"Raffo!" Ruth mock gasped after he helped her stand to her feet. Her butt was numb from sitting on the grass for the last hour and a half so she needed to get up and walk around for a bit before watching more dancing.

She was in the middle of teasing him about one of the dancers who periodically kept her eye on Raffo through most of the dance. He didn't pay her much attention, but there was something deliberate about it, almost like he was embarrassed. Was there history there?

"Come on," she drawled. "She definitely had the hots for you."

"I didn't notice," he lied, raising an eyebrow. His mouth twitched with amusement. "And who says "the hots" anymore?"

Ruth scoffed, rolling her eyes and ignoring his question. "How did you not notice? She was the hottest one out there! I couldn't take my eyes off her she was that captivating."

His eyebrow rose higher, reading the tone of her voice and the words beneath it. Instead of recoiling, judging, or pushing her away for it, he stayed neutral. There wasn't anything negative there, and despite how casually she tried to slip in who she was into a general statement, she was glad he caught on. She was never the greatest at explaining or blurting it straight out, so she did her best to bring it up casually.

"We sorta had a thing a year ago," Raffo shrugged. He grabbed her hand back in his and tugged her in the direction of the moving crowd. "We had a couple classes together, so we tried to date or whatever, but I stopped it."

"Stopped it? Why?"

"I couldn't connect with her," he admitted. "She was flashy, I wasn't. She wanted to rub us seeing each other in everyone's faces, I didn't. And she wanted everything to go how she wanted."

He looked over at the same girl briefly, his annoyance towards her clear across his face.

"She wanted to show off that she had you? Like a trophy?" Ruth asked, disgust filling her voice. Raffo was worth so much more than a prize to be won, and she quickly realized how the same thing happened to guys as well. It wasn't just girls who were treated like an object in a display case for the world to see. It was men as well.

"And I fucking hated it," he agreed, tugging her beside him.

Ruth glanced over to find the girl staring at them through a narrowed gaze, her lips thinning out into a hard line. Her dark eyes were spitefully watching Ruth, her nostrils flaring like a bull. Ruth didn't know why she looked so angry; she should have realized what she had when she was with Raffo.

"She doesn't seem to like me very much," Ruth commented, looking back up at him, amused.

He snorted. "She doesn't like anybody. Just ignore her; I usually do."

"Is your advice always that good? Or am I just lucky?"

His laugh was sweet and wonderful.

Before either of them could say anything more, Ruth heard a loud call from somewhere in the crowd behind them. It was so faint at first, she didn't know if she actually heard it. But then it came again, and she had to listen to it harder to make sure it was really another person saying her name.

"RUTH! RUTH OVER HERE!" the same voice shouted.

Confused that time, Ruth subconsciously pulled away from Raffo, who got so caught up in the crowd pushing around them, that their fingers disconnected. She didn't think anything of it when she spun around and tried to search for the person who spoke to her, knowing she'd find Raffo in a second. She walked in the direction of the voice, swiveling her head from side to side until she made eye contact with a familiar pair of opal eyes and dark hair.

The girl was waving at her excitedly and it took her two seconds to recognize who it was.

"Emily?" Ruth grinned, meeting the girl halfway as the two quickly came up to each other. Neither made a move to hug each other, unsure if they knew each other well enough for that, but they were both excited anyway. It was always strangely exciting seeing a friend outside of school. "I didn't know you were gonna be here this weekend!"

"You never mentioned you were coming!" Emily laughed, elated. "Last minute planning?"

"Something like that," she teased.

"You came by yourself?"

"No. Actually I came with—"

"Ruth!" Raffo called out frantically from somewhere behind her. "Ruth!"

The hope in Emily's eyes deflated while Ruth's lit up with recognition. She turned towards the voice and waved Raffo over to where she was. He pushed through the crowd with a hint of frustration, but his eyes were narrowed in on Ruth with relief. They both simultaneously reached for each other, pushing and pulling through the crowd until his arm was back around her waist.

