Chapter 17
Mason
I couldn't sleep a fucking lick that night. Eva had gotten into my mind from the moment she had accused my mother of being batshit crazy and she claimed she could take all of our money because of it. I had been absolutely fuming the rest of the evening. When Ash invited me to go inside, I desperately wanted to go in. I wanted to lose myself between her legs and bury my face into her tits and fuck her until she screamed my name because I had completely forgotten it myself.
But dear Jesus, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with her fucked up best friend.
I knew that not escorting her to her door was a major mistake. If I didn't figure out what the fuck I was going to do, I was going to end up ruining everything with Ash. But Eva's voice kept ricocheting throughout the corners of my mind for the whole fucking limo ride.
Her insinuation that I could never be with Ash because I was supposed to be with her made me absolutely livid. Did everyone around me really think I had absolutely no control over my life that I couldn't even pick the person I spent the rest of it with? The thought of it, even a couple of weeks ago, wouldn't have bothered me until Winston made me do that stupid bet.
That dumbass bet brought me out of this little bubble I’d created for myself when my father died. But that shit was never good enough for Winston. Oh, no. My batshit crazy best friend had to pull me out of the world I’d created for myself, because god forbid anyone live their life in any way but his way!
Did anyone stop to think I’d accepted things because shit just happened? Like death and bullshit and taxes and sickness? That shit just happens!
But had I not done that stupid bet, I would’ve never had made that stupid profile, and if I hadn’t made that stupid profile, I never would’ve found the most dynamic, beautiful, witty woman I had the pleasure of knowing.
And I fucking let Eva ruin it.
I tossed and turned all night. I kept seeing Ash in my dreams, and every single time she was there, I ended up hurting her somehow. I stood her up on a date, or I failed to remember to pick her up from somewhere. On a couple of occasions, I cheated, and once, I even yelled at her so harshly she cried.
She cried in every fucking nightmare I had that night, and every time she cried, I ripped myself from my sleep and felt my heart break just a little bit. They were so real and felt so vivid. The fourth time I woke up from my sleep, I had completely soaked my pajamas through with sweat.
“Shit,” I breathed.
By the time the sun rose that morning, I knew I had to sort things out with her. I grabbed my phone, opened up a new message to her, and I asked her if she wanted to meet me for brunch.
Up early I see, she messaged back.
I really need to talk with you. Please, I said.
What time does brunch take place? I don’t think us down here know what a brunch is.
I honestly couldn’t tell if she was being witty or if she was angry, and honestly, I couldn’t blame her if it was the latter. Eva had been a thorough bitch all evening, and Ash put up with enough of that having Frank in her life. Instead of taking her to do whatever she wanted to do on her Friday evening, she had been stuck with me at some dumbass function neither of us wanted to be at. She had compromised whatever would have made her happy to in order to go do what I wanted, and at that very moment, I realized what I had turned into.
I had turned into every other person in her life who used and took advantage of her.
It’s all on me. I’ll come pick you up, I’ll take you to eat wherever you want, and we can talk about last night. Please?
I waited for what seemed like ages for her to respond. Maybe she’d fallen back asleep or gotten into the shower, but I sat there on the edge of my bed and stared at my phone the entire time.
Then finally, the text message I was hoping to see popped up onto the screen.
See you around 10. I could meet up for a bit before work.
Work. Another thing that seemed to separate us. Besides not really knowing what she did, other than what Frank blurted out the other night, I knew nothing about what she did. To be honest, my family hadn’t had to work for generations. I mean, my father did a bit of maintenance and trading on the stock market, in order to enhance what we had and shift some things around so it would be insured and protected, but he never really had an occupation.
It was one of the perks that came with my family, and it was something my great-great-grandfather slaved over tirelessly to build. We respected it, we treated it with reverence, and even though we lived in opulence, we were never unnecessary spenders. My mother didn’t renovate the kitchen four times a year, and I didn’t buy a new suit for every single occasion, but we did live a life that boasted of our wealth.
We traveled, we looked impeccable in the finest clothes, and we did what we wanted, when we wanted because we never worked.
I got out of bed and got myself ready, and when I was satisfied with how I looked, I ran down the stairs and out to the driver. I told him that we were going to Ash’s, and when I got into the back of the car, I felt my phone vibrate.
There’s a place not too far from my work. Here’s the address.
I showed the address she sent me to my driver, and he recalculated where he was going. Even with me having to come down her way and navigate around, I ended up getting there before she did. I got us the best seat they had that overlooked the bustling streets of downtown, and without thinking, I ordered us two extra strong mimosas.
“Hey there, Mason,” I heard her say. I stood up and smiled at her, but before I could catch her eye, she had already spotted the drinks.
“I went ahead and ordered you one,” I said. “Figured we could use it after last night.”
“Mason. I can’t drink before work. Do you drink before work?”
