Page 23 of Loan Wolf
Gabe didn’t reply to Clara’s text, even though the app betrayed that he’d seen it.
Clara considered texting again, then decided that was too needy. It wasn’t like they had anything but a strict business arrangement. A bike loan contract with benefits.
Really good benefits.
Even a disastrous practice couldn’t negate the hum of pleasure her whole body had. She was stiff in unfamiliar places from the bike ride, the athletic sex, and the heavy meal, so that dancing felt foreign and she made rookie mistakes that Twiller rightly called her on.
Worth it, she thought, gritting her teeth as Twiller walked her through things she ought to know.
They finalized the choreography and the lighting and sound crew practiced their cues.
She was keenly aware of Trevor and Aaron in the front row, watching her every move, clapping too loudly in the empty theatre every time that she came on the stage or practiced her bow. Was it weird that they were there? Did it mean something?
She came down off the stage when Twiller finally released her from the practice, and after an awkward moment where no one was sure what to do, exchanged warm hugs with both.
“You were beautiful,” Trevor said.
“Gorgeous,” Aaron added.
“You’re going to take down the house,” Trevor said.
“They’ll love you.”
Clara thought they were trying to one-up each other, and that their praise was getting slightly out of hand. “I’m looking forward to seeing the other acts,” she said, deflecting them. “Do you know what else is going to be in the revue?”
They fell over each other to prove how well they knew the lineup. There were going to be comedy sketches, scenes from Shakespeare, musicians, other dance numbers. Clara could nod and keep the conversation flowing without really following as they walked her out of the theatre.
She was used to being flirted with and courted, but this was deeply complicated by the fact that they’d all been best friends as children…and none of them were those same children anymore. Clara desperately wanted something real, and she wanted her appreciation of their grown-up good looks to be a sign that she was the mate of one of them. Maybe both of them. They were certainly interested in her and as much as she hoped it was a genuine interest, it felt just like everyone else who found her pretty and discreet and desirable.
She thought about Gabe, tracing her shoulder with one finger and suggesting mudflap tattoos.
“Thanks for coming to see the practice,” she said, when they got to the parking lot.
“Can I give you a ride back to the hotel?” Trevor asked.
“Or I could,” Aaron offered at once. “Trevor’s truck is a junker, but I’ve got a Mustang!”
Trevor flushed and looked like he might draw knuckles on Aaron over the insult, so Clara quickly said, “I rode my bike over, but thanks! I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
She unlocked Daisy while they glared at each other, and was glad to be out on the road before they could get to their vehicles, waving sunnily behind her at them. She started towards the hotel, went a block back, and then turned in the other direction.
She expected to find Gabe’s shop closed up for the night, but to her surprise, the doors were wide open and loud punk music was playing, despite the closed sign in the window.
“Don’t you get noise complaints?” she hollered over the music and the droning sound of an industrial fan as she walked back into the shop.
Gabe was spraying the frame of a bike in the back, and he turned with a jerk and pulled off his mask.
“It’s not after quiet hours yet,” he shouted back at her. “And who the fuck cares?”
He put down the paint sprayer and turned off the fan. It slowed to a rattle, but the music was still pounding. “How was your practice?”
“Grueling,” Clara admitted. “That looks good.”
It was a silver bike and Gabe had painted black feathers twining the crossbar.
“What’s its name?” Clara asked.
“Raven,” Gabe said. “Safely unisex.” He wiped off his hands and unscrewed the tip of the air gun.