"You okay?" he demanded, his fingers diving into the back of her curls softly as he glanced over her body.

"I'm fine," she reassured him, the thrill of his question making her smile. "Just ran into my chemistry friend, Emily."

His eyes flickered over to Em, recognition settling in his gaze.

"Hey Raffo," she greeted, offering a half-smile. She looked almost confused staring at the two of them wrapped up in each other.

"Emily," he said, nodding back.

Ruth blanched, reeling back from the both of them. Her mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish, searching and searching for the words to come but they didn't. Not right away, at least.

"Wait—you two know each other too?" she eventually demanded, looking between the two.

"We all grew up in the same town, Ruth. This part of Oklahoma's pretty small," Emily teased, her smile towards Ruth was wide and endearing. Raffo stiffened, seeing something within it that Ruth obviously couldn't see.

"Oh," Ruth frowned, feeling a little excluded by the thought of everyone around her growing up together versus her—the outsider.

"Yeah . . . well, I have to go find my mom before everyone hears her cursing me out in three languages. See you in class Monday?"

Ruth nodded. "See you Monday."

"Cool. Good to see you, Raffo," Emily politely waved at the two, slowly retreating backwards.

"Same to you." Raffo's response was indifferent. He removed his hand from Ruth's hair to grip her fingers back between his, his gaze falling back to her.

Well that was . . . awkward. Painfully, might she add.

Emily and Raffo didn't have history together, somehow Ruth knew that in her gut. But there was definitely some sort of underlying dislike somewhere from years of knowing each other, perhaps. Or maybe it was that they were never friends, or just came across a newfound dislike of one another. They were civil enough to pass a conversation, but it could never carry. Not unless Ruth was around to bridge it, and she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with that.

"You ready?" Raffo questioned, breaking Ruth out of her thoughts. She blankly looked up at him, dazed. "To see Carrie again?"

"Oh," she blinked. "Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to lose you before."

"Stop apologizing," he teased, his discomfort of the action still evident even now. She tried not to smile at that. "I just didn't know if one of those assholes were too pushy with you back there. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Awww," she cooed, her eyes rounding playfully.

"Gross. Don't awww me, Semple," he laughed, earning a dimpled grin in return.

"What? I can't swoon over how gentlemanly you are?"

He smirked. "Swoon huh?"

Ruth opened her mouth to joke back with him, but stopped herself from talking when she heard his phone ring. His brows furrowed as he reached into his front pocket and quickly pulled it out.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," he murmured, releasing her fingers from his grasp. She tilted her head, but gave him some time to himself as he wandered some ways away from her with his phone pressed against his ear.

Pursing her lips, she wandered over to Carrie's nearby vendor, catching her talking to a customer. Carrie caught Ruth's eye and smiled wide.

"Be there in a second, honey," she winked.

"Okay," Ruth grinned back. She turned her attention back to the beaded jewelry before her, noting all the colored line work and designs that morphed into different shapes. Each bracelet and earring set was a different color with different beads, enchanting Ruth's urge to buy each design just to have them all.

She ran the tips of her fingers over one particular bracelet that had just a few of her signature tribal colors, shimmering in blue, black, yellow, and red. The tiny price tag read $30, which was relatively cheaper than most other traditional bead work, and the matching earrings were $25, so she grabbed those too. By the time she went to the register, the other customer had wandered off and Carrie was turning her attention to her.

Her warm brown gaze shimmered in approval. "Great choice."

"Thank you. I thought so too," Ruth agreed, reaching into her purse to pull out three twenties.

"Oh honey, you don't need to give me the full $55. I'd be happy just to take $40 since you're a friend of Raffo's," Carrie tried to interject, but Ruth was quick to stop her.

"No—please, I'd like to pay the full $55. Supporting traditional businesses is much more important to me than spending that extra $15 on something useless."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind at all!"

"I'm sure," she said gently, handing over the three twenties. "Your art is beautiful and I want to support it in any way that I can."

