Kayla laughed, her heart soaring at the memory. “Well, it was the same thing. Her being sweet.”
Mack said, “More like her being stupid.”
Skye and Amy shared a look. Kayla was going to have to calm Mack down before she ruined everything. She turned to Mack, a smile plastered to her lips, but she hissed her words through her teeth to make her feelings clear. “Don’t be jealous, sweetheart. After all, it’s all ancient history, isn’t it?”
Mack squinted her annoyance, but kept her lips shut for the time being. Since she doubted it would last, Kayla dove right into the story. “We met running the Greenview Mountain trail. Well, I was running. Skye was jogging.”
Skye threw her head back and laughed. “See? That’s exactly how I got you to go out with me.” She smiled over at Amy, which forced a spike of irritation to shoot through Kayla. “I stopped to flirt, of course.”
“Of course,” Amy said.
“And she wouldn’t give me the time of day because she was timing herself,” Skye said.
“So, she figured out pretty early on that all she had to do was challenge me and that would catch my attention,” Kayla said.
“Well, you’re very competitive,” Skye said.
“So are you.”
“Guilty as charged.” Skye turned back to Amy and said, “I challenged her to a race up the mountain. If I won, she’d have to go on a date with me. Of course, I won.”
“You only won because I twisted my knee on that stupid rock. I would’ve beaten your ass by a mile if it wasn’t for my damn leg.”
Skye said, “I carried her piggyback all the way down the mountain and straight to the clinic across the street.”
“She even waited while they got me into an immobilizer and crutches.”
“Yeah, I did. I won a date. You never would’ve paid up if I hadn’t stuck around and dragged you to the bar.”
“Well, I won the second bet that night,” Kayla said, with a wink.
Skye blushed hard and looked away. Amy laughed and asked, “Now you have to tell me what the second bet was.”
“Yeah, tell her, Skye,” Kayla said.
Skye still wouldn’t meet her eye. “Doesn’t matter.”
Amy slapped her arm playfully. “Oh, come on. Fess up.”
Skye blushed even harder. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re such a sore loser.” Kayla grinned across the table at Amy. “There was axe throwing at the back of the bar. We got pretty drunk, and I bet her that I could beat her at it. I won, and she had to come home with me.”
Skye rubbed the back of her neck, clearly uncomfortable, but Amy just laughed. Kayla had hoped there would be some sort of angry reaction. Shouldn’t Skye’s fiancée be angry to hear about her having sex on a first date with someone else? Sure, it was ten years earlier, but it clearly meant something to Skye since she was embarrassed for Amy to hear about it. Her nonchalance made Kayla feel a grudging respect for her. It was too bad Skye was going to break up with her soon.
Apparently, Skye noticed Amy’s relaxed acceptance, too. She grinned sheepishly. “I may have lost on purpose.”
“Liar,” Kayla teased.
“Either way, it was a great date,” Skye said.
“My favorite part is how you actually think this is a romantic story,” Mack said.
Fuck. Kayla had been so wrapped up in the memories and teasing that she’d forgotten how Mack hated this story. Before she could intercede, Skye said, “Excuse me?”
Mack said, “It’s not romantic. It’s a story about how you never respected Kayla’s physical limitations and that always led to her getting hurt.”
Skye’s face was red again, but this time with obvious anger. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
