Everyone gets dealt their hand in life. I’ve made the most of mine. I’ve been blessed in many ways I wouldn’t have thought of, based on the shit hand I was dealt at birth. The one thing I love the most in my life is the friendships I’ve made. Friends that are like a family to me. Something I’ve never really had. If I start something with Rian and we can’t make it work, which I’ve never been able to do with anyone, then we split up the group just like a divorced couple would.
I watched it with Sierra and Ethan. The jagged line that divided our close-knit group of friends. Ethan on the outskirts, forced to move out even if he says he did it by choice. It’s not worth the risk. What are the chances a guy like me could make Rian happy long term?
“Dylan,” Knox says, drawing me from my internal thoughts.
“Like, think about it. When you kiss someone, you’re kissing everyone they’ve kissed.” Seth shakes his head, crumpling up the Funyuns bag and tossing it in the trash can. “And how come the women don’t care? Where do they find them to sign up for this? It’s kind of sexist.” He turns his attention to us only because the show has gone to commercial. “What?”
“Get off the Bachelor,” Knox says.
Seth props his feet up on my bed and relaxes back into his chair with his fingers laced over his stomach. “I’m just saying—”
Knox shoots Seth the stern dad look before turning to me. “We’re your friends, Dylan. You can talk to us.”
I blow out a breath and stare at the ceiling.
“Just fucking tell him,” Seth says.
My head shoots in his direction. Knox’s attention shifts between Seth and me, obviously waiting for one of us to spill.
“Shut up,” I say and kick Seth’s feet off my bed.
He props them back up.
“Rian went out with Jax tonight,” Seth says, smirking as he wiggles his ass to get comfortable in the chair.
“Why are you here again?” I ask him.
“Because I’m your in case of emergency. Which I should say, I feel honored about.” Seth’s hand covers his heart. “No offense, but mine is my mom, but you know, she’ll baby me if something bad happens.”
I stare blankly at him.
“I feel oddly offended I’m not your in case of emergency. As pussy as that sounds.” Knox looks down as if he’s examining himself for thinking that.
“You’re a cop. You’ll know when something happens to me. Seth’s got nothing going on in his life.”
“Jeez, thanks.” Seth gives me the stink-eye.
“And no offense, I’m changing my in case of emergency now,” I say.
He flips up his middle finger, his attention back on the television. “Man, I’m surprised there aren’t any cat fights. One rose left. Even my heart is pounding.”
“Is this about Rian going out with Jax?” Knox asks me.
I shake my head. “No.”
He looks at me long and hard. Is this what he does with the people he pulls over?
“You’re trying to intimidate me into confessing. Not ethical, man.”
He chuckles.
“Shit, I hate how they drag out this last rose,” Seth says.
“Do you always watch this show?” Knox asks Seth.
They might live together, but they’re on opposite shifts most of the time.
Seth scoffs. “No.”
Knox picks up the remote from the bed and turns off the television.
“You fucker, he had the rose in his hand!” If looks could kill, Seth just murdered Knox.
“Give me a damn break. Why do you give a shit? There will never be twenty women vying for your heart.”
“That’s insulting,” Seth says. “I like to think I’m quite the catch. Case in point, I don’t think the show is very ethical.”
I let them go on as long as they want even if it’s annoying the shit out of me because who the hell cares at this point? The longer they argue, the less likely the conversation will turn my way again.
Then Knox’s radio squawks and his hand raises to the walkie on his shoulder. Thank goodness—he’ll have to go. I’ll let Seth watch The Bachelor and hopefully the nurse will take me for my damn MRI. After Knox is done talking, he stands.
Perfect. Just as I predicted.
“I gotta get back on the road,” he says. “Seth, take him home. You can stay in Leilani’s bed if you don’t want to stay with Rian and Jax. She can sleep with me.”
“I’ll be in my bed.”
“It’s just an offer. You haven’t driven your bike crazy since Winnie died.” He pins me with a stare.
My hands clench on the sheets. Seth looks at me too. He knows about Winnie. Not everything, just that she was my foster mom who died.
My driving crazy after Winnie died was completely different. I’m actually surprised I’m still alive after all the races I took part in.
“I’m fine in my own bed,” I say. “And please let’s not make some big deal about this.”
“Sure,” Knox says.
“Of course not,” Seth says.
Just as Knox is leaving the room, Rian appears in the doorway. All the rage from earlier refills the empty well inside me when I see her in that outfit and makeup again.
“They didn’t want to let me in.” She rushes over to the bed, taking me in as though she’s examining where all my injuries might be.
“Where’s your date?” I snip.
“Dylan,” Knox says, sighing.
“He’s in the waiting room. I told the nurse at the front that I was your sister.”
“Um… Rian?” Seth asks.
She turns to him, but then looks back at me quickly, looking as if she’s mentally checking off each part of my body that isn’t harmed.
“Where are your shoes?” Seth asks.
I lean over the bed to see her white-sock-covered feet.
She looks down at them. “I couldn’t get my shoes back on. Long story.”
“So where are they now?” Seth asks.
I want to take the shortbread cookies they gave me after taking my blood and shove them down Seth’s throat when I picture the boots she had on earlier on the floor of Jax’s room.
Rian shrugs. “Jax has them.”
Knox waves from the doorway. “I’ll see you at home. Glad nothing more serious happened.”
“Yeah, thanks for the ticket.” I hold up the piece of paper.
Rian plucks it from my grasp.
“Hey, you do the crime, you do the time,” Knox says.
“Har-har, Officer Knox,” Seth says.
Knox flips him off, walking out of the hospital room.
“So is it just your arm?” Rian’s hand on mine pulls my attention back to her.
I hate all the makeup Sierra and Blanca put on her. Rian doesn’t need to change for Jax. She’s beautiful. “Yeah, six weeks in a cast.”
Her shoulders fall. “It’s your left.”
I nod. “Yeah, which means no tattoo unless you want to be my first right-handed attempt.” I laugh.
She doesn’t. “This is serious. What happened?”
She reads over the ticket, her tongue sliding out as she reads. I desperately want to tell her how cute she looks when she does that. Like when she’s trying to tweak a recipe and she thinks about it for most of the day before, her tongue teases me like that the entire time.