by Tia Siren
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” my manager said, walking in and sitting down. “Does this have to do with what the photographer said just happened?”
“No.” I smiled. “Just some stupid guy. I’m used to it. I just really am not feeling well.”
“Hopefully you gave whatever you have to him,” he said, laughing. “He deserves it after that.”
“I know. He does. I’m so sorry if this causes a problem.”
“Not at all,” he said. “You did a fantastic job while you were here.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You were here for three hours, right?”
“Yes,” I said, smiling.
“Here is fifteen hundred dollars.” He handed me an envelope. “I’d like to keep your number for the next time we do this, if that’s okay.”
“Absolutely,” I said. “I’m always looking for new gigs.”
“Great,” he replied, helping me up. “Go home and get some rest.”
“I will,” I said, and walked out of his office.
I was trying so hard to hold it together in front of him. The last thing I needed was even more drama than what had occurred when I was at a gig. I opened the envelope and counted the money, then sighed and stuck it in my pocket. It wasn’t the two grand I was hoping for, but it was close enough and would take care of the rest of my tuition. Forfeiting five hundred dollars to get away from Mason was well worth it, but I still had to get out of the building. Why did I feel like I’d done something wrong? Like I had to hide away from this guy? If nothing else, he should be hiding away from me, ashamed of what his father had done. But that wasn’t how life worked.
I walked over to the door leading into the showroom and peeked out. Mason was still out there, talking to the photographer. They were both laughing, so I knew he had used his charm to weasel his way out of that mess. I turned around and groaned, then looked up to find the back exit. Good. I could get out of there without having to talk to him again. I left the building and headed to my car, which was parked down the block. As soon as the fresh air hit me, my emotions erupted again, and I ran down the street and hopped into my car. I gripped the steering wheel, angry and upset at the same time. I reached down, grabbed my phone, and dialed my mom.
“Hey, sweetie. How was the gig?” she answered happily.
“It was fine until Mason York showed up,” I said.
“What? Are you okay?”
“Yes, no, yes, I don’t know.” I sighed. “I’m leaving now and coming over to see you.”
“I’ll be here,” she said. “I’ll put some coffee on. Just take a deep breath.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I said, then hung up the phone.
I pulled out and started toward Brooklyn where my parents lived. My mom was always there to talk to, but I knew my father would be livid. He was at work, though, and that was a good thing. After the hotels went down, he had gone out and got a job at a small grocer, and he managed the place. The pay wasn’t what he was used to, but it paid the bills, and that was all he cared about. They had used everything they had to try to pull themselves out of the mess the Yorks created when they sold the pieces of my father’s legacy.
I pulled up in front of the house and got out, waving at the neighbor as I jogged to the door. My mother had left it open and was standing there for a big hug when I walked through the door. She could see I was shaken up, so she took me into the kitchen and sat me down at the table, then brought two hot mugs of coffee over.
“Tell me what happened,” she said.
“I was doing the shoot, and this guy who I thought was a model came up on the bed and kissed me,” I said. “I pulled back and looked into his eyes and realized it was Mason. He realized it was me too.”
“What did you do?”
“I slapped him and ran off,” I said.
“Good,” she said angrily. “I cannot believe he would have the audacity to do something like that.”
“Me either,” I said. “I told the manager I wasn’t feeling well, and he was okay with it, but it caused me to miss out on an entire hour of shooting, which is a lot of money.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No, Mom.” I smiled. “Thank you, though.”
“Mason and his family have always stepped to the sound of their own drum,” my mom said. “I thought when Mason was young that he would be different, but he’s a product of his environment. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. I do want to say, your obsession with what happened in the past may not be healthy for you.”
“Mom, we’ve been over this,” I said. “It’s not an obsession.”
“Okay, but it’s not what you want to do, not really.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “The Yorks deserve to be taken down, and you and Dad deserve retribution. That is why I am doing it, and no one will talk me out of it.”
My mom had calmed my nerves, but she had lit that fire of motivation all over again. Mason and his family were worse than I had imagined. I had to forget about him and push forward. It was all I had.
Chapter 5
Mason
It was Tuesday night, which anywhere else would be a terrible night to go to the club, but in New York, every night was a good night for a party. John and I had decided to go, me mostly because I couldn’t sit in my apartment anymore thinking about what had happened yesterday. Still, out there in the music and lights, I wasn’t feeling it, even though I really wanted to. My mind was somewhere else, and I knew John could tell. We were sitting at the bar sipping whiskey and Cokes like we always did when we started the night. We perused the club, looking for the girls we wanted to zero in on for the night. The place was packed with beautiful women, as always, but none of them were really catching my attention.
“So, I talked to that chick from the lobby of my apartment building again,” John said. “She is totally down for hooking up on Thursday.”
“I still don’t understand why you go back to a chick you’ve already been with.”
