Page 28 of Anger Bang
Yeah, too bad the extra little spring in your step tells a different tale.
She sucked in a deep breath, counted to ten, and let it go as she shoved that little truth bomb back into the deepest, darkest corner of her brain, where it belonged.
She didn’t know anything about Kade St. James. She didn’twantto know anything about him beyond if his dick would feel just as good the second time. Period.
Come-to-Jesus conversation with herself completed, Thea got back on the path and followed the sound of people who were way too cheery before their caffeine fully kicked in.
The scent of lavender and rose oil hit her nostrils as soon as she made the final turn.
All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen were basking in the sun’s yellow rays as they stretched on their mats. Unlike her dino yoga pants (which for the record were neither scientifically nor historically accurate but still made her giggle), everyone else was in modern-day custom workout gear emblazoned with the name of a chain of L.A.-based yoga studios that were color-coordinated with their personalized mats.
Thea looked down at her outfit that was coordinated by theme but definitely not color and the nondescript black yoga mat she’d grabbed from a production assistant. As if she didn’t stand out already, this was just going to make it even worse. Great. Just great.
Jackie was off to the side, only a few steps from Thea, taking a long drink from her sparkly water bottle adorned with the wordBridein Swarovski crystals and the logo of a caffeinated water company, looking at Dex doing sun salutations next to his mom, who was meditating.
There was a camerawoman fussing with her equipment nearby, but she wasn’t filming yet.
That was a good thing, because the look on Jackie’s face as she watched Dex was of such raw yearning that Thea almost looked away, embarrassed at catching someone in such a private moment. Then, the camerawoman said something to Jackie, and her sister transformed instantly. All softness disappeared, replaced with a kind of excitable positivity that all but screamed I-am-the-happiest-woman-in-the-world. It looked 100 percent genuine, and at the same time it broke Thea’s heart.
That’s when Jackie spotted her, and her gaze narrowed. “Nice outfit.”
Thrown off by the reaction, Thea lifted her rolled-up mat. “Dinosaurs love yoga! What doggie dinosaur loves yoga but can’t do it? The T. rex. Hard to do downward dog with itty-bitty arms. Get it? Rex? Like the dog name?”
Was funny one of theFtrauma responses? It had to be. What else explained the people who laughed at wakes and that horrible, grade-F dad joke she’d just attempted? Fuck it. She was counting it.
Jackie nailed her with a you-are-so-weird look before turning back on her smile and focusing on the camera, while Thea tried to ignore the way her whole body had tightened like she was expecting a blow.
That’s what she got for thinking there was anything vulnerable about her sister. Jackie was a force of nature. Always had been. Always would be.
Thea blinked away the tears that had come out of nowhere. Jackie’s attitude shouldn’t bother her anymore. She’d been like this since all of the talk about the wedding started.
And then there was her. The dorky fawn-at-all-costs sister who wasn’t even supposed to be at the wedding, according to the bride.
“Psst, Thea.”
She whirled around at the sound of the voice she’d been hearing in her very vivid and steamy dreams all last night. Kade stood off to the side next to a motorcycle, its chrome gleaming so brightly in the morning light it’s a wonder she didn’t see it like a beacon before now.
He held out a canary-yellow motorcycle helmet and gave her a crooked grin that could melt panties three counties away. “Wanna ditch yoga?”
The simple answer was yes, but life wasn’t always so simple—at least not hers. “Where would we go?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said with a cocky grin.
She laughed, and some of that less-than feeling ebbed into the background. “That sounds like I should worry about my kidneys.”
“It’ll be worth it for a peek at Lori and Jimbo.”
Now he had her attention. All of it. “No way.”
“Yes.”
She let out an excited squeal that got the attention of the rest of the bridal party, but to hell with them. There was a Hesperornithoides and a Supersaurus to go see.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Kade said, not even sparing the other people a glance.
She nodded, expecting him to hand her the helmet, but instead he gave her a pair of thick, dark motorcycle leggings that she slipped on over her yoga pants. They matched the motorcycle jacket he handed her next.
Slipping the jacket on, she gave him a questioning look. “You just keep extra gear with you at all times?”
