“Or what?” slut number two asks. “You’ll kick us in the shins?”

The other women outweigh Kat by at least thirty pounds each, mostly because of their height, but Kat doesn’t back up. She simply smirks and leans in, as if she’s going to tell them a secret.

“You’re a piece of shit, and an ugly one at that. My guess is Carter is sick of being stalked by you. Now you get lost.”

Slut number one slaps Kat, right across the face, and just as Chase, Landon, and I spring from our seats, Kat rears back and punches the other woman, square in the nose, knocking her back into her startled friends.

“I warned you,” Kat says as the other woman tries to right herself, blood flowing down her face and onto her way-too-short dress. “I will kick all of your asses if you don’t walk the fuck away. Right now.”

“Come on,” slut number three says, leading the others away. “He’s not worth this, Lydia.”

“I love him!” she screams as her friends lead her away.

Kat turns back toward me, headed to her seat, and shakes her hand. “That bitch had a hard nose.”

“You were ready to take on all three of them,” Chase says in surprise. “That would have started quite the shit storm.”

“Let me be clear,” Kat says, mostly sober again from the adrenaline. “I’m not some damsel that needs to be rescued from the storm. I am the goddamn storm.”

“Yeah, she’s not lying,” Cami says. “Kat is the last person you want to piss off.”

“I believe you,” Chase replies, his hands up in surrender.

I rub my now unsteady hand up and down Kat’s back. I don’t know if I’m reassuring her or me, but I do know that I was about to kick a woman’s ass in her defense, and I’ve never hit a woman in my life.

“Are you okay?” I ask Kat.

“I’m great.” She glances up at Mia, who’s tugging on her shirt and keeping her head down. My gut twists in utter rage.

“Are you okay?” Kat asks Mia, who just nods, then shrugs.

“She’s right, he’s not interested in me anyway. She can have him.”

“I don’t get it,” Landon says. “Why do you believe bullshit like that? You’ve done that your whole life.”

“Because I’ve been this size my whole life.”

“So?” Chase says, joining in. “I’m not your brother, so I can say this to you without it sounding wrong. I see a beautiful, intelligent, successful woman. You have crazy amazing hair. Your eyes are stunning, and frankly, your curves are too. We’re men, sweetheart. All women are beautiful. Sure, most people in general have a type, but I find that to be bullshit too. That guy asked you to dance because he thought you were hot and he wanted to watch you move.”

Mia’s jaw has dropped and she’s staring at Chase like he’s grown a second head.

“I mean it,” Chase adds.

“I really like him,” Mia says finally. “If Riley turns you down, you can hit on me.”

Chase winks at her, and Kat flags down the waitress. “Let’s do some shots!”

She’s slept for about ten hours. I’ve checked her twice this morning to make sure she was still breathing.

She never sleeps this long.

I’m sitting at the edge of the bed, holding her hand, watching her. Willing her to wake up so I can talk to her and kiss her.

I’m in trouble with this woman. She’s amazing.

“I need coffee,” she says without opening her eyes.

“I can do that.”

“Stop yelling,” she replies. “And close the shades. It’s too bright.”

“They are closed,” I whisper, and kiss her cheek, then pad out to the kitchen and press the button on her Keurig. When I return with her coffee, she’s buried her face back into the pillows. Her hair is a riot of knots and hairpins that she never took out the night before because she was so drunk she passed out as soon as we got home.

Her makeup is smeared, her mascara caked under her eyes, and her red lipstick smeared on the right side of her mouth.

She’s a hot mess.

“Stop hovering,” she groans.

“How do you know I’m hovering? Your eyes are closed.” I set the coffee on the nightstand and sit back down.

“Why are you yelling?” She opens one eye, glaring at me. “It’s not nice, and there’s no need for it.”

“I’m not,” I reply with a smile, and lean in to kiss her head.

“Oh God, don’t touch me.” She rolls onto her back, smacking her lips and tongue.

“Mouth dry?”

“Did you feed me cotton balls?”

“Yes, I thought you’d enjoy them.” My voice is full of sarcasm as I offer her the coffee. “You have to sit up to have this.”

“Why are you so mean?” She sticks out her lower lip in a pout, but manages to sit up and scoot back against the pillows. “Better?”

“Better.” I pass her the coffee and pull her foot out of the covers so I can rub it.

“Oh God, you’re good at that.”

“So you’ve said.” I smile and watch her sip her coffee, enjoy the foot rub, and slowly wake up. She opens and closes her right hand, scowling.

“Holy shit, did I punch a girl last night?”

“Yes, Rocky, you did.” I pull the other foot out and give it the same attention.