Page 16 of Never You

“God, if you could just control yourself foronce.” Her brown eyes are spitting fire, but this time my self preservation kicks in.

Her accusations piss me off.

“How is this my fault?” I yelp back at her, my rage going through the roof in a split second. My blood starts to boil in my veins like it always does when she pushes my buttons. She likes to point her perfect finger at me every damn chance she gets.

Going head-to-head with me to put me in my place. Normally, I enjoy it more than I should, loving how she never backs down while I always try to push her farther over the edge. Desperate to watch her lose it, even though I know I’m in the wrong.

But this time, it’s different.

This time,sheis in the goddamn picture too.

“If you wouldn’t feel the need to flirt every goddamn second of your fucking life, it wouldn’t look like you are kissingmeinstead of your supermodel girlfriend,asshole.”

“I didn’t take the fucking picture!” I snap, wanting to pull my hair out of my head.

“Who did?”

“I don’t know!”

“I didn’t give someone the chance to take this picture in the first place!” Her sharp voice feels like a knife going through my head, numbing half of my brain.

I grunt, frustrated, pinching the bridge of my nose.

I’ve been testing the boundaries of my relationship for years now, never really crossing the line, but trying to push them aside to keep my girlfriend somewhat interested. Every single time she was pissed, we’d both put in more effort and were solid for a few more weeks. But the one time I step too close to Rae, Emily doesn’t believe me.

It’s fucking ridiculous.

Everyone knows we can’t stand each other.

Glancing at Rae, who is still glaring at me like a fucking warrior, I roll my eyes.

I’ve been fighting with a woman for the last thirty-six hours. My head just can’t handle another one right now. Especially not with Rae Stafford. This girl is too feisty for my current energy level.

My shoulders drop with a sigh. “I’m sorry, okay?”

She gives me a skeptical look, her eyes wary, calling my bullshit like she always does.

But I mean it this time, even though she still pisses me off. Chances are, she will get a shitstorm of media attention toward her as soon as this picture gets into the wrong hands, and I didn’t mean for that to happen.

Because experience says it will happen, eventually.

Rae is used to handling stuff like this, but I know it's totally different when you are the subject of the attention. She always did her best to keep her face out of the tabloids when she was dating shithead Sean, but the times she ended up there anyway killed her inside.

I could see it every time she walked into the locker room with a haunted hint in her eyes.

We stare at each other for a few seconds, neither of us backing down while the tension grows thicker. Time seems to freeze, my heart races, and I ball my hands to fists until I notice her gaze soften a little. An unexpected pang hits my chest, seeing the torn and frustrated look on her face, and I rub my hands down my cheeks as my jaw clenches.

“Great, my last day in LA and I end up on TMZ,” she softly grunts. “Well, thanks for the heads-up.”

Abruptly ending our conversation, she walks past me with a big sigh, way too quickly for my liking.

Wait, what?

A little stunned, I turn my head, enjoying the view of her swaying hips prancing away from me before I realize that isn’t why I’m here.

“Hold up, I need your help.” I catch up with her, and we walk toward her car while Bodi closes the trunk and drops his back against the rear of the Mercedes SUV, looking like he has better things to do.

“I told you, talk to Penelope,” she replies, never slowing down.

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