dating Cassie is a giant pain in my ass.”
“Get used to it.”
“For how long? Until you fuck up and dump her again? Are we talking weeks or months here?”
I glare at her.
Ethan clenches his jaw and stays silent. Then he stalks into the bedroom and slams the door.
Ruby deflates at the same time my anger flares.
“What the hell, Ruby?”
“I’m sorry, he just … I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Can’t you give him a break?”
“I don’t want him to hurt you again.”
“Neither do I.”
“And I know you think he’s changed, or whatever, but it seems a bit too fucking convenient. I don’t trust him. Do you?”
Hardest question in the world to answer. I want to say yes, but I swore to never lie to her again.
“I don’t know.”
She nods and comes over to hug me. “That’s what I thought. Let me just say, if he does hurt you again, I’m going to knee his balls so far up into his body, they may never come down.”
I squeeze her. “If he hurts me again, I’ll totally let you.”
“Good.”
Thinking about Ruby makes me long for her. If it wasn’t for her and Tristan, I would have become even more of a basket case than I already am.
“Is Ruby still in your life?” Dr. Kate asks.
“Not as much as I’d like.” And I miss her every day. “Just before graduation, she got pregnant. Her boyfriend was an Australian businessman she met the summer before senior year. He asked her to marry him, and after graduation, they went to live in Sydney. Now they have three kids and are sickeningly happy.”
“Does she know Ethan’s back in your life?”
“Yeah. We talk online every few weeks.”
“How does she feel about it?”