Knot Her Reality (Heated Book 3)

Chapter Sixteen

I’m practically bouncing from foot to foot as Bree laughs at me. “You okay over there, Evie?”

“I’m just really excited about today’s date. Yesterday’s went really well—“

“Oh, trust me, I know just how well it went.“ Bree snickers, laughing louder when I pin her with a glare. “Don’t get mad at me when you’re the one who let the betas get you off in the SUV. Poor Justin and Lucas had to walk across the parking lot and pretend like they didn’t know what you were getting up to in there.”

Rolling my eyes, I go back to finishing up my hair. Today, I’m wearing my hair in a double fishtail crown braid and some mascara. Today’s date is going to require entirely too much sweating for more effort than this. Plus, I look cute. “Whatever, ma’am. I watched your season, so I know all about your patio daddy adventures.”

Glancing at her in the mirror, I see how she blushes and sticks her tongue out at me before ducking her head. “Yeah, okay. You have a point.”

Finished with my hair, I sit beside Bree to pull on my socks and shoes.

“You’re not mad about the whole Tessa thing, are you?” she asks abruptly.

“What?” I glance at her, shaking my head. “Of course not. It’s not like you could’ve told me she was going to be one of my suitors. It would’ve ruined the surprise.”

She hums. “I know, but I also know she took a lot of flak for what happened at the end of last season. We weren’t sure it was a good idea to have her come on as a suitor, but I want my best friend to find love like I did.”

Turning to her, I take her hands in mine. “Hey, don’t worry about that. I may not know what all went down, but Tessa promised she would talk to me about it when she was ready. That’s the most important thing. If she wasn’t willing to talk about it or tried to hide that it happened, then I might be upset. I’m a firm believer in second chances, and it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t extend that to her, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” She looks like she wants to say more, but a knock on the door cuts her off. “It looks like your suitors have arrived for your date.”

“Perfect timing.” At Bree’s lost look, I lean over to hug her. “Don’t worry about it, Bree. I’ll make sure no one else gives her shit, and if I’m honest, I’m really excited that she’s one of my suitors.”

A smile finds its way onto her face. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. She’s sexy as hell and smells so good.”

“Okay. Okay. That’s enough.” Bree laughs as another knock sounds. “Better hurry up. It sounds like they’re getting impatient.”

Leaving Bree in my room, I head for the door and throw it open. Bradley, Evander, and Tessa stand there with grins on their faces. I return their smiles but glance around, looking for Sterling.

Tessa rolls her eyes, gesturing behind them. “He’s in the entryway. I don’t think he likes me much.”

“His loss,” Evander says with a grin.

That makes me smile, as I agree. “He’s right. And if he’s going to be an asshole, then that’s how I’m going to treat him. He better watch out.”

Tessa’s smile lights up her face, hearing not just me but Evander defending her.

“I don’t know if my opinion is as important,” Bradley says, voice timid as he glances between all of us before dropping his gaze to the floor. “But I agree. You’re awesome, and he’s kind of an ass.”

Laughter bursts from me at his words, partially in surprise. “I didn’t expect that to come out of your mouth.”

He shrugs. “I might be shy, but I won’t stand for someone being an asshole just to be an asshole.”

“You know I can hear the four of you, right?” Sterling’s voice filters through the entryway to us, and I scoff.

Marching past the suitors in front of my door, I march straight up to the alphahole with hands on my hips. “I don’t know about the others, but I wasn’t trying to hide my words from you. This is your one warning. I don’t like assholes. You don’t have to like the other suitors, but you do have to be respectful. If you can’t be, then you won’t stand a chance with me, and you’ll find yourself packing your bags real quick.”

It’s his turn to scoff. “I don’t give a shit about Tessa or whatever baggage she comes with. I’m only out here because I’m ready to get going.”

“So you didn’t say anything rude to her at all?”

He frowns, his eye twitching before he sighs. “I might have made a remark in passing.”

“At least you admitted to it, but I won’t put up with them. If I catch you saying something again, you’ll be on your way out the door tonight. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. Damn. I think I’ll go wait by the SUV.” Without another word, he throws the front door open and slams it behind him.

I sigh, shoulders slumping. “So much for another date with no drama.”

“I’m sorry, Evangeline. This is my fault.” Tessa’s voice is quiet as she comes to stand next to me. “I’ll stay here if you want me to.”

Turning to her, I narrow my eyes. “Do you not want to go on a date with me?”

