Rebel (Renegades #2)(71)
Author: Skye Jordan

She hung up the portable phone on the kitchen counter. “He’s still at the hospital. Said he wouldn’t be heading back for another hour or two. So you should have just enough time to catch him.”

Armed with Grams’s Special K bars—whatever the hell those were—and a can of “pop” in the form of Coke, Rubi followed Ms. GPS’s directions back to St. Louis and the VA Medical center with a shitload of misgivings. And even by the time she slid her rental—a crisp, white BMW sports coupe—past the front of the hospital’s spinal injury center, she still hadn’t decided whether or not to call him.

But fate decided for her.

As she pulled the car into a parking spot at the front left of the building, she spotted Wes strolling the path leading to the main entrance. And he wasn’t alone. Whoever the woman was had long blonde hair and knew Wes well judging by the minimal distance between them.

Fine. Rubi turned off the car to wait. After Birdie, Rubi wasn’t exactly up for meeting any more of Wes’s family or friends at the moment.

With his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, staring down at the concrete beneath his feet, he looked ridiculously adorable. Rubi found herself wondering if he had baby pictures she could see. The thought made her smile. She soaked in the sight of him in his jeans and long-sleeved tee after not seeing him for three days. The first time they’d been apart in two months. Crazy. Not at all a normal relationship. But then, Rubi didn’t know anything about normal.

She shifted in her seat, restless to surprise him. Her smile widened as she realized how quickly her uncertainty morphed to excitement. All it took was his proximity and her fears seemed to melt.

“Come on…” she murmured, leaning her head sideways to get a better view. “Go home already, blondie. I’m exhausted. And I can’t wait to get my hands on that man.”

“Wesley’s always preferred blondes.”

The comment scraped along Rubi’s nerves. His grandmother was definitely a little off. But Rubi’s mind drifted back to what she knew of his previous girlfriends. Jax and the other Renegades razzed each other about women often enough for Rubi to catch a few details. She knew Kayla had been blonde, but she couldn’t remember if his other girlfriends had been too.

It didn’t matter. Rubi was secure enough with herself to know a hair color didn’t determine attraction. And she also knew if she had to choose a type, blond would not be her top choice, yet she was hot as hellfire for Wes Lawson.

Wes and the blonde woman slowed their pace as they neared the parking lot and continued talking. He laughed at something she said, and she leaned into him.

A trickle of heat coursed down Rubi’s neck. “Don’t…” she barely whispered.

He didn’t pull away but neither did he take his hands from his pockets to touch her. They talked another moment, a span of time that seemed like an eternity to Rubi. Then the blonde made her move—one Rubi had known was coming. That hadn’t surprised her. She lifted her hands to Wes’s shoulders, pushed up on her toes, and kissed him. Not just a peck either. She lingered there.

Rubi’s stomach clenched. And as if she’d been numbed, a dull ache filled her chest. “Don’t…” she begged Wes in a whisper.

He lifted his head and said something, hands still in his pockets as if they’d been glued there. The blonde responded by sliding her hand around his neck and pulling Wes’s mouth down to hers.

Rubi’s breath slid out in a slow exhale of wounded disappointment, but beneath lived that ever-present resignation. She wasn’t right for Wes, and by coming here, she was only prolonging the inevitable.

“Or…he’s really just looking to hook up with you because you’re hot, to tide him over until he finds another one of those sweet girls to settle with again.”

The very reality of Lexi’s words might mean whatever relationship Wes and Rubi had been flirting with was already over. And she’d created this whole goddamned mess.

Tears crept up, blurring her vision. She certainly hadn’t been prepared for this twist. At least not tonight.

Wes’s hands finally pulled from his pockets, slid up the woman’s arms. Still, he didn’t push her away. A rock formed in Rubi’s stomach—not the pain of jealousy, but of loss. And damn but she felt foolish. So f**king foolish. The pain in her stomach spread to her chest and throbbed there.

Rubi closed her eyes and sank back into the seat, weighted like lead. “I’m such a f**king loser.”

The whisper dissipated, and Rubi reached forward, turning the engine over. Without looking at Wes again, she pulled out of the parking spot and exited the lot for the freeway. And the airport.

Twenty-One

Wes froze at the feel of Melissa’s lips on his. The two of them had been getting along great the last two days, like the friends they’d once been. Like no time had passed. He’d settled into the comfort and camaraderie, proud of them both for being able to let the past go.

So this move was completely unexpected.

Time seemed to stand still. Memories flashed back—their first kiss, their first I love yous, their first time making love in the back of his truck. But this kiss didn’t bring back any of those old emotions. Not at all the way he’d once believed it would if he’d ever gotten the chance to kiss her again.

In fact, it felt wrong. All wrong.

Wes added pressure to Melissa’s arms. As badly as he wanted her mouth off his, he didn’t want to jerk her around. To dislodge her, he had to reach up and curl his fingers around hers, prying them loose. Then he was able to pull his head back and break the kiss.

“Missy,” he said, frowning. “What was that?”

She wasn’t at all the kind of woman he wanted. Not now. And looking back, probably not then either. But she’d fit the acceptable model for his family.

She turned her hand in his and threaded their fingers together. “It’s called a kiss. We used to be very good at it.”

She leaned closer, her br**sts pressing his chest. Instead of desire, only anxiety and discomfort filled him. Beyond, in the parking lot, tires gave a curt squeal as someone popped a clutch too fast. Wes glanced that direction as a white BMW coupe turned onto the freeway.

“Let’s try it again,” Melissa said. “See if you remember this time.”

She pushed up, but this time, with his hand trapped in hers, he pulled back. “I’m…seeing someone, Missy.”

At least he hoped he was still seeing Rubi. She hadn’t responded to any of his messages since midday yesterday. At least when she was angry, she was still talking. Wes’s biggest fear was that the anger had grown old and she just stopped caring all together. With him gone and her not responding to his calls or texts or even videos, he knew that indifference would happen even faster.