Page 20 of Fierce-Hyde

Ryder laughed. “Dude, do you have a death wish? No, don’t tell my father or my uncle or anyone else other than me and Raina right now. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for some serious meddling.”

“As if that hasn’t been happening in the past year of my life,” he said, frowning.

“Trust me. If you listen to Jade, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

7

STRONG POSSIBILITY

There was no way Tori was letting Hyde pick her up for their “date” on Saturday night.

She’d never let anyone know where she lived on the first date.

Not even the third date unless she felt comfortable enough.

It didn’t matter to her that Hyde had a connection to her best friend and she trusted him. Well, trust was a strong word.

She trusted the fact that he wasn’t a serial killer or rapist. Not even a stalker. Which rated him higher than any other first date she went on with someone.

She’d looked up the restaurant they were meeting at, and saw it was just a casual steak house which meant dressing was easier.

Nope, it wasn’t.

She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to go about this night.

If they didn’t have the past they’d had, she’d be excited. Maybe almost giddy.

She wasn’t giddy. She didn’t even think she was excited.

She was nervous.

That wasn’t like her at all.

After looking through her closet, she picked up her phone and called Raina.

“Is this a bad time?” she asked when Raina answered the phone.

“No,” Raina said. “Are you trying to figure out what to wear for your date?”

“Yes,” she said. “And we aren’t sure it’s a date. I don’t know what it is and that is why I’m nervous. What if he says something to piss me off again?”

“Considering you’ve got a short fuse with him, that is a strong possibility.”

“You aren’t making this any easier,” she said, laughing.

“Just being truthful like you are with me,” Raina said.

“I need that too.”

“Go in like it’s a first date with anyone else. Put the past behind you. You’ve got all sorts of patience and remind yourself to have it tonight. Try not to be judgy based on the past.”

“It’s hard to do that even though I preach it enough. But I’m going to take your advice. Now I’m just trying to figure out what to wear.”

“I’ve been there. It’s casual. Jeans are good with a nice shirt.”

“I already knew that. But do I wear nice fitted jeans or more like trouser jeans?”

“Do you want to turn him on?” Raina asked, laughing.

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