by Tijan
Mason leaned back in his chair.
I eyed him. He didn’t look upset, but he didn’t show anything. He was closed off. Coach was being honest, and I knew Mason appreciated that, but I understood his frustration. It sucked. He couldn’t relax, knowing Caldron and Adam were behind him. Both douchebags from the summer were still hanging over his head.
I touched his leg under the table, and he looked at me from the corner of his eye. His hands remained locked together on top of the table, but his leg angled closer to me.
We heard car doors slam outside, and all looked over. We couldn’t see through the window from where we were, but Logan’s voice quickly carried over the distance.
“Look.” Coach Broozer straightened in his seat. He pointed toward the table and jabbed it twice. “I know what kind of kid my daughter is dating, and I know the lengths he’d go to for his brother. You can’t say a word of this to him. This could all go away if we don’t do a damned thing. You got it? If Logan knows, he’ll do something. He won’t be able to help it. He means well, but he could really fuck up your life if you don’t handle him right.”
Mason didn’t have time to reply.
The door opened, and Logan’s voice boomed through the house. “Mason! Sam! You guys beat us.” He was trailing behind Taylor as they walked around the corner. His arms spread wide. “So, what’s up my compadres?” He clapped a hand on Coach Broozer’s shoulder. “What’s up, Pop-n-Lock?”
“Pop-n-Lock?” Broozer echoed, his eyebrows drawing together. He turned toward Taylor. “Do I dare ask?”
She rolled her eyes, going to the fridge. “He started off calling you Pop-n-Law. That turned into Pop-n-Lock somewhere.”
Logan barked out a laugh and smacked the table. “You guys are back. Broozer had good news for you, didn’t he?” He rounded on his Pop-n-Lock. “What did you say to my brother? I thought he was off the hook.”
Taylor’s father opened his mouth, but Mason spoke first.
“I am, if no one makes a big deal out of it.”
Broozer shot Mason a dark look. “There went that whole plan of keeping quiet.”
Mason sent a look back just as quick. “Like I’m going to keep something from my brother.”
“Wait.” Logan frowned. He held a finger up, pausing as he looked from Pop-n-Lock to Mason and back again. “I’ll ignore whatever that was about. No one? Like, no one no one?”
“The opposite of anyone,” Mason said.
Logan gave his brother a look. “You know what I mean. We’re fucked. Everyone gets pissed at us. What about partying tonight?”
“Here’s a thought.” Coach Broozer’s tone turned sarcastic. “Why don’t you try not to get in trouble?” He took his water over to the sink. As he passed his daughter, he ran a hand down her arm, and they exchanged loving smiles. “And on that note, I have football tapes calling my name.” He clapped Mason on the shoulder. “Keep your head down. Don’t listen to that idiot brother of yours—”
“Hey!” Logan called, but he didn’t sound like he minded the statement.
“—And I’ll see you at practice Monday morning.”
Mason nodded. “Thanks, Coach.”
“Anytime.” He pointed at Logan. “Protect my girl. She’s my soul.”
Logan’s chest puffed up. “Always.”
Then Coach left us alone, disappearing back into the house.
Logan smirked, going right back to where he’d left off. “What about partying? Nate’s ready to throw a rager. We were going to do one at home, but we’re all up here now.”
Mason stood, taking my hand in his. “We’re going to have the party tonight, but whatever trouble your friend is in, I might have to sit this one out.” He looked carefully from Taylor to Logan.
Logan’s lips formed a flat line.
Taylor nodded. “That’s completely and understandably fine,” she said, looking at Logan. “This is about your future.”
Mason nodded.
I felt relieved.
The only one who seemed to want to protest was Logan. His eyes found mine and narrowed. “You haven’t said a word. What do you think?”
I frowned. “About what?”
“What I need help with. Those guys are assholes. They almost put Delray in the hospital.”
