That was the problem. Tate wanted something. I was starting to think every chick wanted something. Glancing over, my gaze lingered on Sarah. She was with her friends. She paused, watching me back and then tilted her head to the side and grinned at me. It was an invitation for more. My stomach clenched from anger. Even now, even after I laid it out how her mother wanted to use her, the girl was actually interested.

I was beginning to believe no girl was trustworthy.

8

CAUGHT

I could hear Logan and Tate in the hallway. She was giggling, then she shrieked, and his door shut a second later. His room was down the hall, but when his music switched on, I grinned. He was getting it on.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Kate. Want me to come over?

I leaned back from my desk. I’d been trying to do homework. Fischer had a party tonight, but I opted out. Coach wanted me to come in for extra training in the morning so I chose to stay in and be responsible.

Where are you?

Horny. That’s where I am.

I grinned, but typed back, I’m good. Talk to you tomorrow. Then I waited. Kate hated being rejected and I’d been rejecting her a lot lately. It was a while before my phone buzzed again. F U. Yep. I laughed. She was pissed. Logan kept telling me to hook up with other girls; that it would put Kate back in her place. To be honest, I didn’t mind other girls, but I wasn’t a whore and Kate was good in bed. She knew me. I knew her. It was comfortable and easy. The clingy shit was getting old though. I debated my next move. I could text back a smart-ass comment or leave it alone.

I sighed and tossed my phone in my drawer. I left it alone. Sometimes it was fun to see how pissed I could make her, but I didn’t want to deal with her anymore. She’d find another guy tonight and think I would care. I hoped she wouldn’t bring it up because I wouldn’t care. If another guy was dealing with her, good for him. She hated being reminded how little I gave a shit.

I had other things to deal with. With a plan set in my mind, I went downstairs for a quick mile sprint in the gym. When I came back, the hallway was dark and the music in Logan’s room had been turned off. When I passed his door, I didn’t hear a sound, so I figured they had passed out. Because of that, I didn’t lock my door. I had started to when Tate was around. She liked trying to spend time in my room. One time she brought her textbook and spread out on the couch before I even realized what she was doing. I had been about to kick her out, but Logan came in and lifted her feet so he could sit on the other end of the couch.

I hadn’t liked it and asked Logan the next day why he had his girlfriend hanging out in my room. He was startled and responded with, “Why not? I’m in there all the time anyway.”

I wanted to tell him his girlfriend was a skank, but I kept quiet. She hadn’t done anything wrong. My gut told me she would. It was only a matter of time. When I mentioned to him about seeing her outside of my room one night when Kate was inside, he laughed. He said, “Oh yeah. She told me about that. She wanted to talk to you about my birthday, but didn’t want to deal with Kate. Can you blame her?”

That told me two things: one, she was smart and she covered her bases; and two, he wouldn’t have believed me. He wouldn’t want to hear what my gut said about her; he was in love with her. So since that night, I kept my door locked. Logan questioned me about it and I told him the truth, “I don’t want to deal with the skanks in this house.” He assumed I meant our dad’s women. I let him. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tackle a fight with him. It would’ve been because of a girl, and I didn’t like letting a girl have that power over my relationship with my brother.

When I went to take a shower and came back out, I saw that fight had come to me instead. I was glad that I pulled my boxers on inside the bathroom. Tate was sitting on my couch. The room was dark, but I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what was going to happen so I grabbed my phone and pressed two on my speed dial for Logan without hesitation. This was her move, and she was doing it even though I never gave her any encouragement. Fine. So be it. I was going to record her. I silenced the phone so she wouldn’t hear and kept it hidden in my hand. Then I went and flipped the light on.

“Man, that’s bright.”

Ignoring her, I went to my desk and hit the webcam button. When it came up on screen, I hit record then hid the window right away. As I did, I turned it around so it was on Tate. Then I asked, “What are you doing here?”

She blinked, startled by my harsh tone, but smoothed it over with a grin. “Logan passed out. We were having sex.”

“I’m aware.”

She paused. I was cold to her, but she’d been trying to get close for months now, she was used to my attitude. She wasn’t going to stop. I saw the determination flash in her eyes. She gave me a seductive smile, turned her head so it was slanted, and said softly, “I didn’t cum with him, you know.”

“How’s that my problem?”

Her head went down. Then her hand went to her waist. She was only wearing a long t-shirt. It was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra and I doubted she had on anything else. She stood and her hand slid down to the edge of her shirt and she touched between her legs. “I was hoping you would help me out.” Her voice went low and throaty. She started to walk towards me. One slow step at a time. Her mouth curved up at one side and she licked her lips, holding my gaze. “I’ve been hoping for a long time, Mason.”

“Stay by the couch.”

I didn’t want her near me. She mistook it as a different command. Her eyes lit up and her mouth fell open. She was panting. “I think about you, when he’s in me.”