Chapter thirty-three
STONE
Sheissodamn infuriating. It’s obvious she wants me as much as I want her. Why does she have to fight it at every turn? I’m trying to keep her protected here, and yet she defies me constantly. Now Winnie thinks she can ignore what I’ve said and continue taunting Ava? That’s not going to work.
Reid and Mason are both laughing when I head back over to them without Ava.
“I love her,” Mason says, laughing even harder as I death glare at him.
“What’s the deal with Cole?” Reid asks me.
“What? We know they’re just friends,” I say.
“Dude, if anyone knows that, it’s Reid.”
“Yeah, thanks, Mase,” Reid says sarcastically, and Mason smirks. I can’t wait for that smug asshole to fall for someone. “But I mean how come she’s allowed to go off with him?” I rub a hand over my face while I think about it.
“I did think about handcuffing her to me, but she’d find a way to escape or piss me off until I want to gnaw my own arm off.” I’m only half joking. “I trust Cole to keep her safe, and she needs someone here that’s not us, someone she can trust herself. He’s been there for her from the beginning.”
“Okay, so easy does it.” Reid nods appreciatively. “Why is she still so angry?”
“I have no idea.”
“Why wouldn’t she be? We’ve all been awful to her,” Mason reminds us.
“Yeah, but that was tradition. She was Highland.”
“So? Doesn’t mean she has to like it. And us all spending time with her and then dropping her like a hot coal wasn’t part of that.”
“No, but that was because I thought she was with Lewis.”
“Does she know that?”
Does she? She knows that’s what I thought, but did I explain that that was my fucked up reasoning? I swear I can’t think straight around her. She’s either pissing me off by fighting me, or I’m focused on not grabbing her and dragging her to the nearest private place to fuck. Or both.
“I’ll talk to her,” I tell Mason.