The Ghost Riders hang out together all weekend and no one can be bothered to go to school come Monday. Tuesday, Riette and Zane go to retrieve homework and make an appearance. Bailey and I play hooky and Connor has whatever excuse he always has. I am surprised he is present to talk this out even if he claims he isn't good with revenge. He just wants to get right to the execution.

"I don't think I can face Mallory without exposing that I know what she did," I confess once we're all settled around Zane's kitchen table.

"You'll have to learn to lie," Zane's murky green eyes bore into me.

I turn to Bailey, "you can help me with that, right?"

"You can lie, Max. You just can't lie to me," Bailey is amused.

Connor looks impressed and narrows his eyes, "what's her tell then, Bay?"

"Huh-uh," he shakes his head, "I'm not saying shit or she'll stop doing it. And it's the only reason why I know what she's thinking."

"You smile with your eyes," Zane divulges, "only when you talk to any one of us."

"Why the fuck...?" Bailey snarls quietly, "asshole."

"I pay attention," Zane shrugs, patting my thigh above the uncinched knee, "that's all."

"From what I can tell, this idea rides on your ability to lie and apparently you can only sort of do that, so you'll need to know how to fight," Connor stands, stretching arms behind his head and eyeing me as if contemplating something, "get up, Sawyer."

"Excuse me?"

Bailey gets to his feet and hauls me upright. He moves aside as Connor strolls around the table. Zane grumbles under his breath, but shifts out of the way, moving next to Riette where Connor was before. I square my shoulders with Connor, unsure what the hell he wants.

"What now?"

"I don't know, now what?" Connor rolls his eyes, "just stand there, Sawyer and stare at me."

I glance at Bailey questioningly, but he's not looking me in the eye. Blue eyes scan my legs and body as if searching for a weak point. My knee. That's my weak spot. It's not hard to discern. I have to compensate, but can make it look like I am balancing on both legs.

"Where's all your weight?" Riette asks from behind, but I don't turn to face him, "it's hard to tell when you stand like that."

"Isn't that the point?" I snap, growing impatient with the four of them, "will one of you tell me what the hell you are doing?"

"Can you fight?" Connor grasps my shoulders, rolling them back and jarring me back and forth, "you don't have a strong form. You'll have to toughen up," a hand smacks playfully into my abs.

I swat and he retracts, "the four of you can knock it the fuck off, right now."

"You have a mouth at least," Riette chuckles.

"Fuck off."

"Pretty sure that's why Bailey has liked her... Since seventh grade, right?" Zane questions dejectedly.

Seventh grade?

I cast my gaze to him and he winks at me, unabashed.

"Wasn't she your first?" Connor's eyes drift down my legs.

I am in the middle of rolling my eyes at Connor's brusque look, but freeze. I don't know what his question means. His first what? Kiss? I definitely wasn't his first-time having sex because I heard the rumors that he was having sex in eighth grade. I was not.

"Do you remember our first time?" Bailey's voice is soft.

I raise my eyebrows, and ignore Connor's protest when I turn away from him. Bailey's expression is calm and strange. I can't really have been his first. I don't remember every guy I slept with freshman year, but he was having sex before that. All of the Ghost Riders were experienced by the time we started high school.

I clear my throat, "this year..."

Bailey flushes and an apathetic expression blazes in place, "well, you need to spread your feet apart a little more and then you won't move so much when someone grabs your shoulders. You'll be more stable."

"You don't remember, Sawyer?" Riette is heartily amused.

"Shut the fuck up," Zane whacks him upside the head.

Bailey remains stoic, and kneels down to adjust my feet, "like that and that, Max." He grasps my shins and jostles me, but I don't budge, "see? Ten times easier to hold your stance."

"Much better," Connor agrees, clutching my shoulders, but finding me more stable, "now, we need to see if you can hit."

"She can fucking hit," Bailey reveals the bruises on his chest from when I pummeled him at the party, "the only one who's ever landed a fucking punch on me since freshman year."

