Chapter 26
Bryce hasn’t stopped staringat me since I slid into the booth beside her. She’s not one to hide her emotions, and right now is no exception. Even after a higher-intensity pole class than any of my clients are used to, she’s still just as strung tight as she was when I got to work.
Still hasn’t spoken a word to me either.
Her narrowed, knowing gaze is an intimidation technique she’s used on me since we were kids. And I can feel myself cracking, everything ready to spill from my lips without a single push from her. It’s as impressive as it is downright annoying.
I refuse to tell her what she wants to know when we don’t have enough time to fully talk about it. She’ll have to wait, and I know that pisses her off even more. The rest of our group could show up any minute now.
“Bryce, you’re creeping me out,” Anna mutters, pinching the stem of her plastic straw as she sips on her vodka drink.
Finally, the angry, blue-eyed troll looks at our other best friend, and I release a tight breath at the momentary break. “I’m not doing anything.”
I snort while Anna arches a brow at her. She darts her eyes between Bryce and me. “You could be a grown-up and just ask Poppy whatever you want to ask instead of trying to scare her into speaking.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Liar,” I sing, taking a gulp of my drink.
Bryce twists her entire body in my direction but speaks only to Anna. “Did you hear something?”
“Bryce,” Anna chastises, but her lips twitch, and my temper spikes.
“If you smile at her right now, Anna, I’m getting up and leaving,” I warn.
“I’m not smiling!”
“You were thinking about it.”
“Smile if you want, Annalise. The only other person here is a dirty, stinky betrayer of a hoe bag who must not be named,” Bryce says.
“I love when you talk dirty to me, Ice,” I tell her, reaching a hand out to stroke her shoulder.
She slaps my hand away and glowers at me again, nostrils flaring. “You don’t deserve my dirty talk right now.”
“Oh, hello there. Are you finally acknowledging my presence? You didn’t hold out for as long as I thought you would.”
“Are you going to spill your guts to me, or do I have to cut you open first?” she asks, mouth set in a cruel line.
“I do love when you let your claws free, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to gut me like a fish in the middle of Peakside.”
Especially not on a busier-than-usual Friday night. I stare at the new mechanical bull off to the centre of the bar, and a spike of adrenaline hits me. It’s been years since I’ve attempted to ride a bull, and I was rather intoxicated the last time.
Bryce is much more skilled in this department than I am. If she wasn’t so pissed at me right now, she’d already be christening the damn thing.
“That’s the only reason I haven’t flayed you out already,” she huffs.
“Why are we mad at Poppy again?” Anna asks.
I finish off my drink and push the empty glass toward the edge of the table. “Yeah, why are we mad at Poppy?”
“Because she’s been keeping secrets, and we’re not supposed to have any secrets between us. If she hadn’t needed me to cover for her on Wednesday, I think we’d still be in the dark.” The bite in her tone is hard not to flinch at.
“Okay, well, you have approximately five minutes until everyone else gets here and you lose your window. So, get to it,” I say.
Bryce shakes her head, tapping her nails on the table. “I don’t believe that you can tell me everything in five minutes. You have weeks of shit to own up to, apparently.”
“Take it or leave it.” I shrug, not denying it.
“Fine. Have you slept with him?” she asks, going right for my throat.
“Yes.”
Neither of them looks surprised, and I genuinely contemplate if we’ve been that obvious.
Bryce pushes on. “For how long?”
“Since he walked me home the first time he came to Peakside.” This time, when I answer, I glance at Anna.
She only watches me calmly, expression open. My appreciation for her grows tenfold, if that’s even possible. “Why Garrison?”
“I was attracted to him, and he was attracted to me. That’s all it was.”
“Was?” Bryce asks.
I flush beneath their heavy stares and glance at the door of the bar, praying for everyone else to arrive and save me from the interrogation that I am so not ready for.
“Yes, and that’s all you get for right now,” I tell them.
Bryce laughs, but it isn’t a happy sound. “I don’t think so. You know I’ll always have your back and help whenever you need me to, but you’re still obligated to tell me why you need me to do these things.”
“What’s so good about him, Pops? I mean, no offense to the guy, but he hasn’t exactly been a peach,” Anna asks softly, such a stark difference from Bryce’s abrasive tone.
“He’s definitely not a peach. But that doesn’t make him a bad guy either. It might be easy to label him that way when you don’t know him?—”
Bryce cuts me off. “And you do know him? Well enough to vouch for him to everyone? Nobody said anything when you demanded he be invited tonight, but you can’t honestly think that’s because we’re just automatically okay with him. We’re all curious, but I’m the only one with the balls to ask you about it.”
