Cody’s cock twitched when Ruby emerged from her front door. She looked gorgeous in the floaty summer dress she wore. He’d chosen well this time. His father thought she might be too old, but he’d soon eat his words when he set eyes on her. Cody was certain.
Ever the gentleman, Cody raced around the car and held the door open while his date slid into the passenger seat. She was looking at her phone when he got in beside her.
“Anything important?” he asked, nodding at her phone as she put it back into her bag.
“What? Oh no—just my mum—she’s such a stress-head. She refuses to accept I’m an adult.” She laughed.
As Cody drove away, he noticed a woman peeking from the window opposite.
“You’re lucky she cares. I barely remember my mum—she died when I was a kid.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...”
“You didn’t, don’t worry.” He smiled.
“I lost my dad, so I know the pain of losing a parent. You do still have your dad, don’t you?” She braced herself, her hand in the centre of her chest, praying she hadn’t made a double booboo.
“Yes.” He grinned. “He’s still with us. In fact, he brought up my brother Kyle and me single-handed.”
“Your brother? I thought you only had a sister?” Ruby’s brow furrowed as she glanced at him.
Cody’s stomach clenched. Annoyed with himself for being so stupid—he normally stuck as close to the truth as possible.
“No, a younger brother, Kyle, but we call him Kylie. You see he intends to have a sex change operation as soon as he’s old enough.”
“Really?” Ruby said with a wide-eyed stare.
“Yup. So I often say he’s my sister, to avoid confusion when the time comes.”
“What does your dad think?”
Cody shrugged. “He’s fine. To be honest, it’s always been obvious to us since he was little.” He marvelled at how easy the lies flew off his tongue.
“Poor thing. That sounds horrendous—and without a mother to help him through it, too.”
“He’s okay—made of tough stuff. Just like anybody who’s a bit different in this day and age needs to be.”
“I guess.” Ruby turned to gaze through the side window.
After a few minutes of silence, they both began talking at the same time.
“I’m sorry, you go,” Ruby said.
“It’s okay—you first.”
“I was going to ask where we’re going?”
“There’s a quaint little pub towards the coast, if you don’t mind the drive, that is? It shouldn’t take too long.”
“No—not at all. It makes a change to get out of town. I rarely do,” she said, a faraway look in her eye.
Delicious bubbles of excitement filled his stomach. She was perfect.
They made small talk as they drove. Her phone buzzed several more times and he realised this could cause him a problem. He needed to think this through.
“How long have you lived in Penderton?” he asked.
“All my life. Dad’s family owned the house Mum still lives in. She did consider selling up after Dad died but couldn’t go through with it in the end.”
“How did he die?”
She shrugged. “An accident. It would be funny if not so tragic.”
“Why, what happened?”
“He choked on a chicken bone.” She half-smiled. “No-one was home at the time and he’d raided the fridge. Mum and I found him on the kitchen floor when I was nine years old. He’d been dead for hours.”
“That’s shocking.” Cody glanced at her, his eyebrows drawn together.
They pulled into a pub car park.
“It was—anyway, let’s change the subject.” She sat forward in her seat.
Her phone buzzed again.
“Somebody’s keen.”
“My mum again. I’ll text her back once we get inside otherwise she’ll be at it all night.”
The place was pumping as Cody had predicted it would be—less chance of anybody noticing them this way. He spotted a middle-aged couple preparing to leave and so he hovered by their table and quickly guided Ruby to the booth as they left. He piled their empty plates and glasses and shoved them into the far corner.
A steady hum of chatter surrounded them. Cody couldn’t even tell if any music played in the background. He gestured to Ruby to ask if she wanted a drink.
She nodded and mouthed cider.
From his position at the bar, he watched as she sent a text message. “Bugger,” he muttered under his breath.
Once he had the drinks, he made his way back to the table. A large blond-haired man, who could have just stepped off a rugby pitch, blocked his way and made a production of not allowing him to pass. Cody managed to dart around him, but clocked the fierce expression in the big man’s eyes.
He slid behind the table next to Ruby. “Is your mum happy again?” he asked.
“She’ll never be happy, but now she knows where I am, we should get a bit of peace,” she laughed.
Cody tipped his head back in acknowledgement, still smiling—at least on the outside. His dad would have a fit when he found out—but he couldn’t stop her contacting her mother without looking like a complete psycho. He would deal with it later.