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“Look, yes, Millan knows we’re friends, but you won that spot fair and square. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Are you sure? And while we’re at it. We’refriendsagain?”

The steel in her voice at the word “friends” set my teeth on edge. My thoughts flew back to the night in her room and our kiss outside the Crow. We’d agreed to discuss any future for the two of us after the derby trial.

“Wearefriends. That’ll never change. But you know I want us to be more.”

Ro sucked in her lips for a second, her dark plaits whipping in the air behind her. “Well, it sounded like half the derby team knew somebody who’s been more than just your friend.”

My stomach lurched. I hadn’t recognized any of the women, but there was no avoiding the fact I had a reputation. Just like a lot of people would, I’d made the most of my status.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m no saint. I have a past. But so do you.”

She scoffed. “They’re hardly comparable. But even if I took the spot with the Scalpers, do you think I could stand hearing about you and your conquests? Perhaps the girls and I could compare notes. Turn the situation into some weird female bonding exercise. Sing Kumbaya at the track. Swap war stories.” Ro paused. “Damn, I’m so dumb.”

I drove over a series of small potholes that made my teeth rattle in my head. “You’re anything but dumb.” I understood, though. Hadn’t my blood simmered when I’d seen the menhanging around her at the Crow? But my jealousy had nothing to do with the two of us. What I hoped we’d have together. I trusted her. “Ro, this is crazy!”

“Don’t call me crazy!”

Her words cut through the rush of air between us, their force stinging my ears. Ro shortened her strides and dug in, speeding up just like she’d done in the school gym.

“I saw you, Flock.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. She never called me that. Always Brody. “What do you mean you saw me?”

“I saw you and the woman you met at Wings and Pizza. The redhead. In the parking lot, back at the complex.”

Did she mean Alex? Ro must’ve recognized her from the other day when she pretended to have a sudden interest in spotting tits in the woods.

“She’s pretty, by the way.”

I rolled my eyes. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“She’s right up your alley. Not quite so ‘small town’ as me. More like the women you’re used to.”

A wave of exhaustion swept over me. “Ro, what is this about?”

Within a beat, she pulled into the hockey stop I’d shown her, the scrape of her skates audible over my car engine. I matched her move, slamming on my own brakes. We’d made it into town by the square, and Ro stood still in the dappled light of the trees above. Her chest rose and fell fast.

“I saw you kiss her.”

My mind raced back to the meeting with Alex in the parking lot. Yes, I’d kissed her. But it was just a kiss for an old friend. “On the forehead! Is that against the rules?”

Ro glared at me, and her cheeks glowed almost crimson. “It looked like a little more than a kiss on the forehead.”

I sighed. I’d hugged Alex, too, but again, it was nothing more than a hug of friendship. Of support. The problem was, Ro didn’t know that, and based on my track record, she’d think the worst. “The woman in the parking lot, at Pizza and Wings, that’s Alex. I’ve known her for years.”

Ro narrowed her eyes at me. “So that’s your journalist friend? Alex? She’s a woman?” She gave a tiny wag of her head. “How convenient she’s so ‘Flockable.’ Had she come to tell you it was time to head back to your real life?”

I pulled on the handbrake and threw my hands up. “Now you’re being paranoid.”

Ro’s eyebrows raised slightly, and I flinched at my words. She had every right to ask.

“Have you slept with her, Brody?”

Her question was like a dagger to my heart. How could I tell her the truth when she already doubted me? Instead, I gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. “Like I said, we both have pasts.”

“Have you slept with her?” she repeated, her tone as cold as ice.