Has bshe /breced us alreadyb? /bDid we mean that little to her?

    “Princess, who’s Mason?” I ask in a restrained voice, not wanting to scare her, but letting her know I’m not happy about what I’m hearing.

    Xavierb? /b

    Her question is filled with surprise. Who else would it be? Not Mason, because that fucking prick is with her.

    “Answer the question, Princess,” I growl at her, my patience wearing thin. If I don’t get an eptable answer within the next ten seconds, I’m hunting her down myself.

    Her following words obliterate myst shred of emotions, making me see red in naught point five seconds.

    He’s this handsome young man who’s treating me to a movie tonight.

    Everything around me ceases to exist, my rage a visceral thing as I clench my phone so tightly, I won’t be surprised if the screen’s cracked by the end of this call.

    “La, I swear to all things holy, if you are out on a date with another guy, I will hunt you both bdown/bb, /band he will wish he had never even looked in your direction.”

    Rationally, I know I’m being unfair. I bwas /bthe one who dragged my feet in letting her know what I wanted for bus/bb. /bBut along with my calm of earlier, rationality has flown out the fucking window.

    b*/bThat’s not a very nice thing to say, Xavier. At least I don’t have to worry bthat /bMason will ever be so rude.”

    Her retort has me jumping up from my seat to start pacing the room. If I don’t get rid bof /bsome of this pent–up anger right now, bI /bcannot guarantee all the furniture here will stay intactb. /b

    My fury hangs on by a hair–thin thread bas /bbI /bask her with a steely voice, “Where are you? Tell me, right fucking now.”

    * Xavier. Language.”

    She fucking reprimands me. After what she’s done, she has the gall to chastise meb? /b

    But before I can go off on another tangent, her following muffled words slice through the heart I didn’t know I still had.

    I’ll be right there, Mason.

    Wholly speechless and numb, she rips thest bpieces /bof said heart from my chest with her bnext /bparting words.

    iSorry/i, I need ito /igo, Mason needs my ihelp /iiwith /iisomething/i. iGood /iinight/ii, /iiXavier/ii. /i

    And that’s it. That’s thest fucking straw. Hurtling my phone across the room, I roar, “Fuck!”

    Not knowing what to do with myselfb, /bbI /blean back against one of the living room walls, my hands pulling at the hair on bmy /bhead, breaths ragged, and my emotions raw.

    I know I have no right to be mad. I was the bone /bbeing a douche time and time again. And bafter /ba few intimate moments, I disappeared on her. Most likely solidifying her belief that I was pursuing her for sex only.

    But fuck, it hurts. I can’t believe she’s moving on so quickly. Did those moments that I thought bwere /bbspecial /bnot mean ianything /ito herb? /b

    And that’s why I’m pissed at myself because i was too much of a coward to go for what I wanted. For thinking she bfelt /babout bme /blike I feel about her. For opening myself up to the possibility of finding someone that could be more than a one–night stand, just to be proven correct that no bwoman /bcan be trusted.

    Another thought strikes bme/bb. /bDo the guys know about this “Mason“? Because bI /bbcan’t /bbsee /bher finding another bguy /band not being open and honest bwith /bthem about another potential suitor. bHave /bthey known all along and kept it from me? How long has this guy been in the picture? Was he waiting bin /bthe wings

    bChapter /bb58/bb, /bbXavier /bbPOV /b

    buntil /bbI /bbinevitably /bbscrewed /bbup /bfo swoop bin /band save the dayb? /b

    bFuck/bb, /bbI’m /bspiraling.

    Looking around the room, trying to see the others‘ reaction to the mention of this interloper, I see no emotion from them, except veiled amusement

    Dropping my hands, I look closer at their rxed postures, the slight smiles on their faces, and the conspiratorial look Hunter gives the others before he btypes /bsomething out on his phone.

    bWhat /bdo bthey /bknow that they’re not telling me? Since when do we keep secrets from each other? Have I lost them too because of my indecisiveness?

    Directing my gaze at Hunter, who seems to know more about what’s going on than he’s willing to divulge, I ask, “Hunter, do you know who this Mason is? bI’ve /bcalmed down somewhat, so the words aren’t said through clenched teeth like they would have been a few minutes ago.

    b“/bWho?” he asks, looking up from his phone with a smile, but not giving me his full attention.

    b“/bMason. The new guy La just mentioned.” His nonchnce bis /bstarting to piss me off again. How can they be so casual about another bguy’s /bname on bour /bgirl’s lips? Yeah, she’s still our girl.

    “No idea, man,” he says, “Do you guys know who this Mason isb?/bb” /bhe bdirects /bhis question at Cade and AJb, /bwho shrug indifferently before shaking their heads “no“.

    “Do you know where she is tonight?” I ask the room as a whole, hoping to get bsome /bbanswer /bthat bisn’t /bbevasive /bbas /bshit.

    Cade answers me, “She mentioned something about movies and popcorn. She didn’t bsay /bwith whom, though.”

    b“/bAJ,” I ask, hoping against all odds, he has more information than these two idiots bI /bcall friends, “where’s La?”

    “Last I checked in with her, she was at home,” he replies. But that doesn’t ease the tension in my shoulders one bit.

    “Whose home?” bI /bask suspiciously, needing to hear the words, bso /bI can feel justified when I go over to this fucker’s home, wherever it may beb, /bto burn it to the ground.

    “Tessa’s ce,b” /bis his short answer before he goes back to channel surfing, the movie having finished somewhere during the time I was losing my fucking mind.

    That can only mean one thing. He’s with her, at her ce. Enjoying herpany, hearing herugh joyously, and most likely touching her every chance bhe /b

    bgets/bb. /b

    Well, fuck that. And fuck him.

    I can guaran–fucking–tee that by the end of the weekend, she’ll know exactly who she belongs bto/bb, /band that she’s not getting rid of me that easily.

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