by Parker, Ali
“I don’t think it’s just hooking up. It’s different. I actually like him. We talked a lot and we really do have a lot more in common than we thought. It’s very strange and I would have never imagined we would ever be compatible, but I think we are,” I told her.
It had taken me all day yesterday and today to come to that realization. It was a hard pill to swallow. I couldn’t quite understand how I could go from loathing him one minute and the next, feeling like I could spend hours with him talking about anything.
“Really? Mason Bancroft?” she said.
I nodded. “Really. We went to dinner. I rode on his bike, by the way, and oh my God, that was a rush,” I said, smiling at the memory.
“You rode on his bike?” she asked, her jaw dropping.
“Yep. He bought me my own helmet,” I said proudly.
“Wow. That must be love,” she teased.
“It was very thoughtful.”
“Okay, okay, get back to you two hooking up again,” she said, waving her hand.
“After dinner, he gave me a ride home. I invited him up and well, he stayed the night. He took me to work the next morning and sat and drank coffee while I worked,” I said, smiling at the memory.
“Holy shit. I don’t even know what to say. Does Dalton know?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I have no idea. Why?”
“Because you know you’re like a sister to him and Mason is like a brother. I’m guessing he is going to have an opinion about this new development. It is a development, right?” she asked.
“I think so. I haven’t really talked to him about it. I actually haven’t talked to him since Tuesday, but when he left, he did say he wanted to see me again, and I agreed,” I told her.
She sipped on the smoothie. “And this is what you want?”
I bit my bottom lip. “I think so. I’m not committing to anything. I’m only saying I want to see where it goes. I don’t want to force anything. If it happens, it happens. If it turns out we really are polar opposites, then so be it. We can say we had a little fun while it lasted and move on with our lives.”
“This is nuts. Absolutely crazy, insane,” she said, her voice filled with wonder.
“I know. It is. He might have changed his mind about me. I could be totally jumping the gun here, but he gave me the idea he was interested in something with me. Then again, I don’t really know him, and this could be his play,” I mumbled, hoping he wasn’t playing me.
I couldn’t really be upset with him if he did decide it was nothing more than a two-night stand. We had made no promises and hadn’t talked about us and a relationship or any of that other stuff. We’d found peace and maybe that’s all we were meant to have.
“I don’t think he plays anyone. Mason is a straight shooter. You had to have realized that about him. I’m pretty sure that’s why you guys bickered so much. You’re both the type of people who call it like you see it. Neither of you really holds back.”
“True, but have you ever known him to have a girlfriend?” I asked her.
She wrinkled her nose, looking up at nothing. “Not really. But he does travel a lot. He might have had girlfriends over there.”
I sucked on my smoothie. Now that I had said it out loud and told Deanna, it was all the more real. When it was just me mulling it over, I could always tell myself it was just one of those fantasies, kind of like a celebrity crush. It could never really happen. Saying it out loud made it a goal. I was the type of person who only said what I truly meant. I was serious about giving things a shot with Mason. I had no way of knowing if he felt the same way, but I was damn sure going to find out.
“I’m going for it,” I told her.
She grinned. “Well, then, I guess this should be interesting.”
“Interesting or frightening, it could still go either way,” I joked.
“I can’t believe this could be a thing. Just think, you almost walked out that night. You almost didn’t even sit and have a drink with him. Do you remember how mad you were when you found out he was coming?” she asked with a laugh.
“I do. I directly asked him why he hated me, and he didn’t really have an answer. I couldn’t really come up with a good reason for why I hated him either. I think we are both kind of brusque, and we both tend to always assume the worst in people, and it was just a huge clash of two very strong-minded people,” I explained.
“Oh, trust me, I know. I witnessed it firsthand,” she said, holding up a hand, her eyes wide.
“Anyway, I think it’s worth giving him a chance,” I said, strong in my conviction to at least try.
“Me too. I’m so excited. For both of you. You guys are my two favorite people in the world and I love you both very dearly. I would love for the two of you to be able to find happiness together. It would certainly make those dinners out a lot easier to deal with,” she added with a laugh.
“Don’t say anything to him about what I’ve said in case he has other plans. I don’t want him to think he has to take me out again or something like that. I don’t want this forced. If it happens, it has to be natural and organic,” I warned her. “No trying to play matchmaker.”
She made a cross on her chest. “I won’t. I promise. I would be too afraid to meddle in the middle of the two of you. Both of you scare me a little.”
I burst into laughter. “Liar.”
She shrugged. “A tiny bit.”
We finished our smoothies before we both headed out, each of us going home. I had another early day tomorrow and I was really hoping to see Mason tomorrow night. I wanted to make sure I went into the weekend fully rested. If there was a chance I could spend some time with him, I was going to take it, and I didn’t want to be dragging ass the whole time. I was going to need my energy, I thought to myself. Already thinking about the long nights filled with pleasure.
