Page 135 of Playing to Win
“And then I got mad,” she continues. I don’t have to look at her to know she’s taking another big bite of her chalupa. Damn, she loves those things. “I was so pissed. I had all sorts of hostile thoughts about Jim and Marilee. How could I take them down, you know? Make their lives a living hell?”
I lift my head to study her, shocked by her revelations. “Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah, it was a vengeful phase that lasted maybe ten minutes?” She shrugs, polishing off her chalupa. “Then I got over it and realized they were only doing their job. This is on me. I signed that agreement that said no dating and I went and fell in love with you anyway.”
She smiles, her hand rustling in the bag once more as she plucks out another wrapped chalupa. “I shouldn’t eat this.” She drops it on the table and starts unwrapping it. “But I’m gonna.”
I stare at her for a moment, in shock at her nonreaction. “Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?” She sends me a look. “I’m in love with you.”
“I love you too,” I say automatically. “But this is a big deal. You found a really great job in your major and you were killing it. All the football teams’ social media pages have grown like crazy and that’s because of you.”
“And Gwen,” she points out. “Eric too.”
“And you,” I stress. “You’re an integral part of that team.”
“I’m going to miss them so much.” Her voice is wistful.
“You’re going to resent me for getting you fired.”
“I am not.” She rolls her eyes. “Don’t you see? I might’ve lost my job but I got you, Ace. And now we don’t have to hide anymore. Everyone will know we’re together and won’t that be such a relief?”
I stare at her hard, making sure this isn’t some kind of trick. That she’s being nice just to suck me in and then unleash on me…
But then I remember this is Ruby I’m looking at and she’s always upfront with her feelings. There are no games with this woman. I love that about her.
I love her.
She loves me too.
“You’re not mad,” I finally say.
A sigh leaves her. “I can’t deny that I’m sad about losing my job, but I talked to my parents already and Dad said that whenever there’s a setback in life, something better always comes. I believe him.”
“What did your mom say?” I brace myself for the answer.
“Oh, she said she’s not surprised an ass slap took us down. You did the same thing to me in front of them after dinner.” Ruby laughs, the sound easing the churning in my gut some, but not quite enough.
I can’t manage to laugh. I’m just too fucking relieved that this girl isn’t pissed at me. That her parents don’t hate me.
“I still feel bad,” I admit. “And responsible.”
“It’s going to be okay.” Ruby reaches across the table and rests her hand on my forearm. “Now I can wear your number at games. I can tell everyone who will listen to me that you’re my boyfriend. I need to buy your jersey.”
“I will give you my jersey,” I say vehemently, enjoying the idea of seeing Ruby with my number plastered all over her in the stands. “We can tell the whole fucking world we’re together.”
“See? It’s not so bad, me losing my job.” She’s smiling, her second chalupa lying discarded on the table as she focuses on me instead. “I told my parents I could become a content creator on my own and they said I should.”
“You totally should.” My stomach suddenly growls and I reach for the bag, grabbing a burrito and unwrapping it. “You can do whatever you set your mind to, Red.”
Her smile is soft as she watches me eat the burrito and I pause, wondering why she’s looking at me so weird. “You okay?”
“I just…I love you,” she says with a sigh. “A year ago, if this had happened to me, I would’ve had a panic attack and thought the world was over.”
I’m frowning. “And now?”
“Now I feel confident about myself and where I’m going. This isn’t that big of a deal. I can find another job.” She smiles. “A lot of my confidence is thanks to you.”
