Chapter Twenty Three
Either my mailman just got a thousand times hotter or Mason Hunter is standing on my doorstep. I pinch myself to check if I'm dreaming.
I'm not.
Mason is standing in front of me, soaking wet. I watch as little drops of rain fall from his floppy hair and make their way down his face. I follow their path as they trickle from his chin onto his white T-shirt; which is now completely see through, revealing rock hard abs. I swallow hard as warmth spreads throughout my entire body. I don't know how long I stare at him but it must be a while as goosebumps begin to form on my arms from the chill outside. I finally manage to tear my eyes away from his body and look up to discover that I'm not the only one admiring the view. His eyes are wide and hungry as they peruse my silk cami and matching shorts. My nipples harden but this time it has nothing to do with the weather. I suddenly remember that I'm not wearing a bra and quickly fold my arms across my chest.
His eyes find mine. "Good morning."
"Morning," I reply, which comes out as more of a whisper. What the hell is he doing here?
"I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again this soon.”
“Me neither. I’m starting to think that you’re stalking me.”
“If I was stalking you, wouldn’t I be hiding in your bushes?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.”
He laughs. “How are you?"
"Not bad. You?"
He looks down at his T-shirt. "Um, a little wet."
"Do you want to come inside?" I ask without thinking. Shit, what am I doing?
"Please." He takes a step inside and glances around before his eyes find mine once more.
"Can I get you anything? A towel? Rubber duck?"
He laughs. "A towel would be good."
"Okay, I'll be right back." I walk away but as soon as I'm out of sight, I run to Lori's room and let myself in without knocking. She's in bed, grinning at something on her phone. "Help," I whisper.
She looks up. "Well hello there, nipples."
"Mason's here."
"Is that your explanation or have you changed the subject?"
"Help me," I hiss. She gets out of bed and casually strolls over to her dressing table. "Why are you so calm?" I ask.
She laughs. "I'm sorry, am I supposed to panic?"
"Yes! Panic with me!"
"Well in that case..." She grabs hold of my hands and jumps up and down. "Why is he here? What the hell are we going to do? Who, what, when, where, why?"
I scowl. "You're such a sarcastic bitch." She laughs again. "Shhhh," I tell her. "He'll hear you."
"Oh noooo, god forbid he hears your roommate laughing in her own house." She passes me some gum. "Here."
"What's this for? Oh my god, does my breath smell?" I breathe into my hands.
"No but you asked me to help and I don't know what else to do."
"It'll look weird if I go back out there chewing gum."
"Well it's going to look weird anyway after disappearing for half an hour."
"You're not helping. Can I borrow a shirt?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. Free the nipple."
I roll my eyes. "Please just get me one."
"It's a real thing, Google it.”
"I don't want to free the nipple.”
“I bet Mason would want you to.”
"Gah, I hate you." I turn around and head for the door. "Thanks for all of your invaluable help. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Free the nipple, free the nipple," she begins to chant as I close the door behind me.
I take a deep breath and try to compose myself before heading back to Mason, arms folded across my chest. He smiles as I approach and continues to wipe the rain off his forehead. The rain. Shit, I forgot the towel. It's too late to turn around now. “I'm sorry, I couldn't find a towel. I looked everywhere, that's why it took me so long."
"Oh. Don't worry about it, I'm not even that wet." A big drop of rain falls onto his cheek. "Okay, maybe that was a lie."
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"More liquid, why not?"
"Is coffee okay?"
“I don’t drink coffee."
I gasp. “A businessman who doesn’t drink coffee? But how do you stay awake?”
“Well there’s this thing called sleep.”
“Ah, I’ve heard about that. It’s what I should be doing at three A.M instead of googling the entire history of the universe. I can get you a bottle of water?”
“Water would be good, thanks. Although I could probably just squeeze the water out of my T-shirt.”
I laugh. “Come and sit down.”
"Are you sure? I’ll drip all over your floors."
"It's fine, they could use a clean."
He takes off his shoes and places them next to a pair of my own. The sight of them lined up makes my stomach flutter. It’s such an insignificant thing, a picture of normality, but I didn’t realize how much I craved normal until now. "I hope Buzz didn't cause too much trouble last night," he says as he follows me into the kitchen. He must be talking about what happened with Stacey.
"No, it's all good. He was just having fun and got a little carried away. We could have probably stopped it from happening but it's not that easy when alcohol is involved. Anything can happen. I'll admit that I was a little unsure of him at first but he’s harmless. I like him."
His face falls. "You do?"
"Yeah, he's fun and doesn't take himself too seriously. I could totally see us hanging out again."
"Oh," is all he says, looking disappointed.
I laugh, confused by his reaction. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Um, no...it's just...I’m a little surprised. I didn't think you two..."
"You didn't think we would get along? Yeah, he's a little full of himself but nothing I can't handle."
"Where is he?"
"Buzz? How would I know?"
"Has he already left?"
I frown. "Left where? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Buzz said that he was here…and judging by the look on your face, I've been set up. I am so going to kick his ass."
I laugh. "Buzz told you that he was here?"
"Yeah, he asked me to come and get him. I didn't know this was your address until you opened the door."
"Why would he do that?"
"I have no idea how his brain works and I'd like to keep it that way."
"Wait a second, did you think that Buzz spent the night?"
