“You struck out, huh?” My brother, Landon—the one that wasn’t getting married—gave me a smarmy smirk when I sat down at the table. “I saw you hitting on her—we all did.”
“I guess I lost the bet.” My sister sighed and picked up her purse.
“That’s right, sis—pay up.” Landon motioned to her. “Ten pounds.”
“You two are ridiculous.” I shook my head back and forth.
“I lost too.” My dad sighed and reached for his wallet.
“How about you?” I narrowed my eyes at my mother. “Did you bet against your son as well?”
“No dear, you know I don’t gamble.” My mother looked offended that I suggested she would.
That was my family in a nutshell—and I wasn’t much different. If Landon had been standing at the bar hitting on someone, I would have probably started a pool to see if I could make a few pounds off his misery. We even bet on whether or not Greyson would actually make it to the altar when he proposed to Christina. I lost that bet, but I didn’t mind. They were definitely in love. I wasn’t sure if I would ever find someone who looked at me the way Christina looked at him. She had the same faraway look in her eyes that my mother had when my father did something romantic—it was rare, but the old man still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Alright, which one of us is going to give the toast?” Landon looked at me and then cut his eyes towards our father.
“Bloody hell, I guess one of us has to do it.” I exhaled sharply.
Greyson decided not to have any groomsmen for his wedding, so he didn’t have a best man to give the customary toast. Christina’s father was his best friend, and he decided to leave that spot empty as a symbolic gesture for the man he would have wanted to stand beside him. I wasn’t sure her father would have been that happy to stand there and watch his daughter marry his best friend if he was still alive, but that wasn’t my business.
We debated who would give the toast for several minutes before finally agreeing that Dad would be the best one to do it. I was pretty sure that I would tell an embarrassing story or two if I did it, especially with two glasses of whiskey in my system. Landon was too much of a clown to take it seriously—the product of being the youngest kid in our family who came along after our parents were exhausted from raising three hellions before him. He got away with shit that would have gotten the rest of us a trip to our father’s study for six-of-the-best from the sturdy cane he kept on the wall. Hell, if I did half the things he did growing up, Mom might have actually used the flat side of her hairbrush on me instead of just threatening to do it.
“Alright, Dad. You’re up.” I motioned to him when it was time for the toast.
Dad gave an excellent toast that brought a few tears to the room, just as I expected he would. I spent the rest of the reception talking with my family and letting the whiskey wear off so I could drive back to my hotel. Greyson offered to let us stay in his mansion, and the rest of the family took him up on it, but I needed some space. I still hadn’t told the rest of my family that I was thinking of moving to Los Angeles, and it would be hard to hide the fact that it was a working vacation if I stayed there. They were already suspicious when I told them I was going to stay a few extra days, but I came up with some bullshit that sounded believable.
“Hey, look over there.” My mother grabbed my sister’s arm. “I think that’s Jamison Thorn!”
“Who the hell is Jamison Thorn?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I don’t know his real name. He’s on that soap opera—Dangerous Thorns.” My mom tilted her head slightly. “Yeah, that’s definitely him. It looks like he’s with Greyson’s assistant, Lauren. That’s one lucky woman…”
“Wait a minute…” Dad narrowed his eyes.
“I love you, dear.” She smiled and put her hand on his. “I’m just thinking out loud.”
“Greyson certainly knows a lot of famous people.” My sister nodded. “Too bad I brought a date…”
“Hey!” Her date, Todd—Chuck—hell, I had already forgotten his name, looked rather offended.
My mother spotted a few more celebrities that she recognized once the crowd began to thin out some. I knew a few of the sports stars, but I didn’t watch much television, so if they were famous for pretending to be someone else, they might as well have been strangers. I didn’t care much for celebrities. Most of the ones I had met over the years had been arrogant and annoying. My thoughts were on the girl that was long gone—the one that helped my brother make a few pounds because she shrugged off my advances.
