Page 4 of Hard Ride

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Kyra’s ire bled out of her in a gush that left her wobbly.She staggered to the couch and plopped onto it, burying her face in her hands.

Of course the women she’d become friends with lately didn’t listen to her proclamation about craving solitude.They barged in and swarmed her, surrounding her with hugs and reassurances.Mustang Sally, the last one through the door, locked it behind her.They left the horde of their guys on the other side to deal with their own mess.

Wren took her hand and squeezed it.“I’m sorry Van and Ollie are being such idiots.”

“Where do you keep the spoons?”Devra asked as she rummaged through the supplies near the fridge-freezer, pulling out the half-gallon of her favorite ice cream someone on the crew had stashed there as they did prior to each performance.

Kyra pointed and Devra took out all of the silverware.She jabbed spoons into the ice cream until it looked like it had an unfortunate run in with a porcupine or maybe Ollie’s hedgehog.Damn it, Kyra didn’t want to think about Mr.Prickles or his equally adorable owner right then.

Devra handed the cold brick to Kyra, who didn’t hesitate.She dug in, motioning with her spoon for her friends to join her.They descended on the dessert like a pack of wolves instead of a mismatched group of unlikely allies who knew a thing or two about boy trouble.

For a few bites, they let her simply eat.As the ice cream melted in her mouth and cooled her from the inside out, Kyra realized something was missing.“Whipped cream.We need the whipped cream.Stat.”

“Hell yes, we do.”Sabra lunged for the fridge and withdrew a giant can.She opened the seal and popped the cap off, tipping her head back and spraying some directly into her mouth.After swallowing, she grinned.“Had to test it out for you.”

“Thanks.”Kyra accepted the can from her, then did the same before passing it to Nola, who was by her side.“I feel better.A little.”

“Not as good as when you were making out with Ollie, I bet.”Sally smirked and gestured with her spoon.“Not that I’m blaming you, by the way.He’s a cutie, for sure.”

“He is.”Kyra smiled softly at the thought of his quiet confidence and his laidback nature, which made it so easy to talk to him.“I wish I could ignore everything else and leave with him right now.But that’s too simple to be the right answer, isn’t it?”

“Probably.So what are you going to do?”Wren crouched in front of Kyra and squeezed her knee.The other woman was no stranger to difficult or complicated situations.She’d managed to overcome enormous obstacles to have the loving polyamorous relationship she dreamed of.Kyra wished she could be more like that.

It was impossible.

“The only thing that makes sense.See, I sort of had/have a crush on Van.”Kyra took another giant bite of ice cream and a shot of whipped cream before continuing.

“Not to burst your bubble, girl, but that was not top-secret material.”Wren winced.

“Van told the guys that I kissed him?”Kyra nearly dropped her spoon.She sort of figured, from the way he’d reacted—as if she were a poisonous snake about to strike, which he’d retreated from as fast as possible—that he wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know about their indiscretion.

“Ummmm, nope.”Devra sighed.“But hearing that, things make more sense.I think Wren just means it’s obvious that the two of you vibe off each other and you spend way more time together than most people in a platonic relationship.Hell, when I first met you, I thought you two were a couple, not only friends.”

“Oh.”Shit.No use trying to deny it since she’d already ratted herself out.“Well, yeah.I wanted that.I came on to him.Kissed him.He turned me down flat and made it very clear we shouldn’t blur any professional lines.I don’t blame him for valuing his job more than a quick fuck, since I’m apparently not girlfriend material.”

More ice cream.Though, really, was there enough ice cream in the world to stop that from stinging?

“Fuck that,” Wren practically snarled.“Whether or not he’s ready to admit it, he cares for you.If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have gone Captain Testosterone out there a minute ago, would he?”

Kyra shrugged.“I don’t know.Van is right about one thing, though.I can’t afford to screw up my career over a piece of ass, no matter how fine that ass might be.Whether that’s ruining things over Van himself, or pissing him off by being with Ollie…”

“You’re going to give up something that could change your life because Van has a stick up his tight—if fine—ass?”Devra shot her an incredulous glance.

“Yeah,” Kyra said softly.“Because, honestly, I care about him too and have for quite a while.I don’t know what I want.Until I figure that out, it’s not fair to Ollie to keep fooling around with him.I kind of got the feeling he doesn’t think of whatever we were about to do as a fling.”

She recalled his secret about romance and winced.

“It could be smart to take a step back.”Kaelyn nodded.“The truth is, you’re all great people.We don’t want to see any of you get hurt.”

Too late.Because Kyra’s chest ached and the ice cream was only doing so much to dull the pain.

After Wren, Kason, and Jordan’s earlier example, the very last thing she’d wanted for herself was to spend another lonely night curled up in her bunk, sighing over pictures of friends with their significant others and families living their best life as she scrolled through social media.Unfortunately, she didn’t see that changing any time soon.

She dropped her spoon into the empty carton along with the rest of them and slumped against the back of the couch.To no one in particular she said, “Do you think you could round up some of your guys or maybe another person from the security team to walk me over to the tour bus?Don’t let Van do it no matter what he says.I won’t go alone with him.Not right now.Not tonight.”

“Of course,” Devra said, then slipped out of the dressing room.

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