Chapter 20

Snuggled underneath Lucas's duvet, Ruby felt his hand sliding up her leg to tickle that area between her lower hip and groin.

She squirmed and rolled on top of him, swiping her long hair behind her ear so it didn't poke him in the eyes. He looked up at her with a cheeky smile, placed a hand on each of her hips and flung her around so he was on top.

She felt a hardness pressing against her leg and laughed. "Again?"

They had already made love three times in the space of two hours; a record for Ruby. She couldn't help but wonder if this was also a record for Lucas.

"Na, my dick feels sore," he said. "We'll give it at least half-hour."

Ruby giggled and blushed. She looked around his clutter-filled room, wondering if she should offer to clean up for him. It wasn't that she wanted to be his little wifey exactly... the mess made her uncomfortable. He had two chests of drawers, both littered in papers and overflowing with clothes. There wasn’t a single poster or picture on the walls, but his mirror had photographs tacked around the edges. She saw younger versions of Lucas and Greg and some childhood pictures of Lucas with his brother Dan.

"Will your brother get mad if he finds out you skipped school?" Ruby asked.

"No." Lucas laughed. "As long as I pass my exams, he doesn't care what I do."

"Wow," Ruby said. "My mum would kill me if she knew what I was doing right now."

"She won't find out," Lucas assured her. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"Tea?" Ruby asked, giving a sweet smile.

When he got up from the bed, naked, she tried not to stare openly at his dick but her eyes just sort of found their way to it. Still erect, it was pretty hard to miss. Her expression changed from a silly perverted grin to a frown as he turned, and she spotted a mess of what looked like cigarette burns on his lower back.

"Who did that to you?" she said, her limbic system flooding with irrational anger.

'How dare someone hurt my Lucas,' her mind screamed.

"Oh," he said, scratching at his side and scoffing with thin laughter. "We were just messing around. It was nothing."

He left to make the tea without bothering to put any clothes on.

'I guess he doesn't have any nosy neighbors overlooking the house,' Ruby figured. She'd never dare walk about her own house naked, for fear creepy Rob would be staring over from his garden. He was always peeping through the window, probably to get sneak peeks at her mother.

When he returned with two cups of tea, placing them on the only clear patch of floor, he pulled on his underwear. Ruby got the feeling it was more to hide his scars than his bits. Maybe she shouldn't have pointed them out.

"We have to keep this secret," Lucas said as he noisily slurped the hot tea.

"Just from Greg, right?" Ruby asked, wincing. She'd sort of already admitted it to Amber.

"Yeah, he'd be super pissed," Lucas said.

Ruby nodded, remembering Greg's words.

"Have you slept with many girls?" Ruby asked him, holding her breath in fear in case he was offended by the question. She gripped her teacup in both hands, enjoying the tingly warmth spreading through her fingers as she waited for him to answer.

"Two," he said.

Ruby frowned. Greg had made out like he was sleeping with a new girl every couple of weeks.

"One of them was just using me," Lucas said. "She dated me because she wanted me to beat up her ex."

"And did you?" Ruby wanted to know.

"Yup," Lucas said with a proud grin. "And now she's back with him I beat him up every single time I bump into them. Stupid bitch."

"Did you... really like her?" Ruby asked, swallowing away a lump in her throat.

"No, I just don't like being used," Lucas said.

"And the other?" Ruby pressed.

"She was my girlfriend for three years. She didn't cheat or anything, it just kinda fizzled out," Lucas said and shrugged. "I still see her sometimes, we aren't like... good mates, just not enemies."

"Oh." Ruby nodded.

Either Greg or Lucas was lying, and while Lucas had more reason to lie, as she looked into his eyes, she believed he was being honest with her.

"What about you?" Lucas asked.

She explained the whole Tom situation. How he had flirted with both her and Amber before finally settling on Ruby as his girlfriend. He had been her first, and at the time she'd adored him until he started messaging Amber again, as well as other girls. In the end, she couldn't cope with the drama and second-guessing.

"Tom?" Lucas asked. "Isn't that the guy who is simping over Greg like a massive weirdo?"

"Oh jeez, yeah." Ruby rolled her eyes. "He came to our house to hang out in Greg's room. It was a bit strange."

Lucas looked down at his hands, his lips curling into a puckered half-smile.

'Is he jealous?' Ruby wondered. She could understand that. When Amber started hanging out with the other girls more than her it hurt so much she'd locked herself in her room and sobbed.

"I don't think he likes Tom," Ruby reassured him. "He called him a 'Borderline Bitch,' whatever that means."

This comment made Greg laugh so hard he spilt a glug of tea onto his leg.

"He means the personality disorder," Lucas said. "He loves to psychoanalyze people and he's really good at it."

"That's weird, but whatever," Ruby said. "I wish we didn't have to hide the fact that we're—"

Ruby was about to say the word, 'together,' but caught herself in time, realizing he may not feel the same.

"I know. I wish we didn't have to hide it," he said, putting an arm around her back and pulling her into his side.

"Why don't we just tell Greg to get stuffed," Ruby suggested. "It's none of his business what—"

"No," Lucas said firmly. "It's secret meetings or nothing, and if he finds out it's over. I'm sorry and I like you a lot but that's how it is."

Ruby nodded, looking at the pictures surrounding his mirror. In one, Lucas and Greg made funny faces at the camera as they spun on a merry-go-round, hair flying in all directions.

'He must really love Greg,' she thought. It was good that he had at least one friend he cared about, she thought, thinking back to the guy he'd kicked across the pavement.

If she had seen anyone else do that, she would have judged them as a total prick. Yet, for Lucas it was fine.

'I'm a hypocrite,' she realized. 'And I let the guys I fancy get away with anything.'

"I'm going to order food," he said, breaking the silence, changing the subject, and making her stomach rumble. "I don't want to kill you off with my cooking."

"Pizza?" Ruby asked with a manic grin. Pizza was her favorite food of all time, but she hardly ever got to order it at home because of Amber’s darn lactose intolerance.

"Hmm." Lucas smiled. "You like pizza?"

Ruby nodded with enthusiasm.

"What are you willing to do for a pizza?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you trying to bribe me with food?" Ruby laughed. "You realize I'll do whatever you want anyway."

"I know," he said. "But this makes it more fun."

Ruby bit her lip and smiled at him, feeling turned on by his proposal. He was right. It did make it more fun.

"I'll tidy your room," she said teasingly, knowing it wasn't what he had in mind. Still... she did desperately want to clean up his tip of a bedroom.

"Deal," he said, surprising her. "But you have to do it completely naked while I lay here and play video games."

Slipping out of her underwear, Ruby began to clean, feeling his eyes on her as she bent over to pull the clothes from underneath his drawers. She knelt amid the pile, folding the shirts and jeans into neat little piles before placing them into the drawers.

As she got up to fill the top drawer, she didn't hear him get up from the bed, just felt him press up behind her, bending her over the furniture. Just as he entered her, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, shit that was fast," Lucas muttered. "They aren't usually so fast. Quick, shove one of my baggy T-shirts on. Seeing your legs can be his tip."

"Pervert," Ruby scolded but smiled to herself as she scrambled about for a shirt and pulled it on.

She was still smiling when she pulled the door open, expecting to see a pizza delivery guy.

Greg stood in the doorway, arms folded and facing the other way as he waited for a response.

'Oh shit,' Ruby thought as he began to turn, realizing it was too late to hide.

Greg looked her up and down with an angry smirk. "I fucking knew it."