The Bad Boy's Dirty Little Secret BL Chapter 33: Ruby

Kai’s P.O.V

“Great job, Night!” Zach’s overly enthusiastic voice grated on my nerves as I waited beside him with a towel in my hand, so that I could give it to Night as soon as he got out of the pool. However, Zach’s next words were completely unexpected.

“Now, for the final group photos! Bring in the ladies!”

As if on cue, a group of twelve women led by Tina and Yin, came out from the changing room area, all dressed in their colorful bikinis, except for Tina and Yin, of course, since they were here to take care of the girls on behalf of the Student Council.

A series of cheers and wolf whistles sounded the air at the sight of the women and I turned to look at the Student Council President, who was grinning from ear to ear at the reaction.

“Zach!” I whispered next to his ear, bending down to where he was seated. “This wasn’t part of the schedule! Why are the girls here?”

“Wow!” Zach turned to me with huge eyes. “I never thought I’d see the day of Kai Hunter being the buzzkill!”

Hurriedly, I thought of an excuse that wouldn’t let him suspect that I was actually worried about Night.

After all, just like Cole had politely pointed out this morning, I wasn’t always the nicest person and caring for a person’s health hadn't always been my top priority. So if I told Zach that I was concerned about Night, the first thing he’s ask was why out of everyone present here did Night’s illness take priority?

I’d been in three of these pageants/competitions already and Night hadn't been the only person who had gotten sick in that duration.

So I went with the best option I could find, which…I admit, wasn’t the best one to go with.

“W-well… the sun is setting!” I said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Wouldn’t it be more rational to shoot during the day?”

“Seriously Kai?” Zach shook his head in annoyance before pointing towards the professional grade lights he had hired. “With these things, it doesn’t even matter if the sun was setting or if it was the middle of the night! They look and feel like the freaking sun! Now, get inside the pool with your partner and pose for the photos. Don’t forget to smile!”

Zach pushed me in the direction of the pool and I went almost wearily.

Saya Murakami, the Japanese-American transfer student was standing by the edge of the pool, waiting for me to arrive and she offered me a small smile in greeting as I neared her. “Hi.”

She had short jet black hair that reached her shoulders and brown eyes. Her skin was porcelain white and she was really short, about five feet, so she looked really tiny next to me. She was wearing a white two piece bikini and seemed a bit shy as she kept looking around as if worried about how others perceived her.

“Hi, Saya.” I got into the pool first and offered her my hand. “Need help?”

However, the first thing I noticed was how cold the water had gotten and my concern started to rise as I remembered Night’s fever. I was worried that it was going to get even worse if he stayed in this pool for long, but seeing how stubborn he was, I was afraid he wasn’t going to listen to me if I told him to quit.

“Yes, thank you.” Saya took my hand gratefully and got into the pool and as we turned in the direction of the stairs where the other couples had already taken their seats and were getting ready for their shots.

My eyes immediately narrowed at the woman next to Night, who had her arm wrapped around him like cling film and her bright red hair wasn’t something easy to miss, especially with all the overhead lights.

“Ruby.” I spoke through gritted teeth, watching her smirk a little as she clung to Night even harder.

She was wearing a bright red, two-piece bikini to match her hair and she practically had her boobs squashed against Night’s arms. From the looks of it however, Night wasn’t liking it one bit.

“This way.” I told Saya, and led her to where Night was standing so I could stand beside him.

“How are you feeling?” I managed to ask him as we got into position.

“I’m holding up.” Night gave me a weary smile, but I could see the tiredness in his eyes. He wasn’t doing well at all.

“Just a few more minutes, okay?” I told him. “Just a little longer.”

“I know.” He whispered back.

Time seemed to stretch almost endlessly as the shoot went on for quite some time.

Some of the couples were switched and changed positions and I had to be one of the unfortunate ones to once again be paired with Ruby for only a few photos because, according to Zach, the Fan Club would love to see last year’s winners together for just one shot and he intended to dedicate a page out of the photobook just for us.

“Miss me, Kai?” Ruby managed to whisper to me as we posed at the edge of the pool, her hand splayed on my abdomen for the shot. “I bet you did.”

“Get over yourself, Ruby.” I tried my best to not let the irritation get to me, but when her fingers dipped lower and she made it look like an accident, I couldn’t control the anger from seeping in. “Ruby.”

“Of course.” She rolled her eyes. “You always like calling the shots.”

“This isn’t about me calling the shots, Ruby,” finally, Zach must have sensed the tension because he signaled for our shoot to be over, so I could turn towards Ruby and answer her with a straight face. “This is about me no longer being interested in having a relationship with you. We ran our course and we didn’t last. Why are you trying to force it?”

Ruby looked genuinely offended by my statement and I debated if it had been too much and if I should apologize for my harsh words, but then I stopped myself. Admitting that I had been harsh may translate to something else entirely in her books and that could lead to her believing that I was still interested.

So without correcting the circumstances, I walked away, getting out of the pool and wrapping a towel around myself when I felt the shivers.

“Am I done for the day?” I asked Zach, who was now checking the photos that had been clicked all day long.

“Yep!” He looked over at Ruby, who had just stomped out of the pool and headed to the changing room in with heavy footsteps, refusing all the offers she got for a towel from the men. “What happened here?”

“Nothing.” I swiped my wet hair off of my forehead with a sigh. “Nothing at all.”

“Sure didn’t seem like nothing.” Zach looked at me expectantly.

“Just let it go, Zach.” I told him wearily. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Fine by me.” He shrugged, although he couldn’t hide his disappointment very well. “I’m all done here anyway.”

Turning to the crowd, he shouted, “It’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen! Those who haven’t changed yet, go and change before the area gets locked down!”

“We’re all done Pres!” Someone shouted from the crowd, and I noticed that everyone was indeed all clothed and ready…everyone except me.

“Shoot.”

“I guess you’re on lockup duty then.” Zach grinned, handing me a bunch of keys. “The crew is almost done packing. By the time you get ready, we’ll all be done as well.”

“Fine. Go on ahead then.” I shrugged. “No need to wait for me. I’ll lock up and head to my dorm and return the keys to the Swim Club tomorrow.”

“Sure thing.” Zach got up from his seat, towering over me with his daunting height. If only he had the build to match, he’s be a formidable foe. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the club.”

“See you.”

I watched him walk away and right into the middle of the crowd, and someone asked him if he should be treating them to some Barbeque ribs for dinner since it was already so late.

I think I heard a vague ‘do you think I have that kind of money?’ from Zach before the sound of laughter echoed through the entire area and everyone started to clear out one by one.

Suddenly, I realized that Night was nowhere in sight.

“Night?” I called out, in case he had already changed and was having a seat somewhere in one of the sun loungers that were placed onto the side.

But as the area slowly cleared out, I found them all to be empty.

“Is he still in the changing room?” I frowned.

Didn’t his shoot end earlier than mine? Then what was he still doing in the changing room?

But since I was heading there anyway, I rushed over just in case he was feeling ill and couldn’t contact anyone.

However, when I went to open the door…it wouldn’t budge.

Something didn’t seem right about this…I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Night?” I called out again. “Are you inside? In anyone in there?”

There was no answer, but I think I vaguely heard some kind of noise.

So I pressed my ears to the door…but nothing could’ve prepared me for what I heard from the other side.

Because it was Night…and Ruby…