Page 6 of King of Ruin

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Page 6 of King of Ruin

I let go of her hand and then reach up to fluff my strands of hair. The clock in the hall chimes out nine, which means Vigo will be here any minute.

It’s the first date I’ve ever had that started after seven. Granted, I think the last time I went out with a guy was sophomore year of college. Was that really two years ago? Lucia might be right. I do need to get out.

But it’s so tough when you’re different. Not a lot of guys even want to date someone like me. And once I get past that hurdle…my other sinking point surfaces. The guy from sophomore year and I had gone out a few times, had a nice time in the back of his car until I’d confessed that I was a virgin. The night had ended early and he didn’t ask me out again.

I get it.

Honestly, I’m kind of hoping for different results from Vigo. I’m almost twenty-two and haven’t even managed to go all the way. I don’t really see Vigo as boyfriend material, but I bet he’d be all right for getting rid of my virginity.

After that…

I’m not even sure I want the pressure of dating. It has always been much safer to keep my little animals as company.

People are usually so disappointing. Or maybe I just disappoint them.

Not Lucia, of course. Despite my grumpiness at being forced into this date, she is one of the rare people I can count on to be a standout person and friend.

Which is why I just allowed her to doll me up like a harlot.

And not her husband, Josh. He’s a really good guy who is crazy supportive of his wife. He’s sitting out on my couch now, watching a baseball game, while he waits for Lucia to be done with my transformation.

I wish I was with him. I love baseball. Maybe because it’s a slow enough game that the auditory alone makes me feel like I can see it.

Lucia reaches for something on the counter, the click of the blush case alerting me that she’s about to apply even more makeup when my doorbell rings.

“Thank goodness,” I sigh as I push up from the chair she’s placed in my tiny bathroom.

I inherited my house from my maternal grandmother. It’s a little two-story two-family, left over from a long-forgotten time in Las Vegas before the strip was built. It’s my oasis in this city and my connection with one of the few other people who loved me in this world.

I hear Josh answer the door, his friendly call of hello, met with silence.

I push out of the bathroom and down the hall, tension thick in my small living room. I can get around my house no matter the light, having lived here all my life.

“Hi,” I call, my voice high pitched and breathy with my own nervousness, coming to stand next to Josh and in front of Vigo.

“Who’s this guy?” Vigo grunts instead of answering me. My smile dies. I like strong men. The few guys I’ve dated have had serious alpha vibes.

But Vigo isn’t coming across alpha, he just sounds like a jerk.

“Josh, Vigo. Vigo, Josh.”

“Hey, Vigo,” Lucia says from behind me. “Nice to see you again.” She lightly pushes me to the side, standing between me and Josh. “We should let these two crazy kids go off on their date. It’s baseball night for us.”

Vigo grunts but doesn’t apologize to Josh or say hello to me as he turns and starts walking down the front steps…without me.

Am I supposed to follow? I sigh as I take a few steps. This isn’t the most auspicious start, and I already know this isn’t ending with a night in bed. Vigo is just too rough…

Too bad.

I know my own steps and I make it down them easily enough, but I can’t see the car in the darkness and I’ve no idea which way I’m going. “Vigo?”

Maybe he won’t answer. Maybe he’ll just drive off. Granted, it would mean I wasted the last hour primping, but then again, I could listen to the game and eat popcorn with Josh and Lucia, which sounds way more fun than pretending my date isn’t a jerk.

“Here,” he says, and then his hand comes to my elbow.

Both his voice and his touch are gentle this time and I breathe out a sigh of relief as he walks me to the car and then opens the door.

I touch his hand on my arm to stop him from helping me in. “Hey, Vigo?”




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