CHAPTER FORTY
ROWAN
Mason caught himself looking at me.
Again.
This time he actually seemed annoyed about it.
Which, honestly, was becoming weirdly entertaining.
“You know people can see you doing that, right?” I asked.
“Doing what.”
“That.”
“Very specific. Helpful.”
“You keep looking at me like you forgot what conversation you’re in.”
Jace made a loud choking noise behind us. “OH, that’s brutal.”
“Shut up,” Mason said without looking away from me.
Jace pointed dramatically at Luca. “He didn’t even deny it.”
“This shit is getting serious,” Luca said.
Tessa looked genuinely invested now. “I need one of you to make a terrible decision tonight.”
“We’re not doing anything,” I said immediately.
“Again,” Tessa replied, “be serious.”
MASON
At this point, defending myself felt useless.
No matter what I said, these idiots were gonna keep going.
And the worst part?
Rowan didn’t seem uncomfortable anymore.
Embarrassed sometimes, yeah.
But not pulling away.
Not shutting down.
That was new.
Jace leaned against the bar beside me. “So what’s the move here?”
“There is no move.”
“You’ve been standing next to her for like an hour.”
“People stand near each other all the time.”
“Not like this,” Tessa said.
“Like what?” Rowan asked.
Luca answered immediately. “Like you’re one drink away from making out.”
Jesus Christ.
Rowan nearly inhaled her drink wrong.
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Can you all relax for five damn seconds?”
“No,” Jace said. “This is the most emotion you’ve shown since sophomore year.”
“That cannot possibly be true.”
“You alphabetized your protein bars once.”
“That was efficient.”
“That was psychotic.”
ROWAN
Okay, maybe this group was actually funny.
Loud and annoying and slightly terrible.
But funny.
And Mason around them was different too.
Less sharp.
Less guarded.
Still controlled, obviously.
But human.
Which was honestly messing with my head a little.
Because I’d spent weeks thinking this guy was emotionally impossible.
Meanwhile Jace was out here exposing him like a federal investigation.
“You know what?” Tessa said suddenly.
“What,” Mason answered carefully.
“You’d be hotter if you admitted you liked her.”
Dead silence.
Absolute silence.
Luca physically turned away laughing.
Jace slapped the counter so hard the bartender glared at him.
I stared at Tessa. “Oh my God.”
“What?” she asked innocently. “I’m right.”
Mason looked at me.
That was the problem.
He looked at me instead of denying it immediately.
And suddenly my heart did something incredibly stupid.
MASON
I should deny it.
Easy.
Simple.
Normal.
Instead I looked at Rowan and completely blanked.
Because she was already staring at me.
Waiting.
And for one really dangerous second, I thought about telling the truth.
Horrible idea.
Catastrophic idea.
Luckily Jace ruined the moment by pointing across the rooftop suddenly.
“Oh damn.”
Everyone looked over automatically.
Two guys near the center of the party were shoving each other hard enough that drinks started spilling.
“Ah,” Luca said calmly. “There’s the mandatory rooftop fight.”
“College boys are exhausting,” Tessa muttered.
One of the guys slammed into another table.
People started yelling immediately.
Phones came out.
Typical.
“Okay,” Rowan said slowly, “maybe I actually do hate parties.”
Fair.
ROWAN
The fight got worse fast.
Not huge.
Just drunk-guy stupid.
One guy yelling. Another shoving back. Everyone around them acting like it was entertainment.
Security started moving through the crowd.
The whole rooftop shifted messy and quick.
“Time to go,” Mason said immediately.
There it was again.
Control mode.
But honestly? Appreciated.
Jace nodded. “Yeah, this is about to become a pain in the ass.”
Luca looked disappointed. “Cowards.”
Tessa grabbed his jaw. “Baby, you lose fights emotionally. Relax.”
“I could win one.”
“No, you absolutely could not.”
I snorted.
Then somebody slammed into my shoulder hard from behind trying to move away from the fight.
I stumbled sideways—
straight into Mason again.
At this point, it was becoming ridiculous.
Mason grabbed my hips this time before I could fall into the bar.
Firm. Fast. Instinctive.
And damn it, this one was worse.
Because now both his hands were on me.
MASON
Okay.
Yeah.
Nope.
This was getting dangerous.
Rowan looked up at me immediately, one hand catching against my chest to steady herself.
And suddenly all I could think about was the fact that she fit against me way too fucking well.
Bad thought.
Terrible thought.
Her fingers curled slightly in my shirt before she seemed to realize what she was doing.
Neither of us moved right away.
Again.
Jesus Christ.
“You two seriously need to either hook up or fistfight,” Tessa announced behind us.
Rowan laughed suddenly.
Right there against me.
And that tiny laugh completely ruined whatever sanity I had left.
Because now she looked up smiling a little—
and I had the incredibly stupid urge to kiss her.
Actual, real urge.
Not abstract attraction.
Not tension.
Kiss her.
Right here.
Right now.
Shit.