“She and I meshed well,” he said. “What’s not to understand? Sometimes I can’t figure out what your aversion to the past is.”
“It brings people down,” I said grumpily.
“Dude, you have been in a funk all night.” He studied me with slightly narrowed eyes, like he was trying to see into my head. “What the hell is up with you?”
“Nothing,” I said, shrugging. “Nothing, I swear. I just get this way after dealing with my family.”
“Right,” he said.
I didn’t want to bring up my ex in front of John, especially when we were supposed to be out at the bar scouting pussy. He didn’t need to hear my woe-is-me stories. Nor did I feel like explaining why this girl had become an ex. To be honest, I didn’t really know myself. My parents had always thought they were better Ava’s, but I had no idea what had really started the feud between our families. My father did screwed-up things all the time, but whatever had happened I couldn’t hold on to the past forever. Still, seeing Ava sent my brain all over the place, and it was seriously messing with my vibe. I was not a pussy, and I was not going to let myself fall to pieces over someone from my past.
“What about her?” I nodded toward a redhead. “You like the fiery ones.”
“That’s Sicily,” John said. “I slept with her three months ago. Batshit crazy is what she is.”
“Ha. Batshit crazy makes the best fuck.”
“That is true, my friend,” he said, clinking my glass. “But is not worth the pain afterward.”
I was trying to act like the big bad playboy I was, but I was struggling to do so. I was feeling something almost like guilt. I had never felt that way before, and now that Ava had fallen back into my life, at least for just a moment, my head was all screwed up. I felt like what I was doing was bad for some reason, which was new to me because I was the guy who was out all the time picking up chicks. Ava needed to get out of my head and soon, or she was going to mess up my game completely.
&n
bsp; “That hot blonde looks like she’s making her way over here with her friend,” John whispered. “We’ll play it by their interests.”
“Got it,” I said.
“Hey,” the blonde said to me, biting her lip. “I’m Misty.”
“Hello there, Misty.” I put my drink on the bar. “I’m Mason, and this is John. Would you and your friend like to come dance with us?”
“Absolutely,” she said, glancing over at her friend.
I smiled and stepped down from my barstool, taking her by the hand. We walked out onto the dance floor, and I watched as she started to twist and move her body seductively to the music. I knew I should feel something, anything, about this girl, but there was little to no interest at all. I glanced up at John, who was dancing closely with the other girl, and he gave me a look reminding me to pay attention to the blonde. I stepped forward and pulled her close, and she started to grind against me. Normally that would give me a chub, but I still had nothing. I closed my eyes and listened to the beat of the music, letting it take me away. We danced for several songs with her grinding hard against me and my hands gripping her ass for effect.
She smiled up at me, flirting hard and trying to get me to respond. I looked up at John and remembered what I was there at the bar for, so I leaned down and kissed her neck. She smelled like strong perfume, and the scent almost choked me. I thought about the smell of cherry and vanilla that had been all over Ava, and it sent butterflies into my stomach. When the song ended, I sighed, visions of that kiss with Ava flowing freely through my mind. I wanted to be out with her, dancing with her, feeling her body close to mine. She was so different from the last time I saw her, and the fact that she was even more beautiful than before floored me. I had always measured women, consciously and subconsciously, against Ava, and I had never thought she could get hotter than she was when we were teenagers.
“Do you want to get a drink?” the blonde asked.
“Sure,” I yelled over the music, glad to not be forced to dance anymore.
I turned and nodded my head at John, who was already making out with the blonde’s friend. Misty giggled while watching her friend, and the sound of her voice almost irritated me. I walked over to the bar and sat down, ordering a round of drinks. I needed to drown out my thoughts. I needed to drink Ava right out of my brain so I could focus on more important things, like the hot blonde who wanted my attention desperately. The sound of the music pulsed in my chest as I sat there thinking about everything that had happened at the mattress store. I hadn’t even realized it was Ava until after the kiss, but before that, I had felt compelled to be near her. I had felt like I was being drawn into her, drawn to her, and the fact that I climbed across the bed and kissed her was surprising for even me. I was bold, and I usually took what I wanted, but not in broad daylight while mattress shopping and definitely not in the middle of a crowd of people.
“What do you do, Mason?” Misty said, interrupting my thoughts.
“Oh, I, uh, work for my father’s company,” I said, realizing she was still there. “York Hotels and Resorts.”
“Oh,” she said, looking down at her drink and then back up at me. “Wait, you’re saying you’re the Mason York? The bachelor of New York, the heir to the multibillion-dollar corporation that is York Resorts?”
“Yeah.” I gave a fake chuckle. “That’s me.”
“Wow,” she said, laughing to herself. “That’s hot.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a student at NYU’s law school,” she said. “I’m in my second year of corporate law.”
“Nice,” I said, half interested.
“Maybe one day I’ll work for you.”
I scoffed. “Wouldn’t that be an interesting interview.”
