Chapter 18
Scotty
Itold my two besties everything about last night—right down to the bombshell that Ryder and Hunter were my scent matches. Then I made it crystal clear: whatever cosmic joke was happening, I wasn't playing along. Nothing was going to happen between us.
Absolutely not. Completely off the table.
The fact that Ella and Millie both responded by telling me to stop overthinking it and let things happen naturally was not the supportive reaction I hoped for.
I waved down our server for the check. After settling up, we all headed out together—Millie and Ella insisted on tagging along to the mechanic's, where my poor car was waiting for a diagnosis.
They left their cars in the restaurant's big parking lot and climbed into Dad's truck with me.
The drive to the garage was mercifully short because my brain was still replaying everything that had happened the night before, which was inconvenient considering both of my passengers were occasionally giving me looks that clearly meant they were imagining it too.
The mechanics didn't have much to report yet.
My car was still sitting there looking sad with its crumpled front end, and one of the guys assured me they'd have a proper update on Monday once they'd gone over everything.
The sympathetic look he gave me, however, suggested my car had already been DOA deceased, and we were simply waiting on the paperwork.
With Ella and Millie's help, I retrieved my stuff from the car and loaded it into Dad's truck. Next stop: the cute little boutique on Maple Street where Millie's been working since last summer.
As we drove, I caught up on everything I'd missed while living in Blackridge. Apparently, three new restaurants opened in the time I've been gone, two of them already had waitlists. A movie theater downtown had been renovated into one of those fancy places where they brought food to your seat.
Their easy chatter about local gossip wrapped around me like a familiar blanket. As I listened, a realization crept in, quiet but undeniable.
In Blackridge, my world had shrunk to the size of Ken.
Everything had been about him. His games. His teammates. Their wives and girlfriends. Our social calendar, our plans, even when we went out to eat, usually depended on what worked for his schedule.
Being back home, surrounded by my friends and people who genuinely cared about me, not just extensions of my boyfriend's social circle, made it painfully obvious what I'd been missing.
"You have to model a couple of outfits for us," Millie practically bounced on her toes as we entered the boutique, her hands already fluttering through the nearest rack of clothes, yanking out items at a speed that had my head spinning.
I groaned. "I knew I should have asked why we were coming here."
"Please, Scotty," Ella begged, pouting dramatically. "It's my birthday."
"Bitch, your birthday isn't for another four months," I pointed out, laughing as Millie shoved an armful of fabric into my hands and steered me toward the fitting rooms.
When I tried to sneak a look at the price tags, Millie immediately reminded me about her employee discount and told me to stop being a buzzkill.
Ouch.
The three of us ended up giggling like we used to in high school, only now the clothes were significantly fancier and the lighting much more flattering.
Fuck, I've missed this. Missed them.
I'd squeezed into five different outfits already—some just okay, others so not me they made me cringe—when Millie thrust a tiny blue dress into my hands with a look that said resistance was futile.
The blue fabric was exactly the same shade as the Wolves' team colors, and suddenly I was picturing Hunter's cocky smile and Ryder's intense stare.
I twisted my arms behind me, fingers fumbling for the zipper that ran down the back of the dress, but the fabric clung to my curves so tightly I couldn't quite manage it on my own.
"Hey," I called, stepping out of the fitting room doorway. "Can someone help with this? I don't think it's the right size."
Millie stepped behind me to grab the zipper while Ella stood in front of me, clapping her hands and squealing happily.
"Ohmigod Scotty, you look fucking gorgeous."
"Liar," I muttered, sucking in my stomach. "It doesn't even fit." I insisted, because the dress was hugging me in ways that felt borderline illegal.
Millie finished pulling the zipper up and stepped back, and then both of them just stood there staring at my reflection.
"Fuck, yes," Millie whooped, fanning herself. "Damn, girl, you look so fucking hot."
The dress barely made it down my thighs. The fabric hugged my waist and pushed my breasts up so high that they're nearly spilling from the neckline.
"There is no fucking way I can ever wear this out in public," I hissed.
Ella's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Of course you can. That dress is basically sending those Alphas an engraved invitation to come and claim what's theirs."
"Ella," I hissed, shocked that this was coming from my more timid friend.
"What? You need to test their equipment before committing to anything?"
"Ella!"
I stared at myself in the mirror for another second, tilting my head as I tried to see what they saw.
My reflection blurred, replaced by a vision of Hunter's eyes lighting up, his mouth curving into that slow, dangerous smile that promised trouble.
Next to him, Ryder's jaw would tighten, his gaze darkening as he stepped closer, radiating that possessive energy that made my skin tingle even in my imagination.
Buying this dress would be a terrible idea.
Which was probably why, after I changed back into my own clothes. Millie immediately pulled the dress, a blouse, and a skirt out of the pile and declared them non negotiable.
"You're getting these," she announced, her expression making it clear that resistance was futile.
I sighed. "Mil—"
"Take them to the register and wait," she told Ella, handing over the clothes. "I'll be right there."
She vanished into the employee area with a conspiratorial wink that made me instantly suspicious.
When she finally reappeared, she was holding two tiny scraps of fabric. She held them up proudly.
"You're getting these too."
It was a black bra and panty set, with tiny wolves printed all over.
I actually kinda love it.
I stared at them for a second.
Millie was clearly waiting for me to protest.
Instead, I sighed and accepted my fate. "I'm only taking these because they're adorable," I muttered, reaching for my bank card, but Millie stopped me.
"It's already been taken care of," she told me, and no amount of arguing could convince her to let me pay.
"Thank you, Mills," I said as we got back into Dad's truck. "And you, Ella. I needed today."
"We needed it too," Ella said, sounding a bit emotional. "We missed you, Scotty."
"Never again, okay?" Millie commanded. "Any future boyfriends need to reside in Evercrescent."
"There will be no future boyfriends anytime soon, so you two don't need to worry," I told them, and the look they exchanged made it very clear they didn't believe me even a little bit.
I steered Dad's truck back toward the restaurant parking lot where Ella and Millie had left their cars, feeling the sudden vibration of my phone against my thigh.
After what happened last time, I knew better than to glance at my phone while behind the wheel, so I kept my eyes on the road until we reached the parking lot.
But I couldn't stop the small flicker of hope that if the universe was feeling especially chaotic today, that message might be from Ryder or Hunter.
When I finally checked my phone, the group chat I shared with the guys flashed on the screen.
Crash Daddy and Co.