“You’re kind of exaggerating.” Taylor bit her lip and looked at me. “But Jason was hurt bad. And I do think they’ll do it again.”
“Decision made. We go and fuck ’em up instead,” Logan announced.
“Yeah, without me,” Mason countered. “I can’t fight. Probably never again.”
“Come on. For real?”
“Yes,” Mason ground out. His hand tightened over mine, and I looked up in concern. Logan was pushing him. Mason always wanted to be there to cover his brother’s back, but he couldn’t. He had to stay under the radar, and it was killing him.
I moved in front of him, pulling my hand free. I folded my arms over my chest and felt Mason’s hands fall to my waist. “Stop it, Logan.”
“Stop what?”
“Being a dumbass. You’re looking for trouble because you’re bored. You know it.”
He bristled. “Delray was beat up. Taylor’s mine, so that means he’s mine. How can I—”
“There are other ways!” My patience snapped. “And fine, whatever. Go beat the shit out of them, but stop making Mason feel guilty about it. If you want his help, do it another way. If you don’t, then respect his decision.”
Taylor laughed. “I just got a glimpse into your guys’ future. Logan trying to get shit going, Mason trying to be smart about it, and Samantha finally delivering the last word on it.” She whistled under her breath, giving her boyfriend a wolfish grin. “You guys will never lead boring lives. Ever.”
Logan shot a grin back, moving to the kitchen and scooping an arm around her waist. He pulled her against him, half lifting her in the air. “Only because you’re going to be there right with us.” He wrapped his other arm around her and buried his face in her neck.
She shrieked in laughter, hitting his arm. “You know that tickles. Stop it!”
Logan pulled back, a pleased look on his face, and grinned down at her. “Just wait till we get back to my place. I’ll show you what tickles. I’ll show you real deep how some things can tickle.”
Then he glanced around, a teasing smile on his face. “Are we ready to party?”
We were ready to party.
The music pounded.
Cain University students, football players, and students from the other private college in town filled our house. The booze flowed, and everyone was having a great time.
Mason sat at the bonfire with Nate and some of his football teammates. Logan stood behind them, holding a beer and throwing horseshoes with Matteo as his partner. They were playing against two guys I didn’t know, and there was a lot of shit-talking going back and forth.
I stood behind the outside bar, filling drinks. I saw some of my floormates from freshman year, but our friendships had faded last year. They’d gotten busy with their own lives, and I was with Mason and Logan. That should’ve been enough for me. Right?
I studied Mason as he listened to Nate. The bonfire lit up his face, but also cast such darkness over his chiseled features. My heart lurched, and I felt it start to move up to my throat. I tried pushing down whatever emotion was there, filling me up. It wasn’t a good one; that I knew.
“Do you moonlight as a bartender now?”
Taylor slid onto one of the barstools and flashed me a grin. She was teasing, but our eyes caught and held as a shared memory passed between us. There’d been another party and another bar we’d hidden behind not long ago.
I laughed and pointed toward an empty jar. “Maybe I should put a sign in front of it for tips?”
She snorted, crossing her arms on the counter. “At this rate, you might get some. People are drunk—like, really drunk.”
A girl shrieked, and we followed the sound. A guy chased her around the ya
rd. She was half-naked—her breasts hanging out and her jeans undone. Her hair was messy and her lips smudged, but she followed that shriek with a laugh. She flew past the bar, and I wasn’t the only one who stopped to watch her. Most of the guys took notice.
She shrieked again, the sound ending in a lust-filled groan when the guy caught up to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed her up against the house. His mouth was on hers, and she was soon clutching at his shoulders. Her legs climbed up to wrap around his waist.
Taylor sighed, watching them. “A part of me thinks she’s an idiot, so maybe she should deal with the consequences.” She pointed to a few guys who’d pulled out their phones to record the live porno. “But the other side of me knows we have to step in, especially if she’s intoxicated.”