“I think it would be,” she said, irritation in her voice. “You would be surprised just how not-dumb this blonde really is.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to offend you. My head is somewhere else.”
“I can help you with that,” she said, running her finger up my leg.
“You know,” I said, grabbing her hand, “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m going to bail.”
I nodded at the bartender, who ran my card quickly and handed me the receipt. I signed it and stuck it in my wallet before grabbing my jacket and walking away. The woman called my name in exasperation, but I didn’t care. I had to get the hell out of there. I felt like I was drowning and not in the way I wanted. Thoughts of Ava were all over my mind, and I couldn’t even focus on the sure thing right in front of me. I walked out of the club and took in a deep breath of cool night air. This was definitely going to be a problem.
Chapter 6
Ava
I had finished up my Tuesday final in record time and was glad to be done with that class. I only had a couple more to go before the semester was over and spring break started. I had some gigs lined up over the holiday but was mostly planning on relaxing and getting a head start on next semester’s classes. I headed over to the coffee shop by campus to meet up with Blair. She still didn’t know what had happened with Mason.
“How was your final?”
“Easy.” I sighed. “You know, the normal.”
“For you.” Her short laugh died when she caught the somber look on my face. “What’s up?”
“At the gig at the mattress shop, something happened,” I said. “I was modeling, and Mason came straight up to me and kissed me.”
“Wait. What?” she said, shaking her head. “Mason York?”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “Mason freaking York.”
“Wait. I’m so confused,” she said. “I thought everything went fine at the gig.”
“I just didn’t feel like talking about it,” I said. “I went straight to my mom’s afterward and told her everything that happened. She was shocked, of course, but was able to talk me out of my sheer panic.”
“Ava, you should have called me,” Blair said. “I would have come and kicked his rich little ass for you. No one messes with my best friend, and especially not when she’s in the middle of working.”
I chuckled. “I appreciate it. But I think a brawl between my ex and my best friend might have made the situation worse.”
“Everything is better with a nut punch,” Blair said.
“Those are very wise words.” I laughed, and it felt good to find some amusement in the situation. “But still, not something I want to happen at a gig. Not if I want other gigs in the future.”
“True,” Blair said. “So, beyond the shock and embarrassment, how do you feel about it?”
“Pissed,” I said. “Pissed that he made me miss out on five hundred bucks. The rest was anger and disbelief, but after I saw my mom, that calmed down a bit, I guess.”
“I just don’t understand who he thinks he is,” Blair said, shaking her head. “I mean, who does that?”
“Those were my thoughts,” I said. “Is the York family that out of control that they don’t know right from wrong? I mean, no one knew the details, except maybe the photographer who was talking to him afterward, but it was still absolutely mortifying.”
“I don’t know how you got through the rest of the gig.” Blair shook her head in disbelief. “And why did you lose out on five hundred bucks?”
“Oh, I didn’t stay the rest of the gig,” I said. “As soon as I realized what was going on, I ran off into the back. I told the manager I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Was he pissed?”
“No. Actually, he was really understanding and sweet,” I said. “I’m hoping he calls me next time they do that. It’s really good money outside an agency booking me. Because I was leaving an hour early, though, he only paid me fifteen hundred instead of two grand. It still covers my tuition balance, but I could have used that extra money for my parents.”
“Who couldn’t use an extra five hundred dollars?” She laughed. “Explain to me how this happened. I mean, didn’t you see him leaning in for a kiss? How did he en
d up on the bed with you in the first place? I think I’m going to need to hire you security because this shit is getting insane.”
“I know, right? I have to have bodyguards to keep men from kissing me. Never thought that would be an issue. As far as Mason ending up in my space, I have no idea how it happened. One minute I was modeling, taking photos, and the next, he had crawled up on the bed and his lips were pressed against mine. He seriously came out of nowhere.”
My mind drifted back to his lips pressed against mine, and heat rose in my stomach. I should have known right away it was him. He still kissed like he did when we had sex the first time. I guessed, though, I wasn’t expecting it. I wasn’t thinking Mason would come into the Fifth Street mattress store and jump on the bed with me. I shook the thoughts from my head and came back to the conversation, not liking how it made me feel. I needed to hate him, not lust after him.
“That is so weird,” Blair said. “I would have clobbered him right there in the middle of the store.”
“I did get a slap in, but only after I realized what was going on,” I said.
“So why didn’t you push him away?” she asked. “It sounds like he got a good piece of time there with his mouth on yours.”
That was a really good question, and I wasn’t quite sure how to answer it. In a way, I really hadn’t wanted to push the guy away. On the other hand, everything was so crazy in my head, I still was having a hard time thinking clearly. It was so infuriating that he was having this effect on me.
“At first I thought he was another model,” I said. “I thought it was part of the pictures, so I kind of just went with it. I thought it would be a quick kiss and that was it.”