“Of course I do,” she protests, eyebrows shooting up. “What would make you think I didn’t want to?”

“You did just offer to stay at the compound instead of going on a date with me,” I remind her.

“Just so there wouldn’t be drama.”

I shake my head. “Fuck that. If anyone stays here, it’ll be the person causing the drama. But I’m not even going to make him do that. Now, come on. I’m excited about today’s date, and we’ll be late if we don’t leave now.”

The four of us hurry out of the house. Sterling is nowhere to be seen, so I’m assuming he’s in the SUV. “Morning, Lucas!”

“Good morning, Evangeline. Mike’s with us again today. When he found out the plan for the day, he begged me to let him come.”

“Ahhh, come on, Lucas. You didn’t need to tell her that,” Mike complains from the driver’s seat, causing me to snicker.

“It’s okay, Mike. I won’t hold it against you too much.” Climbing into the SUV, I lean forward to bump his fist before taking a seat in the first row. Sterling is in the third row, and I’m just not prepared to deal with him right this second. All I can do is hope that he pulls the stick out of his ass before we get to our first destination.

Tessa is the next to climb into the SUV, her eyes flicking to Sterling before turning to me. “Do you mind if I sit by you?”

“Have a seat. I’d love for you to sit beside me.”

Evander and Bradley climb in after her, choosing to sit in the second row. The four of us chat for the ride into town, but Sterling never tries to join in the conversation. There’s no way I’m going to let him ruin this date. He needs to get his shit under control, or I really will send him packing.

When the SUV comes to a stop in front of Enchanted, Tessa turns to me with raised eyebrows. “We’re not…”

“Oh, we definitely are.” I grin, ignoring Evander and Bradley, who are trying to get one of us to tell them what we’re talking about. I climb out to find Mike and Lucas changing spots. “You weren’t joking, were you?”

“Do you know how excited my pack will be if I tell them I learned how to—“

“Yup,” I say loudly to cut him off. “I can just imagine. Now, hush. Tessa seems to know what we’re doing, but the other three don’t.”

Evander chuckles. “You know, you could just tell us and put us out of our misery.”

I shake my head. “Nah, there’s no fun with that. Mike, go in and do your security thing so you can join us.”

I follow him inside with the others trailing me. He’s already talking to the young woman behind the counter before wandering off to check out the rest of the studio.

“Welcome! I’m Yolanda, and this lovely place is all mine.” Yolanda comes around the desk to stand in front of us. “Which one of you is Evangeline?”

I raise my hand. “That would be me.”

“Excellent. I love when other omegas come in here for my classes. Most of them catch on so quickly.” She glances among the rest of my group. “We’ll see how the rest of you end up doing. Bree said you wanted to keep it a secret from the others; is that correct?”

I nod, grinning as I waggle my eyebrows. “I think these kinds of activities are best when they’re a surprise.”

“Oh, Evangeline, I think you and I would make great friends.” Yolanda chuckles as Mike reappears. “Everything good?”

He nods. “It is.”

“Excellent. There are two separate changing areas. Mike, since you’ve already found the men’s, why don’t you show the other gentlemen there? You’ll find proper clothing in the correct sizes waiting for you. Bree is nothing if not efficient.”

Tessa snorts. “You’re telling me.”

Yolanda’s smile only grows. “That must make you Tessa, the best friend. If you’ll follow me, ladies, I’ll show you where you’ll be changing.”

We trail behind her down the hall with Mike and the other suitors at our backs, though they turn off before we do—I’m guessing they head into their changing room, but what do I know?

“Okay, ladies. There’s no one else in the building except for us and the camera crew. Feel free to leave your clothes in one of the lockers. I’m sure you can figure out which clothes belong to which of you.” Yolanda opens a door, gesturing for us to head inside before leaving us.

I already know what clothing will be waiting for us, as they’re a part of my workout line. I just don’t know what colors Bree left for us. As we walk into the room, I see a hot pink and a dark hunter-green set of clothes waiting for us.

“The green is definitely for you,” I say with a laugh, already reaching for the hot pink set. It’s a tiny pair of dance shorts and a super supportive sports bra. I’ve taken a few pole dancing classes before, so I know that the more skin showing, the better.

“If this is what we’re wearing, what are the guys going to be wearing?” Tessa asks with wide eyes, laughter spilling from her.

I yank my shirt over my head. “Not much more than we are.”

