"Watch the tiers!"

Mara glances at me over the cake, incredulous. "Dude! Why do you keep giving me cakes to hold when I clearly can't handle it?"

"I don't know!"

Her weight leans backwards and she squawks, losing her footing. We luck out once again when her boyfriend—whose name I can never seem to remember—catches her by the shoulders before she drops like a fly. He takes the cake from her hands and heads inside the venue wordlessly.

"Thanks, babe!" She calls after him and shakes her arms out. "That is the last time you make me do that, woman. I'm, like, ten pounds!"

"Agreed. I have no idea why I put us through that again."

"Because you're nervous and can't think straight at the thought of talking to Holden tonight."

I cut her a dry look. "Wow, really? I had no idea. Thanks for the insight."

She winces. "I'm going to go find my human tree. Good luck!"

She hauls ass and I find myself wishing I could join her. The plan seemed so simple a few days ago—make a cake for Holden, show up to his party, apologize for breaking up with him and ask him if he'll take me back. Now? Not so much. Because my intestines are quivering and my hands are slightly shaking and I think I'm going to pass out. What if this blows up in my face? What if he's already moved on and brought a date tonight? What if our time apart made him realize I'm just not worth all this trouble? For whatever reason none of these things occurred to me before I showed up here and now I'm staring at the venue his party is being held in and wondering if I can walk away and not be seen.

Though it's the last thing I want to do, I push my shoulders back and force my heeled feet to start moving. Slow, deliberate steps toward the venue. As quietly as I can, I mutter under my breath, "No more running. No more hiding. No more fears."

Because I'm done. I'm truly and seriously done. Whether it's twelve years away from him or a month, I can't do it. I can't be without him and I don't want to. Maybe the world will always have something to say about us, about me, but that's okay. I mean, it's not, but I don't have any control over that. All I can control is how I react to it and whether or not I'll let it affect the way I live my life.

The pep talk admittedly goes to shit the second I walk inside the venue. Wow, there's a lot of people. SFPM arranged the whole thing so that was expected but I was expecting fifty people, tops. I'd say there's easily two-hundred bodies in this room and it's making me sick with nerves. My stomach turns over in warning.

"I wouldn't advise puking on the carpet but that's just me."

Christ on a cracker.

I jump, turning around and locking eyes with Mason. I may have, what, six years on him but he still towers over me. He's decked out in a suit, hair slicked back and face clean shaven, and he looks as lethal and powerful as his brother. He might be one of the youngest people in the room but I don't think anyone would mess with him. His dark eyes do a quick, cold scan of me before locking on mine again.

"Hi, Mason." I swallow down the cotton ball in my throat. "Fancy seeing you here."

He doesn't even blink. "At my brother's party?"

Right. Talk about a literal blonde moment. I laugh nervously. "Sorry. I'm kind of all over the place."

"Aren't you always." It sounds more like a statement than a question.

He sets a hand on my lower back with a touch I barely feel and guides me to the side, away from the crowd. Then he stands in front of me and I'm kind of grateful because no one can see me as long as he's doing that. I think he means to do it too because he glances around, bored yet observant, and looks at me again with crossed arms.

"I take it you're here to see my brother."

More statements. He acts like he knows everything and he makes everyone believe it, including me.

I nod, licking my lips nervously. "It is his party, like you said."

Maybe I'm seeing things but I swear that was amusement that flashed across his face for the briefest millisecond. He sobers up so instantly that I probably imagined it.

"Then gather yourself. Don't waste your time being nervous if there's no reason for it."

"There isn't?"

"He's hopeless without you." If he was the type he'd probably roll his eyes but he settles on a brief glance upward. "Unless you plan on dumping him a second time, it's good that you came."

I wince at his protective tone. Holden may have raised him but Mason has his brother's back just as fiercely. "I made a mistake. Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"Wasn't a mistake," He says instead, surprising me. "You were both blaming yourself for a situation that wasn't either of your faults. Your time apart made you see otherwise. It was necessary."

"What happened was never his fault."

"Or yours. Don't go back to him unless you believe that."

I smile despite myself. It's comforting knowing Holden has Mase, who clearly looks out for him. "I do believe that now. And I don't plan on hurting him again. I really love him, Mason."

"Obviously," He deadpans. The edge of his mouth softens, barely. "You're right for him. I don't trust easy but I trust that."

I know it's his version of giving me his blessing. His forgiveness for hurting his brother. Emotion gets the better of me and I throw my arms around his torso in a tight hug, burying my face in his chest. He stiffens immediately but I expected that so I keep hugging him anyway. This kid does not like affection but he'll have to suck it up if I'm going to be around from now on. He settles for a single pat on my back and then carefully pushes him palm on my shoulder to get me off. I'll take it.

"Do you think he'll be happy I came?" I ask once we separate.

His brow briefly kicks up. "He was counting on it."

