Page 32 of Race to Me

“You ride with him.”

“He’s worse than me.” Foster whispers, but I can’t quite decipher the reason behind the venom in his tone.

“Okay,” I grin. “So, I’ll stay away from him. Let’s go downstairs.”

He grabs my wrist, not my hand, and leads me down to Kate. “I think it’s time for you two to head home.” he tells her when we find her.

“Huh?” Kate sips from her drink, dancing against Ryder. She caresses my face with her hands when I get closer. “Why are you so pretty?” she asks me, slurring her words.

“You’re prettier.” I say, helping her steady herself. “And you need water.” I do too; I don’t normally drink, so the few cans I’ve had have made me a little too tipsy.

Ryder is still sober; he kept his promise. And I’m ready to get far away from here. “The girls can stay here.” he suggests.

“She’s not staying with me.” Foster spits, and I try to ignore his hateful tone, but the frown that lays on my face shows exactly how I feel… sad.

I grab my keys from my pocket and Foster grips my wrist softly and hisses, “You’re not fucking driving. You drank. Ryder will take you home.”

I honestly don’t know how to handle him. “And why do you fucking care? For your information, that was already the plan.” Before he can respond, Kate hunches over and dry heaves. The bathroom is occupied, and the stairs are covered with people.

“Outside?” I gesture, but I soon realize Ryder is already helping her out the front door. I follow behind, and so does Foster.

“Does she have everything? I checked her purse. She’s got her phone and wallet.” Ryder asks, momentarily turning his head to me before glancing back down at Kate. I’m really beginning to like him.

“Yeah, that’s all she brought.”

I look to Foster, hoping he’ll say something—anything to make up for how he treated me. He doesn’t.

Ryder senses the tension, but I can tell he’s in a rush to help Kate. “You good to go then?”

I check my pockets and sigh. “No. Shit. Go ahead and take her. I don’t know where my phone went.”

“Nooo,” Kate slurs, drawing the word out. “You come home with me. Witchy bitchy will kill me in my sleeeep.” The guys quirk their brows in sync, and I shake my head.

“I’ll be right behind you, okay?” I’m lying. I’ll have to wait for an Uber once I find my phone. Foster’s drunk too, and he’s the last person I’d ask for help right now.

Once Kate is safely in the car and they pull off, I turn to Foster, hoping he’ll move out of the way.

“I’ll go inside and find it for you.” he offers.

I scoff. “Are you really so embarrassed of me that I can’t look for my phone on my own?” That, and the solid hour of Foster ignoring my existence, puts me over the edge. “Why did you act like you didn’t see me?” I yell, not worried about who hears. “You looked straight at me and acted like I didn’t exist.”

“Why were you doing fucking laundry?”

I won’t let him deflect. “Answer my question.” I order.

He taps a few buttons on his phone and stares back at me with a blank expression. “Your Uber will be here in seven minutes, red suburban, already paid for. I’ll give your phone to Ryder tomorrow, but you need to leave.”

“You’re impossible!” I shout, infuriated. “I’m not leaving this house until I have my phone.”

“You really want to see impossible, Skyler?” He pronounces my name in full when I walk past him to go in.

I stop and nod, ready for whatever mean words he’s going to spit at me.

But when his legs travel about five feet past me, and his hand dips behind Envy’s neck and pulls her in for a kiss, I find myself praying for his hateful words instead of ... this.

When he turns back to me and smirks with a drunken, boyish grin, I can feel my heart crack inside my chest. He wraps her hand in his and goes to guide her inside. Bile rises in my throat when she flashes a cocky smile my way.

When he’s close enough, the only words I can mutter are, “Did my kiss mean nothing?” And I know he hears me because a frown forms on his lips as a result of his selfish bullshit.

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