Page 20 of Property of Kevlar

With her ribs rattling and her hand shaking, she slid the chain lock back into place. She wasn’t about to let him into her place if she could prevent it.

While that wasn’t exactly strong enough to deter him, it gave her a little peace of mind. If he didn’t want to cause a scene and kick her door in, the pathetic lock might be enough. Though guys like Pete rarely worried about causing a ruckus.

“Kelsey!” Carrie called from the other side. “Are you in there? Are you alive?”

Blowing out a breath of relief, Kelsey nodded to herself.

Hopefully, her friend was alone. Sure that she wasn’t about to flash the apartment complex, she leaned forward and peered out of the window near the door.

Outside her apartment stood her best friend with her brown hair tossed up in a sloppy ponytail. Dressed in loose sweatpants, her friend bore a concerned expression.

Quickly, Kelsey opened the door. “You’re going to wake the neighborhood,” she admonished. With wide eyes, Carrie’s gaze swept Kelsey up and down. Her mouth fell open.

Stepping aside, Kelsey waved at her friend. “Get in.”

Slowly, Carrie entered the apartment, though her gaze didn’t leave Kelsey. “Why are you wearing a blanket?”

With her friend inside, Kelsey glanced around the lot. Part of her hoped she’d see Kev on his bike, keeping watch. Completely irrational. She knew that. Why would he? She wasn’t anyone to him. There was no reason for him to stake out her apartment. He’d done more than enough.

They’d fucked. Which didn’t mean he was beholden to her. Their tryst was a onetime thing. He shouldn’t be lingering around and protecting her. She didn’t have any delusions about her pussy being magical. The guy had gotten what he came for.

With disappointment she had no business feeling, she closed her door and faced her friend.

“Kelsey?” Carrie drew her name out.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you naked?” Her friend’s eyes widened, and she peered toward the small hallway where the bedroom was. “Is Pete here?”

Kelsey recoiled and tightened the blanket around herself. “What?” That was absurd. “No.”

Carrie’s brows knitted together in confusion.

“Give me a minute,” Kelsey said as she moved toward her bedroom. “Why don’t you start the coffee.”

Her friend knew her way around Kelsey’s apartment. She might as well make herself useful while Kelsey got decent.

“I tried to call, but it went straight to voicemail,” Carrie said.

Shit. Her phone. Ugh. She’d have to get a replacement.

“Sorry.” Kelsey sighed, planning to leave for work early so she could swing by the cell store to get a new one. Hopefully, they’d have something within her budget. Maybe a refurbished one.

With the weight of her friend’s gaze on her, she snatched her clothes from the previous night off the floor on her way out of the room. This wouldn’t be weird. Carrie was well aware Kelsey wasn’t the best housekeeper.

But why did she feel judged by the assumption she’d banged a creep like Pete? Was Mike really that much better? Kelsey couldn’t say. She didn’t know him all that well. To be fair, Carrie didn’t either. They’d been essentially attached at the pelvis since Mike crossed Carrie’s path.

Why would Carrie think poorly of Kelsey if she’d done the same with Pete?

Even if she did, so what? They weren’t prudes. Sexual freedom and expression were healthy. Besides, Carrie was the reason Kelsey was in that horrible position last night anyway. Kelsey highly doubted Pete would’ve gotten so rapey if Carrie and his friend were around.

Not because he held her friend in any sort of high regard, but because Kelsey wouldn’t have been alone with him in the first place. She wouldn’t have walked out of the bar with him. She would’ve made Carrie go with her. Last night’s debacle would’ve been avoided if Carrie hadn’t abandoned her for biker dick.

“I don’t want to scare you,” Carrie called from the kitchen as Kelsey got dressed in the bedroom. “But Mike said shit’s going to get scary soon.”

Kelsey’s spine went rigid at the mention of Carrie’s biker fuckboy. “Why?”

Kelsey came out of her room wearing yoga pants and a bra on beneath her oversized T-shirt, ready to listen to the tea Carrie was about to spill.