Page 99 of Tag

I stiffened. “I didn’t mean to tell him, Ryder. I told Kellan first, if you want to get technical. I wanted to tell you before any of them. I swear. Why would I not tell you? Even if you already knew—?”

He laughed, and I cut myself off, not understanding what he suddenly found funny.

“I thought so.”

“What?”

“I knew you’d never go to him before me. We always put each other first.”

“Who are you channeling tonight? Jekyll and Hyde?” I shoved his shoulder. “What the hell was all that just now? And back on the field?”

He caught my hand and smiled at me, suddenly looking boyish. “If I told you what was going through my head right then, you’d never be the same.”

I pulled my hand free and stepped back with a quiet breath, reaching into my bag. I pulled out the Polaroids, mine andRoxxi’s tucked beneath the rest I had collected, and handed them over without a word.

“Good girl.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to will the reaction away at hearing him say that. “Figured you’d want to see for yourself,” I murmured.

He flipped through the photos. One by one, he started letting them fall.

“What are you doing?” I asked with more curiosity than concern.

His attention stayed on the stack in his hand. “Trying to find the only ones I give a fuck about.”

Brooke’s photo slipped from his fingers and landed face down on the tile.

“Hey, you dropped Brooke.”

His eyes briefly met mine. “And?”

I shifted, unsettled by his sudden coldness. “I just thought you’d care.”

“Who I care about is right in front of me.”

I was still debating if I should grab her photo off the floor or not when he added, “I’m not her shield. I’m barely hers. When shit hits the fan, and it will, I’m all yours to use however you want to. I’ll be watching every move around you, even when you think I’m not.”

I stared at him, his words sinking in like a weighted anchor in my chest. Had she told him about that conversation? It was pretty spot on. Despite what I had said to her, though, I wouldn’t take advantage of him like that.

“I would never use you.”

His lips curved with a devilish grin. “What if I beg you to?”

I glanced down to save myself from having to reply to that, and saw he only had two photos left in his hand—Roxxi’s and mine. “These are the ones worth keeping. You’re so beautiful.”

I frowned. “Are… are you talking about yourself? Because we’re literally scribbled out in that picture. You can’t even see my face.”

“I can still tell how gorgeous you are.” He swept his eyes over me slowly and appreciatively. “Not that it compares to the real thing.”

“Ryder.”

He held my gaze as he slid the photos into his back pocket. “If I hadn’t pulled you in here, when were you going to tell me about all of this?”

“I was going to tell you about us being Marked tonight. The photo thing just happened.”

He watched me closely. “How did you find out?”

“When we went into the locker room. Are you really going to keep interrogating me in this gross bathroom? Brooke didn’t tell you about this out there when she was sitting in your lap?”

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