Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (26 page)

We strolled over to a wooden bench and sat down. The night was humid and hot, but the stars above distracted me from the sweat dripping down my back. I really wanted to go inside and find Luke. “So tell me about the race next weekend. Are you riding in the four-fifty class or the two-fifty?” I asked.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Two-fifty. I want an actual chance at winning. Getting my ass kicked by Collins all the time can hurt the ego.”

I squeezed his arm. “Luke says you’re amazing. I can’t wait to watch you guys on Saturday.”

“So you’re coming?”

“Of course,” I exclaimed excitedly. “I can’t wait.” The race was in Charlotte, so there was no way I’d miss it.

“How is the PR stuff coming along?”

“Great. I’m hoping to hear back from a few people next week.” I was mainly waiting on Shelby Reynolds. She was the one I needed above anyone else.

Chance cleared his throat. “Do you think maybe when you get into the swing of things, you’d be able to work for me as well?” He flashed his puppy dog eyes and there was no way I could turn him down.

“Okay,” I answered him. “Just give me a few weeks to get settled.”

“Hell yeah!” He fist pumped and got to his feet. Pulling me in for a hug, I laughed. “Let’s go tell Collins I snagged you up. He won’t get pissed will he? I know how protective he is of you.”

We started back toward his house and I waved him off. “He’ll just have to get over it, if he is. I make my own choices.” When we got back to the house, things had started to calm down. I glanced down at my phone and gasped. “Holy shit, we’ve been gone for over an hour.” I couldn’t believe Luke hadn’t tried to look for me.

“I’m sure Collins got caught up talking shop. So many people were excited to see him,” Chance said, walking beside me. We stepped inside and he was nowhere to be seen. I followed Chance through the kitchen and into the living room.

“Has anyone seen Collins?” he called out.

A guy on the couch raised his hand. “About forty-five minutes ago.”

Chance burst out laughing. “If it isn’t Cedric Carmichael. What’s up, fucker?”

Cedric stood and hugged him. “Nothing much, just got back from a year long vacation with the family.”

“Must be nice,” Chance teased. “I want to hear all about it, but first, we’re looking for Collins.”

Cedric nodded toward the hallway. “He went that way, with some girl named Skylar.”

My blood boiled, and I could feel the heat scorching its way through my body and up the sides of my face. Chance stiffened beside me and grabbed my arm. “Thanks, Cedric. We’ll find him.”

Teeth clenched, all I could see was red. Chance pulled me out of the room into the hallway. “Who the hell is Skylar?” I growled.

Chance closed his eyes, but kept his hands on my arms. He knew I was a bomb about to explode. “She’s one of the dirty girls. The guys love her.”

“Has Luke ever messed around with her?”

The look on his face was answer enough. I felt sick, disgusted beyond belief. What if he was in a room with her somewhere? My hands shook and Chance grabbed them. “Hey, calm down. There’s no way in hell Luke would ever fuck things up between you again. He’s worked too hard to get you back.”

“I hope you’re right,” I whispered low. I could barely recognize my own voice.

Chance’s house was pretty large, so there were doors on both the right and left sides of the hallway. It was as if it went on for miles.

Chance took the lead and peered inside each room, shaking his head when he came up empty. There were only three rooms left, when the door on the right opened. A girl sauntered out, straightening her skirt. “That was fun,” she gloated, strutting by us.

Chance’s grip on my arm tightened and I realized who she was. “No,” I growled, my eyes burning like fire. I didn’t know what I was going to see peeking into the room, but finding Luke on the bed,
naked,
with his arms behind his head as he slept, was more than I could take.

Turning on my heel, I jerked my arm out of Chance’s tight grasp and stormed down the hall. “Lara, wait!” he shouted.

Tears streamed down my face, but I was way past sad . . . I was infuriated. How the hell could he do that to me? Stopping at the edge of the hallway, everyone froze, watching on in wonderment. I glanced at Chance over my shoulder. “When he wakes up, tell him it’s over. I don’t want to see his face ever again.”

Everyone moved out of my way as I charged to the door. I had to get out of there, away from those people . . . away from Luke. How could I have been so stupid?

I half-expected to get a visit in the middle of the night, or frantic phone calls from Luke begging me to listen to him, but there was nothing. My eyes hurt like sand had been thrown at them. Every time I closed them, I could just imagine Luke and that girl being together. I don’t know how many times I threw up, but my whole body was sore. It was almost as bad as I felt after the car accident.