“Alright everyone.” I put my glass down on the table. “It looks like this party is dying and Greyson’s cleanup crew is gathering outside. I think it’s time to call it.”
I said goodbye to everyone at the table and gave the newlyweds one more congratulatory hug before I walked outside to my car. I would see everyone except Greyson and his new bride in a few days, but I had to take care of some stuff before then. It was still daylight, so I decided to head downtown and check out the building that my company was thinking about buying to set up shop in Los Angeles.
On the way there, I got a bit of a surprise. My phone lit up—and it was a number that I didn’t recognize with a California zip code. Considering that the only person I knew in Los Angeles was my brother and his new wife—and both the fact that I had both of their numbers saved—there was only one person it could be.
I think my evening is about to get a lot more interesting…
Five
Lea
I worked up the courage to call Mason. Each number I pressed made my anxiety grow, but I managed to overcome it. It was a short conversation. I agreed to meet him at a restaurant downtown that I liked and made no promises beyond that. I wasn’t sure if I would get in the car with him or show him around town after we finished our meal—but it was a start. If nothing else, I wouldn’t mind listening to his accent for a little longer, and I might get to ask him a few questions about advertising. I had a couple of years to go before I would graduate from college, but if his company was opening an office that he was planning to run—it might be a networking opportunity as well.
I made it to the restaurant before Mason arrived, so I decided to go ahead and get a table. I ordered a glass of water and slowly sipped it while keeping an eye on the door. He walked through it about five minutes after I was seated and quickly scanned the restaurant until he spotted me. I definitely noticed that he was attractive at the wedding—but he was in a room full of celebrities and sports stars. In a restaurant full of normal people like me, he devoured the room. His steel-colored eyes looked like they could freeze you in place—then melt you into a puddle. He literally looked like a deity that normal people would bow to—just watching him walk towards the table made me sink down a couple of inches in my seat.
“Hey there, gorgeous.” He smiled and tilted his head.
That accent—oh my god.
“H—hey.” I practically stumbled over my words when I responded.
I was always the smallest kid in class. I developed the curves that came with puberty and adolescence, but my final growth spurt didn’t do much for my stature. Mason was a mountain compared to me. I would need a stepladder to look him in the eyes. I felt like I needed a booster seat just to sit across from him. I really needed a glass of champagne to get a little bit of the courage back that I had when I carried on what resembled a conversation with him at the wedding—but I needed to keep a clear head.
“Shots?” Mason reached for the drink menu. “You said you don’t like whiskey; what do you normally drink?”
“Um—water.” I motioned to my glass. “Soda if I’m feeling adventurous.”
“Come on; do one shot with me.” He flipped through the menu. “Have you ever had tequila?”
“God no.” I shook my head back and forth. “The hardest thing I’ve had is one sip of whiskey, and I thought I was going to die before the burn went away.”
“You just need it mixed with something
.” His eyes scanned the menu. “How about this one? It’s called Washington Apple. It has whiskey, apple schnapps, and cranberry juice. I want to try an American drink—what’s better than one named after a traitor to my country?”
“Fine…” I sighed. “I’ll take a sip, but if I hate it—you can’t pressure me to finish it.”
“Deal.” He smiled and closed the menu.
I wasn’t surprised when the waiter gave me a side-eye and asked for my driver’s license the second Mason ordered our drinks. I was twenty-one, but I knew that I didn’t look it unless someone took a moment to stare. I was actually older than most of the students in my college classes because my parents held me back from starting kindergarten for a year—they were hoping that another year would help me grow so that I wasn’t so small compared to my classmates. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best foundation for my self-esteem when I got left behind in preschool while the friends I had made moved on.
“This won’t be bad.” Mason took a sip of his drink once they arrived. “It’ll go down smooth.”
“Says the guy who drinks straight whiskey.” I wrinkled my nose and nervously took a sip, letting the liquid linger in my mouth before I swallowed it. “Okay—that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“Bottoms up?” He lifted his shot glass.