Carrie's silver smile was radiating. Her arms were woven around Ruth's shoulders, tucking her into a loving hug with a tight squeeze. "I'm so happy Raffo scooped you up," she choked out into her ear. "Creator knows how much that boy needs someone like you."

Ruth's cheeks burned as she pulled away almost timidly. "He doesn't really need me. We've only known each other for a month and a half."

"Honey, people down here get married by the time the third month rolls around," she waved her off. "You're the only person besides his grandma, God bless her soul, and his sisters who keeps him grounded. I can tell."

Ruth's eyes widened. "He has more than one sister?"

"Oh yeah," Carrie nodded eagerly. "Phoenix is the little one, just a tiny thing the last time I saw her. And Ava is a bit older than her, if I remember them right."

"Oh . . . Raffo doesn't usually talk about them," Ruth admitted, biting her lip. "I didn't even know he had another sister."

Understanding filled Carrie's eyes, sympathy and a twinge of sadness swirling together. "Just give him some time. He'll open up about his family when he's ready. There's not many . . . good memories there."

Something twisted in the pit of Ruth's stomach like a knife. She may not have known what exactly had happened to Raffo, but she could only guess how bad he had it. Jana and Terry have only hinted at it, Carrie and Mirana have seemed more than concerned about the memories he had, his flinching added to the questionable behavior, and his bruising body he occasionally came to school with . . .

But she didn't know what to ask Raffo. It wasn't her place to ask whether or not he was being . . . abused. If he wanted her to know, he'd tell her. And he still might in his own time. But that didn't mean she wouldn't worry for his well-being in the mean time.

She promised herself right then, however, that if Raffo came to school with another mark on his body, she'd ask him. And if he still refused to talk about it, she would just have to march over to his home herself and demand to meet the person responsible for hurting him. She knew enough jiu jitsu to protect herself and strangle the hell out of whoever did that to him.

Abusing someone she obviously cared about made her blood run cold and boil all at the same time, even if it was just thinking about it. She had to grip the table she was leaning against to stop herself from finding that motherfucker right then and beating their face in until they were unrecognizable. The violent thoughts were overwhelming, but she couldn't stop them. Not when she could picture someone raising their hand to Raffo's beautiful skin over and over again.

No, Ruth stopped herself. She would demand an answer from him next time something happens, and she won't let him get away with a bullshit answer. Not anymore.

"Ruth?" someone called out behind her and Carrie. She turned curiously, her newly purchased jewelry piling in her hand as she looked up at a relaxed Raffo making his way closer. His eyes fell on the earrings and bracelet, impressed with her choice.

"You like them?" she asked with a smile, forcing her previous thoughts away. She couldn't show him that she knew something yet, not until she either got confirmation, or if something else happens.

"I do," he agreed. "They'll look beautiful on you."

Carrie's eyebrows rose at the compliment, igniting that familiar warmth back into Ruth's cheeks. She tried to smile it off, but she couldn't stop the abnormal pounding in her chest as she looked up into his watchful gaze. Her fingers clutched onto the beads just a little tighter, taken by his nickname for the millionth time.

She wanted to kiss the hell out of him right then.

But she couldn't- not with Carrie standing there, although she was already talking to another customer so her attention wasn't on them. She would just have to wait until they were back in the car so they could have a moment together. Could she wait that long?

Well- she could . . . if Raffo wasn't staring at her the way that he was. Hungry, impatient, wanting. So much wanting that she felt like she was getting her knees knocked out from under her. Her breath faltering with each woodsy inhale and shaking on the exhale.

"Stop," she whispered under her breath.

He was there all around her again, intoxicating every thought, every feeling. She wanted to worry about him. She wanted to ask who was on the other end of that call and what they said to him that made him happy when he was worried the first time he answered it. But he knew how to smother her with those brown crystals.

"Stop what?" he murmured quietly, invading her senses as he came closer. His fingers brushed the curls out of her face with his fingertips resting gently over her cheekbone.

"Stop making me want to kiss you," she whispered harshly under her breath.

