by Natalie Ann
Pretty Awesome
Mason was out of breath and lying on top of Jessica, both of them hanging off the bed at the moment. He felt like he was dangling off a cliff and really didn’t care if he fell to his death because right now he knew he’d die a happy man.
He rolled over and flopped on his back instead. Because if he died then he couldn’t do this again and something was telling him he’d want to do it again...once he got the air back in his lungs. Guess he should find out if she’d want to though. “Are you okay?”
“I think so. Holy cow. That was pretty awesome.”
He snorted. It was probably the only sound he could make. Screw Mac’s idea of having an older woman tell him what she needed. He had a younger one that made him feel like he could do whatever he wanted and she’d go right along with it.
Though he knew it had nothing to do with her age or his, and everything to do with emotions he’d locked away for years. What a scary thought.
“It was pretty awesome,” he said, but his voice was soft. Softer than normal. Then he sat up and reached for his shirt that happened to be by his foot on the floor and pulled it over his head.
She was still face down on the bed. “Roll me over. I don’t think I can move.” But he heard her giggling and it made him smile.
“Sorry about that.”
She managed to pull herself up, looking around for her clothes. They were across the room. “Don’t be sorry. I liked it. I never thought I’d be someone to inspire a man to want to attack me. It feels extremely liberating.”
That was a good word for it. Liberating. “Now, I’m really starving.” He had to change the subject or he feared he’d say more than either of them was ready for.
She pushed herself up and walked naked to her bathroom, shutting the door, so he finished getting dressed and went to the kitchen. He liked that she wasn’t so shy anymore, or wasn’t afraid to shield her body from him.
He was biting into the slice that he’d dropped back in the box when she walked in partially dressed in shorts and a T-shirt now. “So what prompted that reaction, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Since she was smiling at him, he took it in stride. “Not sure. I guess it was just you putting your head on my shoulder.”
“That’s all it took? I’ll do that more often then.”
“You’re something else. I told my family about us today.”
She stopped the pizza midway to her mouth. “What did they say? How did they react?”
“Good. Aiden knew. Brody and Ella had already figured it out.”
“How?” She finally took a bite of her pizza, so he relaxed now that it seemed she was too.
“Ella said it was your reaction every time my name came up the other day or when you talked about me. Are you smitten with me?” he asked, tugging on her hair. Then he wondered why the hell he just said that. Why he used the word smitten!
“You can’t tell?”
He decided on honesty. “I can tell. I like it, too.”
“I wouldn’t know how to hide it even if I wanted to.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“So what about the rest of your siblings?”
“Brody figured it out when you went over to eat with me weeks ago.”
Her mouth opened, then she shut it fast. He didn’t mention it was full of food. She chewed quickly. “But we weren’t even doing anything.”
“No, but like you just said, you don’t hide it well. I guess maybe I wasn’t either. Not from those that know me the best.”
That had to mean something. That he perfected a persona for his family for years but had no problem letting them see how he felt about her.
She nodded. “And Cade?”
“He just wanted to know why he was the last one informed, but we all pointed out he’s never around, so that’s his fault. Though he mentioned he was going to come over and check you out.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Not at all. He knows better than to mess with me.” Not anymore. Cade ran his mouth like he always did, but there was one thing Mason was still wanting to get even with, it’s just the time hadn’t presented itself yet. Someday.
“What does he look like so I’ll know before he gets there?”
She actually asked that straight-faced and he burst out laughing. “Like me.”
“Duh. I’m such an idiot. I should have figured that out.”
“He’s more like Brody, but you’ll know who it is, trust me. You won’t mistake him for me, that’s for sure.”
“I’m glad they’re all okay with it. I was kind of nervous.”
“There was no reason to be. My family isn’t judgmental.”
“Like my mother?” she asked, raising her eyebrow.
He hadn’t meant it like that, but it was the truth. “Have you talked to her since?” he asked instead of denying it.
“No. She hasn’t called me and I haven’t called her. That’s not abnormal though. We don’t talk all that often.”
“I’m sorry, Jessica. I didn’t think this would cause any problems for you and your family.”
“It’s not.”
“You’ve never talked about your father other than he was remarried and has two sons. How is your relationship with him?” He hoped it was better than the one with her mother, though he was guessing it might not be.
“It’s fine. We don’t talk much. I visit him when I go home, which isn’t often. He’ll text or email me every few weeks to see how school is going and if I need anything, but other than that, he lets me live my life.”
He couldn’t imagine having a relationship like that with his parents. His mother might have been too involved in their lives at different points, but he wasn’t sure he’d want her any other way.
Both of his parents had always supported the five of them in everything they did. Always come to their defense and fought for them when they needed it, or kicked their ass if they needed that too.
“That’s good though. Do you go home much?” All of a sudden he was wondering if she was planning on that when she graduated. Why the hell was he just realizing that now?
“I was home at Christmas. That’s about it.”
