to be an ass! I had no choice, absolutely none! And now that I’d finally decided to jump in with both feet, I’d been met with nothing but air.
Safety net, my ass!
She had no idea that she was the one who actually removed it.
Not me.
I slammed my car door, started the engine, and attempted to keep myself from ripping the steering wheel off the dash. My phone started ringing. I hit my hands-free.
“What?”
“I, uh . . .” It was Gabs; I could hear the club music in the background.
“Spit it out, Gabs, I don’t have all night.”
“You know what? Never mind, I’ll call Ian—”
“The hell you will!” I slammed my hand onto the steering wheel. “What do you need?”
“A ride,” she croaked out. “One of the waitresses came in right after you left and said my back left tire was completely flat, and I don’t have a spare, so I can’t change it after work, and—”
“Take a breath,” I commanded. “I’ll take care of it. When do you get off, again?” I knew exactly when her shift was done. I just didn’t want her to know I had every hour of her day memorized.
“Ten.” She sighed. “Um, you can just drop off a bike or something.”
“Really?” I fought and lost as a smile spread itself across my face. “And you’re going to do exactly what with a bike, Gabs?”
“Ride it, you jackass!”
“Gabs, the last time you rode a bike, it had streamers and training wheels on it.”
She let out a loud gasp. “I’m going to murder Ian.”
“It’s okay, Gabs, lots of twenty-one-year-olds don’t know how to ride bikes. I mean, I can’t think of any off the top of my head, and most of them probably can’t walk in a straight line, either, so look, at least you’ve got that going for you!”
Another groan and then, “I gotta go before I really do get fired.”
“Bitch better have my money,” I sang, then turned up Rihanna in my car while Gabs mumbled a curse and hung up.
And just like that.
We were back to normal.
Ian’s eyes narrowed in on me as the waitress cleared all of our food and brought out coffee. “You’re hiding something.”
I nearly spit my coffee onto the table. “What? Why would you think that?” Holy shit, was he a mind reader too?
Ian rubbed his chin with his hand, still refusing to look away. “Who is she?”
“Who?”
“The girl you’re sleeping with.”
I burst out laughing. “Don’t you mean girls?”
“You haven’t been with girls in weeks. I would know, because every damn time you come home smelling like skank, Blake has to Lysol the counters.”
“One time.” I rolled my eyes and looked away. “One time I had sex on the counters, and that was months ago. She was eager, what can I say?”
Leaning back, Ian reached for his coffee, then paused. “Not to change the subject, but . . .”
“What?”
He fidgeted with the ceramic handle of his mug. “Have you, um . . . looked into Gabi’s . . . finances?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you can’t help yourself, that’s what I think.”
“Then you’d be correct in your assumption.” I wasn’t sure how much to say. Gabs had been right: it was personal, none of our business. “Don’t worry about Gabs. She’s like a cat, always landing on her feet.”
“Their rent is expensive, she’s working her ass off, and Blake said Gabs mentioned failing her last anatomy test.”
“She can’t fail!” I blurted.
Ian laughed. “Since when do you care?”
“If she fails . . .” Shit. “If she fails then we’ll be stuck with her forever, like one of those freaking mussels or clams that attaches itself to a wooden pole and never leaves!”
“Are you the wooden pole in this scenario or am I?”
“That’s not the point.” Panicking, I reached for my phone so I’d look irritated and distracted. “The point is that she has to graduate. Otherwise, we’re going to be stuck with her forever!”
“As opposed to what? Her graduating and us finally being empty nesters?” Ian smirked. “Seriously, I’ve never seen you like this. Are you . . .” He leaned forward. “Are you sweating?”
“It’s hotter than hell in here!” I choked out. “And I had jalapeños on my . . . shit.”
“Jalapeños.” Ian nodded. “On your shit? Hmm? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak so eloquently.”
“So . . .” I drummed my fingers against the table and checked my Rolex. It was already a quarter till ten. I needed to grab Gabs. “We need