Tessa’s laughter dies off as I unhook my bra and reach for the sports bra. My eyes lift to meet hers and see that her hungry eyes have dropped to my tits. Instead of pulling on the sports bra, I arch my back a little as I stand back up.

“Like what you see?”

Tessa’s eyes widen before she spins on her heel to face the lockers. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—I just couldn’t… You know what? I’m just going to shut up now.”

“It’s okay, Tessa. You can turn back around. I don’t mind an appreciative look here and there. I’m used to being around models who drop their clothes wherever they happen to be. It’s a habit I’ve picked up, and I don’t always remember that not everyone is like that.”

Tessa clears her throat before she glances over her shoulder. “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“What part of putting myself on display for you made you think I was uncomfortable?” I ask with a laugh.

A smile spreads across her lips as she turns around to face me once more. “I probably shouldn’t ignore the show you’re giving me. Plus, fair is fair, right?”

With that, she pulls her own shirt off before tugging off her bra. Only, she doesn’t stop there. She kicks off her shoes and pushes down her pants, giving me time to take in the beauty of her body. Where I’m all soft curves and hard-earned muscles, Tessa is hard lines and tight muscles with fewer curves. It doesn’t make her any less attractive to me, as I’m into all kinds of body shapes.

Heat swells within me as my eyes peruse her body, and I know we’re playing a dangerous game that I need to stop now, or we might not make it out to our class. I can’t tear my eyes off of her, but I do pull the sports bra over my head and settle it into place. Tessa seems to take this as a hint to dress herself, and I have to bite back an audible sigh of relief. Turning my back on her, I kick off my shoes and pants before pulling the tiny shorts up and over my ass. Turning around once more, my eyes widen at Tessa’s body in the outfit that hides nothing.

“Shit, I’m not sure if that’s any better,” I mutter, and she laughs.

“Come on, omega. We have a class to attend and three other suitors waiting for you.” Tessa gives me another smile before heading for the door. I trail behind her, definitely checking out her ass.

When she swings open the door, I hear Yolanda in the hallway—and she doesn’t sound happy. “You can’t take the class in those clothes.”

“Why the hell not?” Sterling demands. “I’m not wearing that shit that was left in the locker room.”

“Sterling, I think you need to calm down,” Mike begins as I hurry past Tessa.

“Keep your nose out of it. You’re little more than a bodyguard. You and the other two look like idiots, and I refuse to look like an idiot with you.”

I guess he didn’t pull the stick out of his ass on the way over. Great.

“What the hell is going on?” I demand as I swing around the corner into the small entrance area. My eyes scan over Mike, Evander, and Bradley, all dressed in the tiny dance shorts, and though I can’t see them, I know they’re wearing a dance belt underneath. Gotta keep their dicks out of the way while they’re swinging around a pole, after all.

“You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m wearing that shit,” Sterling growls as he stalks toward me.

Mike steps in front of me before he even gets within ten feet of me. “I think you need to step the hell back and watch how you’re talking to Evangeline.”

“And I think I already told you to fuck off.”

“It’s okay, Mike.” I lay my hand on his bare back, waiting until he glances over his shoulder at me. “Sterling isn’t going to hurt me—though I can’t promise that I won’t hurt him.”

Mike hesitates another moment before stepping back, and I turn my attention to the asshole in front of me.

“First of all, stop talking to Mike like that. You’re acting like an entitled prick. Second, none of them look like idiots. In fact, I’d say everyone looks amazing in what they have on. Just because you’re insecure about your bod—“

“I’m not insecure about anything.” Sterling bares his teeth as he cuts me off.

I shrug. “Could’ve fooled me, but regardless, if you won’t put on the required outfit, then you can’t participate. If you won’t participate, then there’s no reason for you to be here. You might as well head outside and have Lucas call Bree to send a car out for you. But know this—if that’s the decision you make, you’ll be sent home tonight.”

Sterling takes another step toward me but stops when the other suitors and Mike move in around me. “That’s not fair. You can’t send me home just because I don’t want to learn to be a fucking stripper.”

“We’re not teaching you to become a stripper,” Yolanda says, wrinkling her nose. “Although, anyone who wants to be a stripper, more power to them. Pole dancing is a damn intensive workout.”