Raffo tilted his face towards her. She was practically shaking now, glancing feebly at the two people not paying them any mind. She swallowed thickly.

"What if that's exactly what I want you to do?" he whispered back, teasing her with that seductive smirk across his lips.

Before Ruth could stop herself, she gripped Raffo's hand, and dragged him away from the booth. Their goodbyes to Carrie were rushed, replaced by a teenager-like excitement as they all but ran to the car, urgent to get out of the public eye. She bit her lip to keep from laughing like a puppy-love idiot as they both grinned and rushed to Raffo's truck hidden behind a tree off to the right for some privacy.

As soon as they were both in, they reached for each other over the middle seat of the truck with a desperate need to be close, their lips suddenly locked together. Ruth's fingers dived into the comfort of his long strands while his dug into the curves of her waist, pulling her tightly to him. Her full lips opened beneath his, their tongues curling and locking in a dance as their heads moved together in an invisible rhythm.

Raffo's fingers bunched up some of the fabric at her hip from how tightly he gripped her to him, the hem rising along the smoothness of her brown thighs. He swallowed her soft moans and thought nothing of it when he grabbed her waist and took her into his lap. With knees straddling his waist, and her arms resting on his broad shoulders, a shot of heat enticed the warmth of her core in powerful strokes.

Ruth couldn't remember the last time she had sex with someone, but she knew it had been awhile. And sitting there, making out with Raffo, with her dress hiked up around the middle of her thighs, she knew she shouldn't be thinking the thoughts she was, or feeling the things she was feeling. They were still trying to know each other as people and were just supposed to be hanging out to see where things go.

But she couldn't deny her obvious attraction to him in more ways than one. Something about their chemistry overpowered every sensible thought. She knew Raffo felt it too, and maybe that was what drew them to each other. He was the current sweeping her out to sea, the sun's gravity that pulled her like a planet. It was unmistakable, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

And she fucking loved it.

His devouring lips were hot on her neck, pressing permanent kisses to the curve of it as she arched herself into him. Her vision swam, her whimper lost in the strength of his groan as he stirred to life beneath her. Her hair tumbled into the firm grip of his fingers with the tilt of her head, his fingers playing with the ends of the soft curls.

Raffo kissed below her collarbone and Ruth shuddered, wanting it to be lower. His skillful tongue traced a pattern into her skin, imprinting his emotion there forever. When he stopped to look up at her, she watched the lust swirl in his bright gaze, his bottom lip tucking into his teeth as his eyes roamed over her. A gasp tumbled out of her bruised lips when he tugged at her hair.

"So pretty," he whispered, his voice oozing like fresh honey as he pressed the softest of kisses against her bottom lip. "Aiukli."

"Hmm," she murmured, hypnotized by the stars behind her eyes.

His hands moved up to her cheeks, bringing her face back to his. Her hooded eyes struggled to stay open long enough to register how fervent he looked at her. She licked her lips.

"I should get you home," he murmured, though more to himself than to her. His fingers went down to grip her waist tighter the longer he stared at her, his elongated lashes beating like a butterflies wing with it.

"You should," she agreed, breathlessly.

They came back together for another kiss, though this one was less rough, softer. Their lips molded together perfectly, their fingers either tangled in hair or roaming along the mixture of soft and hard confines of their bodies. Enraptured in the familiar bliss coursing through Ruth's veins, she pushed herself impossibly closer, desperate for every ounce of comfort he could give her. She wanted to stay in the protective embrace of his arms forever. Hell, she could stay there forever.

Ruth didn't understand how she could feel so strongly about someone she was still getting to know. She'd never felt that intensely about anyone before, so she knew nothing about how consuming it could all be.

Was it always consuming? Or was it just Raffo? She really didn't know, but it was probably a combination of both.

His fingertips skimmed her thighs, igniting a blaze across her skin.

Definitely a combination of both.

*****

notes: translation (from choctaw to english)

♡ aiukli - beautiful

♡ pokni - grandmother