Untameable (BWWM)

Chapter 15

Zane left our house probably an hour after our fight. We nursed our bruises with frozen bags of peas and carrots while we ate and talked more about how badly I screwed up and the likelihood of this being a severe detour for me and Ruby Jean. After he left, I cleaned up a bit and answered the various phone calls I received throughout my short time away from the office.

I did some work from home and counted down the seconds until Ruby Jean would arrive home. I had a while to go.

There was a time I used to cook for her when she would get home from work but Ruby Jean's not particularly fond of my cooking so she, like myself, had gotten into the habit of picking up take out.

Before I knew it, it was nearing six in the evening and I still had hours before Ruby Jean would come home.

Or so I thought.

Usually, I'm not even home at this time so I wondered what the hell she could be doing here as I heard her Camry pull into the garage alongside my truck.

I was sitting at the nook, handling some business on my laptop when she walked through the side door in a crop top, fitted longline pencil skirt, and sneakers. She was beautiful with her blow out in a half-up/down style with bumped ends and large bamboo earrings.

"Hey, Mama."

"Hi," she answered quietly without looking at me. She continued to walk down the hall leading to our bedroom.

I snatched my reading glasses off and took out after her. By the time I reached our bedroom, Ruby Jean had stripped and was already in the shower.

"Everything alright, Ruby Jean?"

"Yes," her voice echoed from behind the door. "I'm fine."

"Alright then."

I didn't want to ask too many questions seeing as we were already on bad terms and I didn't want her to feel like I was hassling or harassing her so I left her alone to return to my work.

As I typed away on my laptop, I continued to wonder what exactly she was doing home this early. Ruby Jean hasn't been home at this hour on a Monday in forever. I was glad she was here, but I still wanted to know what was up. She was unlikely to tell me though. Ruby Jean almost refuses to have anything to do with me, at this point.

She didn't stay in the shower for more than five minutes. Ruby Jean never too much liked long showers, anyways, but she usually spent a little more time than that. She was in a rush to get somewhere.

But where? On a Monday at that. And it must be somewhere important if she was willing to let Zane close the shop for the first time in a year.

I went to our bedroom to find out more, even though I was certain she would be ignoring me the whole time I spoke to her.

Ruby Jean was in our walk-in closet, struggling with the zipper of a colourful off the shoulder dress. It had a very slim fit, showing every delicious curve she was blessed with. A single ruffle lined the bodice and each shoulder.

"Need some help?"

"No," she rejected. "I've got it." With one more snatch, she fully dragged the zipper up her back.

"Where are you off to?"

"I'm having dinner with an old friend from high school."

"Cool." Friend from high school? The only people Ruby Jean even mention from her graduating class was Dax and River and aside from the occasional mention of her ex, there was no one else she really spoke of. I didn't question her further though. "You look nice."