I felt my cheeks heat up as I realised he had known for a while that I liked him. “No, I don’t think so, either. So what are you saying?”
Butterflies were erupting in my stomach as I waited for his answer, hoping like hell I hadn’t read the situation entirely wrong.
“Like I said before, it’s always been you. Before I left with Kenz to go to our aunt’s, it was you. You never noticed me, but I sure as hell saw you, Bailey.” He brought his hand up to cup my cheek, slowly leaning closer.
“You did?” My heart skipped a beat or three hearing him admit that. “Why did you never say anything?” I whispered, leaning in closer to him too, breathing in his scent. He always smelled the same. So distinctly Ryder. And I loved it.
“I came back, and you were with Chace. I lost my chance then, but I’m not losing it this time. Say you’ll be mine, Bailey,” he demanded, brushing his lips softly across mine and then down toward my jaw.
“Yes,” I breathed. A jolt of electricity went coursing through my veins as his hand came to rest on my hip.
“For real this time, Bailey. Tell me you’re mine. I need you.”
“Yours,” I mumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence while Ryder’s lips worked their way down my throat and my fingers threaded into his hair. “All yours, Jones.”
Chapter
Twenty-Five
“You stupid little slut,” I heard a girl scream as I walked down the hall with Ryder, who instinctively wrapped a protective arm around my shoulder.
“This is all your fault!” she screamed again. She was drawing a crowd.
“What’s going on?” I asked Ryder.
“I have no idea.” He shrugged and stood on the tips of his toes to see up ahead in the crowd as Christina’s voice continued to echo down the halls.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” he hissed and turned to look at me. He looked worried and apologetic at the same time.
“I’m sorry, Bailey. I wanted more time, but that’s not going to happen.”
“You lying freaking—” I could hear Christina still screaming, but I tuned her out as I listened to Ryder.
“There was more to my story last night. I just didn’t want to overload you too much. I wanted to wait for it to sink in properly before I explained the rest. I’m sorry, love. It’s out now.” He apologised to me and pressed a kiss to my lips before pulling me through the crowd to Christina, who was still screaming like a banshee.
Oh my God. Surely, I wasn’t seeing things right. Ryder stepped through the crowd into the centre of the circle, immediately letting go of my hand and rushing over to the stunning blonde girl who was staring at Christina with a look of disgust on her face while Chace stood beside her looking embarrassed.
“Kenzie! What are you doing here?” Ryder asked her. “You weren’t supposed to come.” He pulled her in for a hug before turning back around to face Chace and Christina. Christina was furious, and Chace looked as white as a ghost. It all made sense now.
“Back off, Christina,” Ryder spat at her when she began screaming more obscenities at his sister.
“Babe, come on. Let’s just go. Please.” Chace was pleading with Christina and trying to pull her away from Kenzie, but Christina wouldn’t let him.
“You ruined everything.” Christina shrugged off Chace’s hand and stepped closer to Kenzie, screaming in her face. Kenzie was every bit her brother’s twin, as she was not one to back down from a fight. She stepped forward and shoved Christina back into the lockers.
Kenzie spoke so calmly and softly that it was terrifying. “No, you and your boyfriend ruined everything. Everything you two touch turns to trash. You think you are better than everyone else and that people want to be just like you. Guess what, princess? They don’t. And after today, no one is going to even look at you or Chace again.”
“Kenz, can we discus—” Chace tried to ask but was cut off with a glare from Kenzie. The saying if looks could kill made perfect sense at that moment.
“What he did to me, to Ryder, to Bailey. It’s all coming out now. You and him are done,” she said to Christina before looking at Chace, who was hunched over, turning green. He looked like he was going to throw up or pass out.
Ryder stepped forward and pulled Kenzie back from Christina, keeping a hand on her shoulder to keep her calm.
“Ha, you can’t touch us. We are better than you,” Christina hissed, and Kenzie stared blankly at her for a moment, one eyebrow raised. And then, in a total Ryder move, Kenzie winked at Christina and spun around to Chace like she knew she could bring them down.
“And you! You worthless sack of shit.” She smiled sweetly. Oh my God, she was so much like her brother. Chace backed up until he was pressed against the wall.
“You think you can knock me up and tell me to get rid of it? You think your parents’ money can pay to shut me up, to keep me from telling the whole damn world about your son?” She screamed in his face, and the entire hall fell silent. Oh my God. Chace was Cole’s father. Chace and Ryder were friends. How could I not remember that?
“You’re an arsehole just like your parents. Here’s their money. I never touched a single cheque.” She put her hand into her back pocket and pulled out a wad of cheques and threw them in his face. “I don’t want your money. All I ever wanted was my baby.” I had no idea where the teachers were. Usually they would have broken this up by now.
Chace opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t seem to form the words. He just stared and flapped his gums like a fish instead.
“You should be ashamed of yourself. What you did to Ryder…that was low. Who waits until their best friend leaves town to make a move on the girl he’s in love with? Was it just to hurt him for sticking by his pregnant sister instead of you? You were never his friend. A friend wouldn’t do that.” She glared at Christina briefly. Neither Chace nor Christina knew what to say. They just stared dumbfounded at Kenzie like everyone else.
Was she talking about me? She had to be. Ryder said I was with Chace when he came back, so he’d lost his chance. Ryder was in love with me? No, he couldn’t have been. I looked over at Ryder, who was covering his face with his hands in embarrassment like he didn’t want Kenzie to say that. He peeked through his fingers and saw me staring, so he dropped his hand and gave me a wary smile, trying to gauge my reaction. I didn’t know what expression I had on my face, but he suddenly relaxed and smiled that smile that made me want to drag him into the nearest closet and rip his clothes off.
Dammit, I was in trouble.
Kenzie took a step closer to Chace, and he paled. He had nowhere to go but face her. “But what you did to me…was worse. Coming into my home last night, in front of my son, and threatening me to leave town again. All so you can protect your precious reputation and destroy ours. Go to hell, Chace.”