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“Katy Perry can suck my balls!” Rylie yelled over her shoulder.
Marley whooped and hollered. “Go, girl, go!”
Picking up speed, she raced Rylie the last fifty feet, and beat her to the fence by several steps. They slowed to a walk as they reached Rylie’s car, and Marley laughed as Rylie laid her head down on the hood with a sigh. “Boy, am I glad to see you.”
Marley leaned a hip against the passenger side, gulping from her water bottle before pouring some of the cool liquid over her face. As she shook the droplets off, she said, “I take it you’re not going to go running with me tomorrow morning either?”
Rylie didn’t even lift her head up to answer her. “I’ll go running again when hell freezes over.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure the devil is alive and well and working at Something Borrowed,” Marley said.
Finally, Rylie stretched up, her arms rising above her head as she shot Marley a balef
ul look. “Oh, come on, Dustin isn’t that bad. Plus, he’s cute, rich, successful—”
“Egotistical, self-centered, a dick head.”
“All I can say is he’s been pretty nice to me and as the authority on dick heads, I feel like he’s just misunderstood.”
The mention of Rylie’s abusive asshat boyfriend made Marley grip her water bottle tighter. “Seriously, why don’t you leave Asher? He doesn’t appreciate you, you’re obviously miserable, and frankly, he doesn’t deserve you. At all.”
Rylie went to the driver’s side door and pulled her keys out of the pocket of her sweats. “He wasn’t always this way. I guess I just keep thinking things will get better.”
“Meanwhile, you’re putting your life on hold for someone who needs to have his ass kicked.”
Rylie opened the door with a sad smile and hit the unlock button for Marley. “Can we please talk about something else? Like your love life for once.”
Marley snorted as she slid into the passenger side. “Ha, that’s a short conversation.”
“Come on. You’re hot. You’re single and you go to weddings every weekend with tons of single dudes.”
“That I cannot date.”
Rylie sighed heavily as she started the car. “Oh, what Kelly doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
Marley almost choked. Rylie would never break the rules; she was too much of a people pleaser, no matter how big she might talk.
“You can run your mouth all you like, tough girl, but I know you. You would never go behind Kelly’s back and risk your job.”
Rylie’s expression changed to one of sadness. “Only because my job is the only thing I have for myself.”
Marley reached out to squeeze Rylie’s arm, and noticed her friend’s wince. “Did I hurt you?”
“I’m a little sore from doing weights last night.”
Something told Marley she was lying, but unless she tried to pull off the long-sleeved work out shirt, she couldn’t call her out. Marley’s jaw clenched in frustration. If Asher was hurting Rylie, there was nothing anyone could do if Rylie wouldn’t talk about it.
“You know you can always stay with me, right? If things are really bad.”
Marley watched helplessly as Rylie dashed a tear from her cheek. “I’ll be okay. Really. I’m fine.”
“Yeah, cause that’s convincing.”
Rylie backed out of the parking lot and headed back into town, ignoring her statement. Marley flipped on the radio, hoping to lighten the mood with some tunes. The lyrics to “Love Shack” pumped from the speakers and Marley grinned, pretending to hold a microphone to her mouth.
Rylie glanced at her then back on the road while Marley belted out the words, and she could tell Rylie was suppressing a smile. When the chorus come on, Rylie joined in loudly, “Well, the Love Shack is a…”
The two were giggling and serenading each other until Rylie pulled up to Marley’s place just as the song ended. Marley leaned over and gave her a big hug. “You know I love you, which is why I worry so much. A lot of people would walk through fire for you. You don’t have to be alone in this. You can ask for help.”
