I scoff. “How the hell do I tell them?”
“You have a plan, that’s how. Don’t just go in there and quit. Come up with something else you could be doing for the ranch—a concrete idea they can’t say no to.”
Looking away, I wonder how the hell I’m going to make it to seven o’clock, when I’m supposed to meet all the girls (save Ava) downtown. I’mtired.
I wonder how the hell I’m going to survive my twenties. Why does no one tell you how hard this shit is?
“That’s just it. I have no clue what else I’d do. All the positions I can think of are filled.”
“That’s on you to figure out. You’re a big girl now.” His eyes meet mine, and his expression softens. “I believe in you, Billie. We all do. You were so ballsy out there in the arena, so be ballsy everywhere else too. Except the Rattler. Please don’t be ballsy there.”
“That’s a lot of balls for one sentence.”
He chuckles. “Part and parcel of being a Wallace.”
“Bad joke.”
“Why you laughin’, then?”
I reach out and give him a shove. “I’ll think on it.”
“You should. And if you need help, just holler, all right?”
“I will.”
CHAPTER 13
Older and Wiser
RYDER
No she didn’t.
Oh Lord, but Billiedidwear a short-ass skirt and a teeny-tiny crop top to the Rattler tonight.
It’s the kind of look that has everyone, including me, making eyes at her.
And goddamn her, she knows it.
Striding into the bar, she tosses her long, dark hair over her shoulder and smiles. Her legs look a mile long in her Bellamy Brooks boots, and her pouty mouth is emphasized by the bright red lipstick she’s wearing.
She sways her ass to the beat of the song the band plays. Frisky Whiskey is on fire tonight, although they’re missing Sally because apparently she wanted to hang out with Billie.
Anger—longing—it wraps around my torso like a steel band, tightening with every step she takes. Heads turn in Billie’s direction. One guy even has the gall to let out a low whistle.
That band tightens to a painful degree when I see a line of familiar faces trail into the bar after Billie. There’s Mollie, Wheeler, and, yep, Sally too. Apparently Ava and Sawyer will join later, after they have dinner at the restaurant next door.
Cash is the one who tipped me off that the girls were getting together tonight. I told myself I was coming to the Rattler anyway to cut loose after the longest week ever.
Go figure, having a days-long case of blue balls will make your life a living hell.
If I’m being honest with myself, though, I need to see Billie. I wasn’t expecting to miss her. But I do. A lot.
I miss her so much that it keeps me up at night. I tried playing guitar by myself, but it was an exercise in self-flagellation. I couldn’t play a song if you paid me without Billie there.
Why, I have no clue. But I’ve been feeling suffocated without her around. And I don’t know what the fuck to do about that.
It’s not fair of me to be here right now. She told me how she felt, and I told her we should just be friends. I get why she’d be on the prowl tonight. Hell, technically I’m on the prowl too.
