Where Bad Girls Go to Fall (The Good Girls Series Book 2)

by Holly Renee

  His little cheeks turned pink as he looked up past the island toward Mason. “Yes.”

  I shook my head and clicked my tongue.

  “But only one more.” He quickly said while looking back at me.

  “Are you taking your dating advice from Mason? I don’t date little players.” I bounced the ball toward him, and he scrunched up his nose.

  “Don’t take it so hard, Finn.” Mason moved around the island and set a bowl down on the kitchen table. “She won’t date me either.”

  He winked at me as Finn’s mouth dropped open and those damn flutters in my stomach started up again.

  “My momma says that Mason’s handsome.” He threw the ball again, and it almost went past me.

  “She does. Does she?” I cocked an eyebrow up at Mason.

  “His momma is my next-door neighbor, by the way.” He pointed out the window to the house next door. “She got called into work tonight and had no one to watch him. I didn’t think you would mind.”

  “I don’t.” I quickly shook my head.

  Mason reached down and scooped Finn up in his arms which led to a fit of giggles that escaped the little boy. He nuzzled his beard against his neck and little arms and legs flew in every direction as Finn begged him to stop.

  Mason finally sat him down in a chair at the table before he laid an inconspicuous kiss on top of his head then he turned to me. I was pretty sure he could actually see my ovaries throbbing.

  “You ready to eat?”

  “Yea.” I nodded before taking his hand he had reached out to me. His warm, callused hand gripped mine as he pulled me to my feet and right up against him. He leaned in close to me, close enough that Finn couldn’t hear him, and I cursed the chill bumps that broke out across my skin as he whispered words into my ear. “You look gorgeous tonight.”

  “Thank you.” I looked over his shoulder to Finn who was hitting his fork against the table.

  Mason pushed my hair over my shoulder as he walked past me to the stove. The warmth of his fingers sinking into my skin.

  “What are we having for dinner?” I took a seat at the table next to Finn, and he smiled up at me.

  “Spaghetti. I hope that’s okay with you. It’s Finn’s favorite.”

  “I love spaghetti too.”

  Finn held up his little hand to me, and we high-fived as Mason set a bowl of spaghetti on the table. He began filling our bowls with the pasta that actually looked delicious.

  Finn reached his hand out for a piece of bread, almost knocking over his drink, and I noted little scratches on his elbow as he finally gripped the bread in his hand.

  “What happened to your arm?” I reached for the bowl of spaghetti as Mason held it out.

  Finn’s face lit up. “I had a wreck.” He lifted his elbow to try to see the small marks.

  “What kind of wreck?”

  “A bike wreck,” Finn said through a mouth full of spaghetti. “I’m practicing for when I have a motorcycle like Mason one day.”

  My gaze jerked to Mason as he took a bite of his food.

  “You have a motorcycle?”

  He nodded his head and raised his eyebrows.

  How the hell did I not know that?

  “How the hell did I not know that?”

  I stirred my own spaghetti and took a bite. The taste hit my tongue, and I groaned. It was so much better than I expected. It seemed Mason was full of surprises today.

  “You never asked.” Mason wiped spaghetti sauce off Finn’s chin.

  “That’s not usually a prerequisite question I ask.”

  “For your friends?” He smirked.

  “Yes. For my friends.” I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t know you had a motorcycle.”

  “It’s his only love.”

  “Shh.” Mason laughed as he quickly put his hand over Finn’s mouth.

  “What?” He looked up at Mason like he was crazy.

  “You’re not supposed to tell all of my secrets, buddy. Some things are supposed to stay just between friends.”

  I grinned.

  “But she said she was your friend.” Finn looked over at me, confused.

  “She is.” Mason laughed. “But do you see how pretty she is.”

  They both looked up at me, and I tried to hide the fact that I was just shoving garlic bread into my mouth.

  “Yeah.” Finn nodded his head.