"Damn, Sawyer," Riette is awestruck.

"She won't always be that worked up, though," Connor points out, shoving Bailey back to get in front of me again, "you won't always have that emotion driving you. You have to be able to draw on that amount of aggression without the emotion aiding you."

Bailey slips out the sliding door and onto the back patio. I am left alone with his three best friends, proving that I know how to throw a punch without breaking a finger. Connor holds up both open palms, but I'm not that stupid. I punch his shoulder, and he actually grimaces, jerking back to rub it.

"Motherfucker," he grumbles.

Zane snickers and moves in next, "that a girl, Sawyer."

I high-five him before he stalks after Bailey. Then Riette moves in and nods toward his shoulder. He'll probably dodge, so instead I aim for his left peck. He doesn't even flinch and my fist is met with solid iron. My hand actually aches after all of this, but I don't let him see the pain.

"Your eyes are smiling," Riette notices, looking enthralled, "you're in pain, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I sigh, dropping my arms.

"I'll get some ice for you," he pats my shoulder and moves over to the refrigerator.

"Not bad, Sawyer," Connor comes up again, "so you have some muscle on you, that's good."

"What's going on?"

"What?" He keeps randomly shoving a shoulder, trying to catch me off guard.

"Bailey and Zane," I nod toward the sliding door.

"No idea," Connor shrugs, rubbing his face and then swinging toward me, but I weasel out of the way.

He laughs, catching himself and seizes me from behind. His arm chokes around my jaw and he jolts back, yanking me off my feet. I flail, but remind myself to keep cool. He doesn't want to hurt me, but someone might. I relax my legs and use my hands to jerk on his arm. He's much too strong, so I'll have to think of something else.

"Come on, Sawyer," Riette rejoins, standing back until I break free, "you can do it."

"You suck," I rasp around through my constricted throat, "you won't even help me?"

"I won't always be around."

"Use your weight to throw me off balance," Connor coaches.

"Just let me go," I whine.

"Jesus," Connor cackles, "I see what Bailey means about the begging. I didn't think it would do it for me."

What the fuck?

Tears brim my eyes, but I blink them back and swing my legs up and back. I have to use all of my thigh muscles, letting unsteady feet carry me forward. Connor stumbles and I find my footing, pressing into my right side. He'll expect that, but I continue forward and kneel, wiggling out of his hold as he rolls off.

Connor laughs, stabilizing and spins around abruptly. Riette stops him before coming at me again. He offers the ice, but I reject it and charge out the sliding door.

"Bailey?"

Bailey sits on the lawn chair around the pool where we sat together during the first party. Zane stands close by with hands in his pockets. His head jerks and he scampers out of the way when I tread over as quickly as my knee will allow.

"Don't tell me you're pissed at me," I hiss as Zane inches further away like a fight is going to break out.

Bailey shakes his head, "no, not pissed, Max. What's wrong?" He notices the tears I won't let fall, "did they hurt you? They're just supposed to teach you to fight."

"They didn't do shit to me."

"What then?" Bailey searches my face.

"What is going on with you? You just ditched me in there."

"Riette wouldn't let Connor hurt you and vice versa, Max," he groans as if losing patience.

"You told them things..." I hate that I am so surprised over hurt over this, "about me, about us..."

Bailey waits for Zane to get inside, "what are you talking about?"

"You told them about..." I glance around, but we are alone, and close my eyes, "about me begging for you."

Bailey is silent for a long moment, "the only time I ever mentioned anything about that was on the first day of school."

I flick my eyes up to find that his expression is honest. I relax and realize this was before we were ever together. Some things are still sacred and private. I swallow and nod at him. Bailey relaxes.

"What don't I remember?" I force the question out.

"It's fine, Max," Bailey sighs, drawing me into his chest, "it was freshman year and you were drunk. I was drunk, but not as bad as you."

"We had sex freshman year?"

