by Nikki Ash
“I’m not even gone a week and you get married,” he says when he answers the phone.
“Hello to you, too.”
“Don’t fucking ‘Hello’ me! You got married!”
“Awww… I’m sorry honey,” I joke through my laughter. “Are you upset you weren’t there to be my best man?”
“Mason! You. Got. Married. I’m your best fucking friend and I wasn’t even there.”
“Hey, in my defense, no one was there but me, Mila, and the old guy who married us. Oh! And his wife who was the witness.”
Tristan sighs, and I think he might really be upset. I’ve never had to think about anyone else, so it never crossed my mind he would be hurt that he wasn’t there. “Look, I’m sorry. It all happened so fast. We were out drinking after your wedding, and one drink turned into two and the next thing I knew we were getting hitched. I wasn’t about to call you up and interrupt your wedding night with your new wife, so you could come to my wedding.”
“Great, so a drunken marriage.”
“No… Okay, maybe a little. More like tipsy.”
Tristan sighs again. “You have Charlie freaking out that she’s going to lose her friend because of this crazy stunt. She wants to come home to comfort Mila and I had to take her phone from her so she couldn’t call her until after I talked to you.”
“Why would she have to comfort Mila?” I ask, confused. I know the women are posting all over social media, but Mila has been good about it, staying off and ignoring the messages and requests.
“Um…I know you spend most of your days focusing on the sexual parts of a woman, but surely you know that they contain other parts as well, one vital organ being a heart, and when a guy marries her, even while drunk, and then divorces her, it will more than likely break that heart.” He groans in annoyance. “And since you messed up your living arrangements, your ass is going to help me find Mila a new roommate.”
“Who the hell said I’m going to break her heart or that I’m moving out?”
There’s a moment of silence before Tristan answers. “You did file for divorce…didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t, and I’m not going to.”
“What do you mean you’re not going to?”
“I mean I meant my vows to Mila, and I’m not getting a divorce. I’m staying married to her for however long she’ll keep me.”
“So…no divorce?” Tristan asks again, shock evident in his voice.
“It will probably be the biggest mistake she’s ever made, but no, we aren’t divorcing.”
Alec and I get home from the gym around two in the afternoon and Mila’s already home. There’s some paparazzi standing outside but they don’t bother us. The number of them go down each day, so it’s only a matter of time until they move on and stop caring about my new relationship status. When we walk inside, the house is quiet, and I’m worried. It’s Friday and she shouldn’t be home for a couple more hours. I tell Alec to put his stuff away from the gym and to jump in the shower while I go in search of his mom. When I step into our room, Mila’s lying in bed in the dark. The little bit of light filters through the blinds and I can see her eyes are wet with tears. She’s wrapped up in her thick blanket in a fetal position.
“Mila, what’s the matter?” I come over and sit on the bed next to her.
“Ugh!” She groans. “I started my period and it’s always bad. I took a couple of pain relievers, but it got to be too much, so Dr. Burrows sent me home.” I’ve never really been around a woman on her period. I usually make it a point not to be. To each their own, but getting my red wings isn’t my thing, and up until Mila, there was only one reason I was around a woman.
“Where’s Alec?” she asks, sitting up.
“He’s taking a shower. Lie back down and I’ll order dinner. What do you want?”
“Can I just get some soup from the deli down the street?” She asks, lying back down.
“Sure.” I lean over and give her a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll order the food and take Alec with me to pick it up.”
Mila thanks me and closes her eyes, but before I’m out the door she says, “Oh! Can you pick me up a box of tampons, please? Playtex. I was in so much pain, I completely forgot.”
“Sure.”
Before heading to the deli to pick up the food, I swing by the drug store. Alec and I find the feminine hygiene aisle and about halfway down it, I spot the women’s stuff. Ironically it’s also on the same aisle as pregnancy tests and condoms. I locate the tampon section and find the Playtex brand, but as I go to grab a box, I notice next to it is the same brand, only a different colored box, and next to that one is another colored box.
“Yo, Bruiser. Do you know which one of these your mom uses?”
Alec looks up and down the aisle. “I don’t know what these are, but this one says sport and my mom doesn’t like sports.” He shakes his head then points to the bright pink box that reads Playtex Radiant. “That’s so pink and girly! What does she want this for?” He scrunches up his nose. “This one is blue!” He points to the box that reads Playtex Pearl. “Blue is my favorite color!”
Not wanting to bug Mila, I pull my phone out to call Charlie but remember she’s on her honeymoon. So, instead I call Ashley, Tristan’s mom.
“Mason,” she coos. “How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“On my way to Morgan’s doctor’s appointment with her. I’m so happy to hear from you. Is it true? Did you get married to Charlie’s sweet friend?”
“It’s true. She’s actually why I’m calling.” I explain to her about Mila’s period and cramps and ask her if she has any idea which tampons I should get.
“Oh!” She laughs. “I never imagined in a million years that you would call me to ask which tampons to buy for your wife. You’re so sweet. I would pick out a box that has different absorbency levels. One that reads light, regular, and super.”
