"Yep," August said, pausing to look down at me, "This is Ruby. My... girlfriend."
The two men looked between us with their eyebrows drawn. My face must have also been screwed up in confusion. Girlfriend? As though this day couldn't get anymore chaotic. I didn't remember any sort of discussion regarding our relationship— our chemistry hadn't been particularly off the charts.
"Girlfriend?" the bearded guy asked, giving me a pointed look.
"I thought you don't date," the other guy remarked.
"I do now," August insisted, shifting uncomfortably, "So just hop off my fucking back, okay?"
I suddenly felt the eyes of all three people in the room looking at me. Is this what conversational whiplash felt like? I had been corned by August at work, thrown into his car, brought to his apartment, puked on his rug, and now suddenly was being presented as his girlfriend to a couple of strangers. I looked up at August, who had widened his dark eyes microscopically. Go with it, his gaze said.
Despite everything that had happened, every instinct in my body was telling me to trust him. I threw my arms around his waist, snuggling into his side with an exaggerated gusto. His body felt foreign; warm and solid. I could feel the defined lines of his stomach.
"Thanks, baby," I said, batting my eyes up at him.
"Of course," August said, swallowing hard, "Baby."
"He's shy," I explained to the two men, because truthfully August had on an expression one would use when they had to do something distasteful— like swallow nails or go to the DMV. It was not the expression someone used when introducing their significant other. "My wittle Auggie-poo is self-conscious of our lovey-wovey. But really, it's what goes down behind closed doors that really matters." I winked. "Lots of smooches and cuddles and words of affirmation!"
August looked ready to murder me. The two men did not look convinced. It was clear that they had known August for some time and were surprised to see him claiming to have some sort of girlfriend. I thought of minutes before, when they accused me of being a prostitute. Was he known for having a lot of women over? It was hard to imagine surly, perpetually-irritated August peeling a woman out of her shirt, stretching her out on the bed to undo her pants. Did he read to her after everything had been taken care of?
"Prove it," the bearded guy demanded, drawing me from my trance.
I blinked away the image of August tying back his hair in bed, sweat gathering on his brow. Now was not the time for sexual fantasies. "Huh?" I said.
The bearded guy was grinning maniacally. "Prove it. I don't believe that you're dating. August doesn't date anybody."
"He's a heart breaker," the other guy chimed, "Prove it. Prove that you're actually dating."
We're fucked, I thought idly. The only way to prove it would be to whip out some sort of photo of us together looking lovey dovey, some artifact that proved an element of history. But we had met only three days ago, and for almost the entirety of the time we didn't exactly get along. I considered maybe making up some sort of on-the-spot handshake performance, when August nodded determinedly.
"Okay," he said, his jaw set.
I turned to face him, waiting to see what sort of evidence he was going to provide of our non-existent relationship. However, I was surprised when one of his large hands came up and grasped my chin, tipping it backwards, while the other settled on the back of my neck. He took a step towards me, his thumb pressing lightly against the base of my skull. He wouldn't, would he?But in that slow, typical-August languorous fashion, his head dipped down towards mine, pausing for a second to stare at me from a few inches away. I could not read the expression in those dark eyes of his. Hot breath fanned my face.
YOU ARE READING
They Owned the Night
Romance"Do not try to escape," he warned me, "They'll find you. They always do. And when they do, princess, they'll make sure that you never try to leave again." Ruby always knew that there was something strange about Pine Creek. But it isn't until she mee...
