ANYTHING BUT ENEMIES

24. that's disgusting, ruby

IT'S ESSENTIALLY EXACTLY what it looks like, and everyone in the room knows it.

Dane and are I still, my hands propped on the cushions of the sofa to hold me up, dress riding up my thighs, guilty expression plain as day on my face.

I quickly try to wipe off the guilt, to replace it with a welcoming smile that definitely looks like a grimace.

Obviously a wrong move, seeing as Ruby only raises a concerned eyebrow at the face.

"I thought..." she points at Dane then me, gears in her brain turning as she looks between the two of us again before eventually settling on Dane with a menacing glare. "You."

"Me?" he points at himself.

Ruby doesn't bother with clarification. "What did you tell her the other day? In the staircase."

"What? Nothing. I was helping her."

"Helping her." Ruby slams a to-go box onto my desk from one of the bags crossing her arms before leaning against the wood. "A likely story."

"What do you think I did? Bashed her nose in myself?"

"Look, I'm just gonna come right out and say it—as far as I know, you're a jerk, and if we're being honest? You've been one since the first time we met."

His mouth opens to protest, but she's not done yet.

"You think everything's a personal attack, that if you praised someone, it'd be the end of the world—god forbid someone besides yourself actually be capable of doing shit—and you majorly stress Cleo out."

He turns his head to look down at me at the last point, and I feel my cheeks burn. "I stress you out?" He doesn't sound remorseful about it, but before I can deny the claim by giving him a piece of my mind, Ruby responds on my behalf.

"Yes, you do!" She takes a step closer, eyes narrowed to slits as she shoves a finger in his face, voice lowering to a deadly level. "So if later on down the road I find out you've ever hurt her in any way, I won't—and mark my words—I won't hesitate to have you castrated."

He stares at Ruby, barely noticing me as I swing my legs off of the sofa behind him, reaching out a hand to try to sooth her. "Believe me your friend here is fully capable of injuring herself without my help."

"Excuse me—!"

I quickly stand up from the sofa before the tension can escalate any further, placing myself between the two of them like a barrier. "Hey! So what's in the to-go box?"

"Actually, Cleodora, I want to hear what she has to say." Dane says from somewhere over my shoulder. The amusement in his voice almost makes me kick him in the shin.

"I have nothing else to say to you besides the fact that you better watch yourself, buddy." Ruby seems to be calmer with me in sight, having backed up a couple steps back to the food containers. "Now." A deep breath, "I have Italian for you, Cleo."

I smile gratefully at the mood switch, giving her a nod before reaching forward to flip open the container. The mouthwatering smell of tomato and basil wafts out, and I take in the dish's beauty. "For once, Marty actually came through."

She snorts at my comment, dropping a plastic fork into the bowl. "Bon appetit."

"Huh, just like that," the mutter comes from behind me, and we both turn to glance at Dane.

"Oh," I say like I haven't been hyper aware of his presence this entire time. "You're dismissed, Doggy."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"