Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“You’re imagining things again,” Mason told Max, who was leaning over the bar, smiling at us. “Did the ghost cat tell you that or something?”
“No,” Max said, looking between the two of us. “I just know it. I should have known it earlier. You are boning each other like fucking bunnies.”
“Shh,” Mason said, glancing around.
Kane was far away, over by one of the tables talking to a different group of people.
“Wow. Hundreds of TNU students are jealous of you right now, Mason,” Max said. He reached over and smacked me on the shoulder. “Do you know how many people want this big hunk of meat?”
Only twenty minutes ago, I hadn’t even been sure that Mason would say yes to a date at all. For the past ten days, I went between wanting to punch a hole in a wall and wanting to call him and ask him to date me, about five times each day.
But I forced myself to give it time. To let both of us remember what the world was like if we weren’t tangled up in each other’s lives.
And you know what?
I didn’t fuckin’ like it.
When I woke up this morning after what felt like the millionth dream where Mason was with me in bed, I knew I wanted to be tangled up in whatever the fuck was going on in his world. Driving over to his house was my last-ditch shot at pulling him out of a fog, like the one he’d pulled me out of on the night we met. I didn’t know if it would work. Didn’t even know if it was a good idea.
But when I finally just let myself trust—let myself go over and do what I trusted was right—everything slid together, like a puzzle finally forming an image.
“What makes you think we’re fucking?” I asked Max.
I ran a finger through the fine condensation on the outside of my beer, feeling like a teenager who’d just been caught red-handed.
“Honestly? Because Mason didn’t come in here and immediately start looking around and asking me if any potentially gay guys are in here tonight.”
Mason ran a hand over his forehead. “You make it sound like I’m a total slut.”
“Tonight it didn’t seem like you cared about looking at anyone other than Jesse,” Max said.
“Forget about the ghost cat who somehow makes people fall in love,” I said. “I think you’re the Cupid of this bar, Max.”
“I just call things as I see them.”
“And?”
“And you two have been looking at each other like you want to rip each other’s clothes off since the second you walked in.”
“Hey. Just because we’re… enjoying each other’s company doesn’t mean everyone has to know about it yet,” I said, giving Max a look and then nodding my head over toward Kane.
“Oh,” Max said, as it dawned on him. “Oh, fuck. Kane’s going to murder you, Mason.”
“I know. I’m a dead man,” Mason said.
He looked so adorably nervous that I wished I could lean over and cover him in kisses right then.
He was bringing out that romantic streak in me again, the one I hadn’t even known existed. If you’d asked me a few months ago what I wanted in a man, I’d have told you that a good hard fuck was all the romance I needed… and I still loved a good hard fuck, but Mason made me feel like the little heart-eyes emoji every ten seconds, too.
I glanced back at Kane, making sure he was still looking the other way. I reached out into the open front of Mason’s flannel to the shirt underneath, and I rubbed the small of his back. The feeling of warmth beneath his shirt was like its own little drug.
I pulled my hand away and took a deep breath, trying to assess the way forward like it was a complicated play in hockey.
“Kane would not murder you,” I said softly. “But we need to give it some time. Maybe get him used to the idea that we’re friends first, you know?”
“Is that what friends do, these days?” Max teased. “Look at each other like they want to suck face, ream each other’s asses, and then ride off together into the sunset?”
Mason looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.
Adorable, again, but I was starting to feel bad for the poor man.
“Max, there’s a group of girls over there who have been waiting to get served for a minute now,” I said. “Kane’s going to ream your ass if you don’t go do your job.”
“Oh God, you’re right,” Max said, turning and walking toward the women. “Welcome in! What can I get started for you?”
“I know you want to get up and run out of this bar right now,” I told Mason, “but that’s not what we’re going to do. Okay?”