Page 18 of Running Winter

Kendra folded her arms irritably, and I shrugged.

“Sure. We’ll wait in the lounge.”

I was curious, but I knew it would be something to do with art. Kendra, on the other hand, was spitting feathers.

“How dare Rafe ask her to talk to him alone!” Kendra hissed, stomping into the lounge.

I noticed my aunt and uncle had disappeared, and I could only imagine why.

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t worry about it,” I said casually, flopping into a chair beside the floor-length windows. The last thing I needed was to be tasked with calming Kendra down.

“Did you see the way he was looking at her?”

Yes, I did. But I wasn’t going to admit that. So instead, I shrugged, pulling my phone out as I responded to Heather.

Chase:

That guy wasn’t your cousin. You kissed him. What the fuck, Heather? Was this some sort of sick joke?

“Are you not at all bothered? He’s in there with your girlfriend—”

“Oh, no. Rayna isn’t my girlfriend,” I explained, noticing Rafe waving at me from the doorway behind Kendra. “I’m just going to the restroom.”

I headed out as Rayna walked past me, avoiding my eyes.

“What?” I asked warily, folding my arms.

“I’ll drive Rayna home later if that’s alright. She said she’d look at my designs.”

What?

“Yeah, if she’s okay with that,” I agreed, feeling strange.

Art wasn’t something I understood too much, but it made sense that Rayna and Rafe would bond over it. I just felt jealous.

“Yeah, but you’d need to take Kendra home.” Rafe grimaced, and I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll be in the car; you can deal with that.” I laughed before turning to Rayna.

She looked at me, biting her lip as she shrugged. I pointed at Rafe, and Rayna nodded with a blush. I waved before walking away. “Tell your folks’ thanks.”

“I’ll tell them as I bury them under the patio,” Rafe growled, pulling me towards him for a hug. “I owe you one. Thanks.”

I smiled then, but as soon as I turned around, it evaporated.

Why did I care so much?

Rayna and I were just friends, despite the sexual banter—she had made that abundantly clear.

I skipped down the steps to my car, wondering if I could speed home without my dad catching me. I didn’t want to be in the car with Kendra for any longer than necessary.

ARTY FARTY

R A F E

I was slightly nervous as I dropped the folder out from my desk, having only really shown Chase my artwork before.

Of course, Dad couldn’t give a shit about all that ‘arty-farty shit,’ and Mom was just polite.

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