He spoke now, "She won't be allowed to any of my parties."
Mason frowned at him. "That's not the point." He turned back to his brother. "She says she loves you. She wants you back."
Too many emotions crossed over Logan before he shut it off. He collapsed against the back of his seat. His hands gripped the sides of it. "Whatever. The bitch took enough skin from me, she won't get any more."
Mason leaned back. His chest never relaxed; instead, it tightened even more. "You sure?"
He didn't believe him.
Logan shot back a dark look. "Back off. She hurt me, not you."
"She hurt my brother, that means she hurt me too," Mason whipped out, bristling from his anger.
The air was thick now, filled with tension.
The only one who didn't seem affected was Nate as he stood. "I'll be back."
Logan snorted and kicked his feet up on the table. He scooted down in his chair, restless and on edge. He reminded me a coiled cobra, ready to strike but without a target in sight. "What's with him?"
"Parker." Mason watched his best friend weave through the crowd with lidded eyes. As Nate grabbed the girl by her arm, he led her away from her friends and further inside. The frown on Mason's face showed his disapproval.
Logan grunted. "Not to be a dick to Nate, but he's always preaching against pussy. Look at him now. She's the most regular vagina he tastes. He's getting domesticated."
I frowned.
Logan flashed me a grin. "No offense, Sam. You're family. You're not normal."
"None taken?"
Mason jerked his head in a nod and the three guys from the bottom of the stairs filed back up. Each took a seat and it was back to being me with the guys. Mason lounged back and wrapped a hand around my shoulder this time. He pulled me tight against him.
Tingles reared inside of me. I didn't think they'd ever stop. He was claiming me. He always had before, but there were new threats tonight so he was showing it again. Adrenalin rushed through me when his hand started to brush against the back of my neck. His thumb rubbed back and forth. He would apply pressure under my ear so I would tilt my head, then he would press his lips there. He continued his soft kisses, and I could barely breathe an hour later. The need for him was pumping through my blood, strong and urgent. I squirmed under his hand and I felt him grin against my skin. He knew what he was doing.
The guys ignored us. They chatted together while someone kept bringing drinks to the patio. Mason gave me a few more shots and I'd take them, but we never broke eye contact. His had darkened so much they looked black, full of promises for the rest of the night. I wanted that now. My body was demanding it and I started to raise myself so I was in his lap when Nate joined the group again. He was alone, thankfully.
"The girl happy now? Did you satisfy her?" Logan threw an empty shot glass at him as he took the old seat on the other side of Mason. His tone was jovial, but there was a dark underlining edge to him. As he glanced at me, I knew I wasn't alone with my concern about Mason's best friend.
Nate frowned as he caught the glass. He chucked it back. "What's your problem with her?"
"Nothing." Logan caught it with a quick grab.
The rest of the guys grew quiet.
He continued, "But for the guy who doesn't like girlfriends, you seem to have one."
"Parker's not my girlfriend."
"She know that?" Logan goaded.
"It's none of your business, Logan. Stay out of it."
A few of the guys shared looks, but Mason seemed unaffected. His hand rubbed up and down my back as he scooped me into his lap. He nuzzled my neck and I closed my eyes. My bones melted into him. I couldn't leave, no way. But he didn't seem to mind. His arms wrapped around me and his hand rested low on my stomach. His thumb caressed me there, back and forth in a normally soothing motion.
Now, however, it was anything but soothing. I squirmed in his lap from the desire pulsating through me. The flames of lust had been lit before, but now they were a fire. I'd be a bonfire if he kept up his ministrations.
"
You
stay out of it," Logan retorted. "I'm getting sick of Parker's attitude. She prances around here and brings her friends over like they own the place."
"No, they don't." Irritation was evident on Nate's face. His eyes flared in anger. "Why don't you say what you're really pissed about? I doubt it's anything to do with Parker." He paused a beat. "Maybe you got a girl on your mind, one who actually was your girl. Is she what this is about? Your panties all twisted because Tate made an appearance tonight?"
Mason's lips left my shoulder and he looked up. His hand continued to rub my stomach. It shifted further down and slipped underneath my pants, but stayed there. I was burning up.
"Shut up about Tate."
Nate leaned forward. "Shut up about Parker then."
"I'm not fucking Tate."
"And I'm not fucking Parker." He paused again with a wicked grin. "Right now. I'm sitting here. Right now."
Logan rolled his eyes. "So funny, Nate. You're a riot."
"You think you're the only funny one here?"
I
frowned; the burning from Mason's caresses had started to ebb. Nate and Logan were scowling at each other from across the table. The other guys were silent, their eyes darting back and forth as they listened to the argument. Everyone waited to see what Mason would do. He could speak up, end it, or he could let it keep going. For now, he had stilled underneath me. He was listening, but he wasn't tense yet. I knew he wasn't going to step in yet.
"You're saying that you can be funny with that stick up your ass?"
I sucked in my breath, so did the others.
Mason tensed beneath me now and I tensed with him.
Nate grilled him with a warning. "Back off, Logan, about this. I'm the only one containing the girls. They haven't done shit to Sam because I won't let Parker do a thing—"
Logan's eyes flared. "What?"
One of the guys moaned, "Fuckkk mee."
Nate clamped his mouth shut when he realized what he let slip.
Mason was like stone beneath me now. He turned to me, a mask over his face, before he looked back at his best friend. "You want to explain that comment?"
Nate closed his eyes, cursing himself, but when he opened them again, they were strained. "I'm sorry, Mase. I should've said something earlier—"
"—Yeah," Mason interrupted him. "You should've, but you better explain it now." His hand kept me on his lap with an iron hold. I couldn't even squirm. His other hand formed into a fist.