“Mason,” Alec cuts in. “This box says it smells fresh! Mom always buys laundry soap that smells fresh!”
Ashley hears him through the phone and laughs. “I would go with the non-scented to be on the safe side.” I grab a non-scented box of multi-flow tampons and head to the front. On our way up, I remember once when Ashley was on her period, Kaden had brought her home chocolate and ice cream. I find the candy aisle and grab her some different types of chocolate.
“Pick something out, Bruiser.” I point to the candy and he lights up. While he’s picking out the candy he wants, I do a quick google search to see if there’s anything else I should buy. I find several sites of women complaining about their periods, and then I find one that mentions items to buy to make a period more tolerable. It mentions Midol, bubble bath for a warm bath, and red raspberry leaf tea. After Alec has picked out what he wants, I find these items—with the help of the nice pharmacy employee—check out, and head to the deli to pick up the food.
“Mom! We’re home!” Alec calls out when we walk in the door.
“Shh, buddy. Your mom isn’t feeling well.”
“I’m up,” she says from the living room couch. She has her blanket over her shoulders and is watching television.
“Look! Mason got me candy.” Alec shows her his Twix candy bar.
“After dinner,” I remind him, setting the food out on the table. Mila comes over and rummages through the bag from the pharmacy. “That other stuff in there is for you.”
She pulls the items out one by one and then looks up at me, tears shining in her eyes. My stomach clenches as I try to go through in my head what I could’ve done to upset her.
“You-you got all this for me?” She holds up the bottle of bubble bath and Midol.
“Um…yes?” I answer slowly. Before I can ask what I did wrong, she throws her arms around me and pulls me into her for a kiss.
“Does that mean you’re not upset with me?” I ask once the kiss ends.
“Upset with you?”
“You have tears in your eyes.” I wipe away a stray
one that’s resting on her cheek.
“I’m not upset with you. I’m happy. These are tears of happiness.” Her fingers clasp together and tighten around my neck. “Every day, you do something that has me shocked and amazed and falling for you even harder. You keep this up and I’m never going to let you go.”
A month ago, had a woman threatened to never let me go, I would’ve been running for the hills. But when Mila says those words, they have me thinking about the future. Like maybe I can do this after all. Maybe I can take care of her and make her happy. Make her smile. Maybe, just maybe, I won’t fuck this all up.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mila
Friday night was the first night since Mason and I got married that we went to bed without having sex. Mason did, however, prove that just because sex was off the table, it didn’t mean we couldn’t do other stuff. And by other stuff, I’m referring to the amazing full-body massage he gave me. Who knew a man that made his living being violent could be so gentle. After Alec was in bed for the night, Mason had me strip down to nothing but my panties. He worked his strong hands over my shoulders and back and then moved down to my legs and feet.
When he told me to turn over, I was slightly nervous and a tad insecure. He always jokes I’m a MILF, but let’s be real here. My body never completely bounced back after having Alec and I’ve seen the women Mason has been with. I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t a little worried about him focusing so closely on my naked body. But I was stupid to feel any of the above because while Mason massaged my arms, worked his way up to my shoulders, and then focused on my collarbone, he told me no less than five times how beautiful I was. Of course he did cop a feel of my breasts. He wouldn’t be Mason if he didn’t.
While he massaged me, I relaxed—to the point where I just about fell asleep. For so many years I thought it was sex Gavin and I were missing, but I was wrong because it wasn’t the sex. It was the chemistry. The want. The need. The desire to want to please another person. It was the closeness you can’t force. It has to come naturally. And as Mason sat up against the headboard, with my head in his lap while we watched TV, and massaged my scalp, I knew that what I was looking for all these years wasn’t simply good sex. Not settling doesn’t mean finding someone to give me a good orgasm. It doesn’t mean him choosing to pay attention to me instead of playing a computer game. It’s finding the person who makes you feel alive. Who makes your heart beat a little faster. Who makes your body tingle without even touching you. It’s your heart feeling full at the little things they do like massaging your body when they know you’re hurting. I fell asleep in Mason’s arms Friday night and felt closer to him than sex could ever provide.
Saturday we spent the day at home relaxing. Mason and Alec brought me breakfast in bed and we lounged around watching a Harry Potter marathon. When Mason found out Alec and I had never seen them, he parked us on the couch and refused to let us off until all eight movies were watched (We only made it through six of them with the promise to watch the last two this week). He was so freaking adorable the entire time as he explained how the movies are different from the books and insisted Alec read the books soon. We ordered dinner in, and once Alec was in bed, Mason moved all his stuff down to my room. He organized the drawers, and we talked while he put all his stuff away. The guy must own a hundred sets of workout clothes.
Now it’s Sunday morning, and Mason has insisted we get dressed and head out. Apparently we have errands to run, which must be done today or the world will come to an end.
“Drive my car and follow me to Tristan’s house.”
He throws me the keys, and I do as he says. When we get there, Mason runs into the house quickly and comes back out, jumping into the passenger seat.