  “When we have friends that pretty, we have to at least have some secrets from them.” Mason winked at me, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes but couldn’t hide my smile.

  Finn studied me like he was trying to memorize every bit of advice that Mason gave him.

  “Why do you have so many drawings on your skin?”

  “I’m a tattoo artist. It’s what I do. I draw on people’s skin.”

  “Cool.” He shot up in his chair. “Will you draw a tattoo on me?”

  I looked to Mason, and he winked at me. A wink that did nothing to help me keep him in the friend-zone.

  “After we eat, I will. Okay?”

  “Okay.” He sat back down on his bottom and started shoveling his food into his mouth.

  Mason laughed and patted his little hand that laid on the table next to his.

  “Now that I know you’re so interested in my motorcycle, do you want to go for a ride tomorrow?”

  “Seriously?” God, it had been so long since I had been on the back of a bike.

  “Yeah. I don’t have any plans tomorrow. Do you?”

  I quickly shook my head no.

  “We could go for a ride through the mountains. It’s supposed to be nice tomorrow.”

  “For sure.” Excitement filled me just at the thought.

  “Then it’s a date.”

  As soon as he said the word, another thrill went through me even though it wasn’t supposed to. Even though I didn’t want that from him.

  “You can’t date her. She’s your friend.”

  We both looked down at Finn and his face now covered in spaghetti sauce.

  “Thank you for reminding me. I almost forgot.” Mason glanced up at me, and my stomach flipped.

  “You’re welcome.” Finn tugged on my arm. “Can you draw my tattoo now?”

  “Yeah.” I could barely move my eyes away from Mason. “What do you want me to draw?”

  “A dragon.”

  “Nothing simple then.”

  Mason chuckled, and I took the last bite of my food.

  “Where do you want this dragon?”

  Finn pointed to his right bicep and I nodded my head.

  “Your mom won’t get mad?” I glanced up at Mason.

  “No. My mom is the coolest.”

  “She is.” Mason backed him up.

  “Okay. Then let’s get my pens out of my car and I’ll give you the most badass dragon tattoo ever.”

  Finn’s eyes lit up then he turned to Mason. “She said ass.”

  Mason

  They had both been asleep on my couch for the past hour.

  Finn’s shirt was still off and his dragon tattoo that she had put an insane amount of detail into was on full display. He flipped his shit when he looked in the mirror after she finished.

  He made me take pictures on my phone as he flexed his small muscles, and Staci giggled when he told me that his tattoo was way cooler than mine. She full on belly laughed actually, and Finn had helped me tickle her when she refused to tell me that he was wrong.

  After the tattoo, we had watched a movie, a movie I had seen a million times with Finn, and the two of them had fallen asleep leaning against one another.

  There was a small knock at my door, and I quietly lifted Finn from the couch before I carried him to the door where his mom was waiting.

  “How was he?” she whispered before pushing his hair out of his face.

  “Good as always.” She went to grab him out of my arms and I moved out of her reach. “I’ll carry him over.”

  She patted my arm and I could see the exhaustion in her ey
es.

  “Is that a dragon tattoo?” She touched his arm before pulling out her keys and leading the way over to her house.

  “Yeah. My friend Staci drew it on him tonight. I hope you don’t mind. He was so damn excited.”

  “Of course not. It will wash off.” She waved her hand to dismiss my worry. “Is this the friend you were telling me about earlier?”

  She stepped onto her porch before unlocking the door. I followed her inside, and Finn didn’t shift an inch in my arms.

  “Yeah. She came over for dinner tonight.”

  “Mason.” She smacked my arm, barely making a sound. “You should have told me if you had a date tonight. I would have figured something else out.”

  “It wasn’t a date. She only wants to be friends, remember?”

  “Oh. I remember.” She pulled down Finn’s blanket, and I softly laid him down in his bed. “But I’m sure my son did nothing to help you get out of the friend-zone.”

