“Does this have anything to do with your lesson with new girl today?” she finally asks.
“I hurt her, Kare,” I rasp.
“Like, physically? Or something else?”
“I kissed her, then pushed her away like trash.”
She sighs and sits at my side.
“You’re an idiot,” she says and drops her head to my shoulder.
“I know.”
“Honestly, the guys are much better equipped to handle this than me.”
“Why are you all here? Not that I’m not grateful you showed up.”
“I just have a sixth sense for these things…and I might have gotten a deal on the parts you need.”
My spine straightens with that last bit of news.
“You did?”
“Yup. Brought the boys out to get them installed.”
“Why? They don’t know shit about cars.”
“But the three of y’all will keep me entertained while I work.”
“Thank you, Kare. Seriously. For everything.”
“It’s what friends are for. Now, are you ready to go face idiot one and idiot two?”
“As I ever can be. How much do I owe you?”
She waves me off as she heads for the door. “Don’t worry about it. Like I said, I got a deal.”
I grumble but don’t fight her on it while I follow her through my apartment. She only stops to grab the case of beer from my fridge and carry it outside. My other friends are waiting on the steps in front of my porch, each with a can in their hands. If I was feeling more like myself, I would give them shit about mooching off my alcohol. But in the grand scheme of things, the twenty-dollar case is meaningless. It’s a fraction of what I owe them for this.
“About time you showed your face,” Nathan says as I step through the door. “I was starting to think you didn’t want us around.”
“Like that would stop you from showing up,” I try to snark back, but my voice sounds hollow.
Morgan’s forehead pinches, but he doesn’t say anything at my tone.
“I’m surprised to see you, though,” I address my more perceptive friend. “How did you get James to let you off your leash?”
He flips me off, but his face melts into a love-sick grin. “She’s been in her studio all day, so I figured I’d grace you with my presence.”
“God, you are so whipped,” Nathan chastises, and Morgan doesn’t even argue.
“You’re one to talk,” I call him out.
“Like you aren’t completely hung up on Kori.”
The mere mention of her name sucks all the air from my lungs, and the gloom swirls around me with a vengeance. My whole body stiffens while my face morphs into a hollow mask.
“Shit,” Nathan mutters. He might be oblivious, but he isn’t blind. “What happened.”
