“You’re just the catalyst. I’ve been wanting to whoop this dick’s ass for years.”
Trip put his hands in the air, backing away from them. “No need for that. I’m gone. You won’t hear from me again.”
“Git then.”
Trip didn’t hesitate, but took off back into the community center. Noel sighed heavily.
“You know I was handling it, right?”
Anthony put an arm around Noel’s shoulders. “We know. I was waiting for you to crack him one, but Pike got impatient.”
Noel wasn’t the damsel in distress type, but with Trip being drunk and brazen, he might not have backed off so easily if the guys hadn’t shown up.
“Thank you.”
Anthony squeezed her with a grin. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Pike trailing a foot behind them as they headed toward Anthony’s truck.
“What were you doing out here with him, anyway?” Anthony chided. “Where’s Nick?”
Noel cleared her throat, trying to get past the lump lodged there. “We didn’t work out.”
“Fuck,” Pike mumbled. “I knew it.”
“Shut up.” Anthony opened the passenger door, studying her. “Do you wanna get a drink and talk about it?”
Noel paused with her hand on the door, giving him a sad smile. “How about we get drunk and not talk about it?”
“Deal.”
Pike got into the back of Anthony’s Chevy truck, letting her take the front. He hadn’t said a word to her and she cleared her throat before turning around to look at him.
“Thanks for defending my honor.”
Pike nodded. “I always got your back. That’s what friends do.”
The lump in her throat threatened to choke her. “I appreciate you.”
“Yeah, sure. I never did like that guy.”
Anthony climbed into the driver’s seat just in time to weigh in. “Me neither.”
Pike leaned back against the seat, watching her warily. “So, how bad was your breakup with Nick and whose fault was it?”
“Pike…” Anthony growled.
“What? I just need to know who is getting me in the split.”
“Oh my God, it was barely one date!” Noel cried. “There will be no splitting or choosing. We just need a little time apart and then everything will go back to the way it was.”
“Aren’t you doing the Christmas concert together?” Pike asked.
Noel clenched her jaw. “Yes.”
“So, practices still for another week.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Geez, yeah, I can see where all that distance is going to come into play.”
“Shut up, Fish,” she mumbled.
“So much for gratitude.”
Anthony’s phone rang and the screen of his truck console popped up with Nick’s name. He glanced at Noel and sent it to voicemail.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Noel didn’t want the guys to think Nick had done something unforgivable.
“I’ll call him back when we get to where we’re going.” Anthony threw the truck into reverse and slowly drove through the busy parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Noel asked.
Pike’s phone blared in the back seat and he answered it, “This is Bad Ass Mother Fucker, how may I direct your call?”
Noel couldn’t understand what Nick said until Pike responded, “Why, yes she is. Yeah, she did. Because he was manhandling her. I offered to, but she stopped me. Apparently, she didn’t want douche blood on her hands.”
Nick’s voice carried through the phone for several moments before Pike cut him off. “Look, we will be your boys tomorrow. Tonight, it’s tits before dicks. Peace.”
Noel scowled at him. “Tits before dicks?”
“What?”
Anthony shook his head. “What did Nick say?”
“Apparently, someone saw what went down and now everyone is talking about the slap heard ’round Mistletoe. Nick wanted to make sure you were all right.” Noel’s traitorous heart soared. “Then he asked if we wanted to hang. I told him we would be with Noel tonight and we’d see him tomorrow.”
Guilt niggled at Noel. “You don’t have to do that. He’s your best friend.”
“So are you. Just because he is a guy doesn’t make him any more important.”
Pike patted her shoulder and the simple gesture made her blurt out, “I’m the one who called it off.”