The entire cabin went completely silent.
Twenty massive football players stared at the front door. Nobody moved. The only sound was the crackle of the fire in the stone hearth and the freezing wind blowing in from the porch.
Logan stood there holding his stack of papers. He looked completely out of place. He wore nice shoes, a perfectly pressed coat, and a very serious expression. He looked like a strict principal crashing a high school party.
"Audit?" Jackson repeated. He scratched his neck. "Bro, we are in the woods. We are about to tackle each other in the mud. What are you auditing?"
"University funds paid for the rental of this cabin and the transportation," Logan stated stiffly. He gripped his clipboard tightly. "As Student Council President, I have the authority to ensure athletic clubs are not misusing academic budgets for unsanctioned parties."
A very loud, deep laugh echoed from the top of the stairs.
Everyone looked up.
Mason leaned casually over the wooden railing. He looked down at Logan with pure, unfiltered amusement.
"You drove two hours into the mountains on a Saturday morning to check our receipts?" Mason asked loudly. "That is real dedication, Foster. Give the man a gold star."
The team burst into laughter.
Logan flushed a deep, ugly red. He glared up at the balcony, and his eyes locked onto Audrey standing right next to Mason. His jaw tightened completely.
Audrey felt her stomach drop into her shoes. She instinctively took a half step backward, trying to hide behind Mason. The familiar panic squeezed her chest. Logan was not here for budget receipts. He was here because he could not stand losing control of her narrative. He wanted to drag her back into his drama.
A massive hand dropped onto her shoulder.
Mason did not look at her, but his grip was firm and warm. He kept her anchored to the spot.
Heavy footsteps stomped into the living room. Coach Miller pushed his way through the crowd of players. He stopped in front of Logan. Coach Miller was a mountain of a man. He crossed his thick arms and stared down at the polished student council president.
"Who are you?" Coach Miller barked.
"Logan Foster," Logan said. He tried to stand taller. "Student Council President. I am here to conduct a formal review of your budget usage."
Coach Miller stared at him for five long seconds. Then he let out a loud snort.
"Fine," Coach Miller said dismissively. "Audit the dirt. Audit the trees. I do not care. But if you step on my training field while my boys are running drills, I will personally throw you into the lake. Understood?"
Logan blinked. He was clearly not used to people ignoring his authority. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Jackson, give the suit a chair in the corner. The rest of you, cleats on in ten minutes!"
The room instantly exploded into chaos again. Players shoved past Logan, completely ignoring him as they grabbed their bags and headed for the doors.
Mason took his hand off Audrey’s shoulder. He picked up her faded duffel bag.
"Come on, roommate," Mason said casually. "Let’s go claim our giant bed."
"Do not call me your roommate," Audrey whispered frantically. She followed him into the bedroom and quickly shut the heavy wooden door behind them.
The click of the lock sounded very loud in the quiet room.
Audrey immediately walked over to the king-sized bed. She grabbed a huge, fluffy white pillow from the left side and slammed it directly into the center of the mattress. She grabbed another one and stacked it on top.
Mason dropped their bags on the floor. He crossed his arms and watched her with a huge smile.
"What are you doing?" Mason asked.
"I am building a wall," Audrey declared. She grabbed a rolled-up blanket and stuffed it next to the pillows. "You stay on your side. I stay on my side. If your foot crosses the pillow wall, I will push you onto the floor."
Mason laughed out loud. He walked over to the bed and poked her sad little pillow wall with one finger.
"You think two pillows and a blanket can stop me?" Mason teased. "I am a striker, Audrey. I break through defensive lines for a living."
"This is not a game, Calloway," Audrey snapped. Her hands were shaking again. She gripped the edge of the mattress. "Logan is downstairs. He followed me here. He is going to make my life a complete nightmare and everyone is going to stare at me again."
Mason stopped smiling. He tilted his head, watching her closely. He saw the genuine fear in her wide brown eyes. He noticed how she kept pulling her cap down perfectly low to hide her face.
He found her completely fascinating. Every other girl he ever dated loved the spotlight. They loved the status of dating the captain. They paraded him around. Audrey acted like being seen with him was a terrible punishment. It was entirely refreshing. He did not have romantic feelings for her, but he really liked poking her to see what she would do next.
"He is not going to do anything," Mason said smoothly. He walked around the bed and sat down on the edge, invading her space just enough to annoy her. "He is sitting in a corner with a clipboard. Let him watch."
