Page 16 of Hard Ride

6

Ollie didn’t fuck around.That wasn’t his style.

Besides, he didn’t have enough friends as it was.He couldn’t afford to lose any over dumb shit.

So a week after his call with Kyra, when he heard a shriek and poked his head out of his campervan in time to see Wren sprint from the Hot Rides motorcycle shop’s garage toward Kason and Jordan, who’d climbed out of a familiar monstrous black truck, he stood up straight and prepared to man up.

Wren flung herself at her boyfriends.Jordan had joined Kason for the most recent portion of his tour, seeing as he was currently unemployed and Kason had required some assistance before getting his cast off his recently broken leg.While they reunited in a flurry of hugs, kisses, and laughter that ended up with all three of them tumbling to the ground in a heap, Ollie’s gaze slid behind them.

Van, Kason’s official bodyguard and head of his security detail, climbed down from the driver’s side of his truck while Kyra hopped out of the passenger-side door.Unlike her usual bubbly self, she hung back, her gaze flicking between Van and Ollie.

Did she think they were going to fight again?

He hated that he’d had any part in making her uncomfortable or unsure.

Ollie stepped down onto the brown grass, which crunched beneath his sneakers, and marched right up to Van.He stuck out his hand.“Kyra told me things have heated up between you two.Congratulations.I hope you’re both going to be really happy together.”

Van blinked.He glanced at Kyra, who winced.But instead of turning to Ollie with a snarl or answering his proposed truce with another black eye, Van grabbed Ollie’s elbow and half-led, half-dragged him to the periphery of the gathering of Hot Rides that poured from the garage to welcome their friends home.“She told you?”

“Yeah.Don’t be pissed at her for that.There’s nothing to hide…” Ollie looked over his shoulder to where Kyra was hugging Quinn and Trevon in greeting.He tried not to be jealous, but he wasn’t entirely successful.

“That’s not what I’m worried about.What did she say exactly?About me…or us…” Van let his cool, calm, in-control demeanor slip.Ollie thought he might have been meeting the man behind the bodyguard for the very first time.Van had never seemed vulnerable before, not to force or feelings.“Because I have no fucking idea where I stand with her.”

“To me, it sounded like you were lying down—not standing.”Ollie winked, although part of him shriveled inside as he acknowledged that meant he was less likely to have the same experience anytime soon.

Considering how deeply her kiss had affected him, sex with her would likely ruin him for anyone else.Maybe it was for the best they hadn’t gotten that far.He had no doubt that if Van hadn’t interrupted them that night, he and Kyra would have ended up in bed.

So close, and yet…

Van barely managed to suppress the grin twisting the edges of his mouth, but his satisfaction shone through his dark eyes anyway.Ollie reminded himself that he shouldn’t be envious if that’s what Kyra had wanted.Fuck it, though.He was.

“Anyway,” Ollie dug at the dirt with the torn toe of his sneaker.“She told me you slept together.And that now things were awkward.That’s it.”

“Accurate.”Van scrubbed one hand over his face.“Damn it.I don’t know what to do next.Do I leave her alone, like I should have considering we work together in a place where working together also means living together?Or should I show her how badly I want her and always have?”

“You’re asking me?”Ollie dropped his head back.“This is torture.You know that, right?”

“Yeah.Sorry.”Van scrunched his eyes.“But I know you care about Kyra, and I intend to do what’s best for her.I’m not sure I can really think that clearly about it at the moment when what I want…”

“Is burning you up from the inside?”Ollie sighed.“I get that.”

Unlikely allies, they stared at each other for a few moments.It figured—the only person who truly understood how Ollie felt about Kyra was the other man who felt the same way.

They were screwed.

“What are you two whispering about over there?”Devra teased as she rounded the corner of the garage closest to them, causing Ollie and Van to spring apart guiltily.

“Stuff!”Ollie shouted, his heart pounding.How much had she overheard and would Kyra be pissed if she knew they were conspiring, even if it was to bring her joy?

The woman—who was married to both Quinn, the Hot Rides shop manager, and Trevon, one of the mechanics who worked there—drew up short at the intensity of his reaction, her intuition prodding her to dig deeper.“Is it Kyra’s birthday or something?”

Van shook his head.“Not until next month.”

Of course Van actually knew when her birthday was.He’d known Kyra way longer than Ollie had, and they were closer.In every possible way.It was time for him to accept that and back off before he ruined his friendship with her over something that had never been meant to be.

If only he could erase the memory of their kiss, which had felt far too right to be ignored.

Nah, he wouldn’t scrub that from his brain even if he could.It had been a highlight of his existence.He needed to stop thinking about it before he got hard, though.He didn’t need another dent in his skull from Van’s knuckles.