Izzy

I told Mason to park down the street to ensure he wouldn't be seen when he came to pick Everett and me up. Not that my Mom would see us leave since she wasn't home yet, but in case she came back early I didn't want to take any chances.

It was easy enough to sneak out. I knew exactly where the security cameras were in our house, so it wasn't difficult to get around them, and I convinced Connor, our ten-year-old brother, to spend the night at one of his friend's houses. All it took was a twenty-dollar bill for him to give in.

"Is there a pillow under your comforter to make it believable?" I ask Everett. He changed into his favorite red Balenciaga hoodie that he got for his birthday last year with a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a beanie, and a pair of Converse. A sparkling silver chain hangs around his neck, glistening from the chandelier lights in the foyer.

"I'm not an idiot, Izzy, but do you think Mom will even check?"

No. She never does. At least I don't think so. Most of the time she's exhausted from her shifts at the hospital. When I do see her come home, she normally grabs something quick to eat from the kitchen and is asleep thirty minutes later.

"We have to cover all of our bases," I tell him. "Now stick to the fence and do not step on the driveway. The cameras can see us there."

He nods and follows me into the front yard, stealthily walking along the fence behind me. Truthfully, I'm surprised he even wants to go to a party. Maybe he wants to be different since he's officially in high school now, or maybe...

"Is Emery coming tonight?" I ask. AKA: his best friend's girlfriend and also the girl Everett has a crush on. He gets pissed whenever I bring her up, but I see it whenever they're together. I'm the big sister, so I drive his friends to the movies or to the mall whenever they want to go, and their bickering makes it clear as day. She's into him too, but neither makes a move on the other because of Liam. It'd be too complicated, and they both don't want to lose him as their friend.

Everett shrugs, but his shoulders tense as we walk down the street. "I don't know. Liam is going, so I assume she is, too."

Hmm.

"Well, you look nice," I tell him. "I think she'll like your outfit."

"Would you shut up?" He sneers, but I can see the corners of his lips lift upward. "I didn't dress up for her."

"Then who did you dress up for? I've never seen you wear anything like that."

His eyes brighten. "For Willow."

I lunge for him as he erupts into laughter and bolts down the street. I'm wearing high-heeled boots, so he's way ahead of me by the time he reaches Mason's black Mercedes, the engine purring smoothly. Everett slides into the backseat before I can smack him on the back of the head.

"I'm going to kill you," I tell him when I open up the door. "Seriously, don't go anywhere near her tonight, you hear me? I'll—" The driver's car door shuts to interrupt me. Mason walks around to my side and places a hand on the door I just opened. "What are you doing?" I ask him.

He scratches the back of his head. "Um, making sure you get in the car okay?"

Oh, hell no. This isn't a date. If this is what he thinks this is...

"It's the polite thing to do," he says as if reading my mind. His eyes are locked on mine, and I mentally give him props for not checking out my outfit. I'm wearing a black Chanel mini dress that hugs every single curve I have, my tits spilling out of the top, but he doesn't look. Not once.

I'm not sure why that bothers me.

He does notice something though, it's just not what I expected. "You straightened your hair," he says.

I reach up to play with the ends that now fall past my breasts. "I mean, yeah. It's a party. I dressed up."

He nods and extends a hand toward the car, reminding me to get in. We ride in silence for the first ten minutes of the drive as I twirl my fingers around in my lap. I don't know what to talk about though. Mason and I have completely different interests. We aren't into the same things. Willow had to take an Uber, so I didn't have another ride to this party. That's why I took him up on the offer. It's not like we're friends.

I steal a glance at him when he makes a left turn, practically groaning at the sight. The streetlights cast a glow over his tan skin, his lips wet from the sip of water he had drank just minutes ago. He's got one hand on the wheel, his seat reclined back. I've never seen him in anything other than his basketball or Leighton Academy uniform, and I'm annoyed that he has style. I expected him to be dressed in a polo or something studious-like, but he's in a gray Essentials sweatsuit with a pair of blue Jordans and a matching backward hat that's placed over his shaggy hair.