“Not to mention fun,” I add. “I guess you figured out that we’re taking a pole dancing class. Cool. Here’s the thing, Sterling. Heated isn’t about being fair. It’s about me finding my pack, and I don’t want someone in my pack who isn’t willing to put themselves out there to do something they’re not one hundred percent comfortable with. I’m too much of an adrenaline junkie for that.”

He scoffs. “This isn’t something for an adrenaline junkie. It’s for someone who wants to whore themselves out for others.”

“That’s it. You’re done. I don’t even care if you changed your mind at this point. You can walk your ass out that front door on your own, or Mike can escort you.”

“I’d like to see him try.” Sterling puffs out his chest.

Rolling my eyes, I glance at Mike, who nods. He moves so fast that Sterling never stands a chance, getting him in a headlock and walking him out the door in the blink of an eye.

“Maybe I can have a drama-free date now.” Turning to my remaining suitors, I smile. “Does that sound good to you?”

“Hell, yes,” Tessa says with a smile while Bradley nods.

Evander glances at the door when it opens to readmit Mike and shakes his head. “That would be amazing. Does it make me a bad person if I say I’m glad he’s gone?”

I snort. “Not at all, because I’m also glad.”

“Damn. Me too.” Mike laughs as he rejoins us.

Yolanda joins us as the five of us laugh, leading us down the hall to the studio. I can’t wait to see how everyone else does. We’ll definitely have fun now that the asshole has left.

After an hour-long class, we all have to shower before changing back into our clothes. I might have taken classes before, but it’s been years. I’d forgotten just how good the workout really is. Tessa and I are the last ones out of Enchanted as we walk out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Lucas asks with raised eyebrows.

“Not you—that’s for sure.” I stick my tongue out at him, to which he just rolls his eyes and gestures for me to get into the car. “I’m hungry.”

Lucas laughs. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I think you might be worse than Tyler.”

“Ohhhh, I’m telling him you said that,” I tell him as I climb into the SUV.

“Good. Do that. It’ll shock the hell out of him that I think someone is worse than him about anything.” Lucas climbs into the passenger seat as I plop down next to Evander, Tessa moving back to sit beside Bradley. “Food’s at the next stop. In case you’ve forgotten, you set up to have lunch catered there.”

I hum. “Oh, right. I guess I did. Mike, hurry up and get us there. I’m starving.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t been such a show off in class, you wouldn’t have burned so many calories.” Mike shakes his head as he meets my eyes in the mirror.

Being the responsible adult I am, I stick my tongue out at him, too. “Don’t be jealous that your alpha body doesn’t twirl around the pole as well as mine does.”

“I’m not sure anyone’s body twirls around a pole quite like yours,” Tessa says with a laugh.

“I enjoyed the show,” Evander says with a smirk. “And it really was a damn good workout. There’s no denying that.”

Bradley clears his throat as we pull away from the curb, leaning forward to rest his head on the back of our seat. “That was fun, Evangeline. Thank you for taking us. It’s not something I would’ve ever thought to do on my own.”

Turning in my seat, I grin at him. “And you did so well. You and Evander surprised me. A lot of men have trouble with the pole. I’m also surprised at just how bad Tessa was at it, which is what we were laughing about when we came out, Lucas.”

“Was she really that bad?” he asks as he turns to face us, and I nod.

“I was terrible,” Tessa confirms with a shake of her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so bad at something before.”

“That’s okay, Tessa. We have one more activity today. Hopefully, you’ll be better at that.” I snicker at the look she gives me before settling back into my seat.

Thankfully, it’s not too far of a drive. When we come to a stop outside of Filthy Rides, I see the confusion on all three suitors’ faces.

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out pretty quickly. Don’t dawdle, I’m starving.” With that, I jump out of the SUV and head for the door. I hear the others scrambling behind me, and Lucas barely catches up to me before I reach the door.

“Evangeline, you know I need to enter first,” he growls. “Wait here.”

I pout, ready to eat. “You better hurry up before I eat my arm off.”

“So dramatic,” he murmurs as he ducks inside. By the time he sticks his head back out the door, the others have caught up. “Come on, we’re clear.”

“Thank you.” I push inside, finding three men standing in the entrance waiting for us.

“Welcome. We’re so excited to have you join us today. We’re big fans of Heated,“ one of the men says.

“Thanks. We’re happy to be here, and I don’t want to be rude, but I’m going to be, anyway.” I wrinkle my nose, only feeling slightly bad about it. “Now, I’m starving, and no one wants this omega to get hangry.”

