That was what I was getting right now. Hanging out in the backyard with Heather while everyone drank, flirted, shrieked, giggled, whispered, danced, and whatever else inside was fine by me.

That brought me back to her question, something that had not been discussed during dinner. I shrugged now, sliding down in my chair to get more comfortable. “It’s Park Sebastian.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. It was obvious Logan had been in a fight with Sebastian. Both were covered in bruises. When we got to the house, one by one, guys poured into the party, and they all had bruises, too. It looked like they’d been in a mass brawl.

Heather took a drag off her cigarette and flicked the end into an ash bowl set between the lawn chairs. The setup was already here when we’d come out. There must’ve been others in the house or at the party who smoked. I was grateful for some privacy, though.

“He’s the current big bad villain?”

I nodded. “He’s an asshole.”

She grunted, taking one more drag. “Aren’t they all?”

I peered at her, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. She looked good. Her blond hair had a slight curl to it. She was tanned, toned, and decked out in a simple black tank top. Her jeans were tight with holes and rips all over them. Underneath her ass cheeks were two slits in her pants, and as she had walked through the house before, all the guys had noticed. Her entire demeanor screamed sex and cool.

I sighed, grinning. “You look happy.”

Her blue eyes flicked to mine, and her lips slightly curved down. “Really?”

I sat back up, straightening in my seat. “You’re not?”

“I’m a fucking mess.” She ground out her cigarette and pulled out a second one. Lighting it, she murmured, “I have no clue what’s going on with me and Channing. And—” She stopped talking but glanced at the house for a second. She didn’t say a word. She just stared at the house before her gaze fell back to the cigarette in her hand. “You know I screwed Logan, right?”

I nodded. “I knew that night.”

“You weren’t mad?” She seemed to have been holding in her breath.

I shook my head. “There’s always been a flirtation between you two. I figured it would happen when you told me that you and Channing were on the outs.”

“Oh.” Her head dropped back down. “Fuck me. I’m a piss-poor friend. I’m sorry, Sam.”

“For what?”

“I screwed him on your dad’s wedding night.”

I couldn’t hold back a grin. “I screwed my boyfriend that night, too. It was a good night for some lovemaking.”

A smooth and husky-sounding chuckle left her. She searched my face before putting the cigarette to her lips. “You’re seriously not mad?”

My head moved from left to right. “I’d be selfish if I were. I know it won’t last, and I know I won’t be put in the middle, if anything does happen.”

“It won’t last. You’re right there.” She chuckled again. “What’s up with your roommate?” She took a drag and gestured to the house with the cigarette. “She and Logan got a thing going? She texted me from your phone earlier. I forgot to mention it to you.”

“She did?”

Heather murmured, “Said you could use a friend, but I was already coming.”

“Oh.” I sat back. That’d been nice of her. Remembering her question about Logan and Summer, I shook my head. “Not yet anyway. Why?”

“She got all quiet when he came over after the game. I caught her looking at him a bunch during dinner, too.”

“Really?” Summer’s football boner was for Mason, but I shrugged. “She’s a big football fan. If she’s got something for Logan, I have no clue about it. Logan hit on her the first day I moved in, but that was it. She used to be a model—”

Heather’s top lip curved up. She spoke around the cigarette, “I was going to say, she could be a model. She must have guys galore crawling all over her.”

“She does.” Come to think of it… “I know she gets hit on a lot, but she doesn’t talk about the guys.”

With Dex, there’d been no word about him until the night we needed the gym, but there were other incidents. Pizza would be delivered from guys when we hadn’t ordered any. She would have flowers show up, too. I’d teased her the first few times, but she’d claimed there was no card. She’d said the flowers were for both of us, but I knew Mason never sent them. I’d asked him the first few times, and he’d denied it and asked if he needed to worry about another guy being in my picture. The whole thing was laughed off.

Now that Heather was bringing it up, I frowned. “Is that weird? I think she gets gifts from guys, but she doesn’t make a big deal about it at all.”

“Nah.” Heather tapped on the end of her cigarette and leaned back in her chair. “Just means she doesn’t want to deal with jealous chicks. She doesn’t have to worry about you, though. You ever been jealous?”

Marissa. “Yes,” I said matter-of-factly and quickly.

Heather was startled by the vehemence in my voice.

I added, “She got to go to school with him when I couldn’t. I hated her for that.”

“Oh.” Heather grew quiet. “Well, the chick got hit by a car. I’d say that was karma.” She grinned, waiting for my reaction.

I thought about it. I envisioned the truck hitting her and the look on her face in the hospital when she’d told me she loved Mason. I pressed my lips together. “I never thought that was funny.” But the laughter was boiling up in me. I tried stifling it. It didn’t seem right. I couldn’t. I laughed. And I didn’t stop. “You’re right.” Some more came out. I shook my head, wiping at the tear in my eye. “That’s hilarious to think about.”

Heather chuckled with me before she grew serious again. “Okay, for real. Where is that chick? Tell me you don’t have to see her, do you?”

“She was going to come back, but Mason told me she transferred. She’d e-mailed him during the summer to let him know he wouldn’t have to worry about seeing her.”

Heather groaned, throwing her head back. “That’s the worst. What a passive-aggressive piece of shit. Good riddance. The psycho chick can move on to someone else.”