Chapter 1
At the graduation party, Ryan Cooper handed Ruby Lane his Coke right in front of everyone.
Ruby took it without a second thought and took a sip.
On the way home, I broke up with her.
She frowned. "So you're breaking up with me just because I drank Ryan's Coke?"
I nodded.
"Michael, seriously? You're being ridiculous. It's only a Coke. Why are you blowing this out of proportion? Fine, let's break up. But don't regret it later." Ruby, confident that I couldn't leave her, readily agreed.
But she had no idea that I was dead serious this time.
The moment I got home, I changed my college choice from Central State University, the one Ruby and I had agreed on, to Western Institute of Technology.
From now on, we'd be worlds apart, never to meet again.
*****
In the days after the party, my phone was as silent as a brick.
Ruby didn't text me, not even a single dot.
I stared at our chat window, my finger hovering over her name before I finally let it drop, a wry smile tugging at my lips.
She was always like this, waiting for me to be the first to give in.
The day the SAT results came out, Jason Lawrence called to remind me it was his birthday and that the party was at our usual bar downtown.
When I pushed open the door to the private room, the cold air and blaring music hit me all at once, leaving me a bit stunned. There were already a dozen or so people inside, mostly classmates.
My eyes instinctively scanned the room, and then I spotted Ruby in the corner.
She was wearing the red dress I'd given her, laughing and chatting with a few other girls. The light hit her profile, making her skin look flawless.
"Michael, over here!" Jason waved me over and handed me a beer. We toasted. I knocked it back in one go.
Not long after I sat down, a shadow fell across me.
Ruby loomed over me, that familiar impatient smile playing at her lips. "Michael, come outside. I need to talk to you," she said.
The hallway was dimly lit, and the thin walls let the vioce from the next room leak through in fits and starts.
Ruby leaned against the wall, absentmindedly twirling a strand of her hair. This was a little habit of hers whenever she grew impatient.
"Are you done throwing a tantrum yet?" Ruby said, like I was some kid making a fuss. "It's been five days. You should be over it by now."
I stared at her lips, painted cherry red. I remembered that day when she grabbed Ryan's Coke without hesitation, and a bit of brown liquid stuck to the corner of her mouth.
Back then, she just casually wiped it off with the back of her hand. She didn't see anything wrong with it at all.
"I'm not throwing a tantrum," I said, my voice calmer than I expected. "Breaking up is breaking up."
Ruby's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly put it back on. "All this over a sip of Coke? Michael, when did you become so petty?"
She stepped closer, and the faint scent of her perfume drifted over. That scent, which used to make me lose my mind, now only felt sharp.
"Ryan just handed it to me casually, that's all. We're all classmates, so what's the big deal?" she said.
"Casually?" I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "He nearly circled half the table, dodged everyone, just to hand you that Coke. And you call that casual?"
Ruby frowned. Then she gave me that familiar, commanding look. "Were you watching him the whole time?"
"I've got eyes." I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms, the pain snapping me back to reality. "And this isn't the first time.
"Last year, at the class picnic, he 'accidentally' used your water bottle. At the sports meet, he 'accidentally' put his arm around your waist. And—"
"Enough!" Ruby cut me off, her voice rising. "Michael, do you hear yourself? You're acting like some bitter ex right now."
She leaned in, her voice low. "I'm asking you one last time. Do you want to get back together? After today, that's it. No more chances."