Just then we heard the garage door slam shut. I held my breath; my heart racing when Nate turned the corner. Then a small hand appeared around his chest from behind, and a pair of tan legs slid between his as the hand groped farther south. A low moan sounded next. It ended in a feminine sigh as a pair of lips started to press against his arm and move upwards.
He stopped as he saw the three of us, but his eyes zeroed in on me. "What are you doing here?"
I jumped at the intensity from him. "What?"
All amusement fled from Heather as she turned to him, a scowl locked in place. "What's with the attitude, Monson? I thought she lived here."
His gaze went to hers, but the intensity was gone. He locked it behind a wall, and now he regarded her with a blank expression. I sighed. It was the same look Mason used on people when he wanted them to feel unwelcomed. It was a master tactic to make the other feel like scum beneath their shoes.
I gritted my teeth. He would not use that on her. "Stop, Nate. And what are you talking about, what am I doing here? I got off work early and Mason said he's at a family meeting."
The mask slipped a bit, and there was wariness instead. "Yeah, your family. Helen's out for Analise's blood."
The blood drained from my body. "What?"
He gave me a smirk now. It sent a shiver down my back, and not a good one like I felt with Mason. I was rattled to the bone when he said further, "They're at your house, Sam, with your mom. You're the odd-man out."
Shock started to form in my gut, but I heard myself mutter from a distance, "Why are you being a dick to me?"
His eyes went wide and his eyebrows shot up. "I'm not."
"You are," Heather retorted.
He frowned at her, but the girl behind him moaned in his ear, "Baby, can they go away?"
I narrowed my eyes. I recognized that voice. Everything slammed back into focus with me. Parker pressed against the front of him now. Her shirt had been tied around her neck, but it was undone. It fell around her waist, still on her as the knot hadn't been untied around her waist, but her br**sts were against him. She wore no bra, and the jean shorts on her were loose in the back so they must've been unzipped from the front.
That's why he'd been a dick. He was with her, one of the four that still hated me. When I shared a look with Heather, I remembered her warning about the Tommy P's. It was her nickname for those four, Parker, her best friend Kate, and the other two whose names I couldn't remember. Jasmine and Natalie? Maybe. I preferred Heather's reference to them, the Tomboy Princesses. The name fit them perfectly, and the one trying to lure Nate away from the kitchen had been the worst so far.
"Parker." Annoyance dripped from his voice as he gripped her arm and held her away. Her br**sts sagged, but she didn't cover them. She seemed shocked as she looked up. Disdain now filtered in as he finished, "Go to my room."
"But—"
"Go!"
She snapped to attention, but not before she sent me a loathing glare.
I lifted my chin in a challenge. The time would come when I'd need to deal with her and her friends, but it wasn't now. I thought about my new school and my gut dropped. It was her school; it was their territory. I was grateful for my job at Manny's. Heather would support me when I went there, as much as she could, as much as anyone could.
"Your girlfriend's a bitch," she informed Nate as soon as we heard an upstairs door slam shut.
"She's not my girlfriend." He shot her a dark look but then shrugged a second later and looked at me. "I'm sorry, Sam, if I was being a dick. I didn't mean to be."
It was who he'd been with. Her derision must've rubbed off on him, but I held my tongue. Heather bit her lip as she frowned at me, but then my phone beeped again. I read the text from Mason. 'Can you come as soon as you're done with work? At the house. Your mom threw a bowl at my mom.'
"I have to go."
But I had no car—I looked at Heather. She grinned. "I'll give you a ride." She winked at Becky. "You too, oldie but goodie?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah." I latched a hand onto Becky's arm and dragged her behind me. "Her too."
Nate gave me a nod with a small grin as we swept out of the house. I knew it was his way of sending me another apology, but as I got into Heather's car, I wondered if that was the side of him that most people saw. He seemed nice and respectful, reserved even, whenever he was with Mason and Logan, but this Nate was different. Again, I remembered the comments about the trouble he and Mason would get into, the reason why his parents had him move away in the first place. But he was back…and I knew Logan already regretted it.
"Sam."
Becky was trying to hold back a smile.
My eyebrows shot up. "What?"
Then she handed me her phone.
"What is this?"
"Just look."
And I did, gasping when I saw the picture she had taken. It was a full frontal of Parker, when Nate had pushed her back. Her br**sts were on display. "You snuck this picture?"
She nodded, biting her lip from excitement.
"Let me see." Heather held her hand out and took a quick peak. She busted out laughing and handed it back. "Your oldie but goodie is a sneaky one, Sam. Good one, back there."
Becky leaned back, pleased with herself. "I couldn't help it. She was so mean. They weren't paying me any attention so…"