The room starts to loosen after Marco’s words.
Glasses shift. Voices pick up.
I stand—
“No alcohol.”
Alex’s voice is calm.
I turn to him. “Seriously?”
“You know why.”
I roll my eyes. “Fine.”
I head for the kitchen.
And footsteps follow me.
I glance over my shoulder.
Ryker.
“Why are you coming with me?”
“Because I want to.”
“That’s not an answer.”
His gaze moves past me—toward the kitchen.
Then back.
“I don’t trust them.”
I huff softly.
“They’re new.”
“So?”
We step into the kitchen.
Conversation dips.
I walk straight to the counter, grab a glass, fill it with water, and I take a sip—
And then Ryker's hand settles against my lower back.
A pause spreads through the room.
Someone stops mid-sentence.
Another shifts his stance.
A glance passes between two of them.
On
