I should have just had Raya meet me at the house and ordered takeout. We were supposed to come get drinks, eat, and then have a nice night in. Then it turned into a group event. And now hell has just invaded my life wearing a red ski suit and auburn hair.
"Not too long," I mutter quickly.
"We just stopped by before we head to the slopes. You guys should come," Courtney chirps.
I don't want to mention Raya, because Courtney is a bitch, and I don't want her attacking Raya out of spite. But Erica decides to handle this for me.
"Kade was about to head to the house. But we were about to head up, so we'll join you."
An excuse like that will never deter Courtney.
I glance over just as Raya and Tag return, and my fists clench at my sides. His smug, taunting grin is only the first thing that pisses me off. The second is the fact that his arm is draped around Raya. He's taking this too far.
If I could slay that asshole with a glare, it'd be this one. Judging by the challenge in his eyes, he knows it. He's loving screwing with me, goading me.
"You have to come with us. It'll be so much fun, and it's perfect out there right now. Hurry before we lose daylight," Courtney says, still trying to convince me to go.
Raya leans into Tag, and he c
ontinues to smirk, taunting me. Then motions to Courtney with his head, reminding me to say something. If he's trying to make me jealous, he's succeeding. If he thinks I will choose Courtney over Raya, I'll hit him for being that stupid.
"Um... actually... Raya isn't too great on the slopes yet," I say, quickly adding, "Maybe some other time." She'd never just accept no.
All the life drains from Raya's eyes, and something cold crosses over the blues.
"No. It's fine, Kade. I'm ready to crash for a while anyhow. I'm a little more out of shape than I realized," Raya says, sounding detached.
"Your shape looks just fine to me," Tag drawls, provoking me further.
He'll pay for this later.
I glower at him, offering him his last warning, and then I turn back to Raya.
"I can head back with you, Raya. We can grab some food from here and hang out."
She'd better say yes. If she keeps arguing, Courtney is going to catch on, and then she's going to flip on the bitch switch. She'll be cutting Raya down with sugarcoated insults. I'll end up being more aggressive with her than I was with the socialites at the charity event, and it'll cause a hell of a scene.
"I swear I'm fine. Just go ski and have some fun," Raya argues.
What happened? Why the hell is she fighting with me?
"Come on, Kade," Courtney says, digging into me with her nails, as her hair flips over her shoulder.
Raya stares at Courtney's hand on me, but she doesn't try to help me. Instead, she allows it. And she lets Tag keep his damn arm around her. They're not close enough for that.
Tag whispers something to her, further pissing me off. This had better be a game. He'd better not be actually pursuing her. This had better be him trying to get me to admit what I feel. Otherwise, he and I are done.
She says something back to him and motions to two girls behind him. Courtney continues whining, and since Raya is being a stubborn ass, I really have no choice. If she doesn't want me with her, fuck it. I'm not going to keep begging.
"Fine. I'll see you when I get back," I say through tight lips, wishing I could throttle her right this moment.
"Actually, stay out, have fun. I don't need a babysitter. You don't owe me anything. Last I checked, we're roommates. No big deal," she adds, an unprecedented resentment in her tone.
Babysitter? Everything in me chills to the point of breaking. She might as well have slapped me. Roommates? And I was about to stupidly tell her how I feel.
She walks away as though this conversation is finished. Well, fine.
Courtney follows on my heels as I walk over to my discarded gear, ready to take my anger out on the snow. This is ridiculous. Everything was fine. Better than fine. It was perfect. Then it all crashed.