Page 75 of Ride or Die

“How was your date?”

I jump at the voice over my shoulder, turning to see Kendra grinning knowingly behind me.

Blinking at her question, I look around again for what, I don’t know, my brows pulling together. But before I can question her, Maci butts in.

“Date?”

Kendra nods, folding her arms across her chest, smile smug. “Clara went on a date with Cole last night.”

“Not the bling king,” Maci murmurs with a laugh.

I shake my head sufficiently flustered as I turn back to Kendra. “How… how doyouknow?”

She shrugs a nonchalant shoulder. “Brady told me last night when I fucked him in his truck.”

“You fucked Brady last night?” Maci asks with a thinly veiled grimace.

Kendra lifts a shoulder with another shrug in response.

“Ew,” Maci mutters.

“So not the point,” Kendra says dismissively, turning to me, eyes wide, eyebrows dancing. “How’d it go?”

I roll my eyes, feeling my cheeks heat at the memory of my date with Cole last night and what we did in the back of histruck. Honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, my smile returning as the vision that flashes through me. But when I remember the two women standing in front of me with matching smirks, I school myself, shrugging a shoulder like it’s no big deal. “It was fine.”

Kendra and Maci trade a glance, Maci sticking her tongue inside her cheek in an attempt to hide her growing smile.

“Fine?” Kendra cocks her head to the side, deadpan. “Clara, be so for real.”

“What do you want me to say?” I laugh incredulously.

“Did you see his”—Kendra grins deviously—“bling?”

Maci throws her head back on a laugh.

I shrug, at a loss for whatever this whole bedazzled, bling king bullshit is all about.

“Maybe date number two.” Kenda winks at me.

This time, it’s me who deadpans.

“Order up!” Kevin shouts from behind the bar and I breathe a sigh of relief to see that it’s my order.

“You guys are so annoying,” I huff, flashing the girls a sidelong glance and ignoring their barely contained laughter as I walk to the bar to collect table four’s order.

“These assholes keepin’ their goddamn hands to ’emselves?”

I gasp, spinning around, both relieved and shocked to find Cole standing there looking down at me, face shadowed by his hat, smirk flashing beneath the flicker of disco lights.

“What are you doing here?” I hiss, unable to hide my grin, or stop myself from reaching out, trailing my hand down the front of his shirt and tugging him closer. God, he smells good.

“I was on my way back from Canyon. Thought I’d stop by to make sure I don’t need to cut off some asshole’s fuckin’ fingers.”

My eyes go wide because why is that so hot? I’m definitely not one to condone violence, but when Cole gets all protective and, dare I say, possessive, it does things to me that I should probably be ashamed of, considering everything I’ve been through.

“But, also,” he says, shrugging a broad shoulder, his self-assured grin turning shy as he continues, “I missed my girl.”

My girl?Oh, my heart.