Page 34 of Reconciling the Consequences

“That’s awesome! I didn’t know.” Johnny laughed. “You’re friends with Welder, right?”

“Yeah, I went to high school with him and Rachel.” Slade grinned. “We went to the public school, while Kara was allpreppy girl, private school, Princess.” Slade joked, giving Kara a smirk.

“You know that’s right.” Kara smirked back, tossing her hair over her shoulder and blowing her friend a kiss.

Slade laughed and Johnny shook his head.

“I hung out with Rachel today,” Kara said, bringing the conversation to a more serious note. “She’s pretty cool. She was actually great today,” Kara said, trying not to make it seem like she had too much fun at a funeral. She hadn’t known Rachet, but Slade and Johnny had.

Slade smiled easily. “Rachel’s good people. I think you guys would be great friends.”

Kara grinned. “I think it’s the start of a wonderful friendship!”

Slade grinned wickedly. “We are so doing a girls’ night, the three of us. ASAP.”

“Hell yes!” Kara shouted in agreement.

Johnny’s eyes widened.

Kara smirked as Slade slapped hands with her.

Johnny groaned. “This is going to be a thing, ain’t it?” he asked, motioning between the two of them. “You’re gonna be trouble together, I just know it.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Slade laughed and patted Johnny on the shoulder. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Kara grinned at the two of them.

Johnny shook his head but still smiled broadly.

Slade just grinned and changed the subject. “Where do you want me to set up? I need to decorate your girl’s cast, since no one has signed it yet,” she drawled dramatically and pointed to Kara’s arm.

Johnny’s eyes widened with shock and his mouth dropped. “I didn’t even think about that,” he said, looking taken aback.

Kara smiled and shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it either,” she said, grabbing his hand. “It’s been a long week.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Well, let’s change that,” he murmured against her lips.

She stood up and nodded, a smile on her face.

“Come on, I’ll show you where you can set up,” Johnny said to Slade and nodded toward the clubhouse.

Kara and Slade followed Johnny back into the chaos.

As the sun set and day gave way to night, the crowd grew livelier and rowdier. The promise of the fights in the ring was on the horizon, but Kara wasn’t sure she would make it that long.

She was exhausted and hurting.

She popped her pain pills and curled up on Derrick’s lap on a couch in the corner. He was talking and laughing with some of the guys while Johnny and Kevin were floating around, “making the rounds,” as Derrick had called it.

Once Derrick explained that if Mac were to die today, Kevin would most likely be the next VP upon Johnny’s ascension to president, Kara understood. She let them be to do their rounds of networking and curled up with Derrick when she’d had enough for the evening.

The fights were still a while off and it was relatively early, only about nine o’clock, but she was done. Exhausted and in pain, it had been the first real day out for her since she was injured, and it had taken a lot out of her. At some point one of them was going to run her home, but until then she was content to curl up on Derrick’s lap.

She was dozing peacefully in Derrick’s arms, floating in that halfway conscious state. She caught pieces of the conversation around her, though. “You guys just hitting that?” someone asked, and she felt Derrick tense beneath her.

His arms wrapped tighter around her, and he pressed a kiss to her temple. She let out a small sigh as her head fell into the crook of his neck and acted like she was sleeping.

“Nah.” Derrick’s voice rumbled low as he responded to whomever. “We’re all in with this one. She’s the real deal.”

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