But the smile soon faded, likely as he contemplated the unnecessary consequences of going out with me. Like, seriously, did all boys act this weird? I wouldn’t say Steele didn’t deserve to feel unaffected by this, I was sure it would hurt, but come on. He was a guy who, when he had his shit together, would be great for someone else. I didn’t need to be the end-all for him and his romantic pursuits.
“Tell you what,” he said. “I…”
He paused.
“I can’t make it out early,” he said. “But I’ll bring the boys. I’ll get us away from the madness.”
Oh, shit. So he wants in? But he’s going to bring the boys? Maybe so he doesn’t raise their suspicions?
This is even more dangerous than meeting beforehand.
I kind of like it.
“All right,” I said.
Seeing that unfold was a little tense. Steele would be there. All of his friends would be there. The three of us and the six of them interacting was like throwing a bunch of chemistry class chemicals into one beaker and waiting to see what would happen. The answer was a dangerous explosion.
But maybe, just maybe, something fun and something exciting would happen.
It was thrilling how dangerous this could get.
* * *
I got to the parking lot of Reapers first. I stayed in my car as I waited for Kathryn and Elizabeth to show up. I wasn’t in a rush to go inside; I’d be in there for quite a while, especially when Brock and Steele showed up.
Kathryn pulled up first, waved to me, and got out of the car. Kathryn was every man’s ideal of a blonde—tanned, lavish tastes, and curvy. There was just one part of her that either immediately turned men off or made them beg for her even more.
She was snarky and loved to provoke.
If a situation could escalate, Kathryn would escalate it. If a person had a weak spot, Kathryn liked to poke at it. If there was something unspoken, Kathryn would shout it at the rooftops.
With me, she was mostly nice, although I had always hesitated to bring her to the Bernard Boys parties for that reason.
I got out of the car and waved to my sister as she, too, pulled up.
“This is my kind of bar,” Kathryn said, looking at the awning over the entrance. “Full of bad news and terrible decisions. It should be fun.”
“You said you wanted to check it out, so here we are,” I said. “Let’s not make decisions that are that bad, though.”
Kathryn smirked at me.
“Tara, you’re trying to be cautious after your breakup, but now’s the time to live it up a little. Make some questionable decisions, if not terrible ones.”
“Ew, that’s my sister you’re talking to,” Elizabeth said as she came up.
“And?”
Oh, Kathryn.
I got us a table, seating us at the far end of the bar, away from the entrance and near the bathrooms in case we needed to make an escape for whatever reason. Despite it being a Friday, it wasn’t that much more crowded than it had been a couple of days ago; perhaps this place hadn’t gotten the buzz and attention that it needed for a full crowd yet.
Kathryn went up to the bartender, this time a woman with some heavy cleavage showing, and ordered us three margaritas. Elizabeth dusted off her chair before she sat down. She carefully examined the room.
“So,” she said. “Brock.”
“What about him?”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