A couple of girls came around the corner from the same direction the drunk and half-naked couple had come. Both were my height and slim. One had dark hair, and the other had curly, light-blond hair and a fairer complexion. The first girl seemed to be their leader. Her square jaw held a tight frown, and her hair was pulled back into a fierce braid. The lighter complexioned girl had more of a bounce to her walk, and probably a bit more pep in her personality. She also had a smile tugging at her lips, but when they both paused, seeing the two making out, the smile disappeared behind her hand. Her eyes widened in mortification.
The fierce braid girl turned to her friend. “What the fuck are we going to do? She’s unhinged.”
The second friend’s shoulders shook as she tried to keep in her laugh. She couldn’t. She doubled over, and her laughter rang out. “She’s going to regret that,” she managed with a snort. “So bad. It’s so bad.”
The first rolled her eyes. “Morons. That’s who I’m friends with.”
Taylor and I glanced at each other.
The second girl crumpled to the ground now, still laughing, with tears running down her face.
Fierce Braid just shook her head. Her hands found her hips, and she looked from the making-out friend to the one on the ground. “What the hell am I going to do?”
Taylor was holding back a laugh.
“You want a drink?” I called to the girl.
She looked over and blushed. “Tell me you didn’t hear that.”
I shrugged. “Sorry.”
She glanced around, and I knew why she’d assumed no one could hear her—because no one cared to overhear. The music still blared, and except for the two guys recording the making out, everyone else was absorbed with their own group of friends. Logan and Matteo were still playing horseshoes. I didn’t think Mason and the guys at the bonfire even knew about the half-naked couple, and there were a few other groups of girls, but they were watching the guys.
She shook her head and went back over to tap her still-laughing friend on the shoulder. “Grace, come on.”
The girl staggered to her feet and then half-collapsed onto a stool two over from Taylor’s. “Sorry. I’m—” Snort. “—Grace, and I’m completely—” Another laugh, followed with a hiccup. “—useless right now.” She turned wide eyes to her friend. “Sorry, Court. I suck.”
Court eyed the two guys with the phones. “I have to stop that. All of it. Nettie’s going to be mortified.”
“No, no.” Taylor slid off her stool. “I’ll get someone to deal with it. Trust me, he’ll enjoy it.”
Court and Grace, who was mostly hiccupping now, watched as Taylor headed through the crowd toward Logan. Their eyes widened.
“Is that Logan Kade?” one of them asked.
I looked over, but neither paid me any attention. The hiccups seemed to be gone, and Grace’s mouth hung slightly open.
Taylor touched Logan’s arm, and he bent his head toward her. A loving smile bloomed on his face, but then vanished as Taylor kept talking. His eyes narrowed, and he lifted his head toward us at the bar. I pointed to the couple, and he moved over so he could see them. He said something to Taylor, who started back to us as Logan then said something to Matteo.
Matteo passed along the message to Mason, gesturing to the recording guys. Mason stood, along with Nate, and the rest of the guys at the bonfire turned to watch.
Logan veered toward the bar, stepping behind it next to me.
He bent down, fitting the hose to the water supply and turning it on. I followed the hose to its end. Water streamed out where it lay next to the house—about five feet from the couple.
“You’re going to hose ’em?” I asked.
He winked at me. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
As Logan walked over to pick up the end of the hose, Mason stepped in front of the two guys recording with their phones. Matteo and Nate joined him to block their view. They protested and started to move—until they looked up and saw who was standing in front of them. Both snapped to attention then, trying to turn off their phones.
Mason said something I couldn’t hear and snatched their phones. The guys started to protest again, but soon realized half the football team was there and moving in. They’d back up Mason if they needed to.
Realizing they had no way to fight back, the two guys waited as Mason deleted the video from one phone. He’d handed the other to Nate, who seemed to be doing the same thing.
Logan now had the end of the hose in his hands, and he positioned himself with his feet set apart, holding the hose like a fireman might’ve. He jerked the end of the hose, pressed his thumb over the end, and blasted the porno couple.