"Yeah."
I raise both eyebrows. "With me?"
"Well I would have guessed Lori after last night but then you said that you liked him and wanted to hang out again.”
"He's not my type," I reply, a little too quickly.
"Good." His response comes just as fast.
I walk over to the fridge and pull out a bottle of water, taking my time to hide the pink blush which is slowly spreading across my cheeks. If this was any other trap, I would like where our conversation was heading and use it to my advantage but now that I know the truth, I can't help but root for Mason. I don’t want to do or say anything which could help his wife get the evidence she needs. But trying not to flirt with a man as handsome as Mason is an almost impossible task. "Lori must have given him our address," I say, changing the subject. It would explain why she was acting so weird just now. She didn't seem surprised when I told her that Mason was here, almost as though she was expecting it. “They must be up to something.”
“Buzz is always up to something.”
“They sound like the perfect match.”
“He wouldn’t shut up about her last night. Speaking of which, did you manage to get the stain out of your dress?”
“No, it’s ruined.”
“What’s ruined?” Lori asks as she walks in the room. “Hey Mason, nice shower?”
“Very refreshing, thank you.”
"You’re dripping everywhere. Do you want a towel?"
"We don't have any,” I tell her.
"What? There are loads in the bathroom."
"No there's not. We need to do laundry."
"I put about ten clean ones in there yesterday."
"Well they've all gone." I try to silently communicate with her but she ignores me and walks out of the room. When she reappears a few seconds later, she's holding not one, not two, but three towels. She hands them to Mason.
"Are you keeping a secret stash?" I ask. "I didn't see them."
"They were right in front of you, where we always keep them. I think you need to get your eyes tested." She opens the fridge and buries her head inside.
"Sorry," I tell Mason as he towel-dries his hair, making it look all kinds of sexy and dishevelled.
He laughs. "It's fine. I'd be completely blind if I didn't wear my contacts."
"I didn't know you wore contact lenses."
"Every day. I'm actually having laser eye surgery next month."
"Wow, you're a lot braver than I am. I would never let a needle near my eyes." I shudder.
When Lori reappears from the other side of the fridge, she has a huge grin on her face. I know she's up to something and my suspicions are confirmed when she winks at me. "Sorry to interrupt your riveting conversation but did you tell Mason about your dream?"
"What dream?" he asks.
"Yeah," I say, "What dream?"
"The one you had last night. Don't you think it's weird that you dream about Mason then he shows up a few hours later? I guess the law of attraction really does work."
I turn to Mason. "I have no idea what she's talking about."
"Don't be embarrassed," Lori continues. "I'm sure Mason would love to hear all about it."
"You're right, Mason would love to hear all about it," he adds.
This time there's no hiding my blush. I'm going to kill Lori. I decide to play her at her own game. "Okay, fine. I dreamt that we walked in on Lori and Buzz having wild sex.” Her eyes widen. “Maybe Mason should call Buzz right now so I can tell him how you kept screaming that it was the best sex of your life.” She looks half angry, half impressed.
“Well at least now we know that dreams don’t come true,” she replies.
“What about the law of attraction?”
“I’ll know that’s real when he moves to the other side of the world. Oh, before I forget, I can’t make brunch today.”
I frown. Why is she acting so strange? “I didn’t know anything about brunch.”
"Yeah you did, silly. I booked a table at that new restaurant down the road. People book weeks in advance. Why don't you two go instead?"
What the hell is she doing? "I'm actually about to go for a run," I say quickly.
"In this weather?" Lori asks.
"Yes Lori, in this weather. It's only a bit of rain."
"A bit of rain? Have you seen Mason?" He shakes out his wet hair right on cue. "Do you run?" she asks him.
"Of course I run."
"Wow," Lori says. "It was only yesterday that you were saying that you wanted a running partner. Why don't you two run together?"
“Oh, I bet I’m too slow for Mason.”
"I’ll let you set the pace.” His comment earns a grin off Lori. “Do you like to go fast or slow?”
My heart begins to beat a little faster. “It depends what mood I’m in.”
He raises one eyebrow. “I see. And when do you usually run?"
“Every morning,” Lori answers for me. “Nine o’ clock. Weston Park.”
“Well I might see you there tomorrow then.”
“Oh, um, I’m actually busy tomorrow.”
“Doing what?” Lori asks.
“A thing,” I reply.
“Maybe another time,” he says.
“Maybe.”
“Well I better go before I get pneumonia. Sorry for interrupting your morning.”
“It’s fine,” I reply. “Say hi to Buzz for us.”
“Oh I will, after I kick his ass.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I tell him.
He waves bye to Lori then follows me to the door. He winces as he puts his shoes back on. “I think barefoot would have been a better choice.”
I open the door. “At least the rain has calmed down now.”
“It was nice to see you again.” I want to reciprocate and tell him that it was nice to see him too. I want to be honest with him. I want to tell him that his wife is trying to take all of his money and that she’s paid me to help. I want him to know how much I regret it already but of course I can’t tell him any of those things. “Will you let me pay for your dress?”
“Nope.”
He laughs. “I didn’t think so.”
“Goodbye, Mason.”
“Until next time, Sophia.”
I close the door behind him then slide to the floor. I stare at the solitary pair of shoes for a long time before Lori finds me.