Page 18 of Furious (The Six Six Six Rule #2)

Her eager expression makes me feel like the worst piece of shit who ever lived.

“Sure.” I beam, confident that there’s a place in hell for me for lying to Heather. “I’ll tell Lev. He’s coming over to hang out with me later.”

She smiles. “Ooh, does he want to hang out or hang out?”

I giggle, relieved that Heather is back to her usual, bubbly self. “I don’t know. I’m not going to say no if he wants to… hang out.”

Heather goes immediately into planning mode. “If you have a hot date, can we go shopping for something sexy for you to wear? And then I’m gonna do your hair. No offense, sweetie, but it looks like you let it air dry. It’s frizzy as hell.”

Maybe that’s because I did let it air dry after I took a shower with Chance last night. “No offense taken.” I reassure her. “And I would love your help to look pretty for Lev.” And Chance.

Heather jumps up and down, clapping her hands. I can totally see why she’s so good at cheering. “Perfect. Let’s go shopping and then we’ll go to my house and I’ll make you look so hot. Lev won’t know what hit him.”

I relax just a little, pushing the guilt about lying to her as deep down as I can. Chance and I aren’t related and Lev knows I care about his best friend. I would never cheat on either of them.

As if she could read my mind, Heather stops in her tracks and squeezes my hand.

“Hey, I hope I didn’t overstep before about that kiss.

I wouldn’t blame you if you found Chance attractive.

Every girl at school had a crush on him and I’m sure it isn’t going to be any different now in college.

I’m sure Chance liked you back when we met, but aside from your parents’ marriage complicating things, you’re with Lev now.

And he’s such a great guy, Zara. He doesn’t deserve to get hurt. ”

My next words are totally honest. “I would never ever hurt him, I promise. Lev is fun and kind and so hot. Things with him aren’t just physical. We’re becoming really good friends. So I hope you know I would never do anything to hurt him. At least not intentionally.”

Heather nods. “Good. It’s what I wanted to hear. I’m sorry, but I’ve been friends with the guys since we were all babies. I can get a little over protective.”

I can’t relate to her friendship with the guys, because I’ve never had any friendships that lasted a lifetime.

Not because I didn’t want them, but circumstances made it really hard.

When my parents were married, we moved around a lot because of Dad’s racing career.

After they divorced, Mom uprooted us to come to California.

Wren and DJ are my oldest friends, but it’s nothing compared to the bond I see between Lev, Chance, and Ares.

“It’s ok.” I say. “I’m glad Lev and Chance have a friend like you to look out for them.”

Heather’s smile fades, replaced by a sad look in her eyes. “Yeah. I wish being protective had been enough to keep Atlas safe. But it wasn’t.”

I wrap my arms around her. I can’t even imagine what Heather must have gone through losing her sweetheart. “You’re not responsible for what happened that day in Bridgeport, Heath. No one could have predicted that a stolen bike would get onto the racetrack.”

Like Chance and Ares, Heather looks uncomfortable talking about that day. “I know. But that doesn’t change the reality that I get a little anxious about my loved ones.”

It isn’t hard to relate to that.

“I understand. Just know that I care about Lev and I’ll treat him the way I would like to be treated.”

Heather returns my hug, squeezing me tight. “Good. I think you make a gorgeous couple and you deserve an amazing boyfriend like him. Way more than Angie.” Her expression sours when she mentions her other friend.

My senses are on high alert. Does Heather know where Angela was last night?

She looked really chummy with Cal, and that worries me; even if I don’t know Angela that well and we certainly aren’t on our way to becoming friends, I wouldn’t wish getting involved with a creep like my ex on my worst enemy.

I need to tread carefully here. I don’t want to make Heather suspicious. “Is something wrong with Angela? I didn’t see her last night at the game.”

“Fuck knows. She’s pouting because she didn’t get an invitation to pledge Zeta Theta Beta and didn’t make the cheerleading team. She blames me for not helping her enough. She hasn’t talked to me in a couple of days. But the last time we spoke, she accused me of ditching her for you.”

Oh boy. “Come on, that’s ridiculous.” I giggle nervously. “You and Angela go way back. You’ve been friends as long as you have been friends with the guys.”

Heather agrees with me. “Exactly. But in her mind, that meant exclusivity. She’s mad because I didn’t put you off from going out with Lev.”

“Oh?” that surprises me. “Why did she think you would do that?”

She rolls her eyes. “Because she’s been crushing on Lev since elementary school. She thought I should have told you that Lev was off limits. She even said I should have invoked the girl code.”

“Girl code? No offense, babe, but that’s ridiculous. I barely know Angela, and it’s not like she and Lev are exes or anything.”

“Exactly.” Heather nods. “She kept whining about how much she loves him and what a bad friend I am for encouraging you to go out with him. I told her that she needs to move on. Lev told her he wasn’t interested more than once.

When I reminded her about it, she told me her and I are through and she hung up on me. ”

And she walked straight into Cal’s arms. I don’t say that out loud.

“Wow, that’s a little intense. And uncalled for.”

“Yup.” Heather links her arm with mine, opening a side gate that connects the end of the Hunters’ backyard with her property. “But let’s go and get you ready for your hot date. I’ll drive you to get some sexy underwear in town and then we’ll come back and do your hair.”

That sounds like a plan.

I’m excited to spend a whole afternoon and evening with Chance and Lev. I’m wondering if they’re going to tell me about the secret races. If they do, I might have to confess that I was there too.