Page 37 of Sacrifice Bunt

Sounded sort of...nice. She had friends she did that with, but what would it be like to have someone who was always there? Who could comfort her or talk her down when she needed to rant and be happy for her when she succeeded?

Or when she needed to cry from the stress of it all.

Noah would probably be good at being a shoulder for her to cry on.

Not that she cried very often, but when she did, she felt alone and sad.

“Is something going on?” Ruby asked. Her eyes went wide. “Is there a guy?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now.”

Ruby stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Zara in a hug. “You know you can talk to me. Or any of us.”

She wasn’t a hugger, but having someone give her one felt good just then. “What if I’m not built for that?” That was her biggest fear. She’d never wanted a relationship. There wasn’t any reason behind it. It had just never appealed to her. She wasn’t sure why it sounded so appealing now.

And with Noah.

“For what?” Ruby stepped back.

“Being with someone. Letting them help and support me.”

Ruby laughed lightly. “You might be the exact replica of me a couple of years ago. I never wanted that and refused to admit it, even when it was right in front of my face. My only advice to you is to try. That’s it. Try. If someone makes you happy, give it a chance. It might work out, and if it doesn’t, what did you lose?”

She was afraid she’d lose her heart.

She let out a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She had no idea what she would do, but Ruby made things sound so easy. “If it were as easy as that, no one would have relationship issues.”

Again, Ruby laughed. “That’s true. Do you have relationship issues?” Ruby was always inquisitive.

“Possibly.” She bobbed her head a little. “More likely, probably.”

“As much as I want to pry, I won’t. Even though it might kill me not to.”

Zara couldn't help but laugh. “There’s this guy, and I think I might have liked him for a while even though I told myself I hated him. Long story short, we had sex, and now I can’t stop thinking about him even though I told him it was once and only once.”

“Long story short? No, that’s not happening. You do not get to long story short me. I want to hear about the sex. Was it bad, good, weird?”

“How is sex weird?” She rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it can happen. Maybe he wanted to use props or do it upside down.”

“You have an active imagination.” She’d use props or do it upside down if Noah wanted.

She shrugged. “So, which was it?”

“It was...” She was about to say fine but that wasn’t even close to how it was. “It was amazing.” There she’d put it out in the universe again. The more she said it, the easier it would get. Right?

“And you want to have sex with this mystery guy again? Wait, is he the reason you’re home early?”

Of course, Ruby put two and two together. “Yes to both.”

“Ohhh, this guy has you all tangled up. Who is it?”

“I’m not telling you. Not yet. I need to sort some things out.”

“If you’re not telling me, that must mean I know him. Do I know him?” She tapped a finger against her lips as if she was thinking.

“I’m not answering that. Go find Dallas and enjoy your dinner. I’ll untangle my life and let you know if or when things change.” She shoved Ruby toward the tunnel entrance while she stayed on the pitch's sidelines.

---