Laura frowned. “Was it Derek Wobb and his friends?”

Kelly groaned. “Of course. He’s such a pervert.”

And then I tuned them out. They gossiped the rest of the halftime and through the rest of the game. When the last alarm sounded, FCP had won 66-50. As I followed the girls down the bleachers and out to the hallway, I overheard a few veteran fans grumble. They thought if Mason and Logan had played, FCP would’ve smoked the team by another forty points. My eyebrows shot up, but pride filled my chest. The emotion stayed with me when I went to Laura’s locker with her and Kelly.

When Laura grabbed her jacket and book bag, she shook her head as another girl whipped past us. She had the same complaint. “We should be happy that we won, instead of griping that Mason and Logan didn’t play. Seriously.”

Kelly blushed and ducked her head down.

“Not you too, Kelly.”

Her shoulders lifted up and down. She turned towards a different locker. As she went, Laura grumbled and hugged her jacket and bag to her chest. “I can’t believe this school. Everyone is brainwashed to think Mason and Logan are these gods…” Her eyes flicked to me and her voice trailed off.

I laughed. “You remembered who I am, huh?”

“Sorry.”

I shrugged. “Six months ago, I would’ve agreed with you. They’re ass**les.”

She gave me a small smile. “Unless they care about you and I can see that they care about you. They’re not jerks to you. Mason wasn’t a jerk to Marissa either.”

“No, they aren’t.” I glanced down the hallway and saw Kate at the end of it. She stood in a group. Ethan was with them, along with the other guys I recognized from the parties. A few of them spotted me and frowned, but I turned away. “How did Mason and Marissa become friends?”

The statement felt odd on my tongue.

Laura shrugged. “Who knows? Everyone was confused by it too, Logan the most of all. He hated Marissa, but Mason never knew that. Logan was the reason Tate went after Marissa so much.”

“Really? I thought you said Kate bullied her?”

“They did. Tate was their leader at that time. She really hated Marissa. It was bad. Everyday something happened, but after a while Logan backed off. Tate didn’t, though. By that time, she and Logan had broken up and she seemed to blame Marissa for it.”

“Was she the reason?” I waited to hear her theory.

“I don’t think so. None of it made sense. No one really knows what happened, why Logan and Tate broke up, but Mason went after Tate instead. People left Marissa alone after a while and joined him against Tate. She blamed everything on Marissa and took it out on her. She was cruel to her and the school didn’t do anything to stop it. I always wondered if the school kicked Tate out for what she did to Marissa. They both left school, but Marissa was the first to go. I know Mason felt bad about it.”

“Why do you hate him so much?”

“I don’t hate him. I don’t like them, either of them.” She regarded me for a moment. “I’m just one of the middle people who aren’t sold on the Kades.”

“Middle people?”

“The people in between. We’re not at the bottom, but we’re not at the top.”

Someone shouted down the hall and we both turned. Then the shouting multiplied and everyone raised the volume another notch.

Laura sighed. “The teams out. Your boy’s gonna be looking for you.”

I looked around. “Where’d Kelly go?”

“She’s hiding.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s always had a crush on Logan. She pretends to hate him because I do, but I know she doesn’t really. The thought of both of them coming over here, I’m sure she’s worried she’ll wet her pants.” She grimaced as she looked over my shoulder.

Mason was headed our way.

“Anyways.” She gave me a formal smile. “It was nice meeting you, Sam. You can sit with us at any game.”

“Wait.” I grabbed her arm as she was about to slip away.

She gave me a sad smile, but pulled my hand from her arm. “I’ll see you later, Sam.”

“Hold on.” I blocked her and then turned to Mason. “What’s the plan after this?”

He frowned. His eyes lingered on Laura, but he replied, “We’re going to have people over to the house. Basement only.”

I nodded and smiled at Laura. “You’re invited. Do you know how to get there?”

She paled. “Are you sure about this?”

I shrugged. “Why not? You can meet my friend Becky. She’s like a hyper bunny on Ritalin.”

She seemed to pale even more. “I don’t know, Sam.”

“You’re coming.” Then I spotted Kelly and shouted, “Both you and Laura are invited over. Make sure she comes.”

Her eyes were wide, but she nodded. Her legs were trembling. After I made sure to get their phone numbers, I let Mason pull me away. His hand found mine and when we walked through the crowd in the parking lot, he tugged me close. As he maneuvered us through the few who hadn’t parted for him, he nibbled on my ear. Then he breathed on it. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

His hand slid to my stomach and he pressed against me.

I grinned and pressed back.

As he sucked in his breath, I turned and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m making different friends. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

As we got to the Escalade, he trapped me against it. We weren’t hidden from everyone, but his car and Logan’s provided a small semblance of privacy. He pushed against me and held my hands above me. His hips ground into me and I held my breath when he moved between my legs.

He whispered as he pressed kisses up my jaw, “I wanted you to have someone to sit with at my games. I liked having you there.”

I pulled my hands from his and wound my arms around his neck. His hands slid to my thighs and he picked me up. My legs went around his waist and he was firmly between them. I closed my eyes as I felt his bulge. If our jeans had been unzipped, he would’ve slid right in.

I laughed and tried to shake off the lust. It made me blind to reality and as I looked around, I saw a small crowd had formed. “Inside. Please.”

Mason grinned. He moved away, but not before he pressed a quick kiss to my lips. Then we were inside the Escalade and he peeled out of there.