Cole by Tess Oliver

anxiety disorder had made it impossible for her to leave the house. They’d quickly grown inseparable. Eden was amazing. She could easily be credited with saving Finley from the suffocating walls of her panic disorder, and Jude, from his one true enemy, himself.
    Rodeo and Denver pulled the BMX bikes out of the shed. Rodeo rode one and carried another on his shoulder. Denver followed on his.
    Dray moaned in disappointment. “Thought we were bringing out the big guns, the dirt bikes.”
    “Since this is your first time at the foam pit and since you’ve had plenty of beer, you should probably start on two wheels with no motor,” I suggested. “Besides, I’d have to set the Bobcat up to pull a motorcycle out of the foam.”
    “Shit. Now I’m going to have to pedal to launch myself.” Dray took off his coat and almost seemed surprised by the alien head prop sticking out of the hole in his shirt.
    Nix took the bike off Rodeo’s arm and hopped on it. “Dray, are you gonna lose your rubbery friend there or is he jumping with you?”
    Dray stroked the ugly rubber head like a pet rabbit. “I’ve been wanting rid of this thing for hours. However—” He lifted his shirt to reveal the layers of duct tape he’d used to tape on the alien.
    Clutch was sitting on the stepladder leaning against the outside of the pit. His laughter boomed across the yard. “Is that fucking duct tape? You might just lose some skin.” He stood up and headed toward Dray. “Which means I need to get a better view.”
    With some effort, Dray pulled his shirt off. He stared down at the tape pieces as if he was developing a plan of attack. An amused silence fell over the yard. From what I’d seen of Dray in the octagon, he was pretty immune to pain. But everyone had their limits. No matter how he went about removing the tape, it was going to hurt like hell. Dray picked at the edge of his tape mess like a little kid trying to work up courage to give the bandage a yank.
    “Night’s not getting any younger, bro.” Rett walked over and took the second bike from Denver. “Maybe you should keep wearing the thing until it falls off naturally. You know like in the shower or swimming pool.”
    “Hell no, I’m not sleeping in the same bed with that thing.” Cassie hopped off the bench and walked with enthusiasm toward Dray. She stopped in front of him. His eyes widened with something I rarely saw in Dray’s expression—fear.
    Cassie leaned forward to get a better look at the mosaic of duct tape. She straightened and tapped her chin in thought. “Remember when you strongly suggested I try one of those Brazilian bikini waxes? Well, I want you to rethink that suggestion.”
    Dray scrunched his face tight as Cassie reached for the end of the tape. She braced herself and gave it sharp yank.
    “Fuuuck!” Dray’s groan echoed off the house as he clutched his stomach and crouched down for a few seconds to catch his breath.
    The rest of us had to catch our breath from laughing. Kensington seemed to be having a great time. It was probably stupid to form an opinion so quickly, but so far she was turning out to be nothing like the other girls I’d dated. She was a real, two feet on the ground type, and I liked her. A lot.
    Rodeo was still laughing as he rode off on the bike. “Let’s get this fucking jump party started.” He circled around and raced toward the ramp. The front tire shot up. He pulled a backflip, landing almost perfectly upright in the pit.
    Dray had mostly recovered. He pointed toward Rodeo. “That’s what I want to try.”
    “Hey, Denver, let me borrow that bike.” I climbed on it. “Uh, I think you should stick with a three-sixty for now, Dray. Watch this and prepare to be impressed.” I’d tired of the crown fast but my red prince cape flew behind me as I pedaled hard toward the ramp. It whipped around in a flurry as I spun the bike around midair and then dropped into the foam. I lifted my arms up for applause. The women were