"Yeah. I've loved you ever since eighth grade when you first smiled at me and... And... Fuck, that's humiliating to admit, alright? Only my boys know about this shit," Bailey cradles me, pressing his cheek into the top of my head, "you looked right through me, but you said my name, smiling and handed me this stupid piece of paper for class or something."

"Health class?" I sort of remember that.

"Yeah," Bailey sounds relieved that I can at least recall that much, "I know it sounds stupid, Max, but I couldn't get you out of my head. And then freshman year, we were both so drunk and you hadn't hooked up with anyone that night. It was here, I think, actually."

"I've never been here before... This year," though I'm not sure that's really true, "I don't know."

"It's okay," Bailey rubs my back, "you were pretty drunk. I think the only reason I let myself get caught up in the moment with you is because it was you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let any drunk girl come near me. I mean... It's like taking advantage of them. I don't like it..."

"But you had a crush on me..." I put together, "I know there's a lot of freshman year I don't completely remember. I'm sorry, I don't remember, Bay."

"You begged me to fuck you. You said you were looking for a guy like me and it was probably just a line, but you said I was your dream guy. It killed me," he shakes his head, burying his face in my hair, "you begged me, baby... Fuck, then you begged me on the first day of school this year, and it did the same thing to me. I was completely at your mercy, if you only knew."

"You're such a sap," I giggle, twisting free of his embrace and cupping his face until he looks me in the eyes, "I love you, Bay."

Bailey doesn't hold back, grasping my ass and jamming his tongue to the back of my throat. The guys have to be watching through the sliding door, but I don't even care. I let Bailey lift me off the cement and lay us back into the lawn chair. Greedy hands trail up the inseam of my jeans, rubbing my center. I moan high-pitched in his ear as his mouth moves to my jaw and I palm his hard shaft in a hand, while using the other to tangle fingers in black tresses.

"Fuck," he draws it out like a million syllables, "baby..."

"Bay, I need you," I gasp as he suctions below my ear and kneads one of my breasts, "now. Right now."

"No fucking way," he breaks away, "the guys are probably watching us."

"So what?" I squeeze his dick.

Bailey blinks as if he is buffering and then shakes his head, "no way, Max. That's crazy. We can make out all you want and touch each other, but I'm not fucking you where they can see you. I don't give a shit if they see my cock, but they won't see you vulnerable like that."

"I won't be vulnerable because you'll be the one fucking me," I tease, tugging on his hair.

He lets his head jerk back, and smiles, "it's hot as shit to pretend that they're watching, but I don't actually want them to watch me fuck you."

"Bay, please?" I dig deep for the perfect whimper, "I need you to make love to me right now. Bay, please?"

"You're not playing fair," he growls.

I know I've already won, but knit my eyebrows and bite my lower lips, "please, Bay? Make love to me, baby, please..."

"Goddamn it," he snarls, unbuttoning my pants.

I squeal and his eyes flash with delirious hunger, yanking the pants down my legs and dropping them. I work at his pants and he removes them just enough to liberate his length, and glides over me, effectively hiding me from view of the house. I giggle as he hooks my panties out of the way and plunges into me briskly.

"Jesus," I yelp, caught off guard.

"Take it, baby," his voice is venomous and doesn't pause, pinioning in and out roughly, "you want me like this? Then I'm going to fuck you till you can't walk for days."

"Mm," I hum in reply, squeezing his ass and capture his mouth.

Bailey breaks the kiss, sweating despite the chill on our arms. He jerks my shirt down from my collarbone, slipping my breast free of the bra, and covering my nipple with his mouth. I squeak and writhe beneath him, allowing him deeper access inside. A groan resonates in his chest and vibrates into my sternum, flickering heat throughout every inch of me.

"Fuck, Bay," I mutter breathlessly.

"Say you're mine," he demands darkly.

"I'm yours. Only yours," I whine.

The growl in his throat disappears into mine, and we melt into each other. I've completely forgotten that we're outside and on display for the other Ghost Riders. I don't even give a shit as it momentarily darts through my memory. I glide my hands under Bailey's shirt, devouring carved abs with my fingertips. He pistons into me, bracketing hands on either side of my shoulders. I lift my hips up as much as possible and an electric surge of euphoria pulses in my pelvis.

