Then my phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize.
“Hello?”
“Ty, it’s Rachel. I got your number from Melissa.”
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Well, Melissa mentioned you coming to the party tonight. I thought maybe we could go together.”
This had bad idea written all over it.
My phone went off with another text. When I pulled it back to see who had texted me, my heart immediately dropped to the floor.
Kaylee: Are you free to talk?
“Ty? Are you still there?”
Rachel’s voice pulled me out of the fog I’d been pushed into with just a damn text message.
“Yeah, I’m still here. Sure, we can go together. I’ll meet you down in the lobby. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect. See you in a few.”
I hit end and stared at the text. My hand started to shake as I went to reply, and that pissed me off. I dropped the phone onto the bed, opened my suitcase, and changed clothes. Really, all I did was take off the button-down shirt and replace it with a T-shirt.
I thought back to the last time I’d been with Rachel. Her hotel room, the night before my last ride. We’d fucked until around midnight; then I’d gotten dressed and left. Before I walked out the door, she’d told me she wanted something more, and I told her we’d talk about it after the invitation was over.
We never got the chance to talk about it, and honestly, I wasn’t interested in anything with her other than casual sex. When she’d called me after the accident, I’d sent her calls to voice mail. It took four months of me ignoring her calls before she finally stopped calling.
It had been a dick move, but I hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone who had anything to do with the PBR. Including the girl I fucked occasionally. We’d never been exclusive, and she knew that. Hell, she’d even dated a few guys while she was hooking up with me. And when she’d mentioned wanting something more, I’d known in my heart I hadn’t wanted that with her. She was good in bed, a stress relief. A way to relax, and that was it. That was all I’d needed at the time.
Looking down at my phone, I took in a deep breath. Questioning what I needed in my life right now. I reached for it and pulled up Kaylee’s text.
Me: Is it important? I’m about to go out.
The moment after I sent it, I regretted it. What a dick.
It took her a few minutes to reply, and when she did, it threw me, and it would fucking drive me crazy for the rest of the damn night.
Kaylee: It was, but it’s been taken care of.
Damn it all to hell.
Rachel informed me the party was being held at someone’s house.
“I thought it was at the hotel. A birthday party or something. Wasn’t it?”
She simply smiled, then gave me a sexy wink. “Maybe we can have some fun. Like old times.”
I laughed. “I don’t think so.”
She gave me a fake pout, then looked down at her phone. We pulled up a few houses down, and I parked my truck behind a bunch of other cars. When we walked into the living room, Rachel grabbed my hand, trying to lace her fingers with mine. I pulled my hand away. There was no way I was going to give anyone the idea I was with her. As a matter of fact, my coming to the party with her was probably a bad idea. Not very many people knew we’d slept together, and I wanted to keep it that way.
We walked farther in, and there wasn’t a single person there I recognized from today. Not one.
I looked down at the coffee table. A few lines of cocaine were laid out, one girl snorting as a guy looked on.
Fuck.
“Drugs?” I asked, looking at Rachel.
She shrugged. “I’m not into that scene—only a few are—but if you want a hit, go for it. They’ve got some pills usually too. If you want to experiment, I’m all for having some sex while high.”
My heart raced in my chest as we walked into the kitchen. The familiar sight of people wasted and high on drugs made my skin crawl. A small bag of pills sat on the counter, instantly making my entire body break out into a sweat.
“Not interested, Rachel. Like I told you in the truck, I’m not going to have sex with you.”
She pouted again, then laughed.
“This isn’t the birthday party for the camera guy at CBS, is it?”
With a shake of her head, she replied, “Nope. I thought we could have more fun at this party. No one to see us, if you know what I mean.”
I groaned and rubbed the back of my neck. “Rachel, I’m not into this scene, and I’m no longer into you.”