I gestured to the baskets of food in front of me, and Tom grabbed one of the little funnel cakes to try.
“That’s delicious,” he said. “What’s the new theme night?”
“Carnival,” I told him. “It’s going to be all decorated and we’ll have some games and things. It should be a lot of fun.”
“Can I see the plans you’re working on?” he asked.
I slid some of the papers over toward him and dug into the assortment of fried foods Jesse brought me while Tom looked over everything. He shifted the plans for the carnival theme to the side and went over the budget I had been working on. He nodded.
“This all looks really exceptional, Ava. I’m thoroughly impressed.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“So, I’ve been thinking.”
I gave him a questioning look. “Okay.”
“I want you to be the general manager here,” he said.
I leaned back, shaking my head. “Oh, Tom, I’m not so sure about that.”
“Why not? You already do all this work, and you’re clearly amazing at it. You’re perfect for the position,” he said.
“That’s not why I came to work here. I just wanted something to help me take care of my parents. Mason runs the place just fine with all the other guys helping him,” I said.
“That’s the thing. Mason isn’t supposed to be the manager,” Tom said. “From the very beginning, everybody’s been trying to split all of the duties between them. Mason just happened to be the one who was the best at numbers, so he handles all that stuff. But everybody’s cooperating. I’ve wanted there to be an official manager who wasn’t family from the beginning. And you’re exactly what this place needs.”
“Please say you’ll do it,” Matt said from behind me. I didn’t even realize he was standing there, and I turned around to look at him. “You’re perfect for it.”
“Seriously, Ava,” Tyler said, coming up behind him. “You’ve transformed this place. It wouldn’t be anything like this if you hadn’t come along. With you as manager, there would be no limit to what we can do.”
I looked at the two men, then at Tom. Jesse was still in the kitchen, and Mason was in the office. I felt strange having this conversation without everybody present.
“I really don’t want to step on anybody’s toes,” I said.
“You won’t be,” Tom said. “Trust me, Mason would be relieved to know somebody who has actual business experience is at the helm. He told me himself that when he first hired you, he asked if you could help with the business aspects. That’s how you ended up doing all of this anyway. Wouldn’t you like to have the position officially? And the pay to go along with it?”
I looked at them all again, then finally nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
The guys cheered, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Tom got to his feet.
“Come on, then.”
“Where we are going?” I asked.
“Back to the office to set you up on the computer with your own account before you’re able to change your mind,” he said.
We went back into the office, and Tom gestured toward me dramatically. “Mason, may I present the new general manager of The Hollow.”
Mason looked at me with widened eyes. “Seriously? That’s amazing. Congratulations.”
I took a step toward him, wanting to jump into his arms and kiss him, but hesitated. Emotion flickered over his eyes, and he stood up, facing Tom. The other brothers were standing behind me, wanting to witness me being phased in as the manager. I could feel tension rising in the room, but there wasn’t anything I could do to stop Mason.
“Tom, we need to talk,” he said.
“Later,” Tom said. “I want to get Ava set up on the computer and then celebrate.”
“It’s actually about Ava,” Mason said. “You need to know that I’m in love with her. I have been all along, and I’m going to be with her whether you like it or not.”
Tom stared at him for a second. “We’ll discuss this later.”
“No,” Mason said. “We’ll discuss it now. I’m not going to let you control me. Ava and I want to be together, and we’re going to be.”
Tom’s phone rang, and he reached in his pocket to pull it out. He glanced at the screen, answered it, and had a brisk conversation. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and glared at Mason.
“I have to go do some work. We’ll talk about this later.”
He turned and pushed through the rest of us to get out of the office and leave the bar. When he was gone, I turned back to Mason.
“You didn’t have to do that right then,” I said.
“Yes, I did,” he said, stepping up to me and put his arms around my waist. “I wasn’t going to wait another minute.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he leaned down to kiss me. Matt, Tyler, and Jesse backed up as our kiss became more intense. I wanted to just close the office door and be alone with him, but that wasn’t an option. We had work to do, so we had to pull ourselves apart and wait for later.
24
Mason
I had every intention of going home with Ava the night before. After those kisses in the office, she was all that was on my mind for the rest of the night. But my brothers insisted on celebrating her becoming the general manager, which meant we spent hours after closing having drinks and eating food delivered from restaurants in the area.
Jesse had offered to do the cooking himself, but we insisted that we were celebrating him as well, so he needed to sit back and relax along with us. By the end of the night, it was obvious both Tyler and Matt were a bit the worse for wear. I had made a concerted effort to minimize my drinking, nursing one beer throughout the celebration so I would be primed and ready for when I finally got to be alone with Ava.
But when the time came for us to finally close up the bar completely and head home, it was readily obvious Tyler and Matt couldn’t do it on their own. I wasn’t going to get a chance to be with Ava that night because Jesse and I had to each claim one brother and make sure they got home safely.
I got Matt into my car and walked Ava over to hers. Taking both her hands in mine, I pulled her close and gave her a disappointed look.
