Page 45 of Whirlwind

First day was good, all safe.

I expect him to take time to answer since he’s probably at work, but his text back is immediate.

JAKE

Thank the twister gods. I didn’t think I’d hear from you, but I’m glad you’re safe.Where are you?

ME

Somewhere in Oklahoma. Getting a room for the night.

JAKE

Hopefully not with Ryker?

I roll my eyes and send him a gif of a cute cartoon bunny giving him a middle finger.

JAKE

Does that mean you are?!?!?

ME

I’m not answering you.

JAKE

*side-eye emoji* I’m making a mental note to ask you about that response later. I gotta get back to work. Lots of parties here tonight looking to ride Tornado. Love you.

I smile at the name of Jake’s mechanical bull. When he told me he got a new one for his bar and named it after me, I told him Finley was a dumb name for a bull. But when he corrected me and said its name was Tornado, I knew it was perfect. I like it even more now that the darn thing makes the bar a ton of money.

ME

Love you, too.

I slip myphone back in my jeans pocket as Joey does the same. “You good, Finney?” he asks.

“Yep. Could use a shower and a crispy Diet Coke, maybe a massage and a shot of whiskey, too. Otherwise, I’m good.”

“Hmm, a shower is probably wise—you stink.”

I pull away from him and scoff. “I do not.”

He holds up his fingers until the pads are an inch apart. “Maybe a little.”

I smack his arm, and he chuckles. “Okay, you don’t stink, but if you’re serious about the crispy Diet Coke and whiskey, I know a place that’ll take care of that. As far as the massage, I’ve been told I have magic hands.”

He wiggles his fingers at me, and I laugh. “I may take you up on that.”

The sound of a throat clearing has me looking at Ryker. He’s pretending to pay attention to whatever Ezra is showing him on the computer, but I can see his bearded jaw is clenched so tight he may break some teeth—which means he heard what Joey said as well as my response. If he was looking at me, I’d give him the stink eye, but he’s not.

After our talk in the bathroom, he’s been at least nicer to Joey and everyone on the team, but he could still work on his reactions to Joey’s natural flirtatiousness. He’s like this with everyone. And I still can’t believe Ryker doesn’t notice the way Hawk and Joey look at each other, or if he does, he doesn’t realize what it means. That’s the only explanation for why he’s still being weird every time Joey touches me or says something remotely playful. To add to that, Ryker doesn’t have any claim over me—we’ve made that clear.

Joey leans down so his mouth is near my ear and only I can hear his next words. “Looks like the professor is a little jealous of my mad massage skills.”

I turn my gaze to Joey, who looks like the devil in a cowboy hat that he is with a smirk on his lips and a toothpick he got from somewhere stuck between his lips. “Don’t start.”

He chews on the little stick of wood. “He wants you so bad, Fin-Fin.”

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