He shared my grin. “And lots of it.”

And then my grin turned serious. We hadn’t talked about it, but I knew I needed to know. “What happened at the game last night?”

He glanced over and measured me for a moment. Then he turned back. His tone wasn’t masked, but it was flat. “Those guys from Roussou showed up. They’re pissed because the cops are pressing charges against a few of them. Their whole camera editing stunt backfired on them. They wanted me to take the fall. Didn’t happen.”

My chest tightened. “What happened to those guys at the game?”

“Cops knew they might show up. There are some people in their camp who don’t feel they should be going after us anymore. I guess they tipped the cops off, or that’s what they explained to us. I don’t care. Those guys got arrested last night. They violated their restraining order. The school has one against them now too.” His hand clenched on the steering wheel as his jaw tightened at the same time. “I don’t think we’ll be able to play them anymore this season.”

“Really?”

“Or if we do, there’s going to be a ton of cops at that game.”

I watched how his jaw seemed to be made of stone now. “Are you guys planning retaliation?”

His eyes slid to mine. There was a dark intensity in them. “What do you think?”

I released the breath I’d been holding. My hands jerked from the release. “I think…I don’t want you to get hurt.” My own jaw hardened and I looked straight ahead. “Or caught.”

I felt him grin, though I didn’t look.

And then he pulled into the parking lot, parking beside the golf course. Thirty cars filled the lot, and when we entered the foyer, two big guys were dressed in black suits and white ties. They were stone-faced as they looked us both over. One held a clipboard up. “Name?”

“Samantha Strattan.”

He glanced down, but a frown appeared.

“I don’t think we’re invited to this event, but—”

“Are you Mason Kade?” The other guy interjected. He seemed enraptured by him. I saw a flicker of admiration.

“Yeah.”

The clipboard went down right away. Both of them nodded. “Go ahead.”

I couldn’t make a snide comment. I already knew he was a celebrity within the town. He was more since the YouTube clip.

When we stepped into the main room, it was full of clinking glasses, raised conversations, and children that dashed around the tables and between the adult’s legs. I skimmed the room for Becky, but she saw me first. I heard my name from across the room and saw her in a back corner. Her eyes were wide and she stood on her tiptoe. Her hand waved back and forth and her chest was puffed out.

I signaled her with a small wave, but she never stopped. Her hand moved faster back and forth.

When we got closer, I saw she stood with her family. Her mother was in a conversation with Malinda Decraw, who had a hand on her elbow. A large smile was on both of their faces and then they erupted in giggles.

One of Becky’s brothers ran past us, but Becky grabbed him and captured him. “Hey, squirt.” He ripped himself free, snarled at her, and disappeared around a group of strangers.

She sounded out an audible sigh. Her hands found her hips. “Such a brat.” Then her smile switched and blinded me. “Hi! I didn’t know you were coming tonight. This is awesome. Hi, Mason.”

He glanced at her but shifted so he stood behind me. His hand rested in the small of my back. I knew he had checked out of our conversation.

“Hi.” I looked around. “So what brother won an award?”

“Oh, stupid Jake.” She gave a dismissal wave. “He’s such a brat too, but some science magazine thinks he’s a genius. I don’t know. Good for him, I guess. Not that he’ll go into science when he’s older. He wants to be like Adam. He’s already told me.” Her irritation was evident. “He wants to be the quarterback and nail hot girls. Those were his words. Hey, guess what?!”

I blinked from the sudden switch. “What?”

Her hand grasped onto my arm. “I met a boy last night! Can you believe it? I can’t. I had to keep looking at my phone all day to see if it was really true or I just had a great drunk dream. But it’s real. I’m in shock. We’re going out after this.”

“You are?” And then I took in her outfit.

The cheerleader uniform was gone. Thank goodness. I had assumed she wore a simple lacy red dress for the event, but maybe not. “Where are you going?” Her hair looked frizzy. I bit my lip as I knew she’d need to fix that.

“I don’t know.” Her hand curved into my skin and she started to bounce up and down. Her br**sts did as well and I clamped a hand on her shoulder to stop her. I shook my head. Then she rushed out, “I have a date, Sam! A real live date. I can’t believe it. I’m so over Adam. I think Rex wants to go to a party. I’m supposed to call him after this is done. He’s going to pick me up here.”

“Rex?”

Her head bounced up and down instead. “Rex Thursto.”

“Rex Thursto?”

“Uh huh. He’s really cute and skinny. I think he’s a pothead, but I don’t care. He liked how hyper I was. He said I was easy on the eyes, but then again they seemed glazed over. Oh well. I can’t contain my excitement. I’m so happy you’re here and I got to tell you. I wanted to text you all day, but then I didn’t. Adam said I shouldn’t—”

“Adam said you shouldn’t?”

She went still, caught in my crossfire. Her eyes twitched back and forth. The rest of her face was frozen. “Yeah. He did.”

“When?”

“Today.” Her voice had grown quiet. “Are you upset?”

“No.” I threw my arms wide. “Why would I be upset? You have a date and you were told by the guy who constantly jerks you around not to tell your friend? Becky, you’re smarter than that.”

Her cheeks turned red and she ducked her head. “I know. I know, but I mean—” She peeked underneath her eyelids at Mason and looked back down right away. “He said you were with him all day. I mean, why would you be interested in my life? You’ve got him…” She lifted a hand towards him, but it thumped back down against her leg.