explained. “Sophie bet her five hundred dollars that our times would be faster than theirs.”
“And you won?”
“We crushed them,” Sophie said.
“Oh, hell no. Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.” Peacock Man turned and strutted into the crowd.
“Do you think he’s really going after them?” Everly asked.
Nora laughed. “I think he is.”
“You won the bet?” I asked Hazel.
“We didn’t just win.” She pushed her glasses up her nose. “We owned them.”
God, she was adorable. I grabbed her and kissed her forehead. I loved her so damn much.
A few minutes later, Peacock Man’s tail feathers appeared in the crowd. He approached with a smug look of triumph on his face. With a flourish, he stepped aside and sure enough, he’d brought a group of four women wearing the gaudiest outfits I’d ever seen. Bedazzled Bitches? Who in their right mind had thought that was a good idea?
They looked miserable. One of them scowled at Peacock Man. He shook his head as if to say, don’t even think about leaving.
Nora, Everly, Sophie, and Hazel all crossed their arms and narrowed their eyes. Shepherd and I shared an alarmed glance, and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was thinking. I wouldn’t want to face the collective wrath of the Dirty Martini Running Club.
“Trying to leave before you pay up?” Nora asked. “Classy, Bella.”
One of the women in the middle huffed and rolled her eyes. I guessed she was Bella.
“It’s not fair,” the woman next to her said. “She shouldn’t have to pay. I think it was our shoes. We must not have broken them in properly.”
“Shut up, Drew,” Bella said. “It wasn’t your shoes. You just failed.”
“Me?” Drew asked. “We all ran today, Bella.”
“If you three hadn’t been weighing me down, I would have won.”
“Pay her, mosquitoes,” Hazel said. “Then go annoy someone else.”
I lowered my voice. “Mosquitoes? That’s a good one.”
She smiled at me. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t bring any cash,” Bella said.
“That’s okay,” Sophie said. “I’ll take PayPal, Venmo, whatever.”
Bella’s nostrils flared. She pulled her phone out of a pocket on her leggings, her narrowed eyes locked on Sophie. “Fine.”
Sophie cheerfully took Bella’s payment.
“You guys are like lions and hyenas,” I said.
Hazel looked up at me. “How so?”
“Female hyenas are vicious to each other. There’s usually a dominant female who controls all the reproductive opportunities, and the subordinate females attend to her like servants. Female lions are one of the few social predators who are completely cooperative. The lionesses in a pride all have equal access to mating opportunities and they almost never fight or attack each other. Plus they hunt together, share their kills, and help each other raise their cubs.”
Bella stared at me like I’d just sprouted another head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“The fact that we’re badass lionesses and you’re mangy hyenas,” Hazel said.
“You know, it doesn’t cost anything to be a decent person,” Nora said. “You should consider it, especially since you’re a little short on money now.”
She rolled her eyes again. I got the feeling she did that a lot. “Whatever. Let’s go, ladies.”
Drew shot Bella’s back a glare, but followed. The other two copied Bella, rolling their eyes and flouncing away.
Nora smacked her brother’s arm. “Don’t check them out while they walk away. Gross.”
He scowled at her. “Good god, I wasn’t.”
“You’re telling me you wouldn’t hit that?”
“Just because I love women doesn’t mean I don’t have standards. Those four are a hard pass.”
Nora laughed, then turned to Peacock Man. “Thank you again, majestic one.”
“My pleasure. I love seeing some good karma in action.” He patted the tips of his hair. “My mohawk is starting to sag. I’m going to go put my feet up and eat a mountain of pasta. Have a good one, ladies.”
Everyone waved their goodbyes and Peacock Man left.
Nora put her arm around Sophie’s shoulders and squeezed. “How did that feel?”
“Amazing. Brunch is totally on me. And did you guys notice? I didn’t trip once. This has been the best day.”
“You were fantastic,” Everly said.
“It has been a remarkable day,” Hazel said, meeting my eyes again.
I put a knuckle under her chin and tipped her face up to meet my kiss. “Are you ready to go?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Yes. My ability to remain standing is rapidly deteriorating.”
“Let’s get you off your feet.”
Hazel and her friends all agreed to plan a celebratory brunch after they’d recovered. After several more rounds of hugs, they said goodbye. I grabbed the sign and the last of the Gatorade and took Hazel