She looked up at me, and it was the second stark difference that had hit me in less than an hour between the two of us. I motioned for the waitress to get Ash a water, and when we sat down, she was eyeing me carefully.
“I wish I had a job that let me drink beforehand,” she said, smirking.
“I don’t work,” I said.
“Oh, well. There’s that option, too.”
“A water for the miss,” the waiter smiled.
“Thank you very much,” she smiled back.
They were only two little differences between the two of us, but they culminated into an entirely different lifestyle. All I could really do was be honest with her, but I knew the tone of this conversation wasn’t going to be quite what I was hoping it would be.
“First off, I want to apologize for last night,” I began.
“Don’t worry about it,” she brushed off.
“No, hear me out. What Eva was doing and saying was wrong, and I should’ve put my foot down rather than saving face and enduring it.”
“Yes, you should’ve.” she nodded.
“It just doesn’t work that way. With those types of people and the connections they have to your life, you can’t just stomp on them like that.”
“Even when they are insulting your date?” Ash asked. She wasn’t being snarky and she wasn’t being mean. She was simply curious. It was yet another distinction between the life I lived and the life she lived, and I wasn’t sure I really understood how to explain it to her.
It was just something you had to grow up in and experience for yourself.
“You know I don’t want you for your money or your lifestyle, right?” she asked. “That’s not why I enjoy spending time with you.”
“Oh, god,” I said. “No. I know that completely.”
“Are the two of you ready?” the waiter asked.
“I’m not hungry,” Ash said lightly.
“Come on, eat something,” I urged.
“No, really, the water’s fine,” she said.
“Please, Ash. Even just a bowl of fruit?”
“I’m not hungry, Mason.”
“I’ll come back in a bit,” the waiter said, before walking away.
“Can I say something?” she asked.
“Anything.”
“It’s glaringly obvious to me that we have many differences in the way we live our lives and the way we were raised. Being in that ballroom and surrounded by all those people made that painfully clear. But I still want to get to know you. Like, actually know you. Know your hobbies and where you’ve traveled and what television shows you enjoy watching. I want to know those things.”
Shit. She was here talking about what we would do in the future, and I still had to address something that I knew was going to piss her off.
“Actually, Ash, I wanted to talk to you about that rift.”
“This doesn’t sound good,” she sighed.
“No, just listen. I’ll be honest. I am worried about the extreme differences between the two of us. I love spending time with you, and I think you’re wonderful, but people I am around are not gonna accept you as easily as Winston did.”
“I take it Winston’s just different,” she deadpanned.
“In ways you can only imagine.”
“But you’re saying because I don’t fit in, that I can’t be with you,” she said.
“No. I like you. A lot. And I enjoy spending time with you. A lot. But I am worried that if things progress with us, all our differences will do is end up hurting you.”
“I’m not meeting your family tomorrow, Mason. I’m just wanting to spend more time with you.” Ash chuckled breathlessly.
“I know, and I get that. But can’t you at least see where I’m coming from?”
“I suppose…” she trailed off.
“Our differences will get rough quickly. I don’t work, so there will always be a clashing of schedules because I’ll want you at times I can’t have you. When I take you out places and treat you to things, I’ll always have to keep things like your work schedule in mind, which I’m not used to, and it will take some time to learn. Your quirkiness makes me smile, but you saw how other people reacted to it last night. In your world, being different and quirky is valued. But in my world, blending in and acting alike is what’s valued.”
“If I need to dye my hair a different—”
“No,” I said quickly. I caught her gaze, and I saw the shock roll over her face. I knew this part of the conversation would eventually roll around because of the type of person she was.
“You will not change for them. For any of them. Do you understand me?”
“But if it’s to be with you—”
“Absolutely not. I like you the way you are.”
I watched her sit back into her seat. When the waiter came around, I ordered us both a round of pancakes and a bowl of fruit for the table. Ash stared out at the street before she checked her watch, and we both just sat in silence until the food arrived.
Then, one of our big differences reared its head just before I watched her pop a grape into her mouth.
“I’m late for work,” she murmured.
“Of course,” I said, nodding. “Let me walk you out.”
“I got it. I’m good. You just eat.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to take any of this with you? Ash, you’re gonna get hungry before lunch.”
“Who the fuck cares anymore,” she sighed.
It killed a part of me to know I’d hurt her. I spent all night in my dreams hurting her and breaking pieces of my soul I didn’t know existed until I met her. Now, here I was watching her sigh and choke back her own, real life sobs because of the bullshit topic of conversation I knew had to be addressed.
“It’s bullshit, I know,” I sighed.
“I have to get to work,” she mumbled.
“Talk to me,” I urged her.
“Oh, like you did for me last night?” she asked.
“Fine,” she spat before she dropped back into her seat. “I’ll talk.”