Ten feet away.

Jason’s breaths came in quick gasps.

Eight feet.

Claire threw him a look. “Maybe we can remember why we even came tonight?”

Six feet.

Jason wasn’t listening anymore. He was frozen, his gaze fixed off to the side. He watched Kade coming from the corner of his eye and let out a shrill breath through his nose.

Four feet.

I didn’t know the guy, but now I was on edge too. I turned so I couldn’t see him, but I could still feel his approach. His presence was even more overwhelming up close. Two feet away—one—and he walked right past us. His group followed, taking over a bunch of loungers that surrounded an empty bonfire pit. A keg sat in the center and as Kade got a drink, his friends filled theirs after him.

Jason wheezed. “I was pissing myself there for a moment.”

Claire cursed under her breath. “I told you it’d be fine, and look what happened. He asked where the keg was. They pointed it out for him. If you would’ve let me talk, I could’ve explained that, and also that no, they didn’t bring up your name.” Her eyes blazed. “Whatever. I’m going inside to hang out with friends who are actually nice to me.”

She took off, and Jason rolled his eyes. He shifted closer to me, his arm brushing against mine. “She’s the one who told me I was beneath Kade. Whatever, my ass. Maybe he is above me. Maybe I’m small potatoes compared to him, but so is she. She hangs out with the philosophy club.” He laughed. “Does that sound like someone Kade would date? Someone who’s into philosophy? He’s all about sex, fighting, and having his brother’s back. There’s only one girl I’ve heard he’s ever been loyal to, and it ain’t her. That’s for sure.”

My insides had begun to churn. My mother. My dad. Even my ex. I didn’t need this. “Can you stop? I thought we came to get drunk tonight.”

Jason caught himself before he could speak further and swung his gaze my way. “I’m sorry, Taylor. I…Claire…” He finished his drink, and after tossing the cup on the ground, he wrung his hands together. “We’ve grown apart since school.”

The knot was back. It took root at the bottom of my throat. “I’m beginning to see that.”

I should’ve asked what happened, why they’d grown apart, or how they had put up a good front for me over the last nine months, but the truth was that I didn’t care. I would someday, but I didn’t that night. I looked over at Kade and his group, my eyes lingering on a beautiful girl who sat next to him. She had jet-black hair and a stunning face that could’ve graced any magazine cover. She wasn’t touching him, he wasn’t touching her, but they were close. That was obvious.

I jerked my head toward them. “Looks like you don’t have to worry about him now.”

“Yeah. Guess not.” He linked elbows with me. “Come on, friend. You said you wanted to party, so let’s go do that. Let’s drink ourselves all the way back to high school.”

“That sounds fanfuckingtastic.”

Jason chuckled, and a couple of pitchers later, we were in two lounge chairs on the front lawn. I lost track of time, but I was happy. Or I had the buzz to make me feel happy. The world was a little blurry, just how I liked it. Jason just came back with the third pitcher and he plopped down when a girl came around from the back of the house. She was headed for the street, but before she could slip through two cars, some guys surrounded her. They seemed to have materialized from the road, stopping the girl.

She backed up at the same time Jason leaned forward in his chair. “Oh no.”

I looked. “What?”

“Move, assholes. I’m leaving,” the girl said. She wasn’t scared. She was annoyed.

Jason said to me, standing up, “That’s Samantha and those are Sebastian’s guys. This is so not good. Not at all. Hold on.”

“Who’s Samantha?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. I looked over and saw he wasn’t there.

As he disappeared around the house, a few people had followed Samantha to the front. Those people stopped, saw what was going on, and turned back to their friends. Pretty soon, more and more people started to come around the house. Soon a crowd started to fill in around her. I stood up, going over too. Maybe it was the beer in me, or maybe it was because of my own tragic douchebag ex-boyfriend, but I wasn’t going to let her stand there to be gawked at alone. My confidence that anyone would help was at an all-time low, so fuck it. I was going to help.

Damn the consequences.

I stepped closer, recognizing the girl now as Jason’s words clicked. This was the girl who came with Logan Kade. She stood now with her hands at her sides, her feet set apart. Her shoulders were back and ready as she watched the guys. She was ready to fight, and a nervous flutter moved through me, but there was an excited flutter right next to it. No. That was an angry flutter, but it was bordering on excitement. I was ready to fight, too, and remembering a time when someone who hadn’t stuck next to me, who should’ve, spurred me on.

“Get Logan,” someone yelled.

Another girl asked, “Where is Logan?”

I heard other people saying the same thing, but I focused on the girl.

She raised her chin, and a warning flashed in her eyes. “Touch me. I dare you.”

There were three of them, all tall and, not to be stereotypical, but they looked like preppy douchebags. Each was good looking, with bodies built like they rowed every morning for hours. They looked like money. It practically dripped from their clothes. Their jawlines were rigid enough to form glaciers.