Chapter Ten

Ruby

I could feel his pulse pounding with every heartbeat. I closed my eyes and drank in the powerful scent of Luke Sinclair, soap, and pure man.

Sighing, I squeezed my eyes closed even tighter and tried to hold onto my world. What had happened? How was this possible? What did it mean?

A few minutes ago, I was sitting here, lost in my own little world. Worried about my life, my mother, my future, everything. And then he shows up. And I’m lost in him. How was this possible?

Luke Sinclair and I had just been lip locked like there was no tomorrow. Like the earth was going to end and we had chosen each other to share it with. My mind refused to comprehend it as a wave of confused happiness washed through me.

Sighing, I backed away a little so I could look up at him. I had to know. Was he laughing at me? Was he even aware of what he was doing to my heart?

Luke smiled back down at me with that patented Luke Sinclair smile of his. The one that just naturally melted all of my cares and fears away.

Leaning down, he kissed me on the forehead and whispered, “We’ll figure it out.”

How was he able to read my mind so easily. I was an expert on hiding my inner thoughts. Another one of his super powers obviously. The boy could do anything.

We sat there for half of forever and just held onto to each other as the world passed us by. Just the two of us. I probably could have stayed there in that spot until the world really did end. But Luke, being a boy, asked, “You hungry?”

“You planning on making French toast in Julie's kitchen,” I asked. “If you do, you’ll have to make enough for everyone and we’ll never get to eat.”

He smiled, “you’re saying we should go somewhere else and get something? Was that your subtle, passive aggressive way of asking me out on a date, Ruby Miller.”

“Get over yourself,” I snapped back, “I was just pointing out the obvious. And besides, You were the one who said you were hungry.”

“Not true,” he responded in that lawyerly voice he got sometimes that drove me up the wall. “Technically, I asked if you were hungry, I made no direct statement on my own condition.”

I snorted, the boy was too funny for his own good.

“So,” I began, “You were asking about my condition, to institute a remedy, I take it.” I had to smile to myself when he cocked an eyebrow. It seemed I could do the lawyerly voice as well.

“Yes, I believe that was the case,” he responded.

“So, technically,” I said with a soft smile, “you were passive aggressively asking me out. Correct?”

He froze in place for a long moment then dipped his head in surrender.

“Ruby, do you want to go get something to eat. Go somewhere other than this party, together?”

I hesitated for a long moment, enjoying watching him squirm just a little, then smirked and said in my best passive aggressive voice, “I could eat.”

Luke threw his head back and laughed. One of those deep man laughs that make the walls shake and the world tremble.

“But no Sam’s,” I said as I took his hand to let him help me up. “Meagan would crap a brick if she saw us together.”

Again he laughed and nodded, “Okay, no Sam’s.”

Instead, we drove through McDonald's and parked in the dark corner of the lot.

I glanced over at him. “Fancy first date,” I said with a shake of my head. “You really know how to impress a girl.”

Luke laughed, and said, “I take all my first dates here. I don’t know which is more to my liking, the salty food or the murky ambiance.”

I smiled, letting him know that it was perfectly okay with me. Who was I kidding? just being alone with Luke Sinclair was pretty great.

But, his mention of other girls sort of kicked me in the stomach. There were some things I needed to clear up. I had to, or I’d be beating myself up about it for the next three days.

Glancing down, I studied my hands for the hundredth time that night.

“Listen, Luke,” I began, “There are a couple of things I need to tell you.”

He frowned, the sudden seriousness of my tone had obviously come as a shock.

“Okaaaay,” he said with a long, drawn out drawl.

Here goes, I thought. I needed to lay out some truths for him before things went any further.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “You know I have a bit of a reputation. There are a lot of stories and stuff. People say things.”

He nodded slowly, silently waiting for me to go on.

Swallowing hard, I continued. “We’ll. They’re not all true.”

He laughed, “What, the six bikers out at the Lone Star isn’t true.”

I instantly blushed and shook my head.

“You mean, going up to Vancouver on the weekends to shoot porn, isn’t true?”

I laughed, “I started that one myself. I couldn’t resist.”

“So none of it is true?” he asked.

“Well,” I responded with my lawyerly voice, “I didn’t say none of it. I said not all of it.”

He laughed, “Okay, not all of it. So why tell me. Why ruin the mystique that is Ruby Miller.”

“Because,” I began, “I didn’t want you thinking that I was an easy mark. A sure thing. You know, I’m not innocent, but …”

Luke laughed again, “Ruby, there has never been anything easy about you. Don’t worry about it. I stopped listening to wild tales about you long ago. Although, the story about you hiding out in the visiting football team’s locker room to take pictures for blackmail was rather good.”

“I only wish,” I said with a laugh of my own. “We could have used them in the playoffs.”

It was hard for me to believe we were sitting here having this discussion. Like we’d been best friends all of our lives and could trust each other with the truth.

He smiled back at me and the tension sort of dripped away.

“You know Ruby. Since we’re laying our cards on the table and such. I’m not a virgin either.”

