Nathan follows us and steps up to spot me without a word. Neither one of them pushes me to talk while we work through reps, but their unasked questions buzz in the air like angry hornets. They only add to the building tension under my skin, begging to be unleashed. I go harder than I need to, trying to push those feelings away, but it’s useless. By the time I call it quits, my muscles are jelly, but the crawling hasn’t lessened.
“How’s Kori holding up?” he finally asks as we move to pack up our shit.
“She’s handling it better than I thought she would.”Better than me. “She had more to say about my attitude than what happened. But that could be her way of coping.”
“It’s better than her having a breakdown,” he says with a curt nod.
“Thank you for having my back last night, and hers.”
“Don’t sweat it, man. That’s what friends are for.”
I’ve had friends come and go over the years, and very few would have acted the way he did. For all his faults—and he has plenty—he’s a good fucking friend. Karis and Morgan too. They are better than I deserve. He would laugh me off and give me shit for going sappy on him if I tried to tell him that, so I squeeze his shoulder once and let it drop.
“What about you? You good?” Karis asks.
“I’m fine,” I lie. “Would be better if I knew if I still have a job.”
“What kind of question is that? I told you everything was handled,” Nathan says.
“That’s not a lot to go on.”
“Do you see the lack of trust, Kare Bear?” he tuts. “Your job is fine. Evelyn and James helped out behind the bar while Morgan did damage control with customers. Karis and I dealt with our would-be rapist, and he won’t be causing any problems for you. In fact, I’d be surprised if you see him at Cutter’s again. I took his ID too. So if your girl wants to open an investigation, we have his info.”
That’s…a lot—more than I was expecting.
Reality hits me all at once: we are okay. Somehow, we dodged every bullet the universe fired in our direction and made it through mostly unscathed. Manic laughter bubbles past my lips. The tension that’s held my back stiff since I saw Yellow stumble out of that alcove snaps, and with it goes any will to stay on shaking limbs. I sink down to the mat, laughing like a lunatic as I let myself relax for the first time in weeks. My friends lock eyes, holding a silent argument while glancing at me with worry on their faces.
“You sure you’re okay there?” Karis asks, then takes a tentative step toward me, hesitating like I’ve gone mad.
Who knows, I might have.
I wave off her concern and try to rein in the giddy relief.
“Thank you. Both of you.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re the best. I know,” she teases and plops down beside me.
“So when are you going to ask her out?” Nathan asks as he joins her.
Looks like we’re back on this.
“I’m not,” I tell him with a stern glare.
“Come on, man. We know you’re into her.”
“And?”
Denying it is hopeless. There’s something about her I can’t get out of my head—my sunflower has me tangled in her roots. But infatuation passes. Soon enough, someone worth her time willcatch her attention, and she will forget all about me. She will be nothing more than a bright blip on the dark landscape of my life.
“And you should do something about it,” he challenges.
“I’m no good for her.”
“Bullshit,” Karis interjects.
“I’m serious. She deserves a man who can take care of her.”
“What do you call last night, then?” she asks.