“Ouch,” Anna says.
“Sorry, A.” Bryce gives her an apologetic smile that doesn’t last more than a second before she turns back to me. “Well?”
I knew it was a risk insisting the guys invite Garrison tonight, but I’m not the only one who’s grown to enjoy his company. Johnny likes the guy the most out of everyone. I’m just someone that they’ll listen to more than they will Johnny. He hasn’t been in the group long enough for his say to carry as much weight as mine does.
Then again, that also means he doesn’t have to deal with the same backlash.
“Brody has personal problems with him. What does he think about Poppy’s sudden—or not so sudden—interest in his boss?” Bryce asks Anna.
“We haven’t really talked about it, considering I didn’t know there was much going on there, but it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be, Ice. If Poppy says he’s not so bad, then I’m willing to give him a chance to prove that to me. It’s hard to hate the guy when he led me to Brody in the first place.”
“Thank you,” I tell her pointedly.
“I just want to know why you didn’t tell us about it weeks ago. If you really don’t think he’s that bad, then why hide it?” Bryce asks.
I swallow a laugh of disbelief. “This reaction is exactly why. We’ve only slept together twice. It’s not like we’re getting married.”
“Sleeping together or not. You like him. I damn well know you do, so don’t insult me by pretending you don’t. I’ve only had to cover you at the studio twice in the past, and none were because of a man. That’s not nothing,” Bryce points out.
I don’t have it in me to lie. But fuck, I need another drink. Quickly. “What difference does it make if I like him or not? It’s temporary. I’m just enjoying the incredible sex while I have the chance.”
Anna bursts out laughing, and I stare at her in surprise. “Sorry, I was just hit with a wicked sense of déjà vu. Temporary never stays temporary with a man worth a damn. Sorry to break it to you, babe.”
“You and Brody were so different. That man fell for you the moment you spat fire at his ass in this very bar,” I say.
This time, it’s her that flushes. “Still, I thought it was temporary then too. It changes quickly and without warning.”
“I appreciate the advice, ladies, but really, there isn’t anything for you to worry about. Garrison isn’t the type of guy I’d date, and I’m positive I’m not the type of woman he’d date either,” I say.
Bryce scowls at me. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You’re not the type of woman he’d date?”
“I don’t like hearing you say that, Poppy,” Anna murmurs.
“I’m not saying I’m ugly or anything. I just mean, while we have some things in common, I don’t see myself being able to play the doting girlfriend hanging on his arm at all the fancy dinners and events that I’m sure he’s required to attend. I’m not prim and proper—fuck, I’m loud, and my vocabulary has more curse words in it than appropriate ones. If I’m not in a pair of boots and a shirt with a hole in it, I’m half-naked on a pole or in a dress that’s probably too short. That’s not the type of woman a man like him wants outside of our current arrangement, and that’s fine with me,” I explain.
My shoulder lifts in a nonchalant shrug, but every word I’ve spoken sours my stomach until I’m positive I’ll have to run to the bathroom.
I’m hit with the desire to ask him if he believes what I’ve said and whether what we’re doing is even officially a friends-with-benefits thing or if we’re just too horny to avoid fucking every chance we get.
But if the answers hurt me, it would take weeks to recover from the hit. I won’t deny myself that honesty.
“No offense, Poppy, but if he cared all that much about your appearance or what you do for work, he wouldn’t have risked it in the first place,” Anna says, sucking back the rest of her drink before sliding it beside my empty glass.
Bryce is the only one with a half-full drink, and she nurses it too slowly, like she’s doing it on purpose. Her expression shifts into one of contemplation as she continues tapping her nails on the table.
“I agree with Anna. But I’ll add that I think you should find out sooner rather than later whether you’re right or wrong. Just in case he truly is as big of a douchebag as I worry he is. If you’re going to continue sleeping with him while he’s here, then you need to make sure you’re both open about what comes afterward. I love you, and I just worry about you getting hurt at the end of this,” she explains, setting a comforting hand on my arm. It’s the first sign that she’s starting to thaw a bit, and I relax into the touch, soaking it in.
“How do you suggest I get him to tell me all that? It’s not like I’ll be able to ask him around everyone,” I mutter.
Anna’s eyes twinkle with mischief. “Maybe you don’t have to ask him at all.”
My pulse quickens. “You’re going to get me in trouble, aren’t you?”
“You’ve always liked a bit of trouble, Pops,” Bryce adds slyly, confirming that I’m going to end the night with a flaming red ass by the time Garrison is done with me.