Kade's Game (16 page)

"I'll order it, Raya," I say quickly, standing up with her.  "I was just waiting on them to come to us."

"It's fine.  I'd like to go check out the bar anyhow while I'm up there."

Bar?  She's getting that sort of drink?  She rarely ever drinks.

"I thought you wanted cocoa," I say, worrying something is going on that she's not telling me.

"I think I need something stronger," she says under her breath, frustrating me further as she walks away.

What'd I miss?

I watch as she reaches the bar, and I curse Tag silently when I see him sidle up next to her.  He'd better not be hitting on her.  I'm already close to tackling him as it is.

"Ah, hell," Melanie says, seeming truly disgruntled.

"What?" Erica asks.

My eyes stay focused on my girl as she talks to Tag, her eyes seeming to hold mysterious anger.  I apparently said or did something wrong, but I have no clue as to what it was.

"Courtney Hughes is here," Melanie says.

That has my attention. 
Son of a bitch.  This is the last thing I need.

I turn my eyes toward the door, and I groan as she drops off her stuff.  It'd be a miracle if she manages to not see me, and I never have miracles happen.

"You're about to have drama," Wren says in a singsong voice, acting as though he's an excited kid.

Damn my luck.

"The last thing I need is for Raya to see Courtney," I groan.  "She's already pissed."

"Why?" Wren asks, seeming as confused as I am.  Good.  I'm not the only one that missed it.

Erica grins as though she knows a secret, and then she rolls her eyes.  "You two are idiots."

Yeah.  We're the idiots.  She screws Wren's brother, but we're the idiots.  Irony at its best.

Melanie seems to be smiling like she knows how I messed up, too, but I'm clueless.

"Kade Colton.  I knew you'd be here," Courtney's annoying voice says from behind, making me curse under my breath before turning around to face her.

She has me wrapped up in a far too intimate hug before I can stop her.  She'd throw a tantrum if I peeled her off me, so I hug her quickly, hoping to end the embrace as soon as possible without provoking the drama queen within.

Thankfully, she withdraws, and then the chatter sets in.

"My parents are here.  They said they thought the Colton fam made it.  Have you been here long?"

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 side
s.  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 continues 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.

Everyone else starts collecting their stuff.  Wren gives me an apologetic smile, probably feeling the anger rolling off me.  Erica shakes her head, not making eye contact with me.  Aunt Melanie never said a word, and now she's looking at me like
I
did something wrong.  She needs to be giving Raya that glower.

Lyle Hughes, Courtney's brother, is with Raya at the bar.  That bastard had better not even think about it.  Then again, he doesn't have a shot in hell.  Raya hates people with money.  Except for Tag apparently.  I hope he's ready to have me strangle him later.

I duck out of the lodge, ready to hurry up and get this shit over with.  Later, I'll find out what the hell is wrong with her.  I don't care if I have to pin her down and force her to talk.

"You're awfully quiet," Courtney says,
standing far too close to me as I prepare to ski down the mountain.

"You're awfully perceptive," I quip, my mind completely focused on Raya and what all happened, while I struggle with my uncooperative glove.  Did it shrink in the five seconds I took it off?  What the hell?

She rolls her eyes just as Erica approaches, and I consider pushing her down the side.

When Lyle asked about Raya earlier, she talked her up, made her sound just as incredible as she is.  Raya's too good for him, and Erica should have told him that.  She's too good for me, too, but she's still mine.  Even if she does want to fight me every step of the fucking way.

"Has Lyle come back up?" Courtney asks Erica.

"He left.  Said he wanted to hit up a bar."

Good.  I don't have to deal with that dipshit anymore.

Courtney looks from me to Erica, who looks like she needs to speak with me.  Why does everyone insist I talk?  I came, I've skied, and I've done what's expected.  Someone else can run the conversation for once.

"This is my last go," I mumble, ready to just get back.  "As soon as this damn glove gets back on my hand."

"Then we'll go out," Courtney chirps, apparently missing the big
-ass sign I'm wearing that's telling her to fuck off.

"Tag's waiting, so this will be it for all of us.  You want me to have him grab Raya on his way to the bar?" Wren asks, coming to stand behind Erica.

Maybe a beer would pull the stick out of Raya's ass.  And she and I won't end up arguing in front of everyone.  I'd rather be in a better place than we are now before discussing her switch flip.

"Are we not changing?" I ask, motioning to the fact we're still in ski stuff.

"Wasn't planning on it.  You want to head in to change?  The girls will take for-fucking-ever if we do," Wren groans, earning a jab to the stomach from Erica's elbow.

If I go back and Raya's still pissed, she won't go, and she might lock herself up in a room to stay away from me.  She seems to be fine with Tag, so he might be able to lure her out.

"Tell Tag if he touches Raya, I'll break all ten of his fingers.  One at a time."

Wren fights back a grin and nods as he heads to the side.  Courtney frowns, probably just now realizing that Raya is more than a
friend
.  I'll deal with that when I have to.  No more pretending.

When she starts talking, I realize that time is apparently going to be now.  "So, you and Raya
—"

"Raya's not any of your business, and you should think long and hard before saying anything about her or to her.  I'll see you at the bottom, Courtney."

The warning edge to my tone, which is accompanied by the not-so-veiled threat, is enough to shut her up, even though I can see the determined look in her eyes.  She wants to know more, and well, she won't get it from me.

She drops off the side close to Wren, and Erica takes the opportunity to speak to me privately.

"It's because you called her a friend," she says randomly.

I look up from my war with my glove to see her staring directly into my eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"When Melanie was talking about Billy and Ash, you said it was good to have a friend.  You men are completely stupid sometimes.  When a girl is cradled in your arms, dressed in clothes like that despite the freezing temperature, and is on a family vacation with you, the last thing she wants to be called is a
friend.
  Then you had to go and say yes to Courtney."

Is she kidding?

"Raya and I
are
friends.  All she has to do is say the word, and she knows I'm hers.  And are you crazy?  I all but begged to stay there with her.  She refused to let me.  She pushed me out here like she wanted me to be with Courtney."

Erica rolls her eyes as though
I'm
the one not making any sense.  Were we listening to the same conversation earlier?  Because I'm pretty sure we weren't if she didn't hear the adamant stand Raya took against me staying.

"Raya has little confidence in herself, and she's far, far out of her element.  Have you told her how you feel?  I'm pretty sure she needs it spelled out, since you seem to give her a lot of mixed signals," she adds.

"Mixed signals?" I ask incredulously.  "Raya knows.  She's smart.  I don't have to spell it out."

She rolls her eyes while skiing closer to the edge.  I don't appreciate her condescension.

"
Stupid
," Erica sings, and then ducks off the side, skiing down like a pro.

Fuck the glove.  I'm going.

Tossing down the stupid piece of shit that won't go back on my hand, I use the poles to propel me forward, and I race down the side of the mountain like there's an Olympic finish line waiting on me.

I pass Courtney like she's standing still, ignoring her when she calls my name.  The wind strikes against me, making me thankful for the goggles.  I didn't need them for the bunny slopes all day with Raya.  Raya
—every thought is apparently consumed by her.

Wren starts racing beside me when I catch up to him, but I've already built up too much momentum for him to compete this late in the game.  It's annoying to keep dodging other skiers who are going at a more leisurely pace, and I curse a few who force me to skid sideways in order to avoid a collision.

Ski patrol will probably ream my ass for going this fast, but fuck them.

I reach the bottom finally, and tear away my goggles and my toboggan in one smooth motion.  The others are still trying to catch up, so I use the opportunity to call Raya.