Chapter 23
Mason
I checked the clock and realized I probably still had time to catch Adelaide at the coffee shop. I realized too late that I didn’t have her phone number. I wasn’t about to ask Dalton or Deanna for it. That would open up a conversation I wasn’t ready to have. Dalton would ask me what my intentions were, and I wouldn’t have a good answer. I didn’t know what my intentions were. I knew I intended to see her again and maybe talk a little about what she was thinking about our newfound alliance, but I couldn’t say what my intentions were beyond that.
I didn’t want the lecture from Dalton. In a way, I was glad that he would feel the need to give it, because I did want Adelaide to have someone in her life looking out for her. However, I didn’t want Dalton being put in the position where he might have to pick a side. For now, it was best if the thing between Adelaide and me stayed between Adelaide and me.
I grabbed my keys to the Harley and looked around for my phone. When it started ringing, I was quite grateful because I probably would have spent a long time looking for it and possibly missed catching Adelaide at work.
I looked at the screen and saw the picture of Jack I had taken shortly after he’d gotten his ass kicked by Grayson a while back. That had been pretty funny. He’d been pissed as hell I had taken the picture. He’d really be pissed if he knew I had saved it to my contact information for him.
“What’s wrong?” I answered, knowing the only reason he would be calling me was if something had happened to him, a brother, or our mother.
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Then why are you calling me?” I snapped.
“You’re still pissed about the other night,” he stated.
“What do you want, Jack?” I asked, not in the mood for another lecture from my older brother.
“I don’t want anything. I’m sorry about the way things went at dinner. That wasn’t cool. We shouldn’t have all jumped on you,” he said apologetically.
“No, you shouldn’t have, but you always do. That night wasn’t anything new,” I grumbled.
He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I know we have to learn to keep our opinions to oursel
ves. You live a different life and it’s your choice to live it that way.”
“I think what you mean is Dad’s opinions. You need to learn not to parrot Dad’s opinions,” I replied.
“Fair enough,” he said, effectively ending the argument before it could get started.
“So, again, why did you call?” I asked, checking the time.
“I called to invite you to dinner,” he said.
I scoffed. “No. I’ve had enough family dinners for at least a month, thanks,” I said dryly.
“It wouldn’t be a family dinner. It would be dinner with me, Grayson, and our wives. We’d like you to get to know them better and vice versa. No lectures. It will just be us, eating dinner and nothing more,” he said.
I thought it over. “I don’t know,” I hesitated.
“Mason, we’re family. We’re brothers. We’re all any of us has. You really came through for me with all that other nonsense. I know you don’t completely hate me. Give it a chance. We can hang out like we used to,” he reasoned.
“Hang out? When have we ever hung out?”
“Knock it off,” he ordered. “We’ve hung out. Don’t make things difficult. I know we’ve messed up—I’ve messed up. I want to make things right between us. If Grayson and I could put aside our differences, we can as well. We’ve gotten along before. We can do it again.”
“Jack, you’re not the one I don’t want to hang out with,” I told him.
He laughed. “Good, because I know I’m your favorite brother. Grayson has changed a lot. I think you have to give him a chance.”
“Family dinners are seriously a real pain in my ass.”
“This isn’t a family dinner. It’s us brothers. We can be a little more relaxed when Mom isn’t around.”
“Your wives are going to be there,” I reminded him.
“Mason, I’m not going to grovel. Just get your shit together and meet us at the restaurant,” he demanded.
I thought about it, dreading another dinner with people judging me and lecturing me about my choices. Grayson couldn’t help who he was. He was my father’s dutiful soldier. He was only doing what he’d seen my dad do. He looked down his nose at me, those eyes always so serious boring into mine, judging me from head to toe. I would never live up to his expectations. I would never be the brother he thought I should be.
Despite all my reservations, I found myself leaning toward saying yes. I did want to have my brothers in my life. None of us was getting any younger. I did want to know a little more about them and their families.
“I swear to God, one of you fuckers says shit about my life, my tats, or my hair, I will get up and walk out of that restaurant so fast your head will spin. I won’t go quietly either. I will make sure everyone in the place sees and hears exactly what I think. Your Bancroft family name is going to have a giant black spot on it,” I warned him.
He chuckled. “Duly noted. You’ll throw a tantrum and act like a little shit if you don’t like something we say.”
“Basically, yes, but the difference between us is I won’t give a shit that people are staring and whispering about me. You and Grayson will,” I told him, laying down my warning.
I was not to be tempted or fucked with. Jack knew me well enough to know I was being completely serious when I said what I would do. If he tried to pull anything, it would likely be the final straw in our very tenuous relationship. I wouldn’t keep giving him or Grayson chances. I had way too much pride and serious lack of give-a-fuck to subject myself to their constant badgering.
“I get it, Mason. I’m serious. This is not about us trying to lecture you. I want us to be able to get along, not only for our sakes, but for Mom’s as well as my future child and the other children that are going to be in the family. They don’t need to be raised around a bunch of stress and tension. Let this work. You have to make an effort too,” he said.
“I know. I will, but I think I have a severe lack of patience when it comes to this kind of thing.”
He laughed. “No shit. I’ll see you at six. We’re going to Winnie’s,” he said and hung up.