“What about summer breaks? Did you go home then?”
“I did the first two years. Last year I stayed here and worked because I moved into my own apartment. I just worked on campus.”
He got up and walked into her kitchen to get a bottle of water. He hadn’t even planned on being here this long, so no time for a beer. She had class tomorrow and he had to get up early to start brewing. And be at Frank’s gym by seven.
“Are you planning on going back when you graduate?” He thought that came out nonchalantly. At least he hoped so.
“Is that what all the questions are about?” she asked.
“Just talking.”
“But you don’t like to talk,” she said, grinning. He liked the confidence she seemed to be finding lately, but right now it was putting him on the spot.
“I always like talking with you.”
She winked at him. “I don’t know what I’m doing when I graduate. But I do know I don’t want to go back there. I like it here. I like this city. I like the weather. And I happen to like where I am in my life right now.”
It was good enough for now. More than he thought he would have gotten. “I happen to like where I am in life at this moment too.”
***
Until seven the next morning when he showed up at the gym.
There was Chuck in old athletic shorts and a dingy white tank top looking like he just walked off his front stoop after crushing a beer can on his head.
“You sure you want to do this?” Chuck asked him, laughing.
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” Mason said. “Frank, you got a ring for us?”
“In the back, Mason,” Frank said. Mason had come here for a few years when he graduated from college. Just to stay fresh more than anything. He’d spar with Frank, hone his
moves, but never fight.
“Let’s go, Chuck. Show me what you’ve got.”
Chuck laughed. “Piece of cake. We’ll be out of here in five minutes. When I beat your ass like I always wanted to do, you’ll remember who’s the boss.”
Mason hoped to hell he knew what he was doing. “Guess we’ll find out.” He pulled his shirt off and put it over the rope, then caught the tape Frank threw at him and started to wrap up his hands and wrists.
“Don’t be a wuss,” Chuck said.
“Sorry,” Mason said, smirking. “I make a living with these babies. Don’t need to damage them.”
Mason turned to see Chuck standing in the ring slapping his hands together, ready to go. Mason strutted forward, putting his forearms up and tapping them with Chuck’s.
Before he could say a word, Chuck came up swinging, but Mason was ready and he was quick and he ducked, then hopped back. “Always were dirty. You’ll have to be better than that.”
Chuck charged him and swung a few more times, not landing one shot. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Chuck said, getting out of breath. “Stand still.”
“Why?” Mason asked. “Don’t you like being played with?”
Chuck shook his head, his face red, his temper flaring. Five more swings and Mason just managed to block, sidestep or duck them all. Chuck was getting frustrated and running out of breath. That extra fifty pounds and jiggling belly of his getting in the way.
“Throw a punch,” Chuck said.
“Why?” Mason asked. “So you can sue me?”
“Bastard!” Chuck said and charged him again, swung his right hand hard enough to turn him around, making him land on his ass.
“What’s the matter? Did I guess your endgame?” Mason stepped out of the ring and accepted his shirt from Frank. “Thanks, Frank. You recorded it all, right? Just in case he wants to come back at me?”
“Got it all right here,” Frank said, holding his phone up. “You’re good and I’ll get this trash out of here for you.”
Mason nodded. “Stop over to the brewery sometime today and pick out what you want.”
“Will do,” Frank said.
Mason walked out the door feeling great. He’d gotten his point across and still didn’t need to throw a punch. Damn, who would have thought you could feel so confident doing nothing but taunting someone.
He’d seen the fear in Chuck’s eyes a time or two when Mason faked a punch and it proved he could demand respect…his way.
Dating the Boss
A few weeks had gone by since that night. Since Mason made her feel like a woman with years of experience rather than the little she’d had.
She’d wondered if she’d be enough for him. It’d eaten at her brain at the oddest times, but it seemed whatever she was doing must be sufficient.
She remembered going into work the next time after Mason said Mac knew about her and Mason’s relationship. Mac loved to gossip. She’d never known of a guy who talked like he did about everything and everyone. So that meant the whole brewery had to know at this point.
Surprisingly though, no one really said a word. The guys pretty much ignored her or gave her wide berth. Not that they talked to her all that much before, but now it seemed like she didn’t exist, or they were overly nice because she was dating the boss.
She wasn’t sure how to react to it, so she pretended like nothing had changed.
Cade hadn’t made an appearance yet, until today. It was close to the end of her last tour of the day. She knew right away who he was and couldn’t believe she’d been such an idiot to ask Mason what his brother would look like.
Sure, not all quintuplets looked alike and they weren’t identical, but they were all close enough. And yes, Brody and Cade seemed to look the most alike, but Cade had a shine to him that Brody didn’t.
Didn’t Mason say Cade dressed snazzy? He wasn’t kidding. Cade was dressed like he was going clubbing. Dark washed jeans, black sneakers that looked more like shoes and probably cost more than a few cases of Fierce beer. He’d had a light blue dress shirt on with skinny silver pinstripes, that was untucked, fitted perfectly to his body, like everything on him was tailor made.
