Page 20 of Texting the Wrong Bikers

Chief’s eyes narrow slightly. Shadow finally looks up from the gun in his hands. “She’ll figure it out soon, if she hasn’t already.” We all glance toward him. He shrugs once. “The way she answers changes depending on who’s texting. I think she knows there’s more than one of us texting, she just doesn’t know how to ask.”

He’s right; somehow, that makes this feel even more dangerous.

I stare at the screen. Because technically, Sadie shouldn’t know she’s speaking to more than one guy, and even though she’s still playing along that it’s the gym prick, she clearly knows something’s up. Over the last few days, we’ve slipped. We use different speech patterns, different energy levels, and different reply times, and it’s becoming very fucking clear that Sadie notices.

Dash grins slowly. “Tell her.”

“No.”

“Coward.”

Chief folds his arms across his chest. “Don’t lie to her.”

“Oh, now morality matters?” Dash asks.

“She’ll figure it out eventually.”

The ‘eventually’ hangs strangely in the air because none of us has stopped this. We should have realized it was a case of mistaken identity as soon as we did. Yet, I don’t think any of us wants to stop. Dash is right, we should come clean, it’s better to be honest rather than her finding out later. Even if we aren’t directly lying, we’re hiding the truth, and I have a feeling that will be the same thing to Sadie. Yet…

I type carefully.

Which side do you want it to be?

The response comes immediately.

Can’t I like all of you?

Dash’s grin spreads slowly across his face. “Oh, she’s perfect.”

The phone buzzes again.

Maybe your friends are helping you reply? One of you is nicer than the others, almost shy.

Dash leans back in his seat, “That must be me.”

Another message appears.

One of you definitely thinks he’s funnier than he actually is.

We all crack up laughing at that. “She speaks the truth,” I say, slapping Dash on the back.

Dash clutches his chest. “She must be talking about one of you. I’m hilarious.”

And one of you definitely likes bossing people around.

Chief takes a slow drink of whiskey without reacting. Smug bastard.

And one of you… is well…

My heart jumps to my throat. What’s Sadie going to say about me? The horny purple devil emoji pops up on the screen, making me chuckle. She’s not wrong, and yet, I wish she knew there is more to me than sex. How can I show her that?

I type before anybody else can grab the phone.

But which one’s your favorite?

The response takes longer this time, long enough that I picture Sadie lying in bed, staring at the screen, thinking hard about the answer.

Dash notices my expression immediately. “What’d she say?”