Page 30 of The Pinkie Pact

Of course, she was joking around but something about those words settled deep inside me. Sighing, I knew it was time to get away and put some distance between us. "Well, I should probably let you go."

She nodded and turned away, reaching for the door.

"Hey, Sky?" I asked, not even thinking, just wanting to see her face one more time.

Those eyes looked at me once more, skewering me with their beauty. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow night for reggae?"

Her smiled slayed me. "Maybe."

And then she was gone, making me wonder what the hell I was doing with my life.

No Woman, No Cry

Sky

Kara and I headed out the door for reggae night, a cloud of Love Spell body mist following after us. I loved the smell, so I didn't mind that Kara had kind of overdone it, and I definitely didn't say anything.

I had given her an earful last night when I came in the door, asking her why she'd left me alone with Kieran to walk me home. She'd simply shrugged and flashed me that super-star smile of hers, and I couldn't stay annoyed for very long. Besides, she'd handed me a few Trader Joe-Joe's cookies along with a glass of milk. She was sneaky... that girl.

And it hadn't been all bad, that walk with Kieran. It had been kind of interesting, actually. Not that I'd ever admit it to anyone. And a weird part of me sort of hoped he'd be there tonight.

Fuck.What was my problem? Kieran was practically engaged. So I should definitely consider him off-limits and focus my attention elsewhere. Or nowhere really. I didn't need a stupid guy to mess me up.

Yeah, and Bear didn't really count. He said he'd be there tonight. I really appreciated that he was totally casual about everything. But if he tried to press it further, I was going to have to let him down gently and tell him we could only be friends.

Maybe friends who danced kind of intimately together? Was that a thing?

I still liked his touch, even though I considered him a friend. Something about it felt so incredibly comforting. Deep down, I'd always be grateful to Bear for that, for helping me find my way back from what had happened.

We arrived at the club later than last week, and the band was already playing "No Woman, No Cry," one of my all-time favorites.

Our eyes on the beautiful singer with the honey voice, Kara elbowed me as we waited for our drinks at the bar. "No woman, no cry," she said. "You know what this one's about?"

I had to roll my eyes at her. What was this, some kind of music education class?

"I'm guessing it's if you don't have a woman, you won't be crying?" I asked, knowing I'd be completely wrong.

"Sounds about right," a voice said behind me.

I whirled around to see a grinning Kieran. "Hey," I said, again feeling kind of breathless around him. Maybe it was the little high from our pre-party, but damn, he looked so fucking hot right now.

Kara glanced around, looking behind Kieran toward a table with a few other guys. "Hey, where's Christina pisstina?"

I tried not to giggle as the bartender handed us our drinks.

Kieran ignored her little rhyme and said, "She's having friends over to watch some reality show premiere."

"Ah, so of course you had to get out of the house," I said, still trying not to laugh.

He looked at me for a few heartbeats then smiled. "Exactly."

"Hey," Kara said, "what were we talking about before my brother so rudely interrupted us?"

"I have no freaking clue," I admitted, not sure if it was his holy hotness in front of me or that potent shit we'd smoked making me forget.

Kara narrowed her eyes at me, clearly trying to remember, right as the band wrapped up the last notes of "No Woman, No Cry."

---