Even his hair, which was a little bit longer, was all shiny as if it had some type of product in it keeping it in place. He was by far the prettiest of the brothers, but she wouldn’t dare say that. It might insult the rest of them, or make them laugh. Either way, she was keeping that opinion to herself.
“You’re Cade,” she said walking up to him. Might as well be on the offense.
“Jessica?” he said, reaching his hand for hers. “Not what I expected.”
She frowned, thinking that was an insult, but then caught herself and decided to give it back a bit. “You’re exactly as I expected.”
He burst out laughing. “What is Mason saying about me?”
“Not much. Your name doesn’t come up often.”
He smiled at her. “Don’t you want to know why you aren’t what I expected?”
“Not really,” she said smiling at him.
“She’s not easily intimidated, Cade,” Mason said, from behind her.
“She can’t be if she’s with you,” Cade said.
“I’m standing right here. You two don’t need to talk about me in the third person.”
Mason reached his arm around her waist and tugged her close and that move was a symbol, she was thinking, only she wasn’t sure what it could be. Not that she cared, because she was feeling so giddy he’d just done that at work where anyone could see if they were looking.
“Cade is trying to figure out what to do or say right now. He knew you were younger and he was expecting something else.”
“A mini skirt and double D’s hanging out?”
Mason choked on that. “That would be the type of woman Cade would be looking for. No. For me he was thinking you’d have glasses perched on your nose, your shoulders slumped over and not saying much more than long words he wouldn’t understand.”
“You thought I was a geek?” she said to Cade. “Why?” She was trying not to be insulted.
“Because Mason said you were smarter than all of us.”
She felt her face fill with heat. She’d always been nerdy, but never by sight alone. She tried to always dress in the current fashion for her age and what she liked. Not flashy, or over the top, nothing that made her stand out. Most people didn’t realize she was nerdy until they actually talked to her. Even then she’d tried her hardest to watch her vocabulary and adjust it to the company she was in.
“Should I be offended?” She figured she’d been upfront enough, she could ask this now.
“No,” Cade said. “My fault. I just wanted to come see who had Mason all twisted around.”
“What?” she asked, looking at Mason, who was now shooting a lethal stare at Cade. Maybe Mason could be meaner than she always thought. Just because he had the body for it, his personality never gave it away. Not until just now. Was there bad blood between these two? And if so, had she just made matters worse?
“So are you the one that made it impossible for me to eat off my clown plates if Mason’s in the room?”
Cade burst out laughing. Mason looked like he wanted to throttle his brother, then turned those eyes on her. Oops, guess she shouldn’t have let that one slip. She was really pushing it now.
“Shhhh,” Cade said. “Not only can’t Mason and Ella see clowns without wanting to climb the walls, you can’t talk about them either. I can’t believe he told you.”
“I didn’t tell her,” Mason said. “But she’s smart enough to figure out someone had to do it and that it was most likely you. Get out of here now,” Mason said, pulling her out of the room and leaving Cade standing there laughing.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I really put my foot in my mouth just now. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Don’t think anything of it,” Mason said. “Yes. Ella’s and my fear of clowns comes from something Cade did to us
as kids. More like what he did to Ella, but I was there and... never mind. I swore I’d never say anything to anyone about what actually happened. Ella is so embarrassed.” And that had been the start of the sensitivity girly comments from his siblings.
“What is stopping Cade from saying anything?”
“The threat of a car ride at ninety miles an hour on the curviest road Ella could find. And if she didn’t do it, my mother would.”
She smiled. “So your mother knows what happened?”
“Of course,” Mason said. “My mother knows everything. But in this case, we were young. Maybe four or five at the time. She heard the screaming and came running. There was no hiding it.”
Jessica was dying to know what had happened but knew better than to ask. She knew by now that Mason and his siblings were ridiculously loyal to each other.
“I’m still sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It just sort of slipped.”
“Think nothing of it,” Mason said. “Are you about ready to leave? I was coming down to see if you wanted to go to the pub for dinner.”
“The pub, meaning Fierce?”
She was surprised he was offering to do it on a Saturday when she knew it’d be packed. Plus, they hadn’t eaten there once yet. She wasn’t counting the day they’d sampled food in the back with Aiden.
“Yep. If you don’t mind waiting. We could probably get a seat at the bar if we’re lucky. We can order right from there. If not, we can grab a drink and wait until a table opens up.”
“I’d love to.”
“Then get your stuff and I’ll go lock my office up and meet you back down here in a few.”
She couldn’t remember being this excited before. Not because she wanted to eat there, but because he was really bringing her out in the open now for the first time.
Her Man
When they walked into the bar at Fierce twenty minutes later, Jessica saw it was packed. There were people sitting in a little reception area waiting for a table to become available with drinks in their hands. “How do they get the drinks? Just go to the bar?”