“Mia,” Melissa shouted from the firepit. She shoved a hot dog on a stick into the fire.
I took a deep breath and sank further into the cushioned seat.
Why couldn’t Mason care aboutmethe way he used to? We used to go on so many dates. He used to buy me flowers, create cute playlists to show how he felt about me. Hell, I’d appreciate a text every now and then.
“Mia,” Melissa said, hopping onto a seat next to me.
I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling startled, and stared at her, face void of any emotion.
She nodded to everyone now cuddling up near the fire and eating. “Come on. We’re playing Truth or Dare—not safe for workedition.”
“Melissa …” I sighed through my nose and threw my head back, staring up at the stars. “I’m not really feeling it right now.”
She sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, don’t give me that.”
“It’s nothing,” I said again, glancing at Mason. I frowned, partly because of the guilt and partly because I didn’t want to spend my life with someone who barely paid attention to me.Stupid Mr. Bryne putting stupid thoughts in my head about stupid Mason.
Melissa followed my gaze. “I told you to dump him,” she said yet again. Then, she winked at me. “Or … if you like him for his mon—”
“I don’t like him for the money.”
She raised a brow at me. “You can always have a little fun on the side.”
I gulped and closed my eyes. I never wanted to cheat. I really, really never did. I hated the guilt and the lies and the feeling of being exactly like my father.
“That’s what I do,” she said.
I stared at her with wide eyes. She had said it with such … with such … a lack of remorse, like cheating on her boyfriend didn’t make her feel guilty. Hell, I didn’t even know that they had gotten back together. When on earth did that happen? And when did she cheat on him? Did he even know?
She laughed and grabbed my hand, trying to pull me to my feet. “I’m kidding, Mia. I wanted to get you to smile.”
I yanked my hand out of hers, anger pumping through me, and sank back into the cushion. “Melissa, I’ll be over there later.”
She shrugged her shoulders and walked back to her father, telling him something. Mr. Bryne closed the grill and glanced over at me, holding a plate of food. I looked away from him and stared at my toes, wiggling them.
What is wrong with me? Why am I even letting him get into my head?
“Take it off!” one of the guys yelled.
The fucking chick who had been trying to get with Mr. Bryne all night stood up, shaking her head from side to side. All of the guys, drunk off their fucking asses, cheered.
I rolled my eyes.Jesus fucking Christ.Were we on spring break or in high school? Playing Truth or Dare and making people strip off their clothes? It was so damn childish.
I glanced over at Mr. Bryne to see him picking up his plate of food and heading straight towardme.
“Don’t you want to see the show?” I asked, voice dripping with anger, when he approached me. I didn’t even know why it had come out that way; it just had. I crossed my arms over my chest. Maybe I wanted him to watch, so I’d have a reason to stop obsessing over him.
I could convince myself that what was going on between us would’ve gone on between him and any of Melissa’s friends. That I wasn’t special to him. That he really didn’t care about me as much as it seemed like he did.
Mr. Bryne placed a plate of food down in front of me and sat in the pool chair to my right. “Eat,” he said, grabbing a burger for himself.
I stared at the food, my stomach growling, and snatched a burger.
We ate in silence for a long time. I didn’t dare say a word because I didn’t know what to say to the one man I was trying so hard to avoid. When he finished his food, he looked over at Mason, who was doing God knew what for his dare.
