Page 52 of Wicked Angel
“Do you think he’s coming back?” I asked, looking to Dane’s brother for an answer.
“Fifty-fifty,” Lex said.
“Hey, we may not be Dane,” Shane said, “but he won’t talk to you about your feelings. I mean, you can try. But Dane’s shit with that.” He slid another drink in front of me. How many was that now? Not enough. “You wanna get something off your chest? Cry? Whatever. I’m your guy.”
“Should we leave?” Lex offered dryly, and Lamar grunted in amusement.
“What would you guys do if you were me?” I asked them.
“You could stop being an asshole,” Shane suggested.
“Said the asshole.”
“You want truth,” Lex asked me, “or you want us to massage your ego?”
I sighed. “Truth.”
“You’re not an asshole through and through,” Shane mused. “You’re just so focused on what you want, you leave collateral damage by the wayside. And now some of that damage is catching up with you.”
“And biting you in the ass,” Lex put in.
“Cause and effect,” Lamar agreed.
“Can you guys stop agreeing that I deserve this?” My phone buzzed and I glanced at the cracked-to-shit screen, fucking dreading more bad news.
Shayla:Are you out?
I picked up the phone. What now?
My sister had been pissing me off, pretty much from the moment she’d said Angeline had a “heart attack” when she woke up thinking she’d spent the night with me. It fucking grated me, replaying in my head about a hundred times since then and fueling my bad mood.
Me:No. Not picking up tampons or takeout. Get your own.
Shayla:Are you drinking?
Me:Jealous?
Shayla:Yes. Where’s the party?
I grumbled under my breath. I’d tuned out Shane and Lex, or maybe they’d tuned me out as they kept discussing my life problems like a couple of old ladies at a craft circle.
My sister was always looking for the party. Nothing new. But when she askedmefor the party, good chance she was wondering what dudes she might run into.
I was pretty sure I’d convinced her to back off of JC. But that just left me wondering which of my friends she might have an eye on now.
The only single ones here tonight were Shane and Lamar, and no way was I having that. Or worse, Noah. Last fucking thing I needed was my sister getting involved with another one of my bandmates and causing tension. She had no idea how much drama that shit had caused between JC and me.
Me:Who wants to know?
Shayla:Me! But I’ll bring Angie if it helps.
I stared at her text.
God fucking forbid my sister ever let one of her friends hook up withme… which meant she was implying that she’d bring Angeline along for one of my friends.
Me:Good night.
I put my phone down.
