Off Limits (12 page)

They looked fantastic together. I certainly wasn't the only person in the restaurant looking at them. A few guys had stared appreciatively at the girl when she walked in, and even more women seemed to be admiring Nate. I couldn't blame them. After all, he looked better than ever. Surely if the restaurant business hadn't worked out he could have made the same fortune as a male model.

The couple also looked happy together. The seemed to be laughing at a lot of jokes and chatting enthusiastically about various topics. They probably had a lot in common, way more than Nate had with me. I didn't know the first thing about motorcycles, or tattoos, or the food industry. Knowing my luck this girl was a food connoisseur, motorcycle aficionado who was covered in ink underneath that skimpy dress. They probably had incredible sex too, but I couldn't bear to think about that.

Amy snapped her fingers in my face.

"Ruby, you're not listening!" she said, looking slightly peeved. It was ridiculous of course, I should be the one who was annoyed. After all she had stolen the person who I had thought was the love of my life, all because she felt lonely. She should at the very least be able to handle how distant I was being. Even so, I apologized.

"Sorry Amy, I just got distracted by all the beautiful artwork on the walls. This really is a nice place. But whatever, go on," I said. I turned my brain off as soon as she resumed speaking but was careful to keep my eyes on her. That way she might not realize that I wasn't listening. All the while I was looking at her I could sense Nate's eyes on me. What could he be thinking? Was this as awkward for him as it was for me? It had to be. Now he was in a happy new relationship with a girl who probably pleased him a thousand times better than I could. Here I was, listening to the girl who ripped my life apart make a case for why she should be absolved of all her sins. The thought of Nate pitying me made me cringe. I pondered about whether I should go over to their table and say hello. Perhaps that would show them that I wasn't embarrassed or ashamed to be here? No, that was a horrible idea. It would be embarrassing and awkward for everyone. I could be so stupid sometimes. I managed to hang on until half way through dinner. That was when I decided that I'd had enough.

"Sorry Amy, I'm feeling sick. I think I better go home," I said, as sweetly as I could. I knew if I sounded any way annoyed or even slightly miffed then Amy would start the whole spiel again.

From the brief bits of conversation that I had actually tuned into Amy had told me that she was reading all these books on mindfulness. She said that admittedly, she made the wrong choice in getting with Jeff but that my anger was toxic and in order to move forward in my life I had to forgive her. If not then I'd become a fat old spinster who never did anything valuable with her life. It was total bullshit of course, the new age kind of bullshit that Amy was obviously spending all her money on since Jeff left her. Despite how annoying it was, I didn't want to show any side of anger that might prove her point. Amy looked at me sideways as if I was up to something.

"Are you really feeling sick, Rubes?" she asked. It was a big struggle not to yell at her for daring to call me 'Rubes'. That name was reserved for people I liked. Usually people who didn't fuck my boyfriend. I bit my tongue and forced a smile on my face.

"Yeah I am. Indigestion or something. I'll go to the doctor in the morning. Anyway, it was really great talking to you. I'm glad we both got so much off of our chests," I said. Amy stood up with me and pulled me into a too tight hug. I forced myself to reciprocate though my skin crawled from the contact. She drew the embrace out for as long as she could too, seemingly testing if I was really as forgiving as I was pretending to be. I allowed her to hug me until even she got tired and pulled away, a big smile on her face.

"Oh Ruby, I'm just so glad that you've found it in your heart to forgive me. I can move on with my life now, we both can," she said. I couldn't help darting my eyes over to Nate again. He and his new woman had just been served their desserts. That was great, she was the kind of girl who ate ice cream sundaes and stayed stick then. It made me feel even worse than I already did.

"I'm glad too," I said to Amy.

"This is just so amazing. For me, of course, because I get my old best friend back. But it's amazing for you as well. I really didn't think you had it in you to let go of your anger like this. You've always been so...stubborn. No, tenacious. I admire it really but I figured you might be too pig headed to get over this. I'm glad you weren't though. I mean, imagine being pissed off after all this time? It wasn't like you and Jeff were ever gonna get married and have babies..." she went on and on and on. I listened for another few minutes but eventually I had to interrupt.

"Well that's great, Amy. But I have to go now. I'm sure we'll get together again...sometime. But I'm gonna say goodbye now," I said. I endured another one of Amy's terrible hugs and walked out of the restaurant, vowing that I would never be caught dead in the same room as her again if I could help it all. I considered making a similar vow about Nate, but the way I was feeling now I didn't even want to think about him.

I hadn't thought through how I would get home. I had figured that I might be able to put up with Amy just long enough to get a ride from her, but that was obviously a bust. When I got outside rain was pouring down heavily from the sky. My apartment block was forever away and I didn't have cab fare. Even so, walking in a skimpy little dress through the pouring rain seemed more appealing than a twenty minute car ride with that crazy bitch. Maybe the discomfort I would feel would distract me from the whole Nate issue. I could only hope.

As soon as I stepped out into the rain I knew I had made a grave mistake. The raindrops were ice cold and every single one that hit my body felt like a freezing bullet. I'd be lucky if I didn't get pneumonia.

I forced myself to continue my walk forward. With every step I cursed myself for not thinking to bring cab fare. If my hair and makeup had looked any bit decent early the rain quickly undid any of that. My hair fell in deep red straggles around my waist. At least Nate hadn't seen me like this.

Just as I was thanking my lucky stars for that one bit of reprieve, a flashy car pulled up next to me. It pulled up a little too fast and ended up splashing me. If I had been soaked before I was now drenched and freezing to boot. I screamed at the cold.

