Krissi tried to sleep but woke several times. She missed the warmth and the safe, protected feeling of Ruger’s arms around her. At 6:30, she gave up trying and got out of bed. She finished the homework that needed to be turned in the next day, but it took her three times what it should have because she kept finding herself staring off into space, thinking about Ruger. Picking up her phone, she checked for the hundredth time for a message from him. Nothing. She didn’t know why she kept checking. She didn’t expect him to call. Not really. Setting the phone aside, she picked up her math book and told herself she wasn’t going to pick up the phone again as she opened the book and found her place.

Her phone chimed an incoming message, and she had it in her hand before the tone finished playing.

“Wat u up 2” The message was from Juanita, one of the few people from Albuquerque that Krissi was still in touch with. Juanita had never had anything to do with Krissi’s dad’s club, so there had been no reason to cut ties with her like she had most of her friends and family.

“Not much, you?” She sent the first reply then quickly typed up another. “Trying to get my homework done.”

“Wat u takin?” Krissi rolled her eyes at the abbreviated language but responded anyway.

“English, Math, Biology, Psych. And Western Civilization, aka history. Mostly boring stuff but the psych is interesting.” Krissi couldn’t help but shake her head at the way Juanita still abbreviated her text messages like she was in high school or typing it all on an old T9 keyboard. Krissi had long ago started using whole words and usually even punctuation in texts. Smart phones and spellcheck made it easy to not look like an eight-year-old. While Krissi and Juanita had remained friends, they didn’t talk a great deal. They were friends, but not best friends. Krissi hadn’t talked to or messaged her best friend in almost six months, not since she’d left home. Melody was the daughter of one of her dad’s men. That made it a bad idea to stay in touch. Instead, Krissi kept in touch with the one link to home she still had: Juanita.

Taking a deep breath, Krissi shook off the loneliness her thoughts brought with them and went back to work. Her phone chimed again, and she let it sit for a few minutes while she finished her last few algebra problems. Juanita could wait.

Closing her notebook, Krissi set it aside and grabbed the one she used for history then remembered Juanita. She picked up her phone and found there were two messages waiting. One was from Juanita.

“Sounds like u r keepin busy. U havin ny fun at all?”

She quickly typed up her response and hit send. “Some, but I don’t have time for much.” Touching the screen a few times, she found the second message was from Ruger. Her heart raced while she waited for the message to pop up.

“Free tonight?”

“Only if I can get my homework done first.”

She waited several seconds then set her phone aside, opened her history book, and found the right chapter. Her phone chimed again, and she snatched it up.

“Have you eaten today? Can I bring you food?”

She had eaten breakfast but nothing since. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost 4:00 p.m. She wanted to see him but suspected they would get naked instead of her homework done. Her phone chirped in her hand.

“I won’t interfere with your studying. I’ll even help if I can.” Something inside softened, and she had to admit, food sounded good. She wasn’t sure how much help he would be but decided to give him a chance.

“All right.”

“Chinese? Pizza?” came back a few seconds later.

“Pizza, please. Pepperoni and mushrooms for me.”

“Ok. Be there soon. Apt #?”

She sent him the number then set her phone aside, still waiting for Juanita to reply, and settled in with her history homework. No longer impatient to hear from Ruger, she quickly lost herself in the work. She was almost done with the last answer when a knock sounded on the door.

“Just a second.” She jotted down the last sentence, slammed the book shut, tossed it on top of the pile, and got up. “Coming!” She hurried to the door, flipped the locks, and swung it open.

“Did you even check to see who it was?” Ruger stepped inside, a stack of boxes in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.

“No. No one ever comes to see me. You’re the only one it could have been.” She took the bag. “This way.” She led him into the tiny kitchen and set the bag on the counter, leaving barely enough room for the pizza. “That smells amazing. Where is it from?” She looked at the box to see where he’d gone. “Uncle Tony’s? I’ve never heard of them.”

“It’s a local place, really good and my favorite.” He flipped open the box and revealed the pie covered in cheese and toppings. “Plates?” He motioned to the bag in front of her.

Opening the bag, Krissi found a package of paper plates, small packets of cheese and red pepper flakes for the pizza, and a carton of ice cream. “Ice cream?” She looked up at him.