Nate's eyes were on that fist as he started, "The girls haven't been too welcoming to Sam."
"Since when?"
"Since," his eyes shot to mine. He flashed an apology in them. "Since you started dating and bringing her around. They don't like her at all."
"Why not?"
"Why not?" Nate laughed softly. "You're kidding, right? You know those four. No one gets in unless they put the girl through hell and misery. You think they're going to let Sam into the group without
the same conditions? It don't matter if she's with you. Probably makes it worse, you know, since Kate's the ring leader."
"Kate was nothing to me." A dark scowl had formed on Mason. It grew with each word Nate added.
"She knows that
now
. You threw her aside." He hesitated, choosing his words with caution. "She's boiling because you dropped her. They're all boiling mad because you don't give them the time of day anymore."
Mason leaned back. He kept me on his lap. "They're not my friends. They're yours. They're the guys' friends, they aren't mine."
Logan cursed.
Ethan spoke up, "The girls don't look at it like that. They think they're friends with you."
Mason narrowed his eyes. "I could give a shit about them. I'm not friends with girls anyway, much less now when I'm with Sam. The only female friend I had was Marissa."
Nate spoke up, "Yeah and look at what happened to her. She had to leave school because of those girls."
"That was because of Tate."
"And who was she friends with? The four of them. You know what they're like with new girls. You didn't think about how'd they be with Samantha?"
"She's with me." Mason scowled at him.
Logan added, "And she's family. She's my family."
Nate shrugged. "That's why no one's spoke about this to you guys. They knew how you'd react."
Logan's eyes switched to mine. They were dark and angry. I stiffened as he asked me, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it's my problem, not yours."
Mason exploded now. He lifted me in the air so I was straddling him. Grabbing my chin, he peered into my eyes. "Are you kidding me?"
I gulped at the rage from him, but I tightened my resolve. "It's my problem, not yours. I'm the girl coming into their group. I'm the one who's going to have to deal with them in the locker rooms or the bathrooms. You can't protect me everywhere, Mason."
"They won't touch you. I won't allow it."
I stuck my chin out and folded my arms. "I can't earn their respect if you're the one that's demanding it. I have to demand it. I have to earn it from them." I waited a heartbeat. I was too scared to breathe. "You know I'm right."
Mason was locked in a stand-off against me. He knew I was right. I knew I was right. His intimidation could only go so far, especially with these girls. These four girls were at the top of their school. They were tough. They weren't afraid of getting dirty, and they were loyal to each other. If I didn't want to go to school with fear every day, I would have to stand on my own against them. Mason would be gone after a semester; then it'd just be me and Logan. I needed to do this now.
He sighed and leaned back. He grumbled, "This is bullshit, Sam."
Relief burst inside of me. It was overwhelming, and I almost slumped against him, but I kept myself sitting up. My thighs tightened around him and I sucked in a ragged breath. I couldn't believe it had been that easy.
But it wasn't.
He lifted his head and met the gazes of his friends, one by one. "But the girls are exiled." He turned to Nate. "Is that going to be a problem with you?"
Logan let loose a whoop, but covered it up with a cough. The wicked grin couldn't be hidden.
Nate groaned, "Fine. That's not a problem."
"You sure?" Mason asked, heated.
"I'm sure. Like I said, Parker's not an exclusive thing. Might be good if she starts to realize that sooner rather than later."
Mason looked across the table. "Is that a problem, Fischer? I know you and Jasmine hook up."
He lifted his hands in surrender. "No problem at all. I knew it'd come to this anyway." He gave him a crooked grin.
The two other guys nodded their agreement, and it was done. Just like that. Whatever Mason meant by exiled, the rest of the guys would follow through.
After another hour on the patio, I grew restless and needed a bathroom break. Mason looked up, silently asking if I needed him with me, but I shook my head. I needed to start handling the girls on my own; besides, I had spotted a few of my friends below us. Adam was there, and I knew Becky and her boyfriend wouldn't be far. I spotted Lily and Anne from the diner as well, so I wanted to say hello.
As I weaved through the crowd, I caught sight of Heather. She looked out of place. Her eyebrows were bunched together in confusion. Two guys stepped into her but she swung to the side and evaded their drunken steps. That was when she saw me and her face cleared of all anxiety.
"There you are."
As she drew close, I frowned. "Hi. What are you doing here?"
She was shoved forward from someone, but she rounded with a growl emanating deep from her throat. They were already gone. Her shoulders dropped and she turned back. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
I continued to frown at her.
"I didn't know if you had told Mason and Logan about the Broudou siblings?"
"Oh yeah." It all flooded back to me, but I shrugged. "A lot happened that night. I haven't even gotten around to telling Mason about those guys."
"You haven't?" Her eyes went wide.
"Yeah." I grinned, ruefully, and led the way for the bathroom. "Like I said, a lot has happened."
"Like what?" Interest sparked in her.
"I'll tell you later, much later. It's a long story." We grew closer to the bathroom. I didn't want to use mine since Mason kept the doors locked during parties so I picked one in the basement. The downstairs was less crowded, and there wasn't a line. But the door opened and Parker led her group out of the room. They were headed upstairs, we were headed behind them.
It was a stale-mate as Parker careened to a halt. The rest of her group stopped with varying stages of hostility.
I gulped.
Parker stood and sneered at me, and her best friend Kate stepped to the side. The other two went to her other side, Jasmine and Natalie…I think?