“I was really looking forward to bringing you home and spending some time with you tonight,” I said.
“So was I,” she said. “But it’s okay. Your brothers need you.”
I sighed and leaned forward to rest my forehead against hers. “Why can’t Jesse take care of both of them?”
She laughed. “You know that’s not fair. Play nice with your siblings.”
“Fine,” I said dramatically. “You drive carefully home, okay?”
“I promise. I’ll let you know when I get there,” she said.
I kissed her once, then leaned forward and kissed her again, letting it linger as a promise to continue what we started as soon as possible. She got in her car, and I stood watching her until she disappeared out of the parking lot. Then I turned back to my car and got in. Matt was already passed out, the seat reclined all the way so he was sprawled across it, his mouth hanging open.
I shook my head, reminding myself that this would be what my mother would want. She always told us to take care of each other. Of course, I wasn’t convinced this was exactly what she had in mind, but I would go with it.
The next morning, I woke up with Ava still in my thoughts. There was no way I’d be able to wait all the way through the day and night until after work to be with her. Instead, I got up and got ready early, then headed to a diner that served breakfast twenty-four hours a day.
With two platters heavily laden with every breakfast food imaginable, I headed for Ava’s house. She answered the door with a shocked expression on her face.
“Hey,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“Good morning,” I said.
“It isn’t morning,” she countered.
“It is for us,” I said, easing toward her so she backed up and let me in
to the house. “I brought breakfast. That definitely makes it morning.”
She looked at the bag in my hands and smiled. “That smells good.”
“Why don’t you grab us some silverware and we’ll eat.”
We sat down in the living room and popped open the plastic tops on the platters of food. We ate breakfast together, and it didn’t take long after we were done before we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.
As the bedroom door shut behind me, Ava walked ahead, her ass swaying deliciously as she pulled the shirt over her head and let it drop to the ground, exposing the soft, smooth skin of her back. Sharp, beckoning shoulder blades rose and then disappeared from view as her hands fell back to her sides, and a withering glance over her shoulder had me rooted me to the spot. As much as I wanted her, as much as I wanted my hands on her, I was enraptured by watching her.
Thumbs hooked into the sides of her pants, and she pulled them down, her eyes still trained on me until she was bent fully forward, lingering there to let me view her naked, round ass in its entire glory. Plump, juicy lips appeared between her thighs as she stayed bent, sliding the pants off her feet and then kicking them away as she stood, and my cock twitched in my slacks. It was pressing against the zipper and uncomfortable in its restraints.
Now fully nude, her back still to me, Ava looked over her shoulder again, smiling. Slowly she turned, and her full, luscious breasts came into view, swaying with gravity as she moved, her pert nipples poking out into the air like pink mountaintops begging for a climber. She slid her tongue out and brushed it along her top lip as her eyes narrowed, and she reached out one hand, then one finger toward me, pointing. Turning the hand over, she curled the finger, gesturing me to come to her. In more ways than one, I was ready to oblige.
I went to unbutton my shirt and got as far as the top two before I reached her. When we were less than a foot from each other, her heavy, hot breath warming my skin, she pushed my hands away. I wanted to rest them on her breasts, to knead them, but I resisted. She wanted to undress me, clearly, as her fingers worked the buttons of my shirt quickly. When they were all open, she pulled the collar over my shoulders, letting her fingers trail over my muscles before dropping them down to my belt. My cock strained against the fabric, but I made no move to release it.
Dropping to her knees, Ava kissed my stomach, leaving faint lipstick prints along my abdomen, until she reached where her hands pulled on my belt and opened the clasp on my slacks. As they fell away, she glanced up at me with another wide smile and slid her fingers inside my boxers. Pulling them down, she unveiled my cock and it sprung out to greet her, resting for a moment on her cheek as she laughed in delight.
Without a word, she plunged the head into her lips, sliding down my shaft until I felt the back of her throat, and she made a light choking sound. Pulling herself back off me, a line of saliva stretched from where her hand now stroked me to her bottom lip, and I moaned in pleasure. As if the moan enticed her, she dove back down again, sounds coming from her own voice vibrating on my cock and sending a chill up my spine. She filled one hand with my balls and massaged them as she bobbed back and forth on me, pulling at my shaft as she did in half circles.
My cock was slick and hard, and she worked me until I placed one hand on the back of her head and pulled her down deep. She groaned as I took control, guiding her movement on me, rocking my hips back and forth a little as she took me deep into her mouth, her tongue sliding and flicking on the soft underside. I felt like I was close to a climax and pulled myself back abruptly, eliciting a look from below, eyes wide and mouth pouting.
“Lie down on the bed,” I grumbled in a hoarse whisper.
She jumped up from her knees, obeying my command gleefully, and lay with her ass near the edge of the mattress. I took each of her legs and pulled them toward her, and she grasped herself by the thighs to hold them in place. But rather than plunging into her as my cock ached for, I bent over and ran my tongue along the crease of skin between her leg and her core. She cried out in surprise, and I repeated the action on the other side. Using one arm to hold both legs in place, I let my tongue glide from underneath her opening around her, and then slide through the folds until I reached the pearl in the center.