  “What are you talking about?” I pulled the blanket up around Finn’s shoulders. “Finn is the best wingman ever.”

  “Don’t you be teaching him bad habits.” She pointed her finger at me, and I chuckled as we walked out of his room.

  “Never.” I crossed my heart.

  “Yeah. Yeah. Don’t forget he’s still at the age where he tells me everything.”

  She walked me to the door and leaned against it as I said, “He said ass tonight.”

  “Mason,” she chuckled.

  “Yes?” I batted my eyelashes innocently.

  “Thank you for watching him.”

  “Anytime.” I stepped off the porch.

  “Oh, one more thing.”

  “Yeah.” I turned back around to face her.

  “Good luck getting out of the friend-zone.”

  “I don’t need luck,” I smirked. “I have a plan.”

  Staci

  I was so damn excited about going on a ride with Mason that there was no chance in hell that I was going to be able to hide it.

  Nothing else mattered today.

  It didn’t matter that I woke up in his bed, fully dressed under his blankets.

  It didn’t matter that he had breakfast cooked when I walked into the kitchen, and it didn’t matter that I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him while he held out a piece of bacon for me.

  It definitely didn’t affect me when he took that thumb that had just touched my lip and slipped it into his own mouth before sucking off the traces of bacon.

  Nope. Definitely not.

  He had grinned when I left his house to go get ready. He had instructed me to make sure I wore jeans and sensible shoes, and I rolled my eyes as I saluted him.

  But God, I was excited.

  The rumble of his motorcycle echoed through my apartment, and I ran out to the parking lot with my small black backpack strapped across my back.

  “It’s not really fair.” I pulled up to a stop next to him and ran my fingers underneath my backpack straps.

  “What isn’t?” He had a pair of aviators covering his eyes, and even though he looked insanely hot in them, I didn’t like that I couldn’t see his eyes.

  “How hot you look on a motorcycle.”

  “Oh yeah?” His smirk was so deep that I swore I could see a dimple popping out under the beard he hadn’t shaved in several days.

  “Yeah. Is it your ploy to pick up ladies?” I cocked my hip as I slid my sunglasses over my eyes.

  “Is it working?” He wagged his eyebrows, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Totally.” I swung my leg over his bike and settled in behind him. He curled his hand around the back of my knee and jerked my body forward, pulling me closer to him. The heat of his body radiated through my clothing, and I took a deep breath to steady my thundering heart.

  His motorcycle rumbled to a start, the rumble drowning out every other sound, and I smiled as he hit the throttle and pulled out onto the road.

  My long braid whipped around me, the stray hairs sticking to my face and neck, and I leaned my head back and let the wind envelop me.

  I had been on the back of a bike over a hundred times with my father, and I missed this feeling. The wind. The freedom.

  But this was different.

  Being on the back of Mason’s was different in so many ways.

  I felt safe with him, completely safe, but I also felt wild. Like anything could happen at any moment. But I typically felt that way with Mason regardless if I was on the back of his bike. There was just something about him that was unpredictable even though he was so sure.

  I’d be lying if I said riding on the back of his bike didn’t feed into every motorcycle club romance novel fantasy I had ever had. Because it did.

  Every scene I had ever read was running through my head. The club, the motorcycle rides, the sex.

  God, the sex.

  But I was not supposed to be thinking about sex when it came to Mason.

  Friends, friends, friends.

  I chanted it in my head, but then the vibrations of the motorcycle and hardness of his body that fit perfectly between my legs cut through and all I could think about was sex, sex, sex.

  I pressed my forehead against his back. He just needed to do something that would throw me off my game. Something that would seal him into the friend-zone. It really shouldn’t be that hard. Parker and Brandon hit the friend-zone before I even thought about it. No effort.

  Mason’s hand settled on my thigh and his fingers pressed into me through my jeans, and all thoughts of friendship blew past me carried off by the rough wind.

