Trick Me Twice - Becca Steele Page 0,73

forever to reply I’ll take that as a no. I’m moving away once the school year is up and you have all these issues surrounding me, so I think it’s best if we stay out of each other’s way. I’ll try to avoid coming over to your house with my aunt. There’s plenty of excuses I could come up with.

Me: Fine. You’re right. I shouldn’t have texted you. I’m sorry. For how everything turned out

Raine: Me too. Goodbye Carter. Please don’t contact me again

Covered by my waterproof jacket, I jogged around the school building to head for the car park, when I stopped in my tracks. Raine was huddled on the steps, a bag clutched in her arms, sheltering from the rain and watching the road with anxiety all over her face.

I stood, not even noticing the rain as I watched her try calling someone, then hanging up with a resigned look on her face. She started down the steps, flinching as the rain hit her, then darted backwards under cover again. She was pulling off her coat. What the fuck? I watched as she covered the bag with her coat and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders, then stepped out into the rain.

Fucking hell, Raine. Her school blazer wasn’t even waterproof. Did she want to catch hypothermia?

“Raine!” I shouted. She didn’t turn around.

I ran towards her, skidding across the wet tarmac as I reached her. Throwing my body in front of hers, I forced her to a stop.

“Go away.” Her voice was expressionless, and she didn’t even look at me, shivering in the rain, the water plastering her hair to her head.

“Raine. It’s fucking raining. Let me take you home.”

“No.” Her little chin set stubbornly. “We agreed we’d stay away from each other, remember?”

“Fuck, Raine.” I scrubbed my hand across my face. “What will it take for you to get in the car with me?”

“A personality transplant,” she muttered, then stepped around me, splashing through the puddles as she stormed off down the road.

I don’t think so.

I easily caught up with her, tugging on her backpack and spinning her around to face me. “Hold on.” That was the only warning I gave her before I scooped her up, bag and all, and began carrying her towards my truck.

“Stop manhandling me!” She couldn’t fight back since her arms were full with her huge backpack and her coat, so I ignored her ranting until we reached my truck. Putting her down, I held her in place with one hand while I juggled with my car keys, finally managing to press the button to unlock the boot.

“Why are you doing this? You’re just making things harder for us both.” She raised her eyes to mine, the rainwater glistening on her lashes. No make-up, she was fucking beautiful.

I didn’t have an answer, so I kissed her instead.

She shoved at my chest with her bag, refusing to kiss me back. I teased at her lips with soft licks and caresses, and finally, she gave in with a sigh. The feel of her lips against mine—fuck.

Raine was made for me.

The sound of a car horn, blasting long and loud, had her tearing her mouth away and ducking around my body. I could only watch as she made a run for a huge matte-black SUV, disappearing inside before I could even catch my breath.

I didn’t go straight home. I drove around aimlessly for a while, barely paying attention as the rain slowed and eventually stopped, the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

As I neared my house, I slowed my truck to a crawl and sucked in a breath as I rounded the corner onto Raine’s road. What the fuck? Cassius Drummond’s car was parked outside Raine’s house. Something that felt a lot like jealousy stabbed at my gut as I passed his SUV at a snail’s pace. There was no one inside, which meant Cassius was inside her house. Where he must’ve been since he picked her up from school.

How the fuck could I compete with Cassius Drummond?

Wait, why was I even thinking this? I didn’t want or need to compete with him. A relationship between me and Raine wasn’t going to happen. It didn’t matter who she was spending her time with.

Even as I told myself this, I knew it was a lie.

The notification lit up my screen, and I swiped so fast that my finger was a blur. Raine had posted a new picture. And yeah, I’d changed my settings so it would