Jesus, he's hot.

And I really shouldn't be thinking this when I have Zane, but we both agreed that we weren't exclusive. He can do whatever he wants, and I can do whatever I want. If he were to find another girl to mess around with I wouldn't care, but I probably wouldn't continue sleeping with him.

I'm not doing anything wrong with Mason. I would never date him, as I don't date anyone. I can check him out though, right? There's no harm in appreciating his devastatingly good looks.

"This car is sick," Everett says to break the silence. "Is this the new model? I thought it wasn't out yet."

Mason nods. "Yeah, my Uncle is letting me drive it for a couple of weeks to test it out and see if there are any existing kinks left."

Testing it out... How could he test out a car that wasn't even out on the market yet? Oh, god. Unless...

Everett beats me to it. "Your Uncle owns Mercedes Benz Group?"

"Why are you so surprised? Everyone at our school has a famous family of some sort. Your father is the quarterback of the fucking Los Angeles Bears for crying out loud. That's way cooler than owning a car company."

I roll my eyes. "Don't tell me you're a fan."

"Are you kidding? I grew up watching him play. He was my whole childhood."

My lips form a thin line as we zoom through Rodeo Drive toward Zane's neighborhood. People like Mason idolized my father, and in some ways, I resented them for it. Cameron Holden was my dad, and I hated sharing him with the world. I idolized him too and wanted him all to myself as selfish as that sounds, but I've learned to share him with everyone else. Everett, on the other hand, is still adapting.

The silence is deafening as we pull into the ridiculously long driveway that leads up to Zane's house. I've only been here once, but his parents weren't home. We smoked a blunt and then fucked in his shower, something I'd never done before, and then I left five minutes after we finished. I didn't stay long enough to investigate my surroundings.

Zane's house is slightly smaller than ours. A Spanish villa is placed on top of rolling green hills with a red roof and lights guiding the pathway to the front door. There are cars everywhere, and Mason cusses as he tries to find a spot.

I fake a gasp. "Did you just swear?"

"Oh, come on, Isabelle. I'm not that lame."

"Izzy," I correct.

He arches a brow as he backs into a spot, and goddamn he looks fine as hell doing it. He places his hand on my headrest to look over his shoulder, and I hate the way my body is responding to him. My heart is pounding against my chest. "You don't like Isabelle?"

"It's not that, it just...feels like I'm in trouble or something. I don't like it."

"Fine," he concedes. "Izzy it is, then."

The walk to the front door is long, with plants lining either side of the pathway. Music is blaring from inside, and a couple of people are sitting on the porch steps with drinks in their hands. I send a warning glance at Everett. "Behave," I tell him. "And stay away from Willow. I mean it."

He laughs. "Are you really that scared she'll jump my bones?"

"She will, and I know you're a horny teenage boy who hasn't gotten laid yet. If you make her your first, she'll ruin you. Trust me when I say you aren't ready for her yet."

It's not a shock to know that Everett is ready to have sex. I catch him checking out my friends every chance he gets, especially Willow, but she's not the type of girl who is ready for a relationship. She and I are very similar in ways, which is why we're friends, so that's why I know she wouldn't be caught dead dating a freshman. She'd chew him up and spit him out. I'm not going to let that happen.

"Whatever," he mutters. "I'm going to grab a drink. Just text me whenever you're ready to leave."

Well, goodbye to you too, then.

Mason is standing on the steps as he stares up at the house. I can visibly see him gulp. It's funny to see him so nervous since he seems to have his entire life figured out. He may be book-smart, but it doesn't seem like he's very street-smart. It's something I can help him with.

I roll my eyes and tug on the sleeve of his sweatshirt to follow me. "Come on, Mason. I'll make sure you don't get lost in the mix."