Ulysses Paradox (a Will Lenney fanfiction.)

chapter nine

Will's hands were on her hips, pulling Ruby up toward him. She let him fumble with the zipper on her dress and she gasped as his hands met the skin of her back. Warm, solid.

"Ruby," Will murmured into her neck, "we should stop..." his words were halfhearted and his body didn't follow, and Ruby felt his weight press her into the mattress even more. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't find a coherent thought to save her life, all the could think about was him, on top of her, kissing her, touching her, the way her dress was riding up her legs and the way she didn't even care. Finally, Will pushed himself up long enough for them to both take a deep breath and stare at each other.

"What was that?" Ruby asked. She asked more for herself, she needed to put words to the way her body was reacting. Once again, the memory of Will walking her to her apartment surfaced. His hand had left an imprint, an IOU, a note. I'm not done. Ruby had been waiting for him to finish what he started that night, and she was just realizing it. Will rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"I-I don't know what came over me," He said. "Genuinely, I didn't mean to—"

"You don't have to apologize," Ruby mumbled. "I didn't stop you." Their bodies were still tangled together, Ruby's dress pushed up too far.

"You're drunk. This was all me, you didn't even get the chance to stop me, Ruby I—"

"I didn't want to stop you." Ruby whispered this time. She was staring at the ceiling, the last several moments going around and around in her head. "I didn't want to stop you." She said again. They didn't speak for a few more moments.

Finally, Will shifted.

"Look, we need to go back out there. People are gonna wonder." Ruby nodded. "I'll head out and I'll just uh, I'll tell anyone who asks that you just... you got sick or somethin." Will cringed at the lie.

"That's fine, I'll just um, I'll just stay here and I'll change into something else," Ruby decided. "I'll be out soon." They nodded awkwardly, and sat up.

"Look, Ruby, I'm so sorry, you're drunk and I'm drunk and I don't know why I did that. I-I'm so sorry, I couldn't help it."

"I have a lot to think about," Ruby said to him. He nodded, of course. "If it's okay with you, I think I'd like to sleep over here tonight." This surprised both of them, but Will agreed.

"That's totally fine." Ruby let him know she would be out there soon, and as soon as he was gone the weight of what had happened hit her. They had kissed. No, they had surpassed just kissing. She felt very sober.

When Ruby finally changed into Will's offered sweats and hoodie and went back out to join the crowd, the amount of people had drastically shrunken, leaving only around twenty people in the kitchen and living room area. Alex was one of those people, and he spotted her and came around to say hi. He asked about the party, the drinks, the girl named Jane — Will had told him— and how she liked it. She tried to get invested in the conversation in front of her, but it was near impossible. She felt herself drifting back to Will. Alex noticed.

"You alright? You need a drink or something?" He asked, trying to get her attention back. She nodded, and asked for some water. Alex filled up a new glass for her. They continued to chat about the party, and Alex graciously didn't push his inquiry when Ruby continued gazing off and didn't speak for moments at a time. She was trying to wrap her head around everything. Will was on the other side of the room, chatting with a group of guys, and when they made eye contact, Ruby quickly looked away, worried someone would see straight through her.