Ava writhed under the attention, but I held her firm, and continued to pleasure her. Licking at the sensitive center, I encouraged her clit to open to me, and soon she was howling with the short bursts of sound that preceded her climaxes. Two fingers slid into her, brushing against the upper wall, and I increased the speed of my lapping tongue. I felt her hands reach for me, clawing for a place to hold, and then suddenly, she bucked, her hips rising into my mouth, and I pressed my tongue down on her clit. She pulsed and vibrated, her legs shaking as she rode the orgasm. When she seemed like she was at the peak, I pulled back and yanked her toward me.
“I need you inside me,” she pleaded.
I didn’t hesitate. I drove my cock deep into her pussy. She was wet, velvety, and tight, and I pressed my thickness in until she curled up to me and cried out in a scream that seemed to be somewhere between ecstasy and agony. I held myself there, willing myself not to come already as she pulsed and contracted around my cock, squeezing it and encouraging it to explode. I knew it wouldn’t be terribly long before I would, and I exhaled deeply as I tried to gain a measure of control.
Her breasts heaved, and I was mesmerized by them. Sweat beaded between them, and I leaned forward to take them onto my tongue, tasting her skin. Sliding to her breast, I took a nipple into my mouth and sucked as my hips gently rocked back and then sank in again, this time deeper. She breathed heavily underneath me and made sounds like she was writhing in adjustment to my long, hard cock inside her. I grinned knowing she was molding herself to me, her pussy like clay that once touched by me would never be the same again. I was claiming her from the inside out, and she pulled on my neck, willing me to go deeper, to suck on her breast harder until I was afraid I would leave teeth marks in her soft skin.
I rocked back again, still bent over her, and slammed harder. The resistance had faded, and her legs opened easier now, her body adjusted to me. I plunged in again and she moaned loudly in ecstasy. She was mine, fully, and I had control. I stood, perspiration dripping down the muscles of my well-toned body, and her fingers trailed after them. I grasped her by the hips and pulled her toward me so her ass nearly hung off the bed.
She wrapped her long, smooth legs around my waist and pulled me deep into her again. I reached forward and gathered up her wrists, pulling them above her head. I held them down as I fucked her, increasing my speed until I was moaning heavily with effort and pleasure. Her voice rose with mine, and the harmony that resulted was one of delicious decadence. My cock pounded into her pussy, and she took every bit of me, until our hips ground against each other and I felt myself losing control.
Suddenly, I grabbed her thigh and flipped her over, and she rolled with it. Plunging deep into her again, I pulled her up by her chest, one arm wrapping around and holding the far breast and the other reaching out to lightly hold her throat, pushing her chin around to me. I slammed into her from behind as our tongues reached for each other, and we embraced as she began to scream out. The orgasm rushed through her hard, and I felt her pussy clutch over me as I let the hand on her breast fall to her hips, pulling her hard into me with every thrust.
She cried out in a long scream, her hands reaching behind her to grasp my ass and pull me into her harder. With a rush of adrenaline, I pounded into her and exploded, coming hard as my body went stock-still, then vibrated as I filled her. We stood there, our mouths pressed against each other, our knees shaking as we came, and then fell into the bed, wet, spent, and satisfied.
I wanted to just lie there with Ava for the rest of the day. I could have happily spent hours holding her.
“Let’s skip work and stay here,” I suggested.
She laughed. “We can’t do that.”
“Why not?” I asked.
She got out o
f bed and headed for the bathroom. “Because I’m the manager now. I can’t just not show up.”
I let out a sigh and flopped over onto my back to stare up at the ceiling and frustration. She giggled and turned the shower on. That was enough to get me out of bed and across the room to her. I hopped into the shower with her and savored half an hour under the stream of hot water. We stayed in there as long as we could possibly get away with, then got out and got dressed.
“Can I at least bring you to work if you insist on being responsible and going?” I asked.
Ava grinned and kissed me. “Of course.”
We were just getting in the car when my phone rang. Seeing my mother’s name on the screen made my heart beat a little faster. Ever since both of them were diagnosed with cancer, I worried about my parents constantly. Every time one of them called me, I was afraid it was going to be bad news.
I stepped away to answer the phone, and Ava waited by the side of the car, occasionally glancing over but not wanting to watch me directly. When I walked back over, I had a huge smile on my face, and she looked at me curiously.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Everything is amazing,” I told her. “That was my mom. She had a doctor’s appointment this morning. She hadn’t told us about it because we always worry so much when she goes in for tests.”
“And?” she asked, sounding like she was on the edge of her seat, just as anxious as I was to hear what happened.
“And she’s in remission,” I said. “It’s a miracle.”
Ava gasped and ran around to jump into my arms. I laughed and spun her around, so happy I could barely contain myself.
“Oh, Mason, I am so happy for you, and your family,” she said. “That is so wonderful. Come on, let’s get to the bar and you can tell everybody the good news.”
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