That's good news. It means he wants to see me and if he wants to see me then hopefully he wants me.

I smooth my sweaty palms down my dress, a black silk piece and the last fancy dress I own. I'm grateful I saved it for this occasion because it's my favourite one yet. It's a high-low dress, the front of it ending mid-thigh and the back of it flaring all the way down to the floor. It's cinched at the waist and leads to an off the shoulder neckline that shows off a generous portion of skin. I feel beautiful in it and I wasn't sure I'd ever feel this way again.

"Stop." Mason orders when I keep fiddling. "You look better than every woman here. Enough doubts."

I blink at his firm tone. He may be the baby adult here but he's totally kicking my ass right now. I mock-salut him and mutter, "Sir, yes sir."

I have to give it to him for not being the least bit fazed by me. "Who are you sitting with?"

"Uh..." I look around at the quickly filling tables. I was supposed to meet Harper, Dani, and Iris here but I haven't spotted them yet. I come back to Mason's expectant expression. "I'm just waiting on a couple of friends. I'll hang around."

"You'll sit with me."

O-kay. A little bossy but it does make me feel less anxious at the thought of sitting alone and drawing more attention to myself. I've already seen people cast surprised looks my way. Everyone at SFPM is familiar with the scandal of me going viral so this is going to be torture.

"Thank you," I tell him quietly, gratefully. He nods once.

He moves out of my way then but stays close. I let him lead us to the table he's going to be seated at and he keeps his arm around my back without touching me. Just silent protection and daring anyone to approach us. Spoiler alert: no one does.

We take a seat close to the stage—yes, there's a freaking stage—and sit next to each other. Mason immediately takes his phone out and starts texting away. I can't help but watch, wondering if he's letting Holden know I'm here and with him. Is he going to join us? Do I know what I'm going to say to him? Will he take me back?

My leg shakes from the nerves, bouncing up and down rapidly. I see Mason's eyes drift there momentarily but he doesn't comment on it. Just goes back to texting.

I don't know what it is we're waiting for. People are walking around doing their own thing and there are tech guys up on the stage messing around with the mic. Maybe someone's supposed to go up and say a few words or something. Either way I just want to skip all over that so I can have Holden to myself for a moment, and then hopefully a bunch of moments after that. I just want us to be okay already.

Feeling a stare on the back of my neck, my gut thrashes as I look discreetly over my shoulder. I'm met with disappointment because it's not Holden staring, like I'd hoped for. It's her. The girl in the bathroom from the red carpet. A smug smile curves her lips as she does a once-over of me and she looks as unimpressed as she did that day. Then she scoffs and says something to her friend beside her while maintaining eye contact with me. She's trying to be obvious. She wants me to know she's talking about me. Her and her friend share a laugh and I'm hit with sudden flashbacks from high school. I know when I'm being made fun of and that's exactly what these two are doing.

Whatever. If they want to act like mean girls then they're free to. I'm better than that and I know that now so I look away and square my shoulders. Nothing is going to get in my way today.

I notice Mason's eyes drift over my shoulder and they harden at what he sees. When he looks at me again, his jaw is locked with disapproval.

"Do you know her?" He sets his phone down and leans forward, demanding my undivided attention.

"Hmm?" I go for playing dumb. I really don't want to cause drama on today of all days. I think I've done enough of that. "Who?"

"Sierra." His tone is sharp, impatient. "Red hair. Green eyes. Loud mouth. You know her?"

Sheesh. Don't we sound personal? "No, I don't."

"Bullshit. I want the truth."

"I'm serious. She talked to me once, the day Holden and I attended that red carpet event. It hardly counts as knowing her."

"What did she say to you?"

Damn. I'd almost forgot about the incident completely with everything that happened and it feels stupid to bring it up all over again. But with Mason glaring at me I don't think I have a choice. I look down at my dress, playing with the hem.

"She wanted to know who I was once she found out I was Holden's date. And then she said...stupid things. Just that they used to go out or whatever and that I was basically a downgrade."

"Figures." My eyes go up to him in surprise. His mouth is tight, jaw working. "That's Victoria. Holden never dated her. His agent at the time he went pro found her to accompany him at events and shit. It was a business deal and she's been obsessed with him since. There's no reason she should be here but she probably weaseled her way in as a plus one."

Well that certainly explains a lot. I straighten up. "I thought I got bad vibes from her. I didn't give her my name or anything when she asked. Just waited until she left the bathroom because she tried to corner me with her psycho questions."

"Good," He mutters. He pauses then before narrowing his eyes at me. "Did you say she talked to you at the red carpet? The one for all the athletes?"

"Just last month, yeah."

"Before you went viral."

"Couple days before—" Realization strikes me and my mouth clamps shut. Somehow I didn't put the pieces together before but he's right. I went viral only a couple of days after the red carpet and Victoria didn't exactly seem like my biggest fan. But would she do something like that? I don't know her well enough to say.

