Page 2 of Frenemies

“Sorry, Doll,” Tanner shot her a wink. “I’m still working on that one for you.”

That, of course, just got her more excited. “You’re going to get me a tandem bike?”

“You bet your sweet ass I am.”

Could he be more desperate?

How did I end up here talking about tandem bikes with a dumbass?

Oh right, Chase decided it would be a great idea to take off.

Ava tossed her hotdog, rushed over to Tanner, and gazed happily up at his turquoise eyes. “Will it have pink tassels and a bell?”

Tassels and a bell?

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. She did come here on a pink moped with a Care Bear license plate. My Little Pony would have been better. At least they were somewhat in style.

“I’ll put whatever the fuck you want on that bike.”

Of course, he would.

“Don’t you think we have more serious things to worry about?” As much as I would love to point out Tanner’s flaws—desperation being the biggest—that was a conversation for another time.

“I don’t know. I mean, tandem bikes could be a very serious topic,” Ava spun around and pointed at me, “Think about it. If Chase left on a tandem bike, then he’d be easier to catch up to—especially if it had identifiers like pink tassels and a bell.”

I stood there blinking at my friend. . .Chase riding around on a tandem bike was an image I’d never get out of my head, but she kind of had a point. Either that or I’d passed right over into a delusional state where Ava-logic made sense.

“It doesn’t matter,” I shook my head clear. “Chase left on a motorcycle.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Well, that’s boring.”

I don’t think I’d ever wanted to slap her more than I did right now. Maybe when she packed me a bag for my kidnapping? Or when she brought the girls to a biker clubhouse for hazing.

Both of those were pretty slapable offenses, in my opinion, but that could wait. Chase was out there somewhere, wounded and probably cold. I had to find him before he destroyed what was left of his sanity.

“You know,” Ava licked the mess of the corner of her mouth and pointed at me. “Maybe we should get him a tandem bike?”

The sad part was how hard she was considering this. Her face scrunched up while she tapped a finger on her chin. I swear to god if I hadn’t grown up with her. . .

“While you ponder that,” I paused to once again shake my head, “I’m going to go find Chase.”

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart,” Tanner said. “I’ll find him.”

He was kidding, right? Tanner couldn’t find his own hand if I slapped him in the face with it.

“The only thing you’ll do is sit here like a good little boy and wait for me to bring him home.” I’d met fish with more sense than him. Last week he had an hour-long debate on the real-life implications of checkers. Thank God he was pretty.

Tanner barked out a laugh. “You honestly think you can tell me what to do?”

“Yes.”

His brows rose as he stopped and stared at me. I couldn’t help but internally snicker at the shock in his eyes. Then again, when it morphed into anger.

“Listen here, Sweetheart. You may have been some little boy’s real-life version of sports illustrated swimsuit edition back home, but here you’re just another piece of ass.”

Oh no, he didn’t.

“First off, you don’t send one idiot to find another. And secondly,” I stepped up to him and jabbed my finger in his chest. “If you ever call me sweetheart again, you’ll find out just how far a stiletto can go up your ass.”

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