Page 133

"Seriously," Lexi called loudly enough for me to hear. "We're all going. It'll be fun."

“Okay,” I said, chuckling. “I’ll come.”

Maybe a night out would help me get my mind off everything.

“She said she’ll come,” Rove said. “We’ll be there soon. Give us ten minutes.”

They said their goodbyes, then Rove hung up.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “You really don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. I want to.” I shrugged. “Maybe it’ll help me feel better.”

He stood up and offered me a hand.

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I said, brushing sand off my shorts.

The walk back up the path to the parking lot of our apartment complex only took five minutes.

We passed his black motorcycle on the way to the truck, and the sudden urge to find out what it felt like to ride it tugged at me again.

"Can we take the bike?" I blurted.

He gave me a pointed look.

"You already know the answer to that."

I sighed dramatically. "Worth a shot."

CHAPTER 46

Marco’s was insanely busy. Karaoke was going on, and the place was packed.

The lights were dimmed to allow for the ultimate karaoke experience with blacklight neon signs hanging on the walls. It was ridiculously loud the moment we stepped inside. Rove held the door open for me, and then we were weaving through the crowd to a booth near the back.

I immediately recognized everyone from the Vanta barbecue. Lexi waved us over while the guys were busy arguing over something at the table.

"Hey, you two. You made it," Lexi said.

Rove slid into the empty seat they'd left for him, and I slipped in beside him.

Dean looked up from his menu. "Hey, Coach."

"Don't start," Rove said, rolling his eyes.

Dean laughed before looking at me.

"Nice to see you again, Scarlet."

"Hey, Dean. You too."

The rest of the table greeted us as I reached for a menu.

"How'd the U.S Classic go?" Matthew asked, talking to both me and Lexi, I assumed.

"Good," I said simply.