Ruby and Clint
Ruby wasn’t entirely sure she’d made the right decision to drop by the party, considering she and Jules weren’t really on the best of terms, but it was the place to be on Saturday night and she was kind of hoping she might run into someone. And if she didn’t, then that was cool, and she’d sneak back out the same way she’d snuck in. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of the last time she’d been there, so she kept her eyes peeled for Jules as she made her way to the kitchen to grab a drink. Even if she didn’t plan on staying long, it would be weird not to have a cup in her hand.
Clint was stoked to be at a party. The weather had turned, so that sucked, but a good party always lifted his mood, and Jules Cooper tended to throw ragers. Plus, he was within walking distance of his house, so he could get as trashed as he wanted and still make it back home. He’d been there for a while, drinking and bullshitting around with his buddies, when he happened to spot a familiar dyed head moving through the crowd toward the kitchen. He excused himself with a grin and followed, catching up to Ruby as she was pouring something for herself. Clint leaned in close behind her and murmured, “Hey Fox.” They hadn’t talked much since the awesome night as his house, but that felt okay to him. He stayed pretty busy and he didn’t want to bother her, but loosened up at another party was a good place to suss out if she was actually interested or done with him now.
Even not knowing Clint very well, Ruby knew him well enough at this point to recognize his voice as he crept up behind her. There weren’t a lot of guys that would have invaded her personal space like that, not without an invitation, but Clint was still welcome there, smelling very much like booze and boy and a memory that she very much enjoyed. “Hey Clint,” she grinned, leaning back a little bit as she looked over her shoulder at him. As she finished pouring her drink, she turned to face him, leaning back against the counter this time. He looked just as good as she remembered, though she still wondered if she was crazy for running into him here, at another party. It made intentions difficult to decipher, but she wasn’t all that sure of her own anyways. Plus, alcohol always helped. “What’ve you been up to? Win any more games?”
Damn, she looked cute and she smelled good, and it took real effort from Clint not to crowd her. He was feeling loose and good, but not drunk out of his head where it might be a problem, which was probably perfect for chatting up a girl he’d already slept with but didn’t know the status with. Ruby was smiling at him though, so that was a good first sign. He stepped up closer to her side to start pouring himself another drink too, and laughed a bit at her question. “Just the usual. But nah, not been challenged to anything by any interesting contenders,” he said, flashing her a bright grin. “Not yet, anyway. Did you just get here?”
The nice thing about not being plastered this time was that she could get a better handle on what she was feeling around him, as well as how he was responding to her. Ruby knew he was into her on some level, he wouldn’t have slept with her otherwise, but was there anything else? She wasn’t sure, not for him or herself, but she was curious and that was new. “We can change that,” Ruby said with a little laugh. “But yeah, just got here. Kind of scoping things out. Jules and I aren’t exactly close and I don’t want to step on any toes.” It was more than that, of course, because she and Clint weren’t close and she’d had no issue crashing a party at his place, but it was so much simpler to leave out the details.