“Tristan will be back next week and will need his truck back,” Mason says as way of explanation. He pulls up an address on his phone and tells me to go there. I follow the directions and we end up at a BMW dealership. I figure he must need to get work done to his car, so I’m shocked when he turns to me in the middle of the dealership and asks, “Sedan or SUV?”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you prefer a sedan like mine or do you want something bigger like an SUV?”
He can’t really think I can afford a BMW and surely he doesn’t think I’m going to let him buy me one.
“Okay, time to go.” I start walking back to his car, but he stops me in my tracks.
“OK! or People magazine?” Can you say whiplash?
“I’m not sure yet. When do we need to decide?”
“Kenny would like to schedule it for next week if possible.”
“I haven’t had a chance to look into them. You can pick if you want.”
“Nope, it’s you who is being burdened by this, so you’re picking.” Mason flinches when he says the word burdened.
“It’s not a burden.” I bridge the gap between us. “You are never a burden. This is your job and I’ll gladly do any interview you need me to do.” Mason visibly relaxes.
“The amount they’ll pay will cover whatever car you want from here. I’ll pay for it today and you can pay me back once you get paid.” Wow! When he said I would make some money from doing the interview I didn’t know it was enough to pay for a new car.
“Why a BMW?” I ask and Mason scoffs.
“Because they’re the best.”
“Tristan and Charlie both drive Fords,” I point out, knowing full well this is an ongoing battle between Tristan and Mason. Charlie told me about their Ford versus BMW feud one night when we saw a BMW commercial and Tristan growled at the screen like a man-child.
“Mila!” Mason mock-yells. “You’re my wife! Don’t you ever mention the F word again. We’re a family of BMWs.”
I laugh at the seriousness in his voice and feel the need to poke at him some more. “I heard BMW stands for ‘break my wallet’.”
Mason’s eyes go wide. “You can’t put a price on perfection! Who are you?”
“Mila Alexandria Sterling.”
Mason glares at me. “Bull shit. You’re Mila Alexandria Street.”
“I haven’t gotten anything changed yet.”
“We will definitely be handling that this week. You’re Mila Street. Now let’s go get you a damn car.” I laugh the entire way back toward the salesman while Mason mumbles under his breath something about his wife being the death of him.
I pick out the SUV I want, and once we’re done, since Alec has been on his best behavior the entire time, Mason suggests we get some ice cream and go to the park.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mila
It’s Tuesday night, and since Gavin is back from San Francisco he picked up Alec from school today. I’m home from work and Mason texted me not to make dinner, that he’ll handle it. So, I’m taking advantage of the quiet house and enjoying a much needed relaxing bath with the bubble bath stuff Mason bought for me last week. I have a vanilla candle lit and I’m reading a dirty and sexy romance novel on my iPad. My phone dings to signal an incoming text and I put my iPad down to check it.
Charlie: Oh my God! You and Mason are married!?! I leave for my honeymoon and miss everything!
Me: You weren’t even gone when it happened…
Charlie: I KNOW! Tristan told me! He wouldn’t let me text you! YOU should’ve told me!
Me: I didn’t want to bug you on your honeymoon.
Charlie: Oh shut up! I can’t believe you married MASON!
Me: He’s nothing like I thought…He’s different.
Charlie: What I want to know is how you tamed the untamable.
Me: Oh, trust me. He’s not tamed. He’s a beast…in bed ;)
Charlie: Gah!!! My eyes are bleeding! Haha! JK
Charlie: I’m so happy for you! We’re totally going on a double date when we get back.
Me: Thank you! How’s Disney?
Charlie: Magical.
Me: Magical is good! :)
I type up a follow up reply and then I delete it. I type it up ag
ain and hover over the send button. I’ve only known Charlie for a few months, but she’s quickly become my go-to person.
Me: I’m in love with him.
I read my text over and over again, trying to see if maybe I’ll read the words and call myself a liar. But I don’t because I know they’re true. I have fallen deeply and madly in love with Mason, and if I wasn’t the one involved, I would call bullshit on whoever was telling me their story because it happened so fast, it’s almost unbelievable.
Charlie: I hate that I’m so far away on a cruise and I can’t hug you right now because I know you’re freaking out.
Me: I’m okay. I just needed to tell someone. I can’t tell Mason… he’d probably bolt.
Charlie: Be patient, Mila. Mason is one of the best guys I know… he just doesn’t know he is.
“Mila! I’m home and I’ve brought dinner,” Mason shouts from outside the bathroom.
Me: Mason is home with dinner. Enjoy the last few days of your cruise and I’ll see you when you get back.
Charlie: Okay! Dinner. All of us. Tuesday night.
Me: Sounds good. See ya then!
I release the plug at the bottom of the tub so the water drains and grab my towel. After drying off and getting dressed, I head out of the room and into the kitchen. The lights are off, but it’s not dark in the house because there are several tea lights twinkling throughout the living room and kitchen. When I get to the dining area, Mason has dinner set up with several more candles littering the table and counters.
“What’s all this for?” I point to the candles, stunned.
“You don’t like it?” Mason frowns.