Page 19 of Theirs to Ruin

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I can tell by the dazed look in your eyes that biker Dante made an even bigger impression on you than sensitive counselor Dante.”

At the truth in her words, I squirmed in my seat.

Her eyes widened. “OMG! Did you and Dante ever...?" She made fucking motions with her hand.

"No!" I shook my head so fiercely it would put a bobblehead to shame. My face flamed and I grabbed her wrist to make her stop making that gesture. "But I can appreciate a hot guy just like anyone else.”

“A hot older guy who works for the school,” she pointed out.

Not that much older. He was only twenty-eight. “You didn’t let that stop you from hitting on him last year,” I pointed out.

“Because I’m experienced. You’re not. Steer clear of faculty fucks. Especially him. He looks like he’d make you his three-course meal.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Oops. Did I say that out loud?

Bianca laughed and slapped my arm. “Seriously. Down girl.”

“I’m kidding,” I assured her, even though I wasn’t.

"It would be nice if you foundsomeone, though," Bianca said. "It's been a hot minute since your summer love affair in Italy."

Italy. The mere mention of it let loose a landslide of memories of Ty that I ruthlessly pushed away.

"That was more like a summer abandonment affair," I murmured. “And that chapter is over.”

“Right,” Bianca nodded. “Sorry. You were too good for him, anyway.”

“You never met him.” I sighed, hating that we were still talking about Ty. Yet Bianca's steadfast faith in me ignited a glimmer of hope. I yearned to buy into her belief in me, but that path sometimes seemed akin to scaling Mt. Everest in flip-flops. “Please, Bianca. Subject change.”

“Okay, okay, fine. Let’s talk prospects. Who would make a good rebound for my little sis?”

I snorted. “A rebound?—"

Shouts near the bar caught my attention and Raye suddenly materialized by our side. She spoke loud enough to be heard over the bar's din. "The crowd's morphing into a biker gang on steroids. Time for you girls to call it a night.”

I immediately caught on to what had Raye feeling protective: rowdy laughter and coarse jibes, alcohol-glazed stares and unsteady gaits, some serious making out verging on pornographic. Dante’s friends—the gang of bikers by the pool table—downed shots like it was a drinking competition. Iglanced at Bianca, knowing if she was by herself, she wouldn’t think twice about staying.

“This way,” she said, taking my hand.

We were almost at the door when someone bumped into me, then someone else blocked my path. I heard several cat calls as I dropped Bianca’s hand and fell a few steps behind her. That was when a grizzled biker sporting a tangle of unkept beard and muscular, tattooed arms leaned in close and groped me.

“What’s your hurry, baby?” he slurred. “Let me buy you a drink.”

“No.” I pushed him away and kept moving.

Suddenly, his brutish hand shot out, latching tightly onto my arm. Time slipped into slow motion. My survival instincts and years of self-defense training sparked to life. With a quick, precise motion, I seized the man's hand, twisting it into an uncomfortable pretzel.

His gasp of surprise quickly transformed into a throttled yelp as he dropped to his knees. But I still didn’t let go.

“Camille!”

Bianca fought her way through the crowd back to me. Her initial shock morphed into an amused grin. "Damn girl," she muttered, looking at me with an air of newfound respect. “You really are a storm.”

A guy built like a mountain suddenly approached with Raye hot on his heels, baseball bat in her hand. When they reached me, I let go of Asshole’s wrist and stepped back.

“That’s it, Serpent,” Raye snapped out. “You’ve had your final warning, and now you’re out.” She turned to the guy she was with, a look of disgust on her face. “Get him out of here.”

“What the fuck?” Serpent clambered to his feet and rounded on me, his face twisted with rage. "You filthy little cunt!" He took a step toward me, his hand raised.

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