“I took a chance.” He shrugged one shoulder.

She opened the plates and handed him two then put the ice cream in the freezer for later. “Want something to drink? I have tea, water, and soda.”

“Is the tea sweet?”

“Nope.”

“Then that sounds good.” He served pizza, closed the box, and opened a second. Cheesy bread went on the plates next. Krissi hurried to fix his drink. “Where you want to eat?” He looked around as if looking for a table.

“In the other room. It’s just me, and I didn’t see the point in wasting space with another table.” She carried his glass and followed as he carried both plates. “There.” She motioned to the long, low table in front of the folded futon. “I eat at the coffee table.” Moving in front of him, she set his glass on the table and gathered the books that had been scattered on top and stacked them on one end beside her laptop.

He glanced around. “No TV?”

“Nope.” She took one plate from him and sat down, motioning for him to join her. “I don’t want to waste money on cable. Besides, I don’t have time to watch it anyway.”

“You go to school and work at the diner. While I realize that takes a decent amount of time, it can’t take it all. So, what do you do in your spare time?”

“Well, to be honest, they don’t. But getting back and forth to work and school on the bus takes up what little time I don’t spend doing homework or sleeping.”

Ruger frowned then nodded toward the stack of books. “What are you studying?”

“General Ed for now.” She picked up a piece of cheese bread and took a bite.

“What’s your major?” It seemed they took turns eating and talking.

“I’m not sure yet. Right now, I’m between business management and information system management.”

“Information system?” He frowned again.

“Computers.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Both would be useful.”

“That’s part of why I’m having a hard time deciding. In the meantime, I’m taking the stuff I have to have either way.”

“That’s a sound plan.” He popped the last bite of crust into his mouth, dusted off his fingers, and motioned to her plate. “You want more?”

Glancing down, she realized she only had a couple bites left. “Um, sure.”

He picked up both plates and went in the kitchen, reappearing a moment later with more food. “How much homework do you have tonight?” He sat down, putting her plate in front of her.

“Not as much as I had an hour ago. I had just finished my math when you offered dinner, and I was finishing my history when you got here. That’s what took me so long to get to the door.” She ran one hand over her hair and realized she must look a mess. She’d changed out of her pajamas this morning, but she’d put on things she only wore around the house. She hadn’t even bothered to run a brush through her hair before pulling it up. She gave Ruger points that he hadn’t said anything and didn’t seem to notice or care.

* * *

Sitting on the floor, eating pizza at a coffee table with Krissi, Ruger noticed the feeling of contentment that washed through him. He’d spent the morning talking to Jailbait, and, along with Tuck and Sadist, figured out what the club’s next several moves would be. Life among the Demented Souls was different than most people imagined, but it was what he knew—what he was good at. Yet, somehow, it didn’t feel as right as sitting on the floor with a girl in no makeup and her hair pulled up into a messy knot. Ruger couldn’t explain it, not to his friend, his brothers, or even to himself. There was something about her.

“Thank goodness you’re done with the math. I’d be no help there.”

She laughed. “It’s not my favorite, but it’s doable.”

“History I was never too bad at, but it held no interest for me. It was just something to get through. What do you have left?”

“English and psychology. I finished biology on Friday before work.”

“That’s too bad. Biology is interesting.”

Krissi cringed then laughed. The sound sent a jolt of heat through his body.

“You’re gonna regret saying that.”

“Why?”

“Because now I know where to go for help. It’s not boring like history, but it’s difficult for me.”

“Anytime.” Ruger wasn’t worried. If he was helping her with her classwork, he would be with her. Sure, the increased chance of getting laid would be great, too. His dick throbbed at the thought.

“I’m sure I’ll be calling. I’m quickly getting lost.”

“I’d be happy to help you.” He dusted off his hands and set his plate aside. “So, what are we starting on first?”

Krissi ate the last of her pizza, stacked her plate on top of his, and then reached over to pick up her laptop. Opening it, she set it up in front of her and grabbed a notebook and pen. “English is what I’d planned on next. I don’t have much, though. I just need to whip out a rough draft of this paper. I’ve read all my research. I just need to actually put my thoughts on the page.”

“Sounds like something you don’t need much help with.”

She ducked her head. “Sorry, no. And I’ll probably be kinda quiet and withdrawn for a little while.”