The girl shrieked, and the guy yelled, his face twisted in anger. He whirled to find Logan with the hose and everyone else watching. The girl cowered against the house, her hands covering her breasts, and her bottom lip starting to tremble.
“Shit,” Court mumbled as she moved toward her friend.
Grace remained behind, one eyebrow raised as she watched everything unfold. A serene calmness had settled over her features, and she seemed content to remain in place, watching the scene like it was a movie.
As Court put her arms around Nettie, hugging her and helping to shield her, the guy she’d been making out with started to walk away. Logan wasn’t having it. He continued to spray him, laughing until anger darkened the guy’s face. He shot a hand out, but Logan just aimed the hose there, and the water splashed up, soaking the guy’s face.
I looked over. Mason was heading my way, the two phones in his hands. The phones’ owners were escorted away by some of Mason’s teammates.
“Are those two guys going to be a problem?” I asked.
Mason slid the phones over to me, ignoring the way Grace’s mouth hung open again. “I told ’em to come back tomorrow to get their phones. I want to make sure they didn’t upload that video somewhere.”
I checked the screens. Only one was password protected, and I held it up. “Did you get the password?”
He nodded, glancing over at Logan, who was still hosing down the now-yelling guy. “You know that girl?”
I shook my head and gestured to Grace. “But she does.”
He turned to her, his face unreadable. “Is that your friend?”
She lifted a hand to her chin and closed her mouth, then smiled at him. “Yep.”
He studied her. “You’re drunk?”
“Yep.” She continued to beam at him. “You’re Mason Kade.”
He looked back toward the house. Court was bringing her half-naked friend over. “Do you have a staff shirt or anything behind that bar?” she called.
“Staff shirt?”
She frowned at me. “Yeah, you’re working this party, aren’t you?”
She thought I was the help.
Taylor joined us again, motioning toward Logan. “He’s done fooling with the guy. They got his name and number, so if something happens, at least we know who he is.”
Court looked at her gratefully. “Thank you for that. So much.”
“She asked for a shirt,” I told Taylor. “Want to—”
I was going to ask if she’d stand behind the bar so I could grab a shirt from my room, but
Taylor held a hand up.
“I’m on it,” she said. “Half my wardrobe’s here anyway. Be right back.”
“Oh, good.” Court’s shoulders dropped, visibly relieved. She nodded to me. “Thank you for helping, you and your friend.” She grinned ruefully. “Who knew your friend would know Logan Kade personally.”
An awkward silence settled over us.
I waited for her to realize Mason was here. Then again, maybe she didn’t know who he was. After a few beats of silence, Court looked at Grace. Grace pointed at Mason, and only then did Court realize someone else stood with us at the bar. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. The blood drained from her face, and her lips formed a small O.
This reaction wasn’t that uncommon, but the surprised looks on people’s faces when they realized who Mason was usually happened from a distance. He would be with his classmates, Logan, or me when people would notice his presence. The whispering came first, followed by a mix of reactions. Either people would respect his privacy and remain at a distance or they would come over to stare. Sometimes people would rush up for an autograph or to give him their number. It was usually girls who did the latter.
The funniest reactions were the people who looked at him like he was an alien. They’d just gawk. I once overheard a guy say to his friend, “That’s not Kade. He’s not big enough. Kade’s a fucking legend.”
His friend had shaken his head. “Huh-uh. I’m pretty sure that’s Mason Kade. And he’s not six four. Check out his stats. That’s him, dude.”
“Whatever. I could take him. He’s not that big of a deal.”
Mason might’ve overheard, but he didn’t react then, and he didn’t now. He generally ignored people.
He stared at Court. “That’s your friend?”
“Uh.” She tugged Nettie closer, almost using her for protection now. “Yeah . . . You’re Mason Kade, aren’t you?”