I was surprised he and Grayson knew the place. It wasn’t quite up to their usual high standards of fine dining experiences. I hoped that meant they were serious about toning down their usual attitudes. The choice of restaurant was a huge step in the right direction.
I scrapped my plans to see Adelaide tonight. I would get up early and go to the coffee shop in the morning and ask her to go to dinner with me tomorrow. I wanted to take her back to my place. I wanted to share with her like she had shared with me.
I headed back into my bedroom and opened my closet, scanning the few nice shirts I had. I wasn’t giving up my jeans, but I would put on a pair I knew to be clean and in good shape. I found a plaid short-sleeved button-up with lots of black and grays. It would have to do. With my outfit picked out, I jumped in the shower to clean up a bit. After trimming the facial hair and brushing my teeth, I called it good. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but I didn’t want to necessarily make a bad impression. If they were trying, I could put forth a little bit of effort too.
I took the Sheene out, driving across town to the restaurant. The Friday evening traffic was a real bitch. I was going to be late. I could already see my brother’s scowls as they checked the time. They’d get over it. I walked into the same restaurant I had been in last week with a very surly Adelaide. Thinking about her made me smile.
“Hi, I’m here to meet Bancroft,” I said to the hostess.
I realized it was the same young woman from last week. She was blushing furiously and looked out of sorts. “Oh, yes, right this way,” she said in a high-pitched voice.
I followed her through the dining area. I immediately spotted my brothers. They were sitting at a table in the center of the room. Jack got to his feet when he saw me. “Thanks for coming,” he said.
I nodded. “We’ll see how thankful you are.”
He gave me a look. “Mason.” He hissed.
I winked. “Just kidding.”
He reminded me of whose wife was who as I sat down next to him. Grayson was sitting directly across from me.
“I’m glad you came. I’m sorry about the other night,” he muttered.
I looked to his wife, Hannah, knowing she had probably encouraged the apology. “It’s not a big deal. It’s in the past.”
“Good,” he said, picking up his glass of white wine and drinking from it.
I guess I couldn’t expect him to completely change who he was.
“Want a beer?” Jack asked.
“I rode my bike tonight. I’ll stick with water,” I told him.
“Which bike?” Jack asked.
“The Sheene,” I replied, appreciating that he asked.
Jack let out a low whistle. “One of these days I’m going to get me a motorcycle.”
Natasha nearly choked on the water she was drinking. “Let’s not get carried away.”
I laughed, not the least bit offended by her very unenthusiastic reaction to Jack on a bike. She wasn’t the first wife to put the foot down when it came to motorcycle riding. I understood it. She loved him and wanted him whole and intact. It wasn’t a ridiculous request.
The hostess led a woman directly to our table. I looked up to see her face and didn’t recognize her. She was pretty, probably midtwenties, and had a megawatt smile.
“Tara, hi,” Jack said getting to his feet. “Go ahead and have a seat.”
She sat down next to Grayson. I realized then that the table had been set for six.
“Hi, everyone,” she said, smiling at each of them before looking at me.
“Mason, this is Tara. She’s an old friend of Natasha’s from way back in the day,” Jack explained.
Tara looked at me. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I replied, not wanting to be rude.
My eyes went to Grayson who suddenly found something very interesting in the bottom of his glass. I looked back at Tara. She was a perky, pretty bl
ond with a fake tan and what I was guessing were fake tits. I could tell by the way she held herself and the pampered look about her said she came from money. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Jack.
I was so pissed at him. They were trying to set me up with a woman from their world. I knew exactly what they were doing. They thought they could get me to settle down and fit into their world if they could just get me hitched to the right woman to tame me. Tara probably had no idea what their ulterior motives were. They probably told her they had a younger, single brother and they’d like her to meet me.
I held up a hand, signaling the waitress. I was going to need a beer after all, I decided. My first reaction was to get up and walk out of the restaurant without looking back. I couldn’t do it to Tara. She was an innocent victim in my brothers’ nasty little game. They’d pay later, but for now, I’d be polite, have a drink and then make up an excuse about having to go early. I wouldn’t make her pay the price for their sins.
Chapter 24
Adelaide
I had finally swallowed my pride and asked Deanna for Mason’s phone number. Dalton, Deanna, and I had arranged to go out for drinks again and I was hoping he’d go with us. I wanted to see him again and had been a little bummed that he hadn’t come by or texted since Tuesday. I was already waffling on my decision to try and have an actual relationship with him. If he was ghosting me, I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of things. I was going to pretend I didn’t even notice he ghosted me at all.
Deanna showed up at the coffee shop right at five. I had someone else taking care of the closing duties, so I could go home, shower, and change.
“Hey, you’re early,” I told her.
She shook her head. “No, I’m on time. It’s five. It’s time to go.”
I nodded. “Okay, give me a quick second,” I told her, running into the kitchen to put away the cream cheese and other condiments I’d been working with.
I got sidetracked and ended up wiping down the counters and taking care of the closing duties like I was so used to doing. It was a habit. I heard the kitchen door open and looked up to find Deanna standing there, a scowl on her face.
