Chapter Fifteen
It's him.
He's standing a few feet away, eyes wide like he's surprised to see me. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t show up. I didn't think that it was possible but he looks even more handsome than he did last night. The realization of what I've agreed to do kicks in and for the first time in a long time, I feel nervous on a trap. I can't decide whether my sweaty palms are because I know how much is at stake or because of the way Mason is staring at me.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Buzz shouts over to him.
I hope not. I'm already getting bored of Buzz's cheesy pick-up lines and lame attempt at flirting. At least Lori seems to like it. She noticed him as soon as we arrived which isn't surprising seeing as though he has the 'Three T's'. A guy must be tall, toned and have tattoos or else Lori isn't interested. I was just about to excuse myself and go in search of Mason when he found us first.
He finally breaks out of his trance and walks over to us. He places a couple of drinks down on the table and I notice that he isn't wearing his wedding ring. He was definitely wearing one last night when he thought he was meeting his wife. Forget six weeks, this might be over a lot quicker than that.
"Ladies, this is my friend, Mason," Buzz tells us. "Mason, meet my new friends, Lori and Sophia."
"I'm Lori and this is Sophia," Lori clarifies since I never told him my name last night.
"Hello," Mason replies, concentrating solely on me. He looks like he's about to say something else but Buzz beats him to it.
"The ladies were keeping me company seeing as though you ditched me."
Lori laughs. "You're a big boy, I'm sure you can be left alone for ten minutes."
"You're right," Buzz replies. "I am a big boy. Very big."
"Yeah, what are you, about six foot four?" she asks.
He winks. "I wasn't talking about my height, sweetheart."
"I know, I was joking. Just like you were joking about being big, sweetheart."
He looks surprised and even a little bit excited by her response. "How do you know I was joking if you've never seen it? Maybe you should take a look so you can set the record straight."
She shrugs. "I would but I've left my microscope at home."
I can't help but laugh. Mason leans in closer to me. "Hello again, Sophia."
The hairs on my arms stand up. Who knew my name could sound so sexy? "Hello, Mason."
"Well now that we've been formally introduced, how are you?"
"Relieved that I don't have to third wheel with those two anymore."
He laughs. "I swear I need to keep him on a leash."
"I'm sure Lori will have a few spare."
"Ah yeah, what breed of dog do you have?"
"I’m sorry, what?"
"Your dog. What breed is it?"
"My dog?” What is he talking about? I don’t have a…ohhhh. “That's right, I have a dog.” Shit, shit, shit, my mind goes completely blank. Why can’t I think of anything other than how much of an idiot I must look right now? "Um, it's a...it's a...black dog. It's black. I mean, she’s black. She's a black la...lab...labrador! Yes! She’s a black labrador." Thank god for that. I say it with a little too much enthusiasm. Talk about being put on the spot. Rookie mistake, Sophia. “This is a nice place,” I say as I look around, trying to change the subject.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he tells me, ignoring my comment about the club.
"Sorry for what exactly?" I ask.
"For acting like a dick."
"Oh yeah, you were such a dick when you let me borrow your phone," I reply sarcastically. "I can't believe you did that."
"And I can't believe I left you on your own without checking that you had a ride home, especially when I knew your phone wasn’t working properly. I couldn’t sleep last night. I couldn’t stop thinking about you."
“Oh?” I hold his gaze and it suddenly feels like I’m just a normal girl with a normal job talking to a normal guy. An insanely hot, normal guy.
“You know, because I was worried.”
“Right.” I wave him off. "It's fine. I didn't have any money left for a cab so I just crashed in the parking lot. No biggie."
His eyes go wide. "What?"
"It was actually pretty fun, kind of like camping but without all of the fun stuff. I did find an old blanket in the dumpster though, it was surprisingly comfortable. Moldy but comfortable." He looks like he's about to have a heart attack. "Mason, I'm joking. I got home fine."
"Jesus, don't do that to me."
"I'm sorry, I couldn’t resist. You should have seen your face."
He laughs. "Well I'm just glad you were okay. Seriously though, I'm sorry if I came across as rude yesterday. I wasn't having the best day as you could probably tell."
"Yeah, I kind of guessed when I saw you assaulting the bench."
"I'll admit that wasn't one of my finest moments."
"I hope you didn't take it out on your furniture when you got home."
"I didn't go home," he replies.
I know, your wife has already told me. "Couldn't trust yourself?" I joke.
He shakes his head. "I couldn't take the risk. I really like my coffee table."
"That's very sensible of you. And what about tonight?"
"What about it?" he asks.
I drop my gaze then look back up at him through lowered lashes. "Do you think you’ll be able to trust yourself?"