Page 73 of Charger

“Three shots to start and then three Sex on the Beaches.” She gives him a flirtatious smile.

“Um, actually, I’ll just have a water,” I yell to him. After the last party, I think I’ll stick to water for now.

“Okay, fine, make that two and a water. Thanks, handsome.”

She’s so good at being fun and seductive, like it’s natural for her.

“You’re really good at this flirting thing,” I tell her.

She shrugs her shoulders. “They’re called boobs. You got them. Men notice them.” She laughs. But there’s something behind her laughter, something almost fake. Her eyes hold some sort of pain or maybe fear. It’s weird.

The bartender brings over the shots and drinks. The girls take the shots back in one swig and slam the glasses down.

“So, you and Venom, huh?” Angel catches me off guard with her sudden question. I was hoping that would never get brought up.

Tequila practically chokes on her drink. “Wait, what about you and Venom? What am I missing?”

“Nothing.” They both look at me, knowing it’s not nothing. “Okay, we dated for like almost a year. If you can even call it that…”

Tequila doesn’t even try to hide the mouth drop. “Woah, I was not expecting that at all.” She takes a sip of her drink. “So, um, how was he?”

Now, I almost choke. “How was he what?”

“You know. I mean call me sick, but the man is jacked and hot.” Angel smacks Tequila on the arm, and I tense. They both notice the vibe shift. “What?”

“He kind of came by the bar the other night and had me by the throat.” They both gasp, freezing in their seats. “He threatened me because I’m with Zach. Said I was his.” An awkward laugh escapes me. The girls are still stunned into silence.

“Shit, girl, I never would have said all of that if I had known. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Zach beat the shit out of him.” I take a sip of my water and the girls laugh. I smirk and laugh along, because Zach did beat the shit out of him. I might have enjoyed it too.

“All right, well, here’s to a good night with new friends, being men-free, and all the other stuff.” We all clink our glasses together and Angel shakes her hips to the new song that came on. “Okay, let’s go dance!” She grabs my arm and I take Tequila’s, each of us dragging the other to the dance floor. It’s packed, with sweaty bodies bumping into us, but we don’t care. Our one and only goal for tonight is to have fun.

I close my eyes and listen to the music. The DJ starts playing “NBK” by Niykee. My hands are swaying up above my head. All three of us girls move our hips in a seductive way, feeling the music, getting lost in it, and not worrying about anything. Angel grinds her ass on some random guy. She throws her one arm around his neck and slowly travels down on him. It’s erotic and I can’t look away; she’s so beautiful. She could have any guy she wants, in a heartbeat. I’m not jealous of her confidence or good looks, just maybe a little envious. But I have to wonder if she’s hiding some buried secrets. If her tough act is some sort of front…

Tequila dances against me. We grind our hips together and I throw my head back with a laugh. I love these girls. They’re fun, real, and I can be myself with them. It’s so good to have girlfriends.

By the time the song switches, we’re all a little sweaty and breathless. We disperse from the crowd and head back to the bar.

“Damn, I love dancing.” Tequila slouches over the counter, laughing. I agree—there’s just something about getting lost in a song and moving to it.

I get ready to say something when a large body bumps into me, sending me flying right into Angel. She catches my arm, but glares at the man behind me. “Um, excuse me. How about you watch what you’re doing,” she yells over to him, and as soon as I straighten to get a look at the man, my eyes widen. The guy’s huge and three of his buddies are just about the same size. They’re all wearing motorcycle vests. Not Good. The monster of a man turns his head and eyes Angel up and down. But Angel doesn’t back down; she stands with her head held high, her hands on her hips.

“What did you say to me?”

“I said.” She takes a step closer to him. “Watch where the fuck you’re going. You almost knocked my friend down. Now apologize.”

My jaw is to the floor. I glance at Tequila, who is texting someone before she gives me an “Oh shit” look. “Come on, Angel. It’s fine. Let’s just go.”

He cocks his head to the side and smirks when he reads the patch on her leather jacket. “You’re on the wrong turf, honey.” Despite his choice of words, his voice is anything but kind. It’s growing angrier by the second. His friends are sneering behind him. One of them does an air kiss at me and winks; the gesture makes me shiver. Why can’t all the biker clubs be like Zach’s?

“I can be in whatever turf I want to be in, buddy.”

“Jesus, Angel, let’s go.” Tequila grabs Angel’s hand, dragging her away. I follow close behind them.

We hightail it out of their club, bumping into people along the way. Once we’re outside, Angel shrugs out of Tequila’s hold. “What the hell, Angel? Did you happen to notice who the hell they were? Not good. You’re lucky they didn’t follow us out of there. What were you thinking?”

Angel stands with a hip cocked, her arms folded at her chest. “What? The guy was an ass. Jules deserved an apology.”

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