After parking her car in her long, circular driveway, Massie climbed out and locked it before making her way up the stone stairs of the mansion and into the entryway. There, she began to hang her coat up on the coat rack when she heard a cough in the foyer. Peering over, she saw Tristan and William both resting on two arm chairs, reading the Bloomberg Business Digest.

"I didn't know you were home!" She squealed, dropping her heels off by the door for Inez to collect before padding her little feet to where her fiance was sitting.

"Yeah, we called it an early day." Tristan explained, reaching his arms out to her as she came and sat beside him.

"Did you two want to have dinner with Kendra and I?" William asked, peeking over the top of his newspaper.

"Well,...I actually have dinner plans. Which, Tris, you're invited to if you'd like to join," she quickly recovered, eyes pinging from her fiance to her father.

Tristan's mouth settled in a straight line.

"Oh no, that's okay, Massie. I'm sure William and I have more to discuss about our meeting today, anyway. Who are you going out with?"

Massie bit her lip.

"Kemp, Kemp Hurley. I actually ran into him at the mall, and we spent some time shopping together. He's going to come pick me up, in a little bit, actually, so I better start getting ready."

The brunette rushed through her explanation, before darting up the padded stairs to get ready. William and Tristan shared a knowing look, before Tristan sighed and rose from his seat. Leaving his newspaper half read on the chair, he began taking the stairs, two at a time.

He loved Massie for her fire, for her will and her passion. Her ability to make any man crumble at her own will, whether she was even aware of it or not. She had power, she was fierce, she had a fire in her eyes and in her chest.

What he did not love, however, was her ability to misconceive her 'friends'. She didn't understand that sometimes, those severed ties should remain that way for both of their benefit. He was more surprised at Kemp's behavior, asking Tristan's fiance to dinner was a ballsy one.

The blonde entered her room without knocking, watching his fiance rush round the room with an amused grin and a raised brow.

"Hot date?" He asked in his low tone, meaning he was somewhat amused, and somewhat pissed off.

"Don't even, Ferguson. There's not even an inkling of anything between Kemp and I, never was, and never will be."

"Well good, considering how big of a manwhore he is."

The blonde took post at her desk chair, crossing his arms over his chest as Massie grew irritated.

"Do nawt call him that!"

"Someone's awfully defensive."

"Yeah, because he didn't do anything wrong! And, he's my friend!"

"Is he really though, Mass? Is he? Did you talk once you left New York?"

"I didn't text him and he didn't text me, it was mutual, not one sided. He doesn't deserve all the blame."

"Doesn't matter, true friends would at least try. Hell, you've been in Westchester the past three months, yes on a low profile, but everyone knew you were here. Why didn't he try to connect with you?"

"I didn't try to connect with anyone!"

"Everyone knows his mother uses him for their company's contracts!"

"And my dad uses me, what's the difference?"

"But you're selling stocks, trading equities, managing millions while he's selling long sleeve shirts in department stores!"

"Tristan, do not try to demean him."

"I'm just saying!"

"You don't have this problem with Josh, meanwhile he's a model and designer."

"Josh is married!"

"And I am almost married!"

"Kemp isn't!"

"Do you trust me?"

"Mass, you aren't who I have the issue with."

"Then why is it so different with every other guy?"

"Because I know how he thinks! I've seen it!"

"I guess I just have a hard time understanding because he's basically my brother!"

"You don't have a brother, M."

"Exactly!"

"I just don't want him taking advantage of you."

"Oh, like your loser college friends did to me that night?"

"Don't pull that card, Massie."

"Uhm, hi, sorry, pulling that card right now. Swipe Swipe!"

"He's done bad things to so many other girls, what makes you think you aren't next?"

The only answer was her bathroom door slamming closed. Massie couldn't deal with his nonsense sometimes. His stupid manly testosterone drove her off the walls, and not in a good way. Massie used to love the controlling, dominating type, but now it just makes her skin crawl and her head hurt. Tugging her black studded Alexander McQueen cropped sweater, she could hear his voice ringing in her ears.

The knock at her bathroom door was soft, like he knew he upset her, but firm, like he wasn't going to budge on his stance of Kemp. Massie elected to ignore it, instead running a flat iron through her chestnut layers. He could sure as hell do more than just knock.

"Mass, I'm sorry." He spoke through the wooden door after another five minutes passed.

"Babe, I just care about you, about us. I'm sorry I get so crazy sometimes." Tick tock, she was able to finish her shiny liquid winged liner and bright red pout.

"Are you really not going to answer?" Her fiance asked a third

time, beginning to get frustrated.

Massie waited thirty seconds before opening the door and staring at him.

"Please, don't judge my friends. I don't judge your rude,

obnoxious, loud Alabama State friends/incestuals that sleep with their siblings, so I'd appreciate you not judging the people I choose to surround myself with."

"I won't. I just...I don't want to lose you, is all." He murmured, wrapping his arms round her hips and pulling her smaller frame into his.

"You aren't going to, but you may start to if you keep this up." Massie warned him. She wasn't one to do that in a relationship, but it was getting so fucking annoying.

"I promise I'll work on it." He gave her a toothy grin, placing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Go out and have fun, okay?" Tristan smiled, before heading

downstairs and back to the newspaper calling his name.

Little did she know, he did not want her having any sort of fun. But right now, Mr. Ferguson was on thin ice with Massie. She didn't have time for his attitudes or his temper tantrums, or his need to control. That was her thing. The only other boy she had ever dated besides Tristan was Derrick, who knew she needed to control, and let her.

'Why couldn't Tristan be just a little bit more like Der-nope.' She thought to herself, but quickly shook her head and began pulling on her ripped black skinny jeans, and Dolce & Gabbana black heels with the red rose on the backs. She took her phone, wallet, house keys, and hand sanitizer out of her YSL clutch from earlier, and threw it into her black givenchy nightingale purse before turning her bedroom light off and heading downstairs.

'Right on time', she mused as she saw the Kemp family's bentley flash their headlights as it sat in the driveway. After blowing a kiss to her father and placing one on Tristan's lips, she was out the door and down the stairs faster than you could blink.

She really needed that drink.