Page 56 of Charger

“Girl, please. Charger is paying. Take full advantage.” I really don’t need him to do me any favors. She looks at the scary biker dude. “Hush, we shouldn’t be too long.” Angel winks at him as he pulls out another cigarette before leaning on his bike. “Unless, of course, you would like to join us?” Angel blows him a kiss, but he ignores it. “Quiet, but hot as fuck.”

I giggle to that. She’s not wrong.

Angel heads straight for the shoes. “Yes! Look at these. These are hot and would be perfect.” She holds them out in front of her. They’re black bootie pumps with buckles. They are sexy and cute. “Now we need to find you a hot little tight black dress. Charger will lose his mind.”

“I’m not trying to impress him, Angel. We just started being friends again.”

“Yeah, sure… Oh! Yes, this is hot as hell.” She ignores my comment and flocks over to the short black dress on the mannequin. “You’re trying this on.” I catch it as she takes one from the rack, shoving it to me. “Your body is killer and this would look amazing on you!”

I hold it out in front of me. “Um, where’s the rest of it?” She laughs. “No, seriously, I can’t wear something like this.”

“Yes, you can. And you’re getting those shoes too.”

I stare at the hanger for a couple of seconds before giving up. “Dear Lord. All right, I’ll go and try it on.” I laugh. I mean, the dress is sexy.

Thirty minutes and some wallet damage later, we’re sitting at a small café by the boutique. Hush is seated at a table by his bike. “You know, I try to convince these guys I can handle myself, but they insist that because I’m a woman, I need a tail too.” Angel takes a sip of her mimosa.

“You definitely look like you can handle yourself.” I snort. “Thanks for this. This is fun. I don’t get out much. Having a business and kid doesn’t allow for much outside fun.”

“No problem. I like you. You’re definitely my kind of peeps.” She takes another sip of mimosa. “So, Charger’s got a kid, huh? Who would have thought?”

“Yeah.” I let out a small laugh. I don’t know why, but I really want to ask Angel if she and Zach were ever a thing. She’s so beautiful and confident in herself. I can’t help but feel a tad envious. I’ll just go for it. “So, you and Charger ever…?”

She practically chokes on her drink. “Oh, no. No, we haven’t. I would never get involved with one of the guys. They’re all like my brothers. Except maybe for Hush over there.” She laughs. “Nah, not even him, sadly.” Relief rushes over me in one giant wave. There’s no way I could compete with her. “And you say there’s nothing going on with you two? What happened between you guys? Just say if I’m overstepping.”

I fiddle with my hands. “No, you’re not overstepping. We have a past. He, and my brother and I, we were all best friends. After my brother passed away…” I swallow back the sadness. It never gets any easier. “He kind of disappeared.”

“Sorry to hear about your brother. Sucks, that’s for sure. You and Charger were obviously an item?”

“Yeah, we were. I fell in love with him. But when he left without a trace, it destroyed me and I was already pretty much shattered.”

“Shit, yeah, I get it, girl. Here’s to hoping you two work out your demons, because he’s a good guy and you seem legit. We’ve all done stupid things we aren’t proud of.” Guilt showers her face. “Not to mention, you two have that kid together.” I chuckle. “Here’s to working shit out, and hot men.” When Angel raises her glass, I follow suit and we clink our drinks together.

“Yes, and don’t forget new friendships,” I say with a smile.

“Hear, hear, sister.”

We each take a sip, smiling.

After Angel drops me off, I decide to text Zach. I have to thank him for buying me an outfit, not really understanding why he did it in the first place. Although, my guess is that he feels like he owes me. But he doesn’t owe me anything. I’m just happy to have him back in my life and now Chloe’s.

Me: Hey, even though I wish you didn’t, I appreciate the day out with Angel. I like her.

I set my phone down, waiting for a response. My heart starts to race like I’m in high school again and waiting for my crush to answer.

Zach: You deserve a hell of a lot more, but it’s a start.

Me: You don’t have to buy me things, Zach. By the way, why did you invite me to this party at your club?

Zach: Because I want you there. I want you to see what kind of family I have here and what kind of family Chloe will have too. Plus, maybe I just want to see you. I’ve been away from you for too damn long.

I smile at his last text and thank all the stars in the sky that I found him again.

Admittedly, I’m a little worried about some random person taking my shift tomorrow, but also excited to go to the party and see Zach. I feel like I can trust these people he’s involved with. So, I guess I’ll hold onto that feeling.

Charger

I watch her as I straddle my bike in her parking lot. The shadowed silhouette darkens the window shade with every movement she makes. She doesn’t know that I come by every night to scope things out. After what happened back at the club, I’m not taking any chances.

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