Cade threw his cup into the fire, and the flames erupted, causing an outburst from a group of girls nearby. He winked before turning to me. “I didn’t know you wanted on better terms with him. You’re usually avoiding his calls.”
“Yeah, well, that was before I realized Gemma was connected.”
The three of them nearly broke their necks looking over at me. Our tight group became a little tighter around bundles of students. “What do you mean? Like more connected than Bain fucking with her to get to you?”
I sighed, still keeping an eye on Bain as he wrapped his large arm around one of the girls who he often fucked. “Remember what I told you on Saturday? About Bain dropping guns at the Covens to some man?” They didn’t answer, but they didn’t need to. “It was Gemma’s uncle.”
“What?” Brantley’s eyebrows raised to his hairline. “Did she see him? Did she point him out?”
I clenched my jaw. “No. But she did recognize the Covens.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Cade dipped his head in low. “What does that mean? For her? Surely she hasn’t been there.”
I shook my head, glancing back at Bain over the sea of people. To be honest, I never used to mind these bonfires to celebrate our biggest rival games, but now that it was running into my tutoring time with Gemma, I found them to be annoying and fruitless. “There is a lot more to her than you guys know.” I met all three of their hard gazes, and Brantley swore under his breath.
“There’s more to you and her than we know, is what you mean.”
Shiner straightened his back, growing serious. “You’ve fucked her, haven’t you?”
“No.” But I wanted to. Virgin or not. Fuck, she was a virgin...right?
He laughed loudly as he scanned the crowd for what I assumed to be his next smash. Shiner was notorious for snagging a willing participant during the bonfires and fucking her against a tree deep in the forest. “And you’re already this into her? Interesting…” He paused before looking dumbfounded and mumbling under his breath, “I don’t get it.”
Cade sighed. “You’re already so into her that you’re going back on your own morals. You’re dragging her into a life that you swore you wouldn’t bring anyone into.”
“Like the life you wouldn’t bring Journey into?”
The muscles along Cade’s temple popped as he kept his profile to me. Silence passed through the four of us as we gathered our thoughts. I was growing even more annoyed that Gemma still hadn’t shown up. Maybe she was in the art room? Unease settled in, even as Bain stood across the pep rally, clearly not anywhere near her. I scanned the crowd, gazing over the small embers floating into the darkened sky, and sighed. “I am into her. I feel fucked up in the head. I’m possessive of her, protective, even more so now that I’ve gotten a small glimpse into her life, which by the way, I’m pretty sure is fucked up.”
Cade nodded. “She’s guarded. There’s a reason for that.”
“Gemma isn’t staying around for long, so this thing between us, whatever the fuck it is—”
“You mean the whole tutoring shit on the front to save your ass but kissing her so possessively at the claiming that everyone cummed in their pants?” Shiner interrupted.
I ignored him as I continued. “As I was saying… This…thing between us won’t last. She knows that. I know that. We’re both just…” I wasn’t even sure what to say. A female had never messed with my head before. I’d never even let someone get close enough.
“Fucked,” Cade answered, still locked onto the roaring fire. “You’re both fucked. Take it from me, Isaiah. Even if you deny it, you’ll be completely fucking destroyed in the aftermath. I see the way you look at her.”
The words went unspoken after that. And he was right. I did want to deny it. We all swore that we’d never fall for someone. The reasons were different for me, Cade, and Brantley than they were for Shiner, who was more guarded than most, but we all took the same damn oath one night after the claimings had started. Our lives weren’t normal, and we fucking recognized that. Being tied down to someone only ended in two ways, and neither of them were good. I knew that first hand. So why the fuck couldn’t I get my shit straight?
“It’s…” Fuck.
“I know,” Cade answered. “I know.”
Right before Shiner stepped away, he patted me on the back. “We’ve got your back—and hers. Won’t let anything happen to her as long as she’s here.”
“I don’t approve of this. At all,” Brantley ground out. “But we will not have a fucking repeat of Journey. We were caught off guard last time.” He leaned forward and shot a look to Cade, which was warranted because Cade had kept her a secret, and if we’d known they were sneaking around, we'd have been able to have a better grasp on things. “And we will not be caught off guard this time. Especially with Bain fucking around. He’s already sketchy with the roundabouts he does late at night. And after today, he’s on my fucking shit list.”
I barked out a laugh as I slid my attention to Bain. “My father says he’s untouchable, but fuck me if I’m losing sight of that.”
As if I needed a sign from above, my phone vibrated, and Jack’s name flashed on the screen. Right. I had more at stake than I liked to let on. “It’s Jack. Keep an eye on Bain, at least until Gemma gets here. He wants me to call him.”
“She’s right there.” Cade pointed his head up just as my uncle was walking her toward us. My finger swiped at Jack’s me
ssage as Gemma smiled at something he’d said. Her perfect, pretty lips curved slightly as my uncle departed, and a breeze wafted around the fire. My breath caught the second our eyes met from across the grassy area, and Cade was right.
I was fucked.