CHAPTER TEN

They dropped off the fourth friend and the rest of us traipsed into the house. Logan picked up a phone and ordered a pizza. Nate snagged a cooler of beer and brought it downstairs to the media room. I followed behind. I didn't know why, I just did. When Mason turned on the news, I curled into a ball in one of the leather recliners and after awhile I tugged a blanket on top.

When the news came on and there was no word of my vandalism or whatever the guys had done, I uncurled my legs and headed to bed.

Mason followed me.

"What?" I went to brush my teeth in my bathroom.

He perched on my bed, studying me with an impenetrable gaze. He barely blinked. "That car thing should've been on the news. Cops would've been called."

"It wasn't." I moved back to the room after rinsing my mouth.

"You seemed sure of it."

"I was." I pulled off my top, then my bra.

He still didn't blink and he sounded bored. "How'd you know that guy?"

"He's the coach at my school." I pulled on a tight tank and then shimmied out of my pants. The light hadn't been turned on so the room was dark except for a small amount of light that shone through my windows from behind a clump of clouds.

"That was your dad."

I hesitated and held my breath. He looked like a statue, a god made of stone with the light's shadow on him. His eyes were intense as he seemed to stare through me, into me.

"Yeah," I spoke in a small voice.

He nodded. "I got it."

As he moved past, his hand brushed my leg and lingered on the curve of my thigh.

I closed my eyes as a stab of desire flared in me. This wasn't supposed to be. I hadn't expected this.

Then he moved past and out the door. My hands and legs were a bit shaky when I crawled under the sheets.

It was past midnight, but I lay in bed. My mind was reeling from the look on David's face. There was a haunted feel to him, then when he saw the firecrackers in my hand a look of disappointment came next. For a second, I'd been ashamed but then I remembered the lie he had been a part of and everything hardened, it all became clear again.

He deserved it. He deserved more.

'That was your dad…I got it.'

Mason's voice floated in there too. My chest tightened each time I heard it. His face was unreadable, he was always unreadable, but something softened when he spoke those words. Heat flared all over my body and I threw back the sheets. I gasped as the cool air hit my skin, but another need pulsated between my legs. I clamped them together and hoped it would pass. It was an annoyance and not something I needed right now.

The sound of my phone woke me the next morning. When I answered, Becky greeted me with a chirpy voice, "Morning! Whatchadointoday?"

"Huh?"

"Come over. My family's grilling this afternoon and Adam's family is coming too. It'll be fun."

I grimaced against how sunshiney her voice sounded. My head pounded. "Yeah, maybe."

"Oh, come on, Sam. What else are you going to do today? Homework? You can do it here."

"Why do I feel like there's no other option here?"

"Because there's not. Be here in an hour or I'm coming to get you."

I grinned at that threat. "It'll be more than an hour. I'm going to go for a run first."

"Okay. Just come. We start grilling after church."

The clock said it was nine. "When is that?"

"After noon."

"You told me to come in an hour, but you're going to church?"

"My mom goes to church. The rest of us stay home."

"Oh. Okay."

"Just come. Okay, Sammm?"

"Yeah, okay. Be there in a couple of hours."

"See ya!" There she went away, chirping, as she ended the call.

It didn't take me long to get ready for my run and when I headed downstairs, the guys were in the kitchen. Coffee had been made and each had their own mugs. Mason lounged against a counter while Nate had hopped up on the counter. As I came closer, Logan was skirting around the kitchen. He seemed to be bouncing around with too much energy, but he stopped when he saw me first.

"Should we take bets? An hour? Two?"

Mason eyes narrowed over his coffee cup. "I say an hour."

Nate grunted and dropped to the floor. He busied himself inside the fridge.

Logan draped an arm over his brother's shoulders and grinned at me.

My back straightened. His smile seemed more of a leer and I heard the mocking tone in his voice.

"She did see her dad last night so I'm guessing two hours, maybe more? Sound right, wannabe sister?"

My mouth tightened and I grabbed a water bottle from the pantry. "Don't be stupid."

When I moved to the door, Logan was in front of me in a flash. He laughed at me. "Did I hit a nerve? Your claws are showing."

I shoved him out of the way. "What do you think?"

He opened his mouth for a retort, but I slammed the door shut behind me. I hadn't taken two steps away before I heard his high-pitched laughter on the other side. Mason barked something and it stopped.

I sighed, but tried to clear my mind. That was what running was for. My head needed to be clear. I needed to quiet the storm in me and after an hour, it was successfully subsided. Sweat dropped from me as I made my way back into the house and I hadn't made it to the stairs before I heard my mother's voice.