Page 156 of Tempting Fate

For a few weeks, she was here every day. I thought we’d bonded during my recovery and become new friends. Somewhere it went pear-shaped, and the easiness between us became stilted.

“You’re wearing that!” Nadia shrieks when I try to sidestep her to find something different to change into. “Zeke needs to see what he’s missing.”

My voice cracks when I say, “He’s been in Sydney for nearly two months… I think we both know that the time for getting his attention has well and truly passed me by. Even when he’s back for a few days, he won’t look at me. It’s time to move on, Nads. I need to accept that I’m not getting any answers from him.”

“Answers from whom?” Slash asks as he walks into my room without knocking.

“Slash!” Bebe admonishes him in a squeaky voice. “Anna could’ve still been getting ready. Where are your manners?”

With a shrug, Slash tells her, “I’ve seen her half-naked more times than I can count. She’s basically been a nudist from birth.”

“That’s not true.” I roll my eyes at him. Addressing Bebe directly, I attempt to smooth things over. “There isn’t a lot of privacy at the clubhouse. Everyone’s seen everyone’s bits at least once. Knocking kinda becomes redundant after a while.”

“Oh, my God… do you remember the time Sander locked Cub naked outside for a bet.” Nadia holds her hands a foot apart. “Let’s just say it was nice to discover that he’s lanky all over. Especially when most tall men are a disappointment down there.”

“Are you saying I’m out of proportion?” Slash asks my best friend in mock horror.

“You’re hung, but Cub beats you by an inch or two. Easily.”

Oblivious to the fiery rage flickering dangerously in Bebe’s green gaze, he plops down on my bed next to her and slings his arm around her slight shoulders. “Nads is short-sighted… as you’re well aware.”

“That’s beside the point,” Bebe informs him with a haughty sniff. She holds her head high, chin out. “I don’t want the man I’m seeing to look at other women while they’re naked.”

Something akin to frustration dims Slash’s smile. “If we were seein’ each other, I’d be on board with that. Considerin’ you haven’t let your boss down yet and your daddy still doesn’t know about us, two months into whatever this is, I’d say we’re fuck buddies at best… and we both know that comes with no strings attached.”

As the tension ramps up, I give up on the idea of changing. I swipe the smallest handbag from the options my best friend laid out for me to choose from and sling the chain strap across my body. I hit Nadia with a silent look that pleads with her to hurry up putting the finishing touches to her look so we can get out of here before we play witness to Slash and Bebe’s latest argument.

Nadia applies some tinted lip gloss and spritzes my perfume in front of her. After walking into the cloud, she claps her hands. “Right. I’m ready. Anna’s dressed to kill. The two fuck buddies are ready to hate fuck… I think we’re good to go.”

When Bebe scowls at the floor and Slash stomps toward the door next to her, Nadia drags me behind her to the garage. While Slash messes around with the sound system of his Range Rover, my best friend slides into the back seat, and I move to get in after her. Bebe’s small hands grab my forearm to stop me.

“You can take the front,” she tells me.

“Ah, no. That’s your seat.”

Shaking her head too fast, she blurts out, “No. No. You take it. It’ll be better for your… ribs.”

My ribs are fine. Completely healed. Have been for weeks. Bebe is aware of this since she gave me the clean bill of health herself.

All my external injuries have mended, and my head is on its way back to some semblance of sanity—as long as I don’t see Zeke too often, that is. Thankfully, he’s been spending most of his time with the Sydney chapter, so I’ve only laid eyes on him twice in the past seven weeks.

And that was two times too many, to be honest.

My recovery had taken longer than expected, and I’d needed a D&C to stop the bleeding from the miscarriage when I’d entered the third week without a reprieve. Bebe did me a solid back then by holding my hand through a process I never thought I’d need, even sticking around to help me choose the best contraception. Because of that history, I concede to her request, even though I know it’s going to hurt Slash’s feelings.

“It’s gonna be like that, is it?” Slash mutters when I climb into the front passenger seat.

“I tried to say no.”

Behind us, Bebe slams her door and fastens her seat belt with angry movements.

The tension remains as we drive into the city. When Slash pulls into the side entrance to the stadium that Isaiah said he’d meet us at, I scramble out of the Range Rover to escape the friction between them so fast my heels slip. A big hand steadies me, and I find myself with my palm splayed against Zeke’s chest.

Gazes locked together, we stare at each other without speaking.

After Nadia slides out of his vehicle, Slash speeds off before Bebe can exit the Rover. My best friend shakes her head and laughs. “They’re either gonna fuck this out or fight all the way through the concert… I’m going to text Slash to warn him that if he ruins this for me, I’ll add Nair to his fancy shampoo.”

I don’t answer her.

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