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“Dumbass,” I say under my breath. Can’t help myself. But Bailey hears it, as do the rest of the girls, reminding them that I’m still here.

“Exactly. And speaking of dumbasses, I expect the few Hounds my dad sent to follow us are outside by now, so you can go,” Ruby says with a pointed look, only making me smile more.

I feel sorry for whoever falls for this princess. She might be the president’s daughter, but she’s got no say over me, and she knows it. So I just smirk and cock an eyebrow at her cute attempt to get rid of me. I’ve grown fond of Ruby, like most of us have. In a “don’t want a little sister but have one” kind of way. I find her ways cute sometimes, and annoying, but she’ll never turn my head. Not like how Bailey does.

My phone chimes, and I chance a glance at it before I respond to the ladies in front of me. “No can do. Looks like I’m the one with eyes on you all tonight.”

It’s a complete lie. My brothersdidalert me that they’re parked by my bike outside, but no one said anything about needing a man on the inside. I keep that bit to myself as I settle in.

“Whatever.” Ruby tosses her hair over her shoulders, dismissing me as she turns to the bar. “Hey, gorgeous.”

“Don’t swing that way, hon,” the bartender says without even moving toward the group. It isn’t that loud by the bar, and our voices carry well.

“Wasn’t talking to you, bitch, but to your boots. Where’d you get them?”

The spice Ruby throws can go one of two ways: enemies or besties for life. And the smile that graces the bartender’s face has best friend all over it.

“What can I get you? First round’s on me.”

“Six vodka cranberries and for you to ignore this guy as he stares like a stalker while we dance our night away.”

“Six drinks coming up, and I promise to ignore him as much as possible.”

I don’t miss the wink he sends my way, and I smile good-naturedly at him. We both know who I’m interested in, and she doesn’t have a third leg.

I watch as Bailey’s dragged away, not at all put out that I get to watch her. It’s something I love to do. Once there’s enough alcohol in her system, she seems to just let go and sway to the music. I watch as her body moves to the music, enraptured with her once more.

Yeah, I’ve got it bad for this girl. Real bad.

I text my dad.

Start that clock.

Chapter 4—Bailey

“Ihate you.” I glare at Jordan across the bar top, but it falls on deaf ears. Not that he can’t hear me. The Flying Monkeys Bar might be a popular joint, but our table isn’t crowded enough for no one to hear each other.

“No, you don’t. You’re just bitchy because I’m forcing you to run,” he says with an eye roll. Like it’s no big deal, when in fact it’s a huge deal. Gigantic.

“Exactly! You’re the worst. I don’t know how you put up with him, Meekail. He’s a total menace.” I stick my tongue out at myformerbestie. We might have known each other all our lives, but that doesn’t mean I won’t cut him out of my will that leaves him my boy band CD collection.

Meekail nods. “I agree.”

I laugh hard as Jordan shouts his protest. I know he doesn’t mean it. Even Jordan does. The love Meekail has for his man is obvious to anyone in the entire state, much less this bar. Also helps that Meekail can’t hide his smile as he taunts his boyfriend.

Jordan scoffs. “Whatever to the both of you. Just remember I’ve already signed you up for my three-day-a-week class at four. That’ll give you plenty of time to get out of class and head over to our gym. And don’t even think about ghosting me. I know where you live, and I’m not ashamed to use my key to get into your place and bubble-wrap the place till you show.”

I glare hard at him as his eyes sparkle. He’s done that to me before. It sucked. Sure, bubble wrap is fun to pop occasionally, but not on everything you touch. He even had it on the toilet seats. No person can hate bubble wrap more than me till they try for thirty damn minutes to get it off the toilet when you’ve got to pee so bad and you can’t even find your keys to drive to another bathroom because those are bubble-wrapped too.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?” Jules whirls in like the random tornado she is, giving me and the boys each a kiss on our cheeks before she takes a seat across the table from me.

“Nothing. Bailey got here about five minutes after us, and we just ordered the first round. Gidget and Miles are about ten minutes out,” Meekail fills her in while I continue to glare at Jordan. He just shows his support by blowing me a kiss.

Kiss my ass is more like it.

He giggles a bit, and I know my look spoke volumes.

God, how I love these people. We’ve been close for years. We banded together in school because we were the unwanted. Meekail and Jordan for simply being the only kids out of the closet at the time. Miles because he was the very definition of nerd. His wife, Gidget, got pulled in by association when he meet her in college. And Jules got stuck in our group since she missed most of her earlier education due to traveling for her modeling, and then she got sick and was labeled as such. As for me, it was just ’cause I was fat. I wasn’t the biggest, but you know how kids are. They pick out one they think is the weakest link and just zero in on them to bully. I might look weak, but I’m not. A fact I had to prove from elementary to high school—and even now sometimes.

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