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He chuckled and told me to sit wherever I wanted while he put my order in, and by the time he was bringing the food over, Blake arrived. I gave her a quick once-over, loving how her tight jeans hugged her body. Her shirt was basically a damn bra, not leaving much to the imagination, and she had brown, strappy sandals on that showed off her purple-painted toenails.

She frowned when she saw the food, but she slid into the booth opposite me without argument. “Hey.”

Harley gave me a look, silently telling me he thought I was full of shit about it not being a date, but he thankfully left us alone without teasing me.

“Hey. You’re coming to mine for dinner tomorrow,” I stated cheerfully before popping two fries into my mouth with a grin. “Mom’s orders.”

“Excuse me?” she demanded, her back straightening as her expression became guarded. I could tell she was going to argue so I got to the point to avoid it.

“She’s organizing to get Kate by tomorrow. If there’s nowhere safe for her, she’ll stay with us until something’s available. You’re welcome.”

Her jaw dropped as she stared at me, disbelief in her tone. “She just agreed to take her in?”

“Of course she did. It’s what we do.”

“Thank you so much,” she replied, surprising me as she basically threw herself across the table to hug me. I patted her back, smacking a kiss on her cheek dramatically.

“Any time. So make sure you come around for dinner. Mom’s expecting you there to make Kate feel comfortable.”

“To think people say you’re mean,” she joked, sitting back in her seat with a massive smile on her face.

“Iammean. I’m only nice to people who deserve it,” I said seriously despite my lips lifting into a smile as I motioned to her food. “Now eat that before I get mad.”

“I’ll pay for it,” she insisted, but I shook my head.

“Don’t be stupid. I asked you here and ordered it, so I’ll pay. Besides, I like throwing money around. I get off on it.” I winked, a light laugh leaving her as she completely relaxed and started eating her fries.

“I’m not into girls, Donovan. So you’re wasting your money on me if this is your attempt to lure me into your panties.”

“Not even if I order dessert?” I joked, faking disappointment when she rolled her eyes. “That’s a shame. I was looking forward to you sitting on my face.”

“I say this respectfully, but you’re a whore.” She smirked, shoving a bite of burger into her mouth, humoring my flirting.

I changed the subject to cars, and her face lit up as she told me about everything she’d been doing to hers. I knew my way around my car, I could pull the engine apart and put it back together again with my eyes closed, but Blake had built her Pontiac herself, much like the others had.

From the way she was talking, I knew it was going to be a while before we left, which was fine by me. I liked Blake, so maybe Mom was right and I needed to make friends.

Luna

Riley wasn’t answering her damn phone, so I tracked her down myself. She’d turned her phone off all night so I couldn’t see her location, but it was back on now. She’d been doing that a lot over the past year or two, but she never told me why.

I walked into Harley’s Bar, surprised to find her having lunch with someone. I’d seen the girl once or twice before, but I didn’t know Riley was friends with her. They were laughing about something, and I wondered if I was crashing a date when Riley reached out and tugged on the girl’s long, black wavy hair that was tied up in a ponytail.

I walked towards them, the other girl noticing me first and saying something quietly to Riley, who glanced over her shoulder at me. She smirked, moving over automatically to make room for me. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you. If I’m interrupting something, I can…”

“Blake, this is my bestie, Luna. Luna, this is Blake. She lives in the Heights,” she said, cutting me off and pushing her plate towards me, silently offering me to help myself. I grabbed a fry as they went back to talking, and jealousy filled me as they laughed together as if they’d been best friends forever. Most girls were just a conquest for Riley, but she actually seemed to be friends with this chick.

She never made other friends outside of me and Landon.

I frowned when Blake mentioned something about racing and Riley swiftly changed the subject because I’d never seen Blake at the track.

They talked about car engines for ages until Blake finally got to her feet and stretched.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at six then.”

“Sounds good. It’s a date,” Riley replied with a playful wink, making Blake chuckle on her way out. Riley turned to me, tilting her head with confusion as she assessed me.