Shacking Up(106)

My mother calls us to the table. Of course Brittany manages to snag the seat beside me. Lexington takes the seat next to her. It's unfortunate my mother didn't try to set Brittany up with him. I have a feeling he might actually enjoy dealing with her. Or at least what she promises to provide later in the night.

I have to move Brittany's hand off my thigh four times during dinner. She thinks she's being cute. I think she's being annoying. Now, if it was Ruby trying to feel me up under the table, it would be a different story.

At one point she excuses herself to the bathroom. She gives me a less-than-covert wink as she leaves the table. I assume it's an invitation of some kind. I ignore it. At some point she must realize I'm not coming after her because she returns to the table, pouting.

Amalie is stiff during the entire meal and I keep catching her glaring at me. She pushes her food around her plate, hardly touching a thing. At the end of the meal she excuses herself. I give her two minutes' lead time before I do the same.

I wait outside the powder room, which would be creepy if the situation was different. She has information I need right now. I also want to set her straight about Brittany, because it's clear she thinks I'm in on this date business.

As soon as the bathroom door opens I step forward, making an escape impossible. "I need to talk to you."

She snorts and crosses her arms over her chest. "I will kick you in the family jewels if you do not get out of my way."

"You know, I might even let you do that if you tell me what the hell is going on."

She stops trying to get around me. Her brow furrows and she gives me a strange look. "You would let me kick you in the balls?"

"If it means that you'll tell me why Ruby hasn't contacted me in a week and why she's not working at that club anymore, I might." I glance down at her feet. "But not while you're wearing those shoes. They're dangerous." She's wearing the same kind of shoes Ruby was wearing when she performed that song on stage. In fact, they look like they might just be the same ones.



       
         
       
        

I drag my eyes back up to her face. Man, her pissed-off face scares me, maybe because she's usually such a soft, warm person. She's never been sassy with me like Ruby always is. Jesus, I miss her.

Amalie steps in close, eyes alight with a fire I've never seen before. "Ruby told me all about the message you left her and the one Brittany left for you. What kind of person are you, trying to pay her off. It's disgusting."

"Pay her off? For what?"

"For the sex." She says it like I'm the stupidest person on the face of the earth. Because clearly I am.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on here. Why the hell would she think I was paying her off?"

"Because you left her five thousand dollars and a message about how your arrangement changed, you asshole. And all the while you're setting up dates with whoreface Brittany. Ruby doesn't just sleep with anyone, you know. She really liked you and then you had to go and do this. And you just up and disappear for a week. What kind of jerkoff are you?"

Oh shit. Now this is all starting to make sense. "Okay, first things first, I wasn't trying to pay Ruby for sex. I had no idea how long I was going to be gone and I needed to leave money because I didn't have time to get supplies for Francesca and Tiny. Secondly, I've known Brittany since I was a kid and she's here because my mother wants me to date her, not because I do. Why wouldn't Ruby call me before she went and moved all her stuff out? And she's not working at the club anymore. Please tell me she didn't go back to Rhode Island." I hadn't even considered that possibility until now. It amps up the panic.

"She moved out because she's protecting her heart." She clamps her mouth shut. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you. I can't trust a damn thing you say."

Amalie tries to brush past me, but I grab her arm. "I just need her number. I just need to call her to explain. Or you could tell me where she is."

"Explain what exactly? That you were screwing her and who knows who else while she was living in your place? You didn't even try to contact her once while you were gone this time. What the hell is she supposed to think?"

"I'm not screwing anyone else and I don't have any intention of doing so either. I lost my phone on the plane and I didn't have my iCloud backed up so I couldn't contact her. And she's either not responding to or not getting the messages I sent her on social media. I just want to talk to her, Amalie. I didn't want her to leave. I want her. I want to be with her. I fucking miss her."