It ribbons along my hips and skims through the rest of my body in a wave of heat. My heart aches for Bailey as my bones turn to mush and muscles grind to dust. Bailey suddenly slides out and cums on my thigh, gasping and purring. His entire body shudders and spasms until the orgasm dwindles. Wrenching pants up around his ass, he fastens the belt.

"Never again," he grimaces, snatching my jeans, "not on display for anyone ever again, Max."

"Bay," I stop him before he can get cum on my jeans, "I need to clean up first."

"Shit," he snatches some yellows leaves from the cement and uses them to scoop the white cream off, tossing them back, "hurry and cover up, Max."

"Are you mad?" I worry as I fix the buttons on my jeans.

"No," he rakes shaky fingers through midnight hair.

"Yes, you are," I narrow my green eyes, aggravated that our high is ruined by the overprotective bravado, "I really enjoyed it, Bay. Don't tell me you didn't like it."

"You know I fucking liked it," he helps me up and glares into my eyes, "but never again, Max."

"Could you at least pretend to not hate me right now?"

"I don't hate you," he grumbles and kisses my forehead, "I just... It's not fair when you beg me. It does something to me."

"That's what Connor said," I point out.

His jaw ticks irately, "I'll kick his ass for saying shit to you about our private business."

"He said he gets it," I add.

"What?" Bailey barks.

"He said he gets why it works for you," my cheeks flare to realize something I do turns on his friend.

Bailey swoops me onto his back and stomps toward the house. The Ghost Riders disperse at the sliding door as if they weren't watching this whole time. Bailey's muscles feather tensely in his back as he lets me slide down and charges straight for Connor. Slate blue eyes widen, but he doesn't back down when Bailey barrels into him.

"What the fuck, Bay!" Zane tries to pry him off, but Bailey is determined, "stop it! Knock it the fuck off!"

Riette struggles to weasel Connor out from underneath, shouting. Connor just shields his face as Bailey thrashes into his abdomen. He kicks out and almost clips Bailey in the jaw. He buckles down, and squeezes Connor's throat.

"Bailey!" I shriek.

Finally, he goes motionless, and Zane is able to wrench him away from Connor. Riette rights Connor on his feet, and he leans heavily for support, wrapping an arm around his middle. Bailey's chest rises and falls like an angry bull seeing red, smoke curdling out of his ears.

"What the fuck was that about?" Zane directs to me.

I gulp, "umm..."

"Connor is a dumbass," Bailey snarls, glancing to make sure I am untouched and I lick my lips, turned on. Shaking his head, he squares his shoulders with Connor, "you don't talk to her like that again, brother."

"What the hell did I say?" Connor glares at me.

Riette snickers, but cuts it short, and mutters, "she's Bay's girl, Con, and you were talking to her about begging."

"Fuck!" Connor rolls his eyes, ready to throw down with Bailey again, "is that all this is about!"

"There are boundaries," Zane asserts, stepping in front of him, "the things we tell each other before the girl... Stays between us unless otherwise given permission. It wasn't your place to say shit."

Connor grumbles, "what the fuck ever. I thought she knew about that shit."

"That doesn't matter," Zane growls, thrusting a palm into Connor's shoulder, "you haven't heard Bailey talk to her like that in front of us. He keeps their sex life private and that means the shit before that is none of our business either."

Connor's jaw clenches, "fine."

"Except when they have sex where we can see, right?" Riette teases, failing to lighten the mood.

Bailey doesn't hold back, slamming his fist into Riette's face. He wobbles back, steadying himself on the counter. He laughs and rubs his chin, but backs away from Bailey.

"Did she beg for it?" Connor mumbles and then sprints up the stairs with Bailey thundering after him, "I'm kidding! Fuck, Bay! Shit! Cocksucker! Knock it off!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Bailey growls from the railing, threatening to throw him over.