“Total freedom is as useless as total rigidity,” I said. “It’s not so good when you have the freedom to do nothing and be nothing because you have no options. It’s not so good when you lose it every other month because of law enforcement. I just got lucky that you’re here. It’s only good when you have options and resources.”
I was staring straight ahead at the sign for a Walmart and a McDonald’s, but I could feel Tara’s eyes leaving the road and turning to me. It was not the stare of someone who was surprised. It was the stare of someone who was curious and captivated.
Oh, trust me, the thought definitely crossed my mind.She’s into me.And the complimentary thought crossed my mind.I’m into her.
But it was one thing to hook up with someone’s name you forgot less than twelve hours later. It was another to hook up with someone whose name was too well known in your friend circle. Even smiling at Tara in a certain way, if Steele found out, would lead to a massive brawl. He may have said he understood Tara’s dumping him, but he hadn’t accepted it. The guy had too much fucking pride.
I’d sooner hook up again with last night or with many of my exes than I would with Tara Rogers.Beautiful as she is. Smart as she is. Fierce as she is.
“Fair enough,” Tara said.
Out of the corner of my eye, again, she looked like she wanted to say more. But perhaps having the same train of thought I did, she said nothing.
In fact, we said nothing more for the rest of the car ride back to Steele’s place. But that didn’t mean we didn’t sneak peeks at each other, looking when the other thought we weren’t looking. It was a really fucking good thing that I’d probably never see her again. There was only so much temptation a man could have before giving in.
Most especially when that temptation was the best woman he knew.
Tara turned the corner to the neighborhood where Steele and the rest of our circle—except me—lived. She drew a quick breath, paused, and swallowed.
“I told Steele I was picking you up so I could scare some wits into you,” she said, her voice shaky, almost like she had just said that to Steele as an excuse. “But you don’t need your wits scared into you. Please, Brock, try…I don’t want to say get it together, but try to stay out of trouble. The rest of those guys look up to you. You can make a difference.”
I snorted.
“Zack, maybe he looks up to me,” I said. “But no one else does.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“I mean, Mason’s like six years older than me.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s not looking for an example to take everyone forward,” she said. “You’re a natural leader. People pay attention to you. I saw it whenever Steele and I were together. If you stay out of trouble, they will too.”
I disagreed. But maybe that was because I, weirdly enough, liked not being able to stay out of trouble. This town needed some trouble to upend its corruption and bullshit.
And you need a chance to atone for your failure to protect her. Not Tara, but…
We pulled up to the house. This was no time for me to linger, most especially since I could see Steele looking at us through a window. He had never suspected me as someone who tried to steal his girl, but when he got jealous, even a cute dog who wanted to climb up Tara’s long, slender legs was something to suspect.
“Thanks for driving me,” I said. “Probably won’t see you again, though. Thanks for getting me out of there.”
“You don’t know for sure—”
I didn’t. But I had to act like I did. I got out of the car, shut the passenger door without letting her finish, and walked down the driveway.
The good news was I could see my bike there, and by all appearances, it was unharmed. I still strongly disliked that Connor or Steele had ridden my bike—my fucking bike—home, but that was far better than Sheriff Davis or a Bandit.
The even better news was that when Steele walked out to greet me, as far as I could tell, he had no resentment toward me. The lager beer in his hand suggested as much.
“Everyone else is awake now,” he said. “Wanna get the party started back up?”
“Fuck, man, I haven’t slept since Friday,” I said with a weary chuckle. “Did the girl in my room leave?”
“Justine?”
Wow, even Steele remembers her. That’s embarrassing.
“Yeah, she’s gone. Left without a word. Zack sure had eyes for her.”
“Huh.”
