“Shit, man, that fucking sucks,” Yak says.
“I’m sorry,” Trout adds.
“Don’t be. That’s life.” I shrug and look back down at my bike.
I refuse to see the sympathy on their faces. Even after so many years of it just being my sister and me, it doesn’t get easier.
“Wait, so if you’ve never had a best friend before, that means I’m your first,” Yak says after a beat.
I look up at him. “Who said you’re my best friend?”
Yak scoffs. “Please, you know you want to braid my hair and have sleepovers. I’m fucking awesome.”
“Pretty sure the only hair he wants to braid at sleepovers is Aspen’s,” Trout says.
“Watch it. That’s our president’s sister,” Eagle warns.
I look down and silently laugh. Trout’s not wrong, though.
“What? It’s not like we don’t know he has a hard-on for her,” Trout mutters.
“Anyway, I’m his best friend. We should get it in writing. Maybe get friendship bracelets. Oh better yet, we could make them,” Yak says.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are fucking ridiculous?” Eagle asks, shaking his head.
“You do. Every day, but you love me anyway,” Yak tells him.
“I don’t love you,” Eagle says.
“Sure you don’t,” Yak quips.
I shake my head again and laugh.
I didn’t know it could be like this. Yeah, I’ve had friends as an adult, but when you work undercover, it all feels fake and temporary. I’ve had to keep so much of myself private that it’s hard to build long-lasting friendships. Then, when you compare not only how I grew up against these guys, but them to Ragged Anarchy, it’s like night and day. They couldn’t be any more different if they tried.
“So your sister…is she single?” Trout asks.
“My sister isn’t someone I’m willing to talk about,” I tell him.
“Come on, wouldn’t you like to see her settled down?” Trout teases.
“Not with any of you fools.”
I love my sister, and I’ll support whatever she wants, but I want more for her. Either way, I’ll support her no matter what. If, for some reason, it all fell apart, I’d do whatever I could to help her.
“Who knows, maybe once he’s a fully-fledged brother, he will change his mind,” Yak tells Trout.
“Maybe.” Trout nods.
“How’s the bar repair going?” I ask Eagle.
“It’s coming along. Not as fast as I would like, but it’s moving,” Eagle says.
“Yeah, because you’re an impatient fuck.” Yak laughs.
“Takes one to know one,” Eagle throws back, making Yak laugh harder.
“It would probably go faster if you didn’t ride the construction crew so hard. I swear to god, they run when they see you because they know you’ll complain about something,” Trout teases.
