I glanced up at him as he said that, rounding the car for the driver’s seat. I tried to judge if there was an undertone or hidden meaning in his statement, but as Mason got into the car and started the engine, he didn’t seem to hold on to anything. His shoulders were relaxed. He grinned at me and reached over to grab my hand when I got inside. He held my hand the entire drive back.

The tension from in the bedroom seemed to have lifted off his shoulders—at least for now—but I knew some of that was because Logan was here.

We were all here.

The house that loomed in front of us was large and in charge.

Music pounded from it. The lights were bright through the windows¸ spilling out onto the backyard. And people were everywhere. I glanced around the group of girls who opted to skip the movie night for this house party, and most looked scared. A couple were already drunk while my roommate was busy checking her phone. She had a bored expression on her face. I frowned, unsure of how to take that, but I understood the nerves from the rest. This was their first college party. To be honest, I was a little unnerved, but I thought it was more because I hadn’t told Mason I was going to this party. He thought I was safe and sound, sitting all cozied up with a bowl of popcorn, a blanket, and maybe even a wine cooler.

That was the plan until the movie reserved by the resident advisor sucked. After thirty minutes of most people spending time on their phones or taking restroom breaks, she let us go and threw in an invite to a party she’d heard about. It was her way of making up for the suck-ass movie. We were given directions and a few guidelines on what kind of guys to stay away from, and then she gave us the green light along with a request to save the puking for outside and not in the floor’s restrooms.

That led to a group of nine of us trekking across campus and down one block.

“So…” Summer cleared her throat, putting her phone in her pocket. “What do you say, ladies? Are we going to tackle this bitch or stare at it all night?”

Another girl, a little heavyset with red hair, smacked herself in the chest. She nodded firmly and declared, “Hell yes, we are.” She paused before adding, “Tackle this bitch, I mean. Not just stare at it all night. I, for one, want to meet a man, and that ain’t happening if I hang out with only you ladies this year.”

Summer thrust her fist in the air. “That’s the whoring spirit we want.”

I grinned.

The red-haired girl nodded again to us. “That’s what I have. Not a whore, but I have spirit. I have the drinking spirit tonight.”

Another girl, shorter than the rest with striking, blue eyes and white hair, piped up, “We need to buddy up. Sexual assaults happen at parties like these, so we need to check on each other.”

Summer grabbed my hand, holding it in the air. “My roommate’s mine.”

As they found their buddies, their hands joining ours in the air, Summer leaned closer to me. “I’m glad you came. You looked unsure about it before.”

I shrugged. “My boyfriend has enemies on campus. He worries.”

“Stay close to me. My mom worried about the same thing, so she made me take self-defense classes. You know,” her cheeks flushed as she lowered her voice, “because I’m a model.”

I glanced around, but the others hadn’t heard. “I know how to fight a tiny bit, but don’t be embarrassed about that. I get it. I really do.”

“I know. I just…” She waved a hand down the line of girls. “Most get jealous when they find out what I used to do for money.”

“Are you talking about the whoring spirit?” The heavyset girl joined our conversation along with the little female next to her.

“What?” Summer asked.

“What you used to do for money.”

“Oh. Uh…” My roommate was a deer in headlights. Her eyes were wide, and she went pale.

I stepped in, channeling some Logan, “She used to clean ass.”

All three of them snapped their attention to me.

I grinned. “She was a nurse’s aide. That’s what they do, but she didn’t want to let you know. All the jokes, you know?”

“Oh.” The heavyset girl scratched the side of her face. “That’s…completely understandable. I was a sandwich artist all through high school. It may sound great, but there’s really no art involved, if you get my drift.” She held her hand out. “I’m Kitty, by the way. With my name, trust me, I really do understand not appreciating the jokes.”

We all stared at her.

She glanced at each one of us and then explained, “Kitty’s not a nickname. It’s my real name. My mom was obsessed with Pink Kitty.”

“Oh.” I frowned. “I’m so sorry.”

“Ah, what can I do?” She waved it off and nudged her elbow to the white-haired girl. “This is Nina.”

“Hi.” Both Summer and I nodded and introduced ourselves.

Nina waved but glanced over her shoulder at the house. Most of the girls had gone inside.

Seeing this, she asked, “Shouldn’t we have a plan, so no one gets lost? And are we all walking back together to the dorm or going with our buddies? We are not prepared for this house party at all. Do we even know who’s hosting it? I heard some fraternity got disbanded last year. It’s not those guys, is it?”

I tensed, wondering what else she had heard, but Kitty had the answer. “Oh, no, I talked to Ruby.”

“Who’s Ruby?” someone asked.

Kitty’s eyebrows knitted together. “Our RA. Don’t you guys listen?”

Summer grinned at me.

Kitty was already saying, “She told me where some of those guys were holed up, and it’s not the same house. These guys are just a group of friends. She knows them. She said they’re pretty harmless, except for those two creepers she warned us about. Oh, and she was going to call to give them a heads-up that some of her girls were coming.” She pointed at us, including the group who had gone inside the house. “That’s us.”

Summer sucked in her breath, fighting back a grin.

“I think we should do a four-person buddy system. You two look out for us at the end, and we’ll do the same,” she said with precision and a firm head nod.

I glanced down, expecting her to do a little footstep. It’d sounded like she was starting a cheer. As I was waiting for the toe-heel movement, she linked her elbow with Kitty and began prancing up the hill to the house. Her free arm was swinging widely. Her head was high. Her shoulders were back. She even tossed back her hair with a head shake. Nina was ready to take the world on, one house party at a time.