Chapter 9

Mason

I couldn’t get my mind off her. We bantered through most of my lunch while I sat out on the restaurant’s open veranda, but then she dropped off the planet, probably because of work. I cursed myself for not knowing what it was she did for work, but then again, that hadn’t been the arrangement. We met up, we hooked up, she came hard twice, and then we parted ways.

But she did message me to tell me she’d had a good time, and that had resulted in a conversation that had seemed easy and natural. Usually when I talked to the women around me, it was forced and uneasy. Hell, even talking to my mom nowadays felt forced and uncomfortable.

Every time I talked to her, Eva’s name came flying out of her mouth, and what the fuck was I supposed to do with that? Sure, Eva was beautiful in a classical, trophy wife kind of way. But she was not Ash. Ash was luscious and sweet, and her curves held miles of depth I could sink into at any given moment.

Not any given moment. Just that one time. But damnit, I really wanted another go.

“Hey there, Mase!”

I ripped myself from my thoughts, my half-full plate of food now cold. Winston walked up with his hands in his pocket and a sucker sticking out of his mouth. He sat down across the table from me before he crossed his leg over his thigh.

“How’d last night go?” he asked.

“Oh, hold on.” I reached into my pocket and dug around for his keys, and I slid them over the table before they fell into his lap.

“Thanks for warning me about the dog, you little shit. Since when do you own a hairy rat?”

Winston’s eyes grew wide before he threw his head back in laughter. “Holy fuck. What did it look like?”

“Like a hairy rat bastard, you dick. Why didn’t you tell me you locked your science experiment up in your room?”

“Oh man, that’s the neighbor’s dog. He tunnels between apartments sometimes and gets in through the window.”

“You’re on the second floor, Mase.”

“Did you even bother to look out the window? I’m at the side and there’s a ladder that scales both sides of the building. You know, in case of a fire.”

“You mean to tell me some nasty, smelly dog digs underneath a fence and scales two flights of metal steps until he gets to your apartment?”

“Usually he doesn’t make it up that far because my neighbors keep their windows open. They must’ve not been home.”

Tears were brewing behind Winston’s eyes while he tried to keep a lid on his laughter, and I just couldn’t believe it.

“Oh my god, that’s priceless. All right, so did it happen? How was it?”

I bit. “Yes, it happened. And it was really nice.”

“Right on, Mase! I’m proud of you. How’d it feel to step out of your comfort zone?”

I wanted to tell him it had felt great. I wanted to tell him I wanted to see her again and get to know her. I wanted to tell him that the women we surrounded ourselves with had nothing on Ash. I wanted to tell him how she talked and how she walked and how she felt.

But something told me Winston already knew that shit.

“You gonna see her again?” Winston prodded.

“What’s the point? I’m supposed to marry Eva, right? What’s the point of starting a relationship if it’s only going to fail?”

“Dude, your mother doesn’t run your life. Just tell her you don’t wanna marry the ice queen.”

“The ice queen?” I asked.

“You mean you’ve never noticed how Eva’s smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes?”

“The fuck are you talking about?” I asked.

“Sir, would you like anything?” the waitress asked Winston.

“Just some water is fine.” He smiled up at her.

“I mean, just take a look at her the next time she smiles. Her cheeks move, but her eyes don’t. Gives me the creeps.”

“Jesus,” I muttered.

“Anyway, you should come out with me tomorrow night. There’s this show-play-thing in town, and it’s supposed to be pretty cool. Got some sort of funky vibe going on, and a new band will be there doing the music.”

“I don’t know. We can see. I’m supposed to meet my mom for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Then come after dinner!” Winston said before he grabbed his glass of water. “It’ll be fun! We got you this far. Let’s keep going!”

“We’ll see,” I said.

Honestly, it didn’t really sound like my scene, and I didn’t know if I wanted to step back into town and risk seeing Ash. I didn’t really know where she went to hang out. That thought made me feel even worse.

I didn’t know shit about the woman I couldn’t get out of my head.

“Well, just keep it in the back of your mind. Enjoy your dinner with the ice queen.”

“I’m not having dinner with Eva. I’m having dinner with my mother,” I said.

“I know.” Winston winked. “Catch ya later!”

I admired Winston’s ability to throw caution to the wind. Lord knew his mother was in the middle of a heart attack every time I saw her. She knew exactly what he was doing, and they threatened to take his fortune away every time they encountered one another. But they never did, and he never stopped.

I admired his ability to never stop.

The next evening, I joined my mother for dinner. Winston’s “ice queen” comment was rolling around in my head, and I couldn’t shake it, even when I sat down with her. Her face was pulled taut from her latest face lift, and her cold eyes kept me in her vision the entire time we sat and ate.

Dinner with my mother was like taking a test with a teacher: you ate, she evaluated you while she ate, and then at the end she asked questions you needed to know all the answers to while she fed her two identical Pekingeses. People teased my mother because they looked just like her: she dyed her hair the same color blond the dogs were, and she tied blue bows that matched the color of her eyes around the dogs’ necks. But she didn’t care.

“So, I was going over the itinerary for our Milan trip, and there are a couple of things I need to ask.”

“Shoot, Mother,” I said.

“I know we usually go for one week, but how would you feel about making it ten days?”

“Any particular reason?” I asked.

“I figured Eva might like this art exhibit that’s being displayed, but it isn’t set to open until the day after we usually leave.”

My back stiffened and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

“But Eva isn’t coming, Mother,” I said slowly.

“Oh, well, I thought about inviting her,” she said coolly.

“This has always been a family trip. Ever since dad was still with us.”

“Well, Eva’s practically family. She might as well start getting used to blocking off this time of the year anyway.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with Eva coming along. I think we should just keep the trip the traditional week-long duration like we usually do.”

My mother gasped. “Mason!”

“Mother, you asked my opinion, and there it is. Now, if there isn’t going to be dessert, I have somewhere I need to be.”

“But of course there’s dessert! I—”

I didn’t stick around long enough to hear what she was about to say. Of course she’d try to wiggle Eva in on this trip, like it wasn’t obvious enough my mother had already arranged my marriage with her family. My vision was closing in on me, and it was getting hard to breathe. When the driver pulled around, he rolled down the window and asked if there was anywhere I wanted to go.

I opened the back seat and slammed the door behind me, and I told him to just drive while I dialed Winston’s number.

“Hey, Mase! What’s up? How did the dinner go?”

I had to hold the phone away from my ear to keep Winston from blowing my ear drum.

“Where are you!?” I asked.

“At the place where that show thing is taking place. Sure I can’t convince you to come?”

“Text me the address.”

“Atta, boy! I’ll shoot it over!”

He hung up the phone, and a second later the address popped up. I leaned over and knocked on the partition window of the car.

“Where to, Mr. Mason?” the driver asked.

“This address, please.” I held up the phone for him so he could type it into his GPS. Just as I sat back down, he took a hard left and started back into the city.

Anything would be better than thinking about Eva at this point.