Page 92 of Ruined

EPILOGUE

three and a half years later

Haley

“Let’s give it up for this year’s graduating class!” the valedictorian said. The stadium erupted into loud cheers, then a few of them silenced to look at me, screaming and jumping up with a whistle in my mouth and confetti poppers blasting from my hands. Lucas pushed the button for the air horn, and Nora swatted at us from the seats in the middle of the field. Yeah, we werethosekinds of (almost) parents.

When we heard, “Nora Ramsey!” we sounded the alarm again. Though we were a true embarrassment, I had no regrets. Nora was the first person in the Ramsey family (all three of us women) to graduate from high schoolwithher graduating class. Mama and I had finished with independent study and opted out of the separate graduation ceremony. This was truly exciting for all of us. Nora was going to college soon, to study dance in New York City. She had a future. One that she had chosen for herself.

Once the ceremony was over, the three of us headed to the Sage City Observatory Tower. We had been there a few times over the years, but this time, Lucas had rented out the entire building for Nora’s graduation party. A few friends from her dance team were there, and a boy too. A new one. She hadn’t introduced him to me yet. Nora was more boy crazy than I ever had been, and I was grateful,sograteful, that she got to have those experiences that I never had.

As the party winded down, I found Lucas sitting near the window, gazing out at the city. His wedding band gleamed in the light. That section of the room was in an alcove meant for snack cart storage, but it gave us the perfect opportunity to flirt in semi-private, like the circular booths at the Dahlia District. I took a seat on the ground next to him, my legs tucked underneath me on the hard floor.

“You know what this means,” I said. He raised a brow. “Nora will be in the dorms.”

He didn’t say anything.

“She’ll be in New York,” I added. But that cold, intense look continued to hold me. “So we can have sex,” I lowered my voice, “inanyroom.”

Still, he stared at me. I fidgeted with my wedding band. He was going to make me say it, wasn’t he?

“What do you want me to do, Haley?” he growled.

“I want you to humiliate me. In the dining room.” I was getting hot just saying those words, a flush covering my face. “While I sit under the table.” I whispered, “and suck your cock.”

“After you clean my shoes with your tongue,” he said in a low voice. My sex clenched together. That time, I was speechless.

A smirk settled on his lips. He crossed his ankles, resting them on my thighs.

THE END