N9ne: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater (King, #9)(28)

I take it and shrug it on.

“Perfection, my dahlin’,” Yuli purrs. She looks at me for a minute then scrunches her nose.

“What?” I ask. “Do I have something on my face?”

A wide grin takes up her entire face. “No, I just realized something. You’ve only ever dated Jared. So, you’ve never broken up with anyone before, which means you’ve never discovered the best part of a breakup.”

“And?” I ask, waving my hand for her to continue. “That is?”

The Uber turns onto a dirt road while Yuli starts dancing, grinding her hips to the music coming from somewhere beyond the trees. “The best part of a breakup, my dear Lenny, is finding someone new to fuck.”

The Uber driver stops in front of what looks like the woods. “We’re here,” he says. “Have a good night, ladies.”

“Here?” I ask, peering out the window at nothing. “Where is here?”

“Thank you!” Yuli shouts, hopping out of the car.

“Fuck, even my thoughts are boring,” I mutter to myself, climbing out of the car.

“What’s that, miss?” The driver calls out.

“I said have a good night, sir,” I reply before shutting the door.

I join Yuli who bounces on her sneakers with excitement while I navigate the soft earth in my ridiculous shoes and try not to fall.

“Through here.” Yuli heads to a break in the bushes, revealing a small pathway between. I’ve been all over Logan’s Beach while running Leary Real Estate, but very rarely on this side of the causeway. I don’t even think I’ve ever been on this road before.

“You sure about this?” I ask as we continue deeper into the wooded area.

Yuli gives me a you’re killing my vibe look.

I take a deep breath and fluff my hair. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Let’s do this.” I pull the strap out from inside of my purse and sling it over my shoulder.

The path leads us through some more trees into a large open field beside a farm of some sort with knee high green plants in dozens of neat rows.

Despite all my reservations, I find my heart thumping in my chest with excitement. Yuli is right. Doing something completely out of my element is exactly what I need tonight.

The open area beside the farm is filled with people. Overhead, white lights hang from wires zigzagging from large metal poles in the corner. A fire pit in the center rages with a fire at least ten feet tall. There are a ton of bikers, mostly members of The Lawless MC, but there are more than just bikers here. Some men don’t have cuts. Some don’t even have shirts. There are women everywhere, and couples all over, laughing or grinding on one another on top of the back deck, lawn chairs, the grass…every available surface space.

“How exactly did you know about this party?” I whisper to Yuli who looks like she just walked through the gates of heaven, staring out over the yard in complete awe and wonderment.

“I invited her,” a voice answers.

We both turn to find a woman in her mid to early twenties with long icy blonde hair and matching bright eyes smiling at us.

“Lenny, this is Ray,” Yuli says, making the introductions.

“It’s great to meet you,” I tell her. Needing to say something more to sound interesting, I add, “I used to be in real estate, and I never knew about this place.”

Fail.

“We like to keep things pretty private around here,” she says. “Welcome to Logan’s Beach’s first medical marijuana field. We are celebrating the first contract for Clearwater Cannabis.”

A business opening party? I’ve been to those before. This isn’t really so different if you don’t consider the location, bikers, half-naked women, and the marijuana field center piece.

Ray gives Yuli with a warm hug. “I’m so glad that you could make it. Come on, let’s get you two a drink.”

“How do you two know each other?” I ask as Ray leads the way over to a wooden deck area next to a small building I assume houses the field offices. Ray playfully shoves a biker who’s sitting on top of a big cooler. He stands and steps to the side.

Ray digs around in the ice and emerges with three beers, handing one to each of us.

“Yuli was the nurse in the ER the night my daughter, Nicole Grace, swallowed a refrigerator magnet,” Ray says, looking sad for a moment before glancing gratefully over at Yuli. “She saved her life.”

“Well, one thing is for sure. I’ll never look at Hello Kitty the same way ever again,” Yuli responds with a laugh.

“That’s right. It was a Hello Kitty…” Ray and Yuli continue their conversation as I turn and look around the yard. The music and people are infectious. If Jared knew I was here, he’d…it doesn’t matter. He chose to leave. Me. Us. This town. What he’d think or feel is irrelevant because the bastard isn’t here.

I notice a lot of men staring in my direction, and I can’t help but feel flattered, if not slightly to majorly uncomfortable. I turn back around to Yuli and Ray, and my heel gets caught in the grass. Thankfully, Yuli breaks my fall.

“What size shoe do you wear?” Ray asks, pointing at my feet.

“A seven. They fit just fine, but they aren’t exactly all-terrain.”

Ray chuckles. “On the other side of this building is an RV. I changed in there earlier, and I know I have a few pairs of flip flops stored inside. Check the blue tote bag in the cabinet under the stove. I’m sure you’ll find what you need in there. There’s no reason to be uncomfortable all night.”