“Yes,” Angela says through gritted teeth.
“Good,” Stacy says as she shoves her toward Alex.
“Hey,” Lance says as he turns my face and kisses me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I smile up at him. “She’s just learning her place in the world.”
“You think you can handle them?” she laughs. “A little virgin like you?”
“It’s funny, Angela… Even Alex was ready to pick me over you… And he’s a piece of shit,” I say, and Lance chuckles. “Just because you spread your legs for everyone doesn’t make you more or less capable of handling something. But… How am I whore and a virgin?”
“Watch your back, bitch,” she says. “You never know who might be watching.”
“I’m sorry. Did you just threaten me?” I ask. I go to step forward, but Lance tightens his grip on my waist.
“Hey. Hey. She’s not worth it,” Dean says. “They are cleaning our room. We can relax soon.”
“Skipping dinner, are we?” Jake asks.
“Mmm. Straight to dessert,” Dean says with a conniving smile that makes heat rush to my cheeks.
“Room is ready,” Lance says, “Why are you still here, Angela?”
“I just…” she starts to say.
“I’m only going to say this one more time,” Lance says. “I don’t want you. You were something I used to pass the time, and I made that very well known. I’d appreciate it if you left Sadie alone. Obsessiveness isn’t a good look on you.”
“What did he say?” Mason says when she goes to talk, she frowns. I notice Alex glaring at me, and I turn into Lance. He wraps his arm around me before seeing what I see.
“Let’s go,” Lance says to the others, keeping his eyes on Alex.
Thankfully, everyone is mingling and talking, so not too much attention has been drawn to us. We walk out of the main room, and I yelp when Alex grabs my arm and pulls me away from Lance. “Let go of me,” I yell loud enough that almost everyone turns and looks at me. I didn’t mean to be so loud about it, but the look on his face freaked me out, and I panicked.
Alex releases his death grip on my arm right as Mason grabs me. Dean grabs him by the front of his shirt and slams him against the wall. “If you ever put your hands on her again, I will break your fucking neck. Got it, bitch?” Dean says with a grave tone.
“This isn’t over,” Alex says before he grabs Angela’s hand and pulls her down the hall away from us.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. Mason lifts my chin and scowls at me.
“Do not apologize for something that is not your fault, Sadie,” he says. I open my mouth to apologize again, but stop and smile when he nearly growls at me. “Don’t you do it.”
“Well, we are going to redeem our date now,” Lance says.
“Wait, are you really going to make me go sit in a restaurant?” I ask. “I am in a formal dress.”
“No,” he laughs. “We’ll order room service.”
“I also have nothing else to wear.”
“I brought extra clothes for you,” Stacy says. “I had a feeling y’all would stay, so I planned ahead. I can bring you something in the morning if you need more than just leggings and a T-shirt.”
“Kay,” I say quietly. Anxiety is swirling inside of me, and with every passing moment, I am closer to panicking.
“We’re gonna go before she runs away,” Lance says as he waves everyone off. They lead me toward the elevators, and I am just blindly following them at this point. I trust them, and that’s all that matters. When the elevator doors shut, I back myself into a corner and slide down the wall to a squatted position. I rest my elbows on my knees and press my palms to my forehead. My breathing is coming in short bursts suddenly, and I can’t slow it down. I feel like an idiot for freaking out like this. I am twenty-eight, and I’ve known them my entire life. I’m alone with them daily. I have been in just a towel around them more times than I can count.
The difference is… I’ve never had sex, and they have. I have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I won’t be good enough or I won’t measure up to what they want in a partner, and there I’ll be. What if I fuck everything up with my anxiety? They know I have anxiety, though. This isn’t new. They’ve calmed me down numerous times.
“Hey. You’re okay. Come here,” Mason says as he pulls me up to stand. He wraps me in a hug, and no one says a word while I try to calm down. I’m not crying, but I am damn near hyperventilating.
