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I wish I knew "No deal We’re friends, we like to hang out, and I care about hi less"

Only that was a big fat lie There was entirely more Jet had been moodier and more withdrawn since his trip to lockup I knew part of it was his struggle to co on that had hi secretive and shady Every ti up He was spending a ton of ti way more of his tiether, it sounded like he was planning on going back on the road and I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t just tell h in on it, but still, it would be nice to kno long he was planning on being gone Asalone while he was on the road made me feel sick toabout court He had hired a lawyer and they had pushed the court date back a couple of weeks I kneorried about how the judge’s ruling would affect his time, but he didn’t seeured he would get a slap on the wrist and soht it up, or that he didn’t once rappling with some pretty heavy stuff and I wanted to be there for him, but he didn’t seem inclined to let ot arrested?"

I nodded I knew Rule had the ins and outs of the real reason, but Jet was telling ht, so I didn’t feel like it was my place to explain his family dynamics to her

"He did It wasn’t his fault"

She shook her head and her white-blond hair cascaded around her, drawing the attention of the guys at the table across the bar They had been casting questioning looks our way the entire night I nor a well-placed smile to score a free round or two, but noith a certain rocker in the picture, that just didn’t seeht

"It’s never their fault, believe ain"

Cora rolled her expressive eyes and leaned back in her chair "That’s because those boys scream sex and sin and a whole lot of fun, and no one ever holds the a bunch of jackasses most of the time"

"This time the jackassary really wasn’t Jet’s fault He was a victim of circumstance"

She turned to look at me and I tried really hard not to squirht, you know"

I felt heat flood into e the subject, but I knew that probably wasn’t going to be an option I tried to shrug nonchalantly

"He has a beautiful voice"

"Yes, he does, but he never used it like that before you started sleeping in his room"

I rested a hand on aze "You know, one of these days you’re going to stuoing to be our turn to be all up in your face with the annoying and obvious"

Shaw lifted both her eyebrows and nodded "Oh boy, I so can’t wait for that"

Cora fluttered one of her small hands in the air in front of her "You won’t have to point anything out toout for perfection"

Shaw and I shared a look and then both of us gaped at her Shaas the one who sputtered, "You have to be kidding me"

Cora shook her head "No, I’ as perfect, Cora Look at Ada future all lined up in front of him, not to mention we had tons in common and I actually really enjoyed his cooddarin a little tiny bit, and I’m ready to juorously "My version of perfect tried to beat me within an inch of irl You’re only going to be disappointed"

She waved us off and reached for her beer "Jimmy broke my heart, smashed it into a hundredcould hurt that bad until I found hiain I’uy who is perfect--no issues, no drama, and no history of emotional unavailability or instability There has to be someone out there who just fits the bill"

She pointed a finger at ht for you" She aier at Shaw "And you were in love with Rule forever, so even if everyone else thought crazy-pants was perfect, you always knew deep down inside that Rule was really the only one for you"

That hed "Cora, we love you, and yes, you are annoyingly right most of the ti the standard too high"

She hten the conversation by pointing out, "It’s not liketo pass muster with the Terrible Trio anyway They’re a hundred tiun"

We all burst into raucous laughter that had Shaiping tears out her eyes "Aaw The big bad tattoo artists just love their little pixie"

Cora scowled and threw a damp cocktail napkin at her, which had Shaw in turn flick her strarapper at her Since ere artners, I decided it was time to take a trip to the restroom We had opted for the dive bar, so I had on ht black T-shirt that had the Jack Daniel’s logo on it on It was cute, but low-key, and I was glad I wasn’t trying to navigate between tables and chairs in heels, considering I obbly at best