"You do not get it," Audrey groaned. She sat down on the opposite corner of the bed, putting maximum distance between them. "I want to be invisible. You are the exact opposite of invisible. Your reputation is literally built on being the center of attention."
"It is a very good reputation," Mason agreed easily.
"It is a terrible reputation!" Audrey argued. "You date girls for two weeks, get completely bored, and dump them. Everyone knows it."
Mason rested his chin in his hand. "And?"
"And I need you to get bored of me immediately," Audrey said seriously. "Just get bored. Stick to the plan. Act like a terrible boyfriend this weekend so we can break up on Monday. Then Logan will leave me alone, and I can go back to sitting in the library in total peace."
Mason stared at her. A slow, highly mischievous smile spread across his face.
"But I am not bored yet," Mason said softly.
Audrey glared at him. "You are impossible."
"I am easily entertained," Mason corrected. He stood up and grabbed his cleats from his bag. "I have to go run drills in the mud. You stay here and protect your pillow wall."
"I am going to study," Audrey stated.
"Boring," Mason called out over his shoulder. He opened the door and walked out.
Audrey let out a long, exhausted sigh. She fell backward onto her side of the massive bed. She stared at the wooden ceiling. Two days. She just had to survive two days of this absolute torture.
An hour later, the cabin was completely quiet.
Audrey walked carefully down the stairs. The boys were all outside on the practice field. She held her Communications flashcards tightly. She just wanted to find a quiet spot by the window.
She turned the corner into the living room and stopped dead.
Logan was sitting on the leather sofa. His clipboard rested on his knees. He looked up the second she walked into the room.
Audrey turned around immediately. She put her foot on the bottom stair to go right back up.
"Do not run away, Audrey," Logan said. His voice was sharp and commanding.
Audrey froze. She squeezed her eyes shut. She hated that his tone still made her hesitate. She slowly turned back around. She kept her distance, staying safely near the staircase.
"I am not running," Audrey said quietly. "I am just busy."
Logan let out a bitter laugh. He stood up and slowly walked toward her. "Busy playing fake girlfriend? You are making a massive fool of yourself."
"My life is none of your business anymore," Audrey said. She tried to sound confident, but her voice shook slightly.
"I am trying to protect you," Logan insisted. He stopped a few feet away from her. The sterile smell of peppermint cologne filled the space between them. "Everyone knows Calloway’s reputation. He is a player, Audrey. He uses girls for fun and drops them when he loses interest. He will dump you before midterms, and the whole campus will laugh at you again."
Audrey gripped her flashcards. The worst part was that Logan was actually right about Mason’s reputation. That was exactly what Mason did.
But Logan was not saying it to protect her. He was saying it to break her down.
"At least Mason is honest about who he is," Audrey said softly.
Logan’s face darkened. He took another step closer, entirely invading her space. "You think he actually cares about you? You are just a toy to him. A little charity case."
Before Audrey could answer, the heavy front door slammed open.
Cold wind rushed into the room.
Mason walked inside. He was completely covered in dark brown mud. His grey hoodie was ruined. His sweatpants were soaked. He looked exhausted, but his eyes locked instantly onto Logan crowding Audrey by the stairs.
The playful golden retriever energy vanished in one single second.
Mason walked straight toward them. His muddy cleats left huge, dirty footprints all over the clean wooden floor. He did not care at all.
He stepped directly between Audrey and Logan. He bumped his chest aggressively against Logan’s pristine coat, forcing the student council president to stumble backward.
"Hey," Mason rumbled. His voice was dangerously low. "Did you lose your clipboard, Foster? Because you are standing entirely too close to my girlfriend."
Logan glared at him, trying to recover his balance. He brushed an invisible speck of dirt off his jacket. "We were just talking."
"She looks bored," Mason said flatly.
He turned his back entirely on Logan, completely dismissing him. Mason looked down at Audrey. The cold anger in his eyes instantly melted into a bright, teasing spark.
He reached out his massive, mud-covered hands.
"What are you doing?" Audrey gasped.
"Hugging my girlfriend," Mason announced loudly.
Before Audrey could run away, Mason wrapped his heavy, soaking wet, absolutely filthy arms right around her. He pulled her against his muddy chest.
Audrey shrieked as the cold mud soaked instantly through her clean white shirt.
"Calloway!" Audrey yelled. She pushed against his chest, but it was like pushing a brick wall.
Mason laughed brightly. He squeezed her tighter, making sure she was completely covered in dirt.
Logan stood awkwardly in the background, his perfect audit completely forgotten, forced to watch the campus heartbreaker openly claim the girl he threw away.