  We rode for over an hour, my body pressed against his for a full damn hour, and when we finally pulled to a stop outside an old bar-b-que restaurant, I could barely feel my legs.

  Mason swung off the bike before gripping my hips in his hands and helping do the same.

  “You been riding a lot before?” He unhooked my helmet and pulled it from my head. I was sure my hair was a wild ass mess, but at the moment, I didn’t care. “You’re a natural back there.”

  “Yeah.” I took the helmet from his hands and strapped it to the back of his bike. “My dad had one practically my whole life.”

  He nodded his head and I could see a trace of relief in his eyes as if he knew I was going to say I used to ride with an ex.

  I had been on the back of other bikes, but not with anyone who mattered.

  “I hope you’re hungry. This place has the best bar-b-que around.”

  “I’m starving.” I followed him toward the restaurant, and he put his arm around my shoulders as we walked side-by-side.

  We were sat as soon as we walked into the tiny restaurant, and I looked around at the red and white checkered tablecloths. The servers wore cowgirl boots and red plaid shirts, and I rolled my eyes when the server who came to our table accompanied her outfit with a pair of daisy dukes that were far too short to be serving food.

  “Hi. I’m Brandi. I’m going to be your server today. Can I get you started with something to drink?” She had her eyes directly on Mason, not even acknowledging that I was there, and I could feel my claws coming out.

  “I’ll take sweet tea.” Mason finally looked up at the server, but he only shot her a small glance before he turned to me.

  “Sweet tea for me as well.”

  “I’ll have them right out to you.” Brandi stuck her pad of paper back into her apron that hung lower than her shorts and walked away after sparing another longing glance in Mason’s direction.

  I couldn’t blame her.

  He looked incredibly hot in a black t-shirt and jeans. His skin was tan, his aviators were resting on the top of his head, and his slight beard was begging me to grip it in my hands as I devoured his lips.

  But I still didn’t like her.

  And I sure as hell didn’t like her eye fucking my… my friend.

  I unwrapped my silverware and put my napkin in my lap.

  “What’s wrong?” Mason smirked.

  “Nothing’s wron
g.” I pushed my hair out of my face and suddenly I felt self-conscious. I never felt self-conscious. Not over my looks. Not for a man.

  It was something that I had promised myself a long time ago. I wouldn’t change myself for a man, and I wouldn’t let myself worry about it if he didn’t love something about me.

  But here I sat comparing myself to our server, and I fucking hated it.

  “I’m going to run to the bathroom really quick.” I stood from the table and headed toward the bathroom.

  As I passed Mason, he touched his fingers to mine, bringing me to a stop, and he looked up at me with a big smile on his face.

  “Have I told you today how beautiful you look?”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Thanks, Mason.” I let my fingers slip from his and pulled my braid over my shoulder, and just like that, the insecurities that were flooding me melted away.

  I studied my reflection when I looked in the mirror then splashed water on my face.

  I hadn’t slept with anyone since that first night with Mason. I hadn’t even thought about another man. I hadn’t even realized it until that moment, realized the impact he was having on me, and I had absolutely no clue what I was doing.

  But I knew for sure that I was getting in over my head.

  I walked back to our table, and Mason smiled up at me as I sat down.

  “Did you know that for every non-porn webpage, there are five porn pages?”

  “Is that so?” I raised my eyebrows before taking a sip of my tea.

  “Yup. It’s a fact. I read it somewhere.”

  “Are you sure that you haven’t been doing your own research?” I quirked an eyebrow.

  “Do I look like the kind of guy who needs porn?” His grin was devilish and so damn handsome, and I knew that he wasn’t. But I didn’t want to think about that.

  “So humble, Mr. Connor. Are there any other super-attractive characteristics I should learn about you?” I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled.

  “Well, I wasn’t going to tell you until it came out, but I also ordered your food for you.”

  My mouth fell open, and he held up his hands.

  “You took so long in the bathroom, and I was wasting away to nothing out here. Plus, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what I chose.”