Aiden’s eyes are trained on Mason. “You’re supposed to be my best friend, but you sense the tiniest sliver of tension and you’re already trying to steal my girl?”
“She shouldn’t even be with you!” Mason exclaims. “I was her friend. I was nice to her when she was the new girl. You were nothing but a closed off asshole to her and she still chose you!”
Aiden’s eyes narrow to deadly slits, all the muscles in his body tense. “You know nothing about my relationship with Amelia.”
“But I know Amelia. And I know she’d be happier with me.”
Aiden releases a humorless chuckle, one that conveys he in no way finds Mason amusing. “Believe me, you do not know Amelia.”
“Guys, please. Let’s just cool off,” I cut in, then turn to look at Mason. “You’re drunk. Why don’t you sober up and we can talk about this like adults in the morning?”
I look at Aiden. “You know he’s drunk. I know it’s not an excuse, b
ut let’s just take a walk before you say something you’ll regret,” I tell him, putting emphasis on the last part as a reminder that he needs to keep my past a secret and not reveal it in a petty ego competition.
He whips his head over to look at me, taking his steady glare off of Mason for the first time. “I would never,” he promises, looking all the way into my soul, trying to convey the seriousness of his words.
Julian walks into the room with Charlotte and Chase, and they immediately notice the tension.
“What’s going on here?” Julian asks.
Noah sips his beer. “Mason decided to grow a pair at the wrong time.”
Mason’s head swivels over to look at Noah. “Says the guy who’s still trying to sleep with the girl his best friend has pined over for years.”
Noah practically slams his beer down. “I didn’t know!”
“Everyone knew!” Mason counters.
This is getting out of hand now. It already was, but now things are really heating up. We need to calm down before shit hits the fan and explodes all over us.
“Okay, everyone needs to take a breather,” I announce. “If you’re drinking, pick a sober buddy you’re not currently fighting with and go for a walk.”
“Great idea,” Mason says to me, downing the last of his beer. “K-bear, you’re my buddy.”
Aiden steps in front of me before Mason can grab my arm. “Really, Mason? After what we just said?”
I move around Aiden so I can see what’s going on.
“All we talked about was how I’m a better man for Amelia. So, yeah. Really.” On the last word, Mason shoves Aiden for emphasis.
Caught off guard, Aiden is forced to step back to catch his balance, but he recovers quickly.
“Don’t start a fight you can’t win,” Aiden threatens in a low voice, the double meaning not lost on anyone.
Julian steps up. “Mason, just calm down, man.”
While Mason and Aiden are in a stare-off, Julian puts his hand on Mason’s shoulder, which sets off an inevitable chain reaction. Mason immediately turns around and pushes Julian away from him, then in one motion, turns back around and swings at Aiden.
Aiden expertly dodges the punch, but now he’s pissed—even more than before. He tackles Mason and they fall to the floor in a tornado of punches and insults. It’s less a fight and more Aiden trying to restrain Mason—he’s drunk, and Aiden’s still a good friend. He knows it wouldn’t be a fair fight and Mason’s not really in his right mind.
Somehow, Mason slips Aiden’s grip and ends up on top of him, getting a hit in on his face, all the while insulting him. Of course, this really angers Aiden, and I can tell he’s going to stop playing nice.
I barely take a second to think. All I see are two of the most important boys in my life physically fighting over something unworthy of either of their time—me.
Aiden flips them over so that Mason is pinned under him, and is about to throw his first real punch, which I’m sure would knock Mason out cold, when I instinctively reach out and grab his right arm, stopping him from landing the hit.
“Aiden, come on,” I beg, not letting go of his arm.