I snorted my drink half way out of my nose.

“What!” he demanded. “You find that surprising.”

“No, no,” I said, “Not after what Sarah Johnson told everyone in tenth grade. She wouldn’t stop singing your praises. It seemed you really made an impression. In fact, the girl just wouldn’t shut up about it.”

He got a little red around the edges and I had to smile. An embarrassed Luke Sinclair was a pure treasure.

“None of us knew if she was telling the truth,” I continued. “Until Karen Blair confirmed it a few months later. I must say, you have a bit of a reputation yourself. It seems that you have more than one super power, if Sarah and Karen are to be believed.”

His shoulders relaxed, “Well, just so you know, unlike you, it is all true.”

I laughed and my stomach untied itself from its knot.

“What was the other thing you wanted to tell me,” he asked as he took a bite of his burger.

Immediately, the knot was back in full tangle.

I paused for a moment to gather my courage. I needed to get this out now. If it came out later, it would be so much worse.

Just go for it Ruby, quick and painless.

“I saw your picture, the one on the back of your door.”

Luke froze in place, a French fry half way to his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he stared at me for a long second.

Inside, I was buzzing with worry. Would he yell? Would he never talk to me again?

“I wasn’t snooping,” I began hurriedly. “Well, I was, sort of. But I didn’t go through your stuff. I didn’t pry through your drawers or hack your computer.”

He continued to look at me and I thought for sure my world would end right then and there. I have done a lot of stupid things in my life, but right at that moment, I didn’t know which was worse, Snooping in his room, or telling him about it.

“Talk to me,” I whispered, “I’m sorry,” I added, hoping that might help.

He tilted his head to one side and studied me for a long moment then asked, “Did you tell anyone?”

Now it was my turn to stare back. That was what he was worried about? It didn’t make sense.

“Um …. No.”

His shoulders relaxed as he turned to stare out the front window.

“Why don’t you want anyone to know?” I asked, my curiosity was burning a hole in my stomach. “I mean, your parents know, right?”

He laughed. “You make it sound like I’m coming out of the closet or something. I just don’t want anyone to know about my drawing. Especially my parents.

My brow narrowed in confusion. “How could they not know. The evidence is hanging on the back of your door. And no way do I believe your mom never goes into your room.”

He laughed. “They think I bought it online.”

“What? They don’t know you can draw like that. You do know that you’re good, right? Talented type good?”

He nodded, “They don’t know, and they can’t know.”

It was like getting hit by a semi on the freeway. I had not seen that coming.

“Why? what is the big secret? And how do you keep something like that from them? I mean, Amber spends half her time with a sketch pad. She gets antsy if she isn’t painting or drawing.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders. “I do it at night, in my room. Or at least I used to.”

My mind frantically scrambled around for an explanation that worked. None of this made sense.

“So, let me get this straight. You secretly draw stuff at night, in your room. You’re way good, and no one knows.”

He nodded, “yes, that is about it.”

“Why!” I demanded.

“Because,” he said as if that explained the meaning of life.

I slumped against the car door and stared at him. Unable to believe what I was hearing. It was like meeting a brand new person that up until a minute ago I hadn’t even known existed.

Careful, Ruby. I told myself. You are at the beginning of something. This, what ever it was, between Luke and me. Push too hard and it would disappear like a popped bubble. And that thought scared me down to my toes.

“Okay,” I said, “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

He studied me for a moment, then nodded his head and returned to finishing his burger.

Wow! I thought. That was not where I thought that conversation would go. My mind whirled around a thousand different questions. All of which might set off a landmine.

So, Luke Sinclair had secrets. Who would have ever guessed?

The tension started to creep back in as we both stared out the window.

“So, did you hear about Tank and Marla Turner?” I said, desperately trying to change the subject and get rid of this wall of tension. “I guess they are together, and Jason is okay with it.”

“About time,” Luke said with a smile. “Those two were meant for each other since third grade.”

“Yeah, I saw her at the end of school. They were walking down the hall like a king with his queen. It was so cute. Marla looked like she was floating on air.”

Luke turned to look at me for a moment, his eyes prying. “It seems,” he began. “Like all of my friends are ending up with pretty great girls.”

My eyes bore into him like lasers as I tried to swallow. My stomach had fallen to the floor board.

“I guess I’m going to have to find someone. Someone unique, and special, and as tough as nails. Maybe a redhead. Either that, or maybe a girl with purple hair.”

I gulped. “I thought I wasn’t your type,” I said with a voice that might have caught a time or two. In fact, I was pretty sure my voice sounded like a rusty hack saw being drawn across as brick.

He smiled at me, “Who said I was talking about you?”

I slapped him on the arm so hard my hand hurt for three days.

He laughed and slipped an arm around my shoulder to pull me close.

At first, I was going to resist. How dare he tease me like that. Then I remembered, in his arms was exactly where I wanted to be, Obviously, the boy had fallen into my trap.

I don’t care who was keeping score. But that was a win in my column any way you looked at it.