Page 106 of Frisco

KALI

We were leaving the bathroom.

Shane took the sign down, putting it back in the closet right next to the bathroom. And as we turned, his hand to my back, we stopped right away. Brandon was coming through from the back section, holding Aly’s hand right behind him. “Oh.”

He stopped.

I stopped.

I felt Shane’s hand press harder on my back and he moved up right behind me.

Aly looked around Brandon, her eyes going big. “Hey, um–” She began to try to move around Brandon, but he held her back. His gaze was steadily on Shane.

“Why don’t we let the friends have the night?” Shane spoke first, his tone sounding casual, but I could feel the tension inside of him. “You and me can maybe come to an understanding? Outside?”

Aly’s mouth dropped. “What? No–”

“Sure.” Brandon cut her off, turning and looking down at Aly. “We got this. Okay?”

She closed her mouth with a snap, her eyes finding mine and I saw the plea there.

A part of me hurt even more because I knew what she was afraid of. She’d gone through so much hell already, had her heart shattered and now she found a guy she could see herself having babies with. She didn’t want someone to come in and take that away. I was pulled in two separate ways because she thought the person who’d take that away was a guy who’d taken away my pain.

I moved ahead, linking my elbow through Aly’s. “Come on.” I gently bumped my hip to hers. “Let’s go and grill Harper about Justin.” She was so stiff, but went with me. I glanced back, taking in both Brandon and Shane’s gazes. Shane’s was locked right on me, his expression unreadable. Brandon was watching Shane, and his was very readable. He looked like he wanted to murder him.

We headed to the table where Harper was. At our presence and at Shane’s absence, his guys each took a sip of their beer before sliding right off their stools and heading where we’d just come from.

Aly saw them go. “Wha–no!”

I stopped her, getting in front of her. “They won’t do anything. They’ll just go and have his back if Brandon swings on him.”

She squeaked, her eyes bulging. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

“Will Brandon swing for no reason? He didn’t strike me as that type of guy.”

“What? No. He’d never do that, but if he’s provoked, he’s got friends here.”

“Exactly. Brandon’s not alone. He’s surrounded by people who will have his back. Let Shane have a few too. We’re on Brandon’s territory, remember.”

Aly frowned, taking a step back and reassessing me. “I have to say I’m not a big fan right now. Where’s my friend gone? Feel like I’m just seeing a biker bi–”

“Okay.” Harper was between us, wedging his way in there. “Stop. Both of you on either side of that table. Now.” He pointed at our previously emptied one. He reached back, grabbed his drink and rounded up the rest of the guys’ beers. He brought all of them over to the table and pointed to a stool on one side, then the other. “Sit. Now.”

I went to the one facing the back door.

Aly went across from me, her stool facing the door to the other end of Manny’s.

Harper hesitated a second before taking the stool next to Aly.

Justin moved in and took the empty one by me.

“Hey.” It took a second for his presence to register. I melted. “Hi! Oh my God, Justin.” I reached over, giving him a big hug.

He hugged me back, cupping the back of my head. “Hey there. How are you doing?” He said it only for me to hear and we kept hugging, holding each other, because Justin was that kind of guy. He wanted to know, real quick before we got to business, how I really was doing. That’s how he spoke, how he handled himself. He truly cared about people. He was loving. Gentle. Patient. And Harper was terrified of losing him, so of course he pushed him away. I was suddenly so angry at my best friend.

I hugged Justin a little bit longer, harder. “I am mending.”

Justin leaned back, looking at me, his hands still around me lightly. “Well, that sounds healing.” He smiled, raising an eyebrow in an inquisitive way.

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