My promotion party was in full swing at ten on a Friday night. My best friend Ruby was halfway to lit and was being her usual--friendly--self with my work friends that she doesn't see often.
She'd been telling me for months she was ready to settle down and stop one-night-standing her way through her twenties, and I for one wished she would.
"Cole!" she shrieked and danced across the room to me.
"Cole, sweetie, who's the hottie by the fireplace?"
I looked over and saw my coworker Aiden Flynn talking with my boss. As my boss was seventy and looked every day of his years, I gathered she was asking about Aiden.
"That's my boss, John Robinson."
"No, silly," she said slapping my chest for effect. "The sugar cookie talking to him."
I laughed. She always called guys with blonde hair sugar cookies. She'd done it since we were fifteen and were freshmen in high school.
"That's one of the guys from work. His name's Aiden, and he started with us about six months ago."
I walked away before she asked me to introduce them. The idea of them hooking up was bile inducing.
I started grabbing empties from around my living room when my fraternal twin brother Clayton slapped my back.
"Hey, Bro," he said with a stammer. He was brash and boisterous, yet was one of the best people you could ever meet. He would tear the shirt off his back, wash and dry it, then give it to you perfectly pressed, if you needed it.
"What's up, Big Brother?"
He was 2 minutes older than I, and believe me, I heard about it for the entire twenty-eight years of our lives.
"When are you gonna tell her, Bro? You've got to make a move, and you know that."
"She's not my type and you know it," I sighed and tossed another bottle into the bag.
"That smoke show on legs is everyone's type," he countered and leered at Ruby's red stocking-clad legs.
"Then you can have her, Clay. She's been telling me she wants to settle down."
He laughed. "Dude, if she told you she wants to settle down, that means she wants you to settle her down."
"Whatever," I groaned and walked away to clean up more empty bottles and cans.
It was the age-old battle with Clay. I made the mistake of telling him he couldn't go out with Ruby because I liked her, back when we were in high school, and ten years later he still rides me because I never made a move.
She never liked me the same way, and I enjoyed our friendship, so I never wanted to mess anything up. I let the status quo play out and we all moved on with our lives.
I looked over and saw her talking with Aiden, and she winked at me. I walked on, took the garbage to the can in the garage, and grabbed another Spotted Cow to try and catch a buzz.
"Great party, Cole. See you on Monday, Mister Assistant Vice President."
"Thanks, Mr. Robinson, and thanks for coming. I'll see you bright and early Monday."
I walked my boss to the door and once he left, another of my coworkers opened a bottle of Padron.
"Boss is gone! Shots up!" he shouted and my work group along with some of my other friends cheered, including Ruby. Aiden took that opportunity to walk away.
"Hey, Cole," Aiden said as I handed a package of solo cups to the guy with the Padron.
"That Ruby girl, what's her deal?"
He didn't seem happy to have met her. That was part of Ruby's problem. She was as hot as anyone I'd ever met, yet sometimes she came on too strong and it put off a lot of the more mature guys she met. Especially, after she'd been drinking. Believe it or not, not all guys are looking for one-night stands with easy party girls. Some guys wanted a little more substance.
I laughed, "Not sure what you mean?"
"Do you know her well?" he asked.
"Yeah, she's one of my best friends."
"I'm his bestest best friend," she slurred, appearing behind us. "His life would crumble without my influence."
"Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom," Aiden said and walked off.
"I want to have that man's puppies," she said and plopped into a chair at my breakfast table.
"You two hit it off, huh?" I asked.
"Totally. I was closing the deal when we were interrupted by shots."
I shook my head, "Okay, good luck."
She lifted her glass and took a sip of whatever was hammering her that night.
I caught Aiden out of the corner of my eye waving goodbye to me. He glanced at Ruby and shook his head no. I nodded and winked before he made his way to the door.
"I better go find Aaron," Ruby said after chugging her drink. If she couldn't remember the guy's name, she would have less than the chance she had already blown with him.
She stood and wobbled her way into the living room. I tossed her cup into the trash and resolved to keep an eye on her. She was staying in my guest room, and I knew everyone in my house, but one couldn't be too careful.
By midnight, I had carried a passed-out Ruby to her bed, said goodbye to all of my guests, and had my house in fairly decent condition. Clay had organized most of the group there into hitting a dance club about a mile from my home, and I was glad. I hated partying until late in the night, or early in the morning, depending on your outlook, and Clay knew that. He was a good brother.
I put a bottle of water and a couple of aspirins on the nightstand beside Ruby and made sure she was okay before heading to bed.
*****
I woke up to a text from Aiden at six o'clock.
Hey. I need a fourth for golf at seven. You in?
I groaned and figured I could clean up when I got home. I knew Ruby would never do it. In the time she'd been living with me, she hadn't cleaned except for once, on my birthday, when she couldn't afford a present for me. She'd probably still be asleep when I got home anyway. I texted him I'd be there and made my way into the shower.
I thought about what Clay said and knew in my bones I could never be with Ruby. I loved her like a sister.
I never considered making a move on her and she'd lived with me for two years since her fiancé cheated on her when he got fed up with her partying ways. His parents hated her from day one and set him up with a 'nice girl' from their church. So much for religious people staying faithful.
I remembered when she appeared on my doorstep that rainy night. Earlier, she had walked in on her fiancé getting a blowjob from the girl his parents favored. As she told the story, her diamond engagement ring cut the girl's forehead when Ruby threw it at her.
So, after crying on my shoulder for a weekend, we went to get her stuff out of their apartment, and she moved in with me until she could find a place of her own. I guess she was still looking two years later.
Ruby was a party girl, not necessarily a slut, but if she met a guy she wanted, she didn't hesitate in taking him home for a night. She had a carefree way of moving through life that was, in an odd way, refreshing. I could never do it. I had to make order out of the chaos around me. It was almost a compulsion.
*****
I flicked the ash off my cigar on the tenth tee box. We just had a beer and a hot dog after the ninth hole and Aiden offered a nice Montecristo for the back nine.
"What happened with that girl last night, Cole. Was it Ruby?"
"Yeah, Ruby. Nothing. She's passed out in my guest room as we speak."
"Oh? Well, all right, man. She was good looking."
"No, no. She's my roommate. We're not...we don't hook up."
"Gotcha. She came on a little strong last night, drunk out of her mind," he complained.
"Yeah, she sometimes overdoes it. She's a great girl though. Stable job and all that. She just..."
"Likes to live like she's still in college?"
I laughed, "I guess. She has the same wall we all have when we're drinking. She just doesn't feel it and crashes through it sometimes."
We laughed, and he said, "It's too bad. I thought she was hot, obviously, but she's not what I'm looking for, you know?"
"I know. She's been talking about cutting back and getting serious about life. She's growing up and she'll make some guy a great wife someday. Believe it or not, her biggest dream is to be a mom and have as many kids as she can."
