“He wasn’t even completelywrong about me! I started judging him the moment he sat down!”
Aubrey shouts into the room as she brings her sledgehammer down on a broken desk. The splintering of its wood cuts through the air before she heaves the hammer over her shoulder and glances at where I’m standing. The blue, full-body coveralls they make us wear at the rage room are too big for her and scrunch awkwardly at her middle, but I think this is my favourite version of her.
The wildness in her blue eyes makes them more vibrant, nearly an entire shade brighter as she watches me expectantly. Her round cheeks are flushed, and her always-glossy lips are parted as she exhales heavily. She’s put her hair up in a messy ponytail with pieces hanging out all over the place and has let her role of the fearless, quick-tongued lawyer slip away. Instead, it’s the playful, open-hearted version of my best friend that I see in front of me.
Being here together reminds me of what we were like ten years ago, which is exactly what we needed tonight.
“Everyone judges, Bree. If you think he wasn’t doing the same to you, you’re wrong,” I say, kicking a work boot at the stack of dinner plates in front of me. “And that doesn’t excuse the way he spoke to you.”
“He wasn’t as obvious about it, at least.”
“Good for him. That doesn’t change my perspective.”
She presses her lips together while smashing the screen of an old box TV. “Your team is zero for two.”
“And you’ve got full permission to punish them accordingly.”
“Jett really didn’t know that his cousin was such a weasel?”
She pulls in a breath and swings her sledgehammer into a coffee table, watching with a grin as it shatters. I move to stand beside her and join in, feeling the pull in my muscles when I swing.
“No. He wouldn’t have put you on a date with someone like him.”
“I know,” she groans, resting her sledgehammer on the ground. “That’s the only reason I haven’t already called to ream him out.”
“He still deserves his ass kicked. Just maybe not as badly as Wes.”
Her eyes narrow at the corners before she kicks her foot out and jabs her heel into the side of a tire. “Yeah, he’s the one I’m waiting to talk to at dinner next week.”
I pull my lips back in a wince. Our monthly team dinners always have a tendency to get a little crazy, and with the events of the last two weeks, I’m expecting this next one is going to set a new baseline for insanity. I can’t say the guys don’t deserve what they have coming for them.
“Tonight is just as much my fault as Jett’s,” I admit, already shaking my head when she opens her mouth to argue. “It’s true. I shit the bed as a dating coach tonight. We need to go back to the basics, not more blind dates.”
“And how do we do that?”
I lean my sledgehammer against the pieces of the broken desk. Truthfully, I don’t have a damn clue how to do this, but for her, I’ll figure it out. At least I know whatnotto do now.
“You’re going to go out with me, and we’ll see if we can figure out the best ways for you to react to certain icks without immediately closing yourself off. Plus, it’ll give me a chance to see what types of men you prefer.”
She stares at me for a beat, not buying it. “That’s not going to work. I think it’s pretty clear that you don’t ick me out.”
“No, but I can change that and then help you figure out how to work through your reactions without sending men running home to their moms with tears in their eyes.”
“I doubt it’ll be that easy.”
“Oh, it won’t be. I’m sure you’ll accidentally tear me up, but I’m the best person to do this with because I won’t get offended.”
She tucks a chunk of fallen hair behind her ear, chewing on her lip. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, Bree, I am. We can consider any insults that come payback for the terrible date and coaching tonight.”
“Alright, but I’m going to be royally pissed if you push me and I snap back and hurt your feelings.”
“You won’t.” With a crooked grin, I grab my sledgehammer and rest it over my shoulder. “What about after team dinner?”
“As long as I’m not half-asleep by then.”
I jut my chin toward her abandoned sledgehammer. “It’s a date. Now, pick that up and help me finish destroying this room before our time runs out.”