"It was definitely her." Mason answers my unspoken questions. He buttons the jacket of his suit and moves to stand up. Shit.

"No!" I stop him before he can do anything. "Mason, please. No drama. It's Holden's birthday and I want everything to go well. Just forget about it. What's done is done."

He sits back down and levels me with a deadly cold stare. "Did I or did I not enclose that I trust you?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then it's time to trust me because I know what I'm doing. I always do."

Well, when he says it like that.

And it's not like I could stop him anyway so I slump in defeat and offer an unenthusiastic nod, watching with dread as he stands up again and heads over to her table. He takes a seat beside her and puts one hand forward. I'm immediately forgotten about. Victoria turns to him with a sultry grin and Mason's eyes sharpen, gripping her in place. I have no idea what he's doing and honestly, I don't think I want to know.

Feedback echoes around the room and everyone winces, looking at the stage where it came from. One of the tech guys taps the microphone a couple of times and then gives a thumbs-up to someone on the side. He walks off just as Harper comes on the stage and takes her place in front of the mic.

"If I could get everyone to please take their seats." She smiles out at the crowd.

Meanwhile I'm mentally shooting lasers out of my eyes and aiming them at her head to get her attention. She must feel it because her gaze drifts to mine and I wave my hands in question. The little jerk ignores me and looks out at the crowd again. My eyes narrow some more. She didn't mention anything about this when she told me she'd meet me here.

There's still a lot of murmuring and talking around the room, half the people flat-out ignoring Harper. She frowns as she taps the head of the mic again.

"Everyone, please take your seats. Excuse me. Please take—"

"Sit the fuck down!" We all turn toward whoever shouted that from the back of the room. Sawyer. He's standing on a chair and he brings his hands, previously cupped around his mouth, back down to pull his jacket together. Then he grins in the direction of the stage. "Floor's all yours, baby."

I turn around so fast I practically get whiplash. What the hell did I miss? Harper is staring at Sawyer as if he just asked to fertilize her eggs. I can't tell if she's horrified or turned on. Possibly both. I think he broke her.

"Right." She shakes her slowly and clears her throat. The whole room is sitting now and all the attention is definitely on her. "Um, thank you for coming. If you're here then you should consider yourself lucky because my boss doesn't like anyone. I guess you're allowed to feel a little special right now."

The room laughs in good humour and Harper smiles, clasping her hands behind her back.

"He has a few words he'd like to say so please lend your attention to the man of the hour. Come on over, Mr. Rey."

Applause and whistles ring out when Holden appears, walking on to the stage with a somber expression despite the energy of the crowd. What's happening right now? Admittedly, I don't care that much because I'm too busy staring at him. He looks amazing. Charcoal grey suit, hair tousled to perfection, and that same arrogant aura that makes you lose your train of thought. I can't believe how much I miss him. I physically ache.

Holden pats Harper on the back and she whispers something in his ear before walking off stage. It's only then that she heads for my table and takes the seat beside me.

"What's going on?" I immediately ask.

"Shh!" She flicks my head and faces the front. Ignoring me. Again.

"Cough it up, Harps. Why did Sawyer call you baby?"

"He always calls me that and I've told him a million times not to. Can we pretend it didn't happen?"

"Fine. Where are Dani and Iris? What's happening?"

This time she looks at me. "I actually don't know the answer to that. Probably making out somewhere. That wasn't part of the plan."

"There's a plan?"

"Shut up, Ser."

She flicks me again and I scowl, about to give her a piece of my mind until Holden's voice booms out and grabs everyone's undivided attention, mine included.

"Thank you to everyone for coming." He says by way of greeting. It's like my heart is in my eardrums and I can barely hear him above the sound of rushing blood. "I know we're all here to celebrate but there are some things I need to address first."

My stomach drops. What is he doing? I look at Harper again in question but she's avoiding my gaze completely. I try to search her face for a clue but she has a decent poker face on so I can't tell shit. Reluctantly, I look at the stage again only to completely lose my breath.

Holden is staring right at me.

The eye contact is so intense, so consuming, that I'm pretty sure I stop breathing. It feels like the weight of the world just crashed into my chest, heavy and almost painful. And the way he's looking at me? I didn't think I'd ever have this again.

"No more hiding," He says softly. Right there into the mic, in front of everyone.

I feel all eyes in the room land on me but I don't care. They can say whatever the hell they want about me and think whatever they want too. Because I'm not hiding either.

___________________________

A/N

Uh, yeah...first of all—MASON FUCKING REY. Has my heart and panties and what about it?

Also, not me shipping Harper and Sawyer the more I read about them.

Finally, get your girl Holden!! I can't even tell y'all how sweet the next chapter is. He truly fights for his girl.

Please VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)