The three men laugh as the one who spoke steps forward and gestures for us to follow him. “I completely understand. My alphas always make sure I’m fed so I don’t bite anyone’s head off. There’s nothing worse than a hangry omega.”

The two of us giggle as we hurry down the hallway, the others following behind us. As soon as we step into the room, I can smell the Italian food and allow my nose to lead me to the table. Knowing I’m being rude as hell, I grab a plate and start piling it full of food. Once it’s so full that I can’t add anything else, I move to sit at the long table that’s set up. I find the omega and his alphas sitting there talking amongst themselves and shoot them an apologetic smile.

“I really am sorry.” I lift my fork to my mouth, moaning at how good the food tastes.

“Don’t worry about it, Evangeline. We have an omega—we know better than to get between an omega and their food.” All three of them laugh, and I’m so busy eating that all I can do is shrug my shoulders. He’s not wrong.

It doesn’t take long for the others to join me and for us to eat our fill. Once the last person has finished, the alpha, who hasn’t spoken to me yet, stands up.

“My name is Greg. Henry is the other alpha and Aaron is our omega. The three of us run Filthy Rides. We’ll be taking you out today, but first, I need to know who all has ridden a dirt bike before.”

Both mine and Evander’s hands go up. I grin at him, glad to have someone else who knows how much fun we’re about to have.

“Perfect. I’m going to send the two of you with Aaron to get ready. We have all the necessary equipment for all of you. As for the other two of you, I’ll work with one of you, and Henry will work with the other.”

Aaron jumps to his feet, so I do the same. “Let’s go. You can have your first pick of bikes.”

Reaching back, I grab Evander’s hand. As he moves up beside me, he gives me a shocked look. I just shrug. I wanted to hold his hand. I have no idea why, but I didn’t even think twice about it. All three of us get geared up and pick out our bikes before moving to the track.

“How much riding have you both done?” Aaron asks, glancing between the two of us.

“I’ve been riding since I was a teen,” Evander says with a grin. “I thought about trying to make a run of it, but there were other things I wanted to do with my life. It’s been a couple of years since I rode, but I’ll pick it back up quickly.”

When Aaron turns to me, I laugh. “I haven’t been riding that long. I try to go a couple of times a year since I first learned how five years ago.”

“Oh, good. Then we’re good to go. I’m going to ride with you, but if you have any questions, just stop and flag me down.” Without another word, he revs the engine and takes off.

Glancing over at Evander, I ready myself. “Race you.”

“Oh, you’re on,” he calls as we both take off. The track starts off fairly straight and I manage to get ahead of him—only it doesn’t last very long. As soon as we take the first jump, he soars past me.

We race around the track a few times before the others make it out. We pull over to allow them time to get used to it, and then we’re off again. The hour and a half we have the track flies by, and I’m sad when we have to head back. Riding dirt bikes isn’t something I expected to like because it’s right there in the name—dirt. But the jumps and speed are exactly what I need.

There aren’t showers here, so when we head to the SUV, we’re all filthy. I snort at my unintentional joke. I love that they named their place Filthy Rides—what a great double entendre.

Once we’re all in the SUV, I turn to my seatmate Bradley. “What did you think?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure dirt bikes are something I’ll do regularly, but it was fun. Believe it or not, I preferred pole dancing.”

“I get it. Pole dancing is amazing, too.” I glance at Tessa and Evander, who have turned in their seats to look at the two of us. “Evander, I already know you loved it as much as me. What about you, Tessa? You seemed to do much better at this than pole dancing.”

“Alright, I get it. I suck at pole dancing.” She laughs, and the rest of us join her. “I actually had a lot of fun with this. Thank you for opening up my eyes to a new experience.”

Evander grins. “This might not have been a new experience for me, but thank you anyway. It’s been far too long since I’ve been on a track, and I’d forgotten just how much I love it.”

“Sounds to me like I picked the perfect date for the three of you, then.” I sigh as I lean back in the seat. “I’m going to be rude again, but I need a quick nap. I know there’s going to be drama at the compound when we get back because of Sterling. Plus, I have to get ready for the rose ceremony, and that’s going to take forever. This will be my only chance at a nap.”

Bradley scoots closer to me. “I’ll happily play the role of your pillow.”

I smile at him, eyes blinking. “I’m definitely taking you up on that.”

Readjusting my seat belt, I lay down on the bench with my head in Bradley’s lap, and I’m out before we’ve even pulled out of the parking lot.