“No problem. I’m not here to distract you. You get to work, and I’ll clean this up.” He picked up their plates and carried them into the kitchen, leaving her to get started. Not wanting to disturb her, or leave the mess for her to clean up, he put the leftover food away as well as the rest of the stuff he’d brought. He’d had to open a few cabinets, but he’d found where everything went and made sure there was no mess for her to deal with later.

When he went back to the living room, which he suspected was also the bedroom from the futon couch, she was engrossed in what she was doing on the screen, barely noticing as he picked up their glasses and took them into the kitchen. Refilling them both, he took them back in the living room and sat beside her on the couch. Curious, he picked up her psychology book and started thumbing through it. He was about halfway through the book, reading bits and pieces that caught his interest, when Krissi slid the computer back on the table, closed her notebook, and dropped it on the stack on the far side. She stood up and stretched, arching her back and leaning to either side.

“Bored out of your mind yet?” Krissi turned to face him.

“No, I’m good.” Ruger looked up at her and couldn’t help but notice the way the light shone through the wisps of hair escaping the knot on top of her head. He wanted to pull her down and kiss her until they were both desperate to get out of their clothes, but he’d promised not to interfere with her homework and to help where he could. That wouldn’t happen if he gave in to the desire to kiss her. At least not yet.

“I need to run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared through one of the two doors he’d not been through in the little apartment and returned a few minutes later. “Can I get you anything?” She stood in front of him and propped her hands on her hips. “More tea? A soda instead?”

“I’m good. If I need another drink, I’ll help myself.” He lifted the book in his hands. “Let’s get this stuff done so we can kick back and relax.”

Keeping her hands on her hips, she leaned so far back he thought she might fall over. He scooted forward in his seat and set the book on the table. “Come sit here. I can look over your shoulder while you work and we’ll see what we can do together.”

She gave him a halfhearted smile, as if she doubted how much help he would be, but took her place on the floor. She pulled the laptop in front of her, opened it, and hit a few keys.

“What chapter are you working on?”

“The one about growth and development. I don’t remember what the number was.”

“I saw that one, hang on a second.” Ruger picked up the book and flipped until he found the chapter. “Here it is. What do you have to do with it?”

“Not a lot. I’ve already read it. I just need to take the quiz and make an initial post on the discussion board.”

“Is the quiz timed?”

“Yeah, but we have a lot of time.”

“Enough time to look up all the answers in the book?”

“So far, yeah.”

“So, how about you start the quiz and anything you’re not certain of we look up? I’ve got the book at the ready. We should be able to knock this out in no time.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her cheeks puffing out as she exhaled. “All right, let’s do this.” She curled and uncurled her fingers a few times then set them on the keyboard where her fingers seemed to fly. In just a moment, she was in the Blackboard system and opening the quiz. Ruger sat ready with the book, but he only needed to look up a couple answers for the entire quiz. It took her another two or three minutes to make her post on the class discussion board, and then she closed the laptop, pushed it away, and dropped her head back into his lap. “All done.” Krissi closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. “I try not to let it pile up like this, but there were other things I wanted to do this week.” She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. “I paid for it tonight, but it was worth it. Now I’m done for the weekend, and I’m ready to relax.”

“How do you usually relax?” Ruger looked down at her upturned face and couldn’t help but remember her tousled hair and sated look from when they had been together.

“Turn on some music, read a book, on the rare occasion go into a bar and have a drink.” She was watching him, Ruger knew.

“Oh? Are you wanting to do that tonight? See who you might pick up?” Ruger lifted one brow, and he played along with her teasing.

“Oh, I don’t pick up guys. I’ve got too much going on to worry about some wanna-be bad boy’s fragile ego.” Just the hint of a smile curved her lips.

“Wanna-be, huh?”

She grinned. “I never said that was you. I said boy.” She reached up and ran one hand over the t-shirt he wore. “You’re all man.”

He looked at her for several seconds, trying to figure out what she was up to. “How about a little ice cream to celebrate being done for tonight?”

She pretended to consider the idea. “It’s not as good as what I had in mind, but it will do...for now.” She sat upright then pushed herself to her feet.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “Too late. Now you owe me ice cream.” She headed toward the kitchen without even a look back. Ruger got up and followed.