Breaking Even(36)

“Sounds like Kode had justifiable reaction to me,” Rye whispers, leaning down to my ear.

I have no idea how to respond to her problem. I’ve never had a guy react that way over me. Twisted as it sounds, I’m actually a little jealous. John would have let a man grab my ass and give it a massage, and he wouldn’t have done a thing about it.

I lean over to Rye and tug him down to me so that I can whisper in his ear, as they all go on and on about men being stupid.

“They’re leaving them? They’re all breaking up at once? Is that what this is?” I ask, confused by the madness going on around me.

“You aren’t really leaving them, are you?” Rye asks, suddenly looking worried.

They all stop talking and stare at him as though he has sprouted a second head. “Don’t be so dramatic,” Raya scoffs, rolling her eyes.

They all say something about him being ridiculous and make fun of him for being a drama queen, and I bite back a grin. “Yeah,” I say, adding to the bash-Rye fun by echoing Raya’s words, “don’t be so dramatic.”

He glares at me, and I snicker quietly to myself. Rain hides her smile behind her hand, and I tilt my head. She still hasn’t said what Dane has done to piss her off. All she has said is that men suck.

“Why do men have to be idiots all the time?” Tria asks Rye, narrowing her eyes at him, and all the girls stare at him expectantly.

Rye mutters something like hell and high heels under his breath just as the front door opens and Maggie walks in.

“Oh,” she says, feeling a little startled. “I didn’t see any cars.”

“They rode with me. I thought you were already gone on your date,” I say by way of explaining.

Very quickly, I go through the motions of introducing Maggie to the girls she doesn’t know, and she waves awkwardly, considering they all sound and look miserable. Maggie turns her attention on the uncomfortable man at my side who is getting closer to me every time a girl gives him a threatening look.

“I’m glad you’re here. Can you help me get a TV out of my car? It’s a present for my dad, but it’s a big son of a bitch.”

Rye almost leaps out of his seat. “Fucking love to,” he says gratefully, and Maggie works hard to suppress a grin when he almost sprints outside.

She walks over to the fridge to pull out a drink, and then she goes pale. I turn back toward the women at the table as they vent and slam men. I don’t miss this hell. But when I was married, I only had Maggie to vent to.

“Um... Brin?” Maggie says, her eyes wide as she waves me over.

“I’ll be right back,” I say to the girls who don’t even pause.

When I reach Maggie, she points to the fridge and whispers, “Why are there two things of blood and worms in there?”

“Oh,” I say with a shrug. “The less you know, the better.”

She rolls her eyes, trying to look exasperated, but then she accidentally smiles. “You two need to fuck and get it over with.”

I just laugh. If she had seen the girl he was with at Ash’s house, she wouldn’t be saying that.

The sound of Rye coming back in interrupts the conversation, and Maggie goes to instruct him on where to put the TV. Once he’s put the oversized box away, he walks out of her room, acting like he’s going to escape.

“I’ll see you ladies later.”

I practically fly over to him, and block his path, refusing to let him leave me here alone with this, but he picks me up and moves me behind him. “Rye, stay,” Ash says, a whimper in her voice. “We need a man’s opinion.”

He groans long and loud as he stares longingly at the door. “My opinion keeps getting me barked at,” he mutters under his breath, turning his glower on me once more.

But he relents, and sluggishly walks back to the table, casting a look of pure hatred over his shoulder at me once more before sitting down. I smile at his misery and take my seat.

A small rapping on wood doesn’t even disturb the rant going on in my dining room, and Maggie runs out in her short, sexy dress on her way to answer the door. When she opens it, Carmen walks in. Striking blonde hair, long, tan legs, and a perfect body that is encased in a tight red dress are what makes up the exterior of Maggie’s bombshell girlfriend.

Rye’s grin slowly crawls up as he takes her in, and the girls all turn to face the new woman in the room.

“Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Carmen,” Maggie says, practically glowing as Carmen leans in and kisses her.

Rye’s jaw falls unhinged, and I roll my eyes at what a damn guy he is.

“I really should have started coming over sooner,” he says, and I slap him in the chest, earning a grunt and chuckle from him.