Ruby by Heather Burnside (carter reed txt) 📗

mentioned the blade. Maybe she had been a bit tough on her, especially considering her so-called lover had just been sentenced to ten years imprisonment. She and Crystal were two different people and Ruby appreciated that she couldn’t always expect her friend to see things from her point of view. Forcing a smile, she picked up her glass and finished her drink.

‘Look, it’s time for me to go, Crystal. But, whatever you decide to do, just remember that I’ll always have your back.’

Crystal smiled, tears still in her eyes, and Ruby leant over and gave her a hug before leaving with a few parting words, ‘Don’t forget, I’m always at the end of the phone.’

Then she patted Crystal affectionately on the back and was gone.

*

Ruby drew up in the car park of the large Victorian house where her flat was located, and stepped out of her gleaming silver BMW. She was glad to get home. The meeting with Crystal had been emotionally draining. But, at the end of the day, she was a good friend, and Ruby cared about her. She hoped that eventually Crystal would get Gilly out of her system. It was a strange relationship and Ruby knew that it wasn’t just about being lovers; as well as sharing a daughter they had also indulged in drugs together.

When Ruby got inside her flat her mood soon lifted. She loved the way she had transformed the place over the years, making the most of the building’s original features; the ornate ceiling roses, decorative cornices and fireplaces. Every room had benefitted from her style and enthusiasm with oak doors, polished natural wood flooring, and expensive rugs forming a centrepiece in the lounge and bedroom. She had also had a modern bathroom and kitchen installed. The décor was tasteful throughout with colours carefully selected and complemented by plush furnishings.

But her change of mood was also partly due to the enthusiastic greeting she received from her live-in lover, Tiffany. Ruby was still living in the same flat she had moved into when she first left home at sixteen. Since her first flatmate had left, Ruby had been through a few others including Crystal, who had lived with her for a while until she had become pregnant with Gilly’s daughter and decided she needed a place of her own. Then Ruby had met Tiffany and it just felt right. So, when her latest flatmate left, she stopped looking for flatmates and moved her lover in instead.

As soon as Ruby walked into her living room Tiffany was up out of her seat and ready to embrace her. Ruby looked affectionately at her girlfriend, then across at the TV on which Tiffany had been indulging in the latest trashy series, and she smiled.

Tiffany was tall, blonde and willowy and, although her relationship with Tiffany wasn’t the first one Ruby had had with a woman, it was the most intense. Tiffany wasn’t the best looking girl around, but she had a certain attraction that drew people in. Her prominent cheekbones and sultry eyes more than compensated for her slightly misshapen nose and thin lips, and she had a friendly, chatty way about her that made her popular.

But what Ruby really loved about Tiffany was her unconditional love and support. They had been together almost a year now and had met in a trendy bar in the gay village. The attraction was instant. As soon as Ruby saw those sultry eyes, she was drawn in by them and it wasn’t long till Tiffany came over for a chat. Ruby loved her confidence and the easy, relaxed way she acted. The chemistry between them was so powerful that Ruby hadn’t been able to resist her attentions and she was soon falling into bed with her.

In the weeks that followed, the more they chatted, the more Ruby realised what a straightforward, upfront person Tiffany was, and she liked that. She was also a good listener, and someone Ruby felt she could confide in. Since then it seemed to Ruby that their love was becoming stronger each day. Unlike most of the men Ruby had encountered in her life, like landlords and pimps, Tiffany didn’t have any ulterior motive. She just wanted to love and be loved, and she had always treated Ruby with respect and devotion.

Like Ruby, Tiffany was on the game but she had never worked for Gilly. Instead she had worked alone at Ruby’s insistence ever since her former pimp had been locked up for drug dealing.

‘Sorry I couldn’t be with you, babe. How did it go?’ asked Tiffany as she slung her arms around Ruby and kissed her fully on the lips.

Ruby responded to her embrace then stepped back slightly when Tiffany spoke, her hands still cradling her lover’s elbows. ‘The bastard got ten years, thank God!’

‘Great!’ said Tiffany. ‘I bet you’re relieved, aren’t you?’

‘Yeah, but he probably won’t serve all of that, unfortunately, and Crystal’s been a pain in the arse. She’s not stopped bleedin’ whinging since the verdict came in.’

‘Jesus! You’d think she’d have been glad to see him put away after what he did to her, wouldn’t you?’

‘My feelings exactly,’ said Ruby. ‘But you know what Crystal’s like. No matter how he treated her, she still kept going back for more.’

‘Weird, isn’t it?’

‘Dead right. I’ve told her not to bother visiting him, but whether she’ll take any fuckin’ notice, we’ll just have to wait and see. Anyway, how did you get on?’

‘OK. The clinic gave me the all clear.’

‘Thank Christ for that!’ said Ruby.

They were referring to Tiffany’s urgent visit to the sexual health clinic to get checked out after a condom had burst during sex with a client. They had both been worried about the outcome ever since the incident so it was a big relief to Ruby on hearing that Tiffany had been given the all clear.

Tiffany grinned salaciously at her. ‘Looks like we’ve got some celebrating to do then,’ she said, leaning in to Ruby for another kiss.

After such