Pulling out my phone, there was only one person I knew to call. I waited for Summer to answer, and when she did, I couldn’t speak.

“Lara, you there?” I nodded and all that escaped my lips was a whimper. “Oh my God, Lara, what’s wrong?”

“I need you,” was all I could say.

I could hear her scrambling around on the other end and then the sound of her car roaring to life. “On my way. Be there in a minute.” She hung up and a few minutes later she came barreling through the door. Her gaze met mine and she rushed over and sat next to me. “I’m here now. Come here.”

I leaned into her and cried. She rubbed my back and froze when I spoke. “He cheated on me.”

“What? How can that be?”

“I saw the girl leave the room . . . and there he was, naked on the bed. It made me so goddamn sick.”

She held me tighter. “Oh, Lara.”

“What am I going to do? I feel like such an idiot.”

“I know what you’re going to do.” She lifted my head, her eyes blazing. “You’re going to pack a bag and stay at my house. The last thing you need to do is sit here by yourself, wallowing in your grief.”

“It’s not that simple.”

She nodded. “I know, but it’s a start. I don’t want you alone.” Grabbing my arm, she lifted me off the couch. “Let’s go. I refuse to see you like this again.”

It took all the strength I had to get off the couch, but I did as she said and packed a bag. Unfortunately, her house wasn’t as far away as I wanted it to be, but it’d have to do.

T
he sun shining the through the window woke me up, a screaming headache greeting me the second I cracked my eyes open. Sealing the light out with my arm, I reached for Lara, but her side of the bed was cold. “Lara?” I called out for her. Maybe she was downstairs.

I couldn’t remember going home from the party. Had I drank that much? All I remembered was a beer and a shot of whiskey. Turning over, I buried my face into the pillow. But it didn’t feel right, and definitely didn’t smell right. Opening my eyes, I realized why.

“Holy fuck.” I was still at Chance’s, and I was butt-ass naked. What the hell had happened? I got out of bed and an overwhelming sense of dizziness overtook me. Rushing to the bathroom, I barely made it to the toilet before throwing up the entire contents of my stomach. “Lara,” I called out again. I couldn’t remember seeing her after I went inside. How could I have just left her alone all night?

Throwing on my clothes, I rushed out of the bedroom. There were a couple of guys sleeping on the floor in the living room, but Chance was in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Where’s Lara?” I asked impatiently.

Lips pursed, he lifted his head. “I didn’t think you cared.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I snapped.

He slammed the paper shut. “I don’t get you, man. You spend a year of your life trying to get this girl back, and then you fuck around on her? It’s fucked up, even for you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” My head pounded and I felt like I was going to throw up again.

Eyes blazing, he got up and pointed angrily down the hall. “I’m talking about
you
fucking Skylar behind Lara’s back. She was devastated when she found you.”

Shaking my head, I backed up. That couldn’t be true. There was no way in hell I’d ever touch Skylar. “That’s not possible,” I growled, running a hand through my hair. “Why can’t I remember anything?”

Chance scoffed. “Perhaps you drank too much?”

“Fuck off, Harris. I had one beer and a shot. After that, I can’t remember shit.”

He shrugged. “Whatever, man. All I know is she’s pissed the fuck off, and wanted me to tell you it’s over. She never wants to see your face again. And I don’t blame her.”

My mind whirled. There was no way this was all real. “Do you mind driving me home?” I asked.

Sighing, he grabbed his keys. “Let’s go.”

I followed him outside and into his red Mercedes. “I feel fucked up, man. Like something’s not right inside my head.” He started us down the road and it wasn’t fast enough. A phone call wasn’t going to suffice, so I had to hope she was at home.

“And you said you only had a beer and a shot?” he asked curiously.

I nodded and the simple motion made my head swim. “Yep, and then nothing but black after that. I remember hearing voices around me, but that’s it.”

“You don’t think you could’ve been drugged do you? Skylar’s never done anything like that before.”

She might not have done it before, but I wouldn’t put it past her. “After the way I treated her last night, anything’s possible. But I know just who to ask for help.”

As soon as I got in my truck, my first stop would be Lara’s house. My only problem was, I had no clue what to say, especially without having proof. I knew something wasn’t right; I could feel it in my blood. I just had to hope Lara believed me.