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1-2-3-4-5-6-7 a.m.
All alone again.
Spend my nights in self-defense.
Cry about my innocence.
But I ain't all that innocent anymore.


Ruby turned her stereo down when she heard a knock on her door. She ran her fingers through her hair and opened the door. “Hi,” she smiled.

“Hey,” Paul said. “Um, are you busy?”

“No, just got home,” she told him letting him inside. “What’s up?”

“Well, I mean, this is totally short notice, but would you want to go out tonight? Like to dinner?” He asked sitting on her bed.

“Sure,” she raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah? Alright, well I’ll leave you since you just got home. But, how about I drop by at 7?”

“Okay. See you then,” she said.

“Yep. See ya,” he said leaving and closing the door behind him.

Ruby glanced at the phone pushing back the urge to call Zac and hear his voice. She turned her stereo back up and unzipped the back of her skirt. She thought about how good it felt to get back to New York and see the friends she had made freshman year. At the same time, thoughts of Zac consumed a lot of her mind and she constantly wondered what he was doing.

Brian called her alot. Brian was the guy she was sort of dating last semester. She still felt lonely since it was her first time living without a roommate. But she knew once school started, all her time would be spent studying and working leaving little time for Zac.

********************************************************************

Paul laughed and twirled some pasta around his fork. “That’s right. I forgot you’re still in school.”

“Yep,” she nodded looking down at her dinner.

“Man, sucks to be you,” he said.

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows and concentrated on her ziti. “Well how’s after college life?” She asked.

She was interrupted by the annoying ring of a cell phone. “Oh, hold on,” Paul said reaching for the phone hooked on his belt. “Yeah,” he answered. “Greg, what’s up man?”

Ruby scrunched up her nose. She hated cell phones. She picked up her glass and downed a gulp of white wine that Paul had ordered.

“That’s funny,” he laughed into his phone. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

********************

“More wine?” Paul offered a while later.

“No, no,” Ruby shook her head. “I’m good.”

“Come on. We might as well finish the bottle,” he said refilling her glass.

********************

“1...2...3,” Taylor counted before tipping a shot of Jack Daniels back with his younger brother.

“Ah, fuck,” Zac said closing his eyes tightly and shaking his head.

“Yeah,” Taylor smiled slapping Zac on the back as he stood up. “And it’s only 10 o’clock.”

“Hi Zac,” one of the waitresses from Rio Bravo, Belinda, said sitting next to him. “How’s it going?”

“It’s going,” he said sitting back on the couch that belonged to some friend of Taylor’s he didn’t even know. “What’s up?”

“You know, the usual. Getting wasted,” she smiled holding her beer.

Zac nodded slowly. “Sounds like fun,” he said sarcastically.

“So where’ve you been all summer?” She asked running her hand down the length of his ponytail.

Zac looked at her strangely out of the corner of his eye. He barely knew this girl with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. “Um, you know. Just hanging out.”

“Oh. Well you want me to get you something else to drink?” She offered.

“Sure,” he said plainly leaning his head on the back of the couch.

*************************************

“Well since we’re right here we might as well take the N back home,” Ruby said standing outside the subway station in SoHo.

“Already?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, I kinda told Kathryn I’d stop by her room and hang out,” she said.

“Okay,” he said leading her down the stairs.

Ruby was grateful that they only had one subway stop until they got off. Paul sat leaning forward touching the screen of his Palm Pilot with the pointer. Ruby crossed one leg over the other and looked around wondering what was so damn important and why he insisted on keeping in touch with the rest of the world while they were on a date.

********************************

“So she loves me, but she wants to see other people,” Zac rambled while he added more whiskey to his half-full cup of Coke around midnight. “How fucked up is that?”

Belinda nodded. “Are you allowed to see other people?”

“Yeah,” he looked over at her.

“Well maybe she doesn’t love you,” she said.

Zac closed his eyes tightly and gulped down more of his drink. “Maybe not.”

“You know what you need?” She asked putting her arm on the back of the couch behind him.

“A beer?”

“No,” she giggled. “You’re too cute.” She turned his face towards her with her finger and placed her lips on his.

*********************************

“Aren’t you on the 5th floor?” Ruby asked when Paul didn’t push his button in the elevator.

“Yeah. But I was thinking tonight I could be in your room,” he smiled wrapping his arm around her waist.

“I doubt it,” she said when the elevator reached the 8th floor.

“Aw, come on Ruby,” he said backing her up against her door.

“Paul,” she raised her eyebrows. “Thank you for dinner. But this is where it ends. Goodnight.”

“Ruby don’t be so uptight. I just wanna come in.”

“No thank you,” she said sticking her key in the door.

“Don’t be so quick to leave,” he grabbed her hand that was on the doorknob. “I wanna say goodnight.” She turned her head and Paul pulled her body to his by holding onto her wrist. He touched his lips to hers and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

********************************

“See that’s what I’m talking about,” Taylor said from the corner of the living room with some of his friends. “That’s all Zac needs.”

Zac urged his tongue into Belinda’s mouth and gently pushed her onto her back. She smiled against his lips and reached up to trail her fingertips down his face as Zac climbed on top of her.

“You wanna go in the bedroom?” She breathed.

Zac opened his eyes and looked down at her small body. “Yeah,” he whispered.

chapter 3.