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WHEN JASON ROUNDED the corner with Mackenzie, and Kara, I almost spilled my beer. Although I knew she’d be at the party, I’d been having so much fun that I’d temporarily forgotten about her and the bullshit. Now that we were face-to-face, I had to remind myself that the only way I could get back at her, and pay for the damage to my car, was to win the bet with Gus.
“Wait, which girl is going to be your partner?” Bruce asked.
Jason put his arm around Mackenzie’s shoulder. “She is. Mackenzie, right?”
She nodded.
“Fine. I get Kara,” Bruce said.
“I’m only playing if I don’t have to drink,” Kara said.
Bruce let out a long, obnoxious burp. “You’re drinking right now. What’s the difference?”
Before she could reply, I cut in. “Kara, you can be my partner. I’ll even drink for you.”
Kara grinned. “You haven’t seen me play. You might be crawling out of here. You sure about that?”
“You haven’t seen me play either. I’m not worried. Let’s set it up,” I said.
Mackenzie looked up at Jason. “Just a warning, I’ve never played before.”
“No problem, Gorgeous,” Jason replied.
I rolled my eyes.
Talk about trying too hard...
I couldn’t blame him, though. She looked damn good, especially in the soft sweater she had on. I could almost feel it under my fingertips as I watched Jason stroke her shoulder lightly. Watching him touch her so familiarly was also starting to piss me off.
Blushing, Mackenzie shook her head.
He explained the rules.
“We have to drink the entire beer?” Mackenzie asked, not looking too sure.
“Yeah, but they’re not filled all the way. You’ll be fine,” Jason replied. He still had his arm around Mackenzie’s shoulder. As much as I hated her for fucking with my head, I recognized that I was jealous. I didn’t want anyone touching her like that. It was infuriating.
“Maybe they should practice,” I said, wanting his hand off of her.
“Good idea.” Jason let go of Mackenzie. “You and Kara can practice while I go and fill up a couple of pitchers of beer. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” said Mackenzie.
Was it me or did she look relieved to have his arm off of her too?
Jason disappeared and we filled the cups up with water, to let the girls practice. As they were taking turns, Bruce pulled me aside.
“I take it Jason doesn’t know what Mackenzie did? He’s obviously going to try smashing her tonight.”
“I have no idea,” I said, clenching my jaw at the thought. I didn’t want him touching her before I won the bet. With every drink of my beer, I was more determined than ever to beat Gus.
“Maybe you should say something?”
I shook my head. “Nah.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve got other plans,” I replied, regretting the words as soon as they were out.
He looked at me curiously. “Really? For getting back at her?”
“I’ll tell you about it later.”
He smiled. “You’d better.”
Jason returned a few minutes later. Following him was trouble with a capital M.
Mattie.
And her hens.
From the looks her girlfriends shot me, they were all pissed off at me now, too.
Fuck it.
I didn’t care.
I was just as tired of Mattie’s little groupies. They had no backbone. She could talk smack about them right to their faces and they’d smile and take it. If there was one thing I could appreciate about Mackenzie, besides her looks, was that she wasn’t a coward. She might be a lying bitch, but she certainly wasn’t afraid to stand up to Mattie.
Feeling tense, I took another gulp of beer. I knew from experience, especially if Mattie was drinking, my night wasn’t going to get any better. I thought about taking off, but I wanted to stick around. Something told me I needed to.
Mattie smiled coolly when she saw me, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked directly over to Mackenzie and began talking to her as if they were old friends.
What the fuck?
“I heard you’re going to be on Jason’s team,” Mattie said.
“Yeah. I hope he’s thirsty because I’m not very good at this,” Mackenzie said, laughing as she missed throwing another ball into one of the water cups.
“I’m always thirsty,” Jason said. “But... I don’t intend to lose.”
“Especially, if you’re playing against Chase.” Her eyes hardened as she stared at me. “You still seeing straight, Adams? I heard you played against Bruce last time.”
“Like Bruce could or would beat me. He loses on purpose so he can get shitfaced,” I replied.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bruce said. He gulped down some beer and let out another long burp.
Audra and Celine giggled.
Jason started refilling the cups with beer as I kept an eye on Mattie. I wasn’t sure what she was trying to pull, but knew she was up to something. She caught me staring and her lip twitched in amusement.
I turned to Jason and lowered my voice. “What’s going on with you and Brea?” Breanna was a freshman in college and had been his girlfriend since last summer. She was smart as hell and had even skipped a grade because of her IQ.
“Nothing. We broke up.”
“Why?”
“Long distance relationships aren’t my thing,” he replied and glanced over at Mackenzie, who was cheering on Kara as she practiced. “At least not tonight.”
In other words, he was definitely going to make a move.
“She’s dating Gus,” I murmured. “You know... from Lancaster.”
He shrugged. “Fuck Lancaster and fuck him. He’s not here tonight. Free game.”
Normally, Jason and I had similar mindsets. If we liked a chick, and she was willing and able, we took advantage of it. Hell, I was definitely no saint. I’d cheated on Mattie, even when we’d been together. But, the thought of Jason fucking Mackenzie, before I got the chance, made me livid.
“You okay?” Jason asked with a funny smile. “You look like someone pissed in your Wheaties.”
I forced a smile to my face. “I’m fine.”
He looked over at Mackenzie and back to me again. “Oh, shit. I think I know what the problem is. Is that the girl who keyed your car?”
“From what I hear.”
“She admit to it?”
“Nope.”
He smirked. “Maybe I’ll fuck the confession out of her.”
My eye twitched.
“Hey, let’s get this game going. I’m playing winner,” Bruce called out from the other side of the table.
“Hold on to your horses,” Jason replied, filling the last cup. When he was finished, he looked over at Mackenzie. “You ready to play?” he asked loudly.
She nodded.
He looked at me and winked. “Me, too.”
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