“Is money just in the water or something? Is getting rich contagious here? Because shit, who do I kiss to get sick?”
I grinned, getting out and circling to his side. “Not these people.” I filled him on the history with Quinn when I first picked him up.
“Why’s Sam here again?” he asked, following me to the front door.
I didn’t answer because I was wondering the same damned thing.
I rang the doorbell.
SAMANTHA
I was having déjà vu from high school, except it was Matteo behind Mason and not Logan.
“Hey!” Mark approached them, his hand raised for a fist-bump. Mason frowned, but lifted his hand, and Mark threw his arm around my boyfriend’s shoulders. “You’ll never guess where Sam and I got a job today.”
Mason’s narrowed eyes moved in my direction. I shifted on my feet, tugging my shirt down. I’d been doing that since we arrived. It was my nervous habit—that and smoothing a hand over my stomach. I always tried to calm the nerves in there, but it never actually worked. I caught myself doing it again and cursed under my breath, letting my hand fall away.
Mason made his way to me, leaving Matteo and Mark to do their own fist-bumps. Matteo had met my stepbrother on a few visits, and the two had loved each other at first sight. Add Logan to their mix, and they were too much to take sometimes. Their bromance was on steroids.
“What…” Mason started, taking the chair next to me.
We had settled around tables surrounding Cass’ pool.
“Mark said he just wanted to pick something up. That was an hour ago.” I didn’t share how that “something” had turned out to be his girlfriend. They’d been in a back bedroom until twenty minutes ago when Mark came out and told me Becky and Adam were coming over. I cast Mason a quizzical look. “I almost fell off the chair when Mark said you were coming. I was getting ready to run home when he told me that.”
He groaned. “If I’d known that, I would’ve just come to pick you up.”
I was about to ask what was stopping us from going now, but I caught his glance at Matteo. That was the problem. “He looks so happy to see Mark.”
“Yeah.”
“We can leave him here, come back later.”
Mason gave me a halfhearted smile. “I can be an asshole, but that’s a real douchebag move. I can’t ditch my buddy here.”
I refrained from reminding him how Matteo had ditched him at Channing’s fight. Mason was aware of that, so if he was sticking around, there was a reason.
“What was Mark talking about before?”
“Oh.” I rolled my eyes, ready to launch into the whole spiel when Becky and Adam came over. They’d arrived only five minutes earlier than Mason, so there’d been no awkward greetings. Yet. As Becky pressed a hand over her hair, trying to calm it, I saw how tightly she gripped Adam’s other hand.
“Hey, Samantha.” Becky’s voice hitched, sounding breathless. She bit her lip fiercely. “Uh…how are you?” Her hand jerked up, pointing to me. “It’s nice to see you here.”
There was the old Becky. Awkward. Self-conscious. Tentative. The girl I saw a couple years ago hadn’t resembled the girl who’d been my friend when so many turned their backs on me. She’d looked sophisticated with nice clothing, makeup, and her hair sleek. She’d seemed confident, too, and while physically she looked the same now, I felt some familiarity at seeing the Becky I used to know.
“Becky.” I indicated their joined hands. “You guys seem to be doing well.”
Her hand tightened around his. “Oh, yes. It’s been wonderful.” Her head tipped back, and she offered Adam a loving look. “Almost like a fairytale even.”
Adam mirrored her look, a soft grin teasing his mouth, before he focused on us. “So are you two. I mean, since junior year in high school. That’s a long time.”
I glanced at Mason. He’d been watching the exchange with an unreadable mask, but I saw through it. He was thinking, what the fuck is this?
I almost laughed. “Yeah. We’re doing good.”
Mason frowned. “Why the fuck are we here, Quinn?”
There he was.
I laughed now.
The old Mason, the old Quinn.
For whatever reason, it settled me.
Adam coughed. “Nice, Mason.”
“Sam thought she came here for a pit stop. We’re both only here because we were told about the other. It seems like a setup. What’s going on?”
Mark laughed uncomfortably as he migrated over with Matteo and Cass. “What’s happening?”
Mason fixed him with a look, his eyebrows slightly raised, as if he were asking, Are you serious? “We’re not friends with Quinn. Sam doesn’t hang out with your girlfriend or this one any longer.” He gestured toward Becky. “So why are we were?”