"What to fuck?" I yelled, banging on the car window. "Watch where you'd going, douche bag!"

The car door opened and in front of me was Nate. Of course, as if things couldn't get any worse. He saw the state I was in and laughed unkindly. I knew that I looked ridiculous but he didn't have to laugh at me for it.

"Oh great, you're here to make fun of me on the way home to your little love nest, is it? Well laugh it up buddy!" I said. He forced himself to stop laughing and patted the passenger seat with his hand.

"I'm sorry Ruby, I didn't mean to. Well, I did. But I couldn't help it. You just look so funny! But you should get in, you'll freeze to death in all that. I'm cold just from opening the door. Seriously, hop in," he said. I stayed where I was. Nate's little girly friend was nowhere in sight. It couldn't hurt, could it? Maybe I would get a clearer idea of what was going on.

"OK, but I'm only getting in because I don't want to freeze to death or drown out here," I said, getting in to the car and slamming the door behind me. I peered at myself in the mirror. It was worse than I thought. All my eye makeup had melted down my cheeks, making me look like a crazy chick. Maybe I was a crazy chick. I definitely felt like one when I was around Nate.

"So, where to?" he asked, as I wiped up the mess on my face as best I could. I couldn't think of an answer to that question. I should have said that I wanted to go home, of course. I knew that. But the idea of locking myself up in that shitty apartment with only a ball of fur and my sketchbook for company was pretty grim. What I wanted to say was 'your place' but I wasn't an idiot. That was over now. We didn't do that anymore.

"I don't know," I admitted and found myself adding, "Do you even have time to drive me anywhere? I thought you'd be spending the rest of the evening with your young lady friend."

I tried my best to sound straightforward and normal rather than petty and jealous but I didn't quite manage it. Nate's forehead wrinkled and he looked at me.

"Lady friend? Oh, you mean Katie. I don't know if I'd call her a lady, really. I mean, she's got good manners and all that shit. But she's still in college and she isn't exactly what I would call sophisticated," he said. I wasn't sure if he genuinely meant what he was saying or if he was saying it to make me feel better. Either way, I clung to every word as if they were little rays of hope, "she's a great girl though, I like her a lot."

Those ten words hit me like ten little knives stabbing into my body, but I kept up my casual demeanor the best way I could. My jealousy didn't manage to stay fully contained, however, though I really did try.

"So, how long and you and Katie been seeing each other?" I asked. Nate frowned like he was thinking hard. Maybe he couldn't remember. Maybe they'd been dating since before Nate and I had started fucking. It wasn't impossible. Or maybe I was a crazy psycho who made shit up because she couldn't stand the thought of anyone else being with her step cousin.

I wondered how Nate would answer me. He struck me as being a good liar, so even if the answer was what I wanted to hear I knew I couldn't trust it. Nate chose to go with a different tactic.

"What's with all the questions? I feel like I'm being interviewed or something. Katie's a nice girl. That's all I wanna say," he said. His frown quickly turned into a smile as he started up the car, "Now we can talk about something else, because I just figured out where we're going."

I knew it was wrong but I desperately wanted him to say that he was taking me home. I'd argue, of course I would, but I'd give in after some gentle encouragement. His silk sheets had felt so soft and luxurious against my naked skin. They would feel even better with him sleeping beside me.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my heart beating fast. Nate gave me that cute smirk that I had missed so much.

"You ever been to a drive in movie?"

Nate

Ruby had looked slightly disappointment by my suggestion but it seemed better than inviting her back to my place, though that was what I wanted more than anything in the world. The last thing I wanted was for her to freak out at the idea and march out of the car. I didn't want that. I wanted to spend the rest of the evening with her, even if it was fully clothed.

"The drive-in. That sounds like a great idea," she said, though her voice was completely deadpan. I wondered if I should ask her what the problem was but decided against it. Things weren't going to get heavy tonight, not if I could help it.

I wasn't sure why I chose the drive-in. I wasn't really one for dates in the past. If a girl was lucky, I would take her out for a nice dinner before I fucked her. The kind of girls I usually met were wealthy and sophisticated women who either came from money or were self-made. A lot of them were models. None of these girls had any interest in 'fun' dates. They wanted classy and expensive. I gave them classy and expensive and they gave me what I wanted in return, it was simple. It always worked and there was never any hassle. But Ruby was more complicated than that. She didn't seem to be that impressed by my money. I had to work harder to surprise her. Plus, I'd always wanted to see a move at the drive-in. Now that a pretty girl had actually agreed to go with me, I wasn't going to question it.

We drove in relative silence across town. The rain began to beat softer and softer against the sides of the car until it was barely a trickle. Ruby turned on the radio and hummed along. Other than that, we didn't speak or make noise. It wasn't an awkward silence as much as it was a weird silence. I wanted to break the silence more than anything, but I couldn't think of anything to say.

We pulled into the drive-in just as the movie was starting. I paid for our tickets and we parked in one of the only spaces that was left at the back.

"Great, a horror movie," grumbled Ruby, as the opening titles appeared on the screen, "I fucking hate horror movies."

"What? They're cool. Don't tell me you're scared?" I asked and she shot me a look. She was so sexy when she was angry, I couldn't help but enjoy teasing her just a little bit.

"I'm not scared. I'm just squeamish," she said. At that very moment the busty blonde who had just stepped into the room where the moaning noise was coming from was impaled with a weird looking spear. Ruby groaned and turned away, "Gross gross gross! This was a terrible idea! I can't look at this shit for two whole hours!" she said.