“Okay.” I cracked a half-smile. “I guess I’ll be a little adventurous.”
One shot turned into two—and somehow, a third appeared in front of me like someone had waved a magic wand towards our table. Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen, but I downed it like I was under some sort of spell. I—was—feeling it. The alcohol wasn’t the only thing I was feeling though. My social anxiety was starting to melt away, like an ice cube that had been tossed on hot pavement. Mason cracked a few jokes and I laughed way louder than I normally did. The older couple at the table beside us actually looked over with a disapproving glare—I was turning into that girl. The buzz wore off a little bit once our food arrived and I ate, but the lingering effects were there—like a calm tranquility I had never been able to find in the back of my anxiety-riddled brain.
“Alright.” Mason put down his fork once he was done eating. “How about that tour of Los Angeles?”
“What?” I blinked a couple of times. “There’s no freaking way either of us should be driving right now!”
“So, we’ll get a car.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “My company is paying—you can just give the driver directions.”
He has a solution for everything, doesn’t he?
Six
Mason
Three shots weren’t enough to give me more than a light buzz, and that was gone by the time I finished eating. I could tell the alcohol was still coursing through Lea’s veins, but she wasn’t really drunk. She just seemed to be very happy. The size difference obviously contributed. My brother was a former professional rugby player, but I had some height on him, and I was the biggest guy in my family. My metabolism was shit when I was a kid, so I started hitting the gym when I was old enough to push weights. I wasn’t going to let Greyson get bigger than me once he started bulking up for competitive sports. I probably could have gone pro too if I wanted, but I got a job that paid really well after high school and that took my life in a different direction.
“Okay, where are you taking me first?” I opened the back door and motioned for Lea to climb inside.
“Um, what do you want to see?” She crawled in, and I couldn’t resist staring at her ass when she did.
“You tell me. You’re the tour guide.” I ducked and squeezed my shoulders through the door.
Lea seemed so relaxed after she let loose and had a few drinks. I could tell that she was perfectly fine if she was comfortable with someone, and the alcohol had hastened her comfort level with me. Thankfully, that didn’t wear off with the alcohol. We spent a couple of hours talking as she guided the driver through Los Angeles. I found out that she grew up there, came from a nice family that had always treated her well, and she was attending USC on a full scholarship. That was the same school Greyson went to once he retired from his brief career as a professional rugby player, and he always had good things to say about the campus—and the girls, which I was in agreement with after meeting Lea.
“There’s an observatory at Griffith Park that’s really cool.” Lea looked over at me. “Of course, it’s not dark yet…”
“It’ll be dark soon enough.” I peeked out the window. “Why don’t we go hang out there until then? Maybe there’s a bar nearby where we can get a drink.”
“Another drink?” She shook her head back and forth. “I’m definitely done with that.”
“Okay, then we’ll get some coffee.” I shrugged. “Or tea—if anyone on this continent can make a decent cup.”
“Actually, I know a place…” Her words trailed off. “Yeah, it’s close enough to walk there from Griffith Park.”
Alcohol would have been great, but I didn’t want to push Lea further out of her comfort zone. She seemed to be far enough outside of it already, and I saw how anxious she got at the wedding—the last thing I wanted to do was bring that back after seeing a different side of her. The driver dropped us off, and we walked to a small cafe. It wasn’t the best tea in the world, but it scratched the itch. We had a couple of cups and talked about advertising. Lea liked designing ad campaigns, while my main strength was being able to pitch anything the designers gave me.
I wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t interested in pitching ideas considering that she didn’t like talking to strangers. I finally got her to open up about that a little bit too once we started walking back to the park. It seemed like her social anxiety was from more than just being an introvert—her parents might have been decent people, but they didn’t handle things the right way when she matured slower than the other kids in her class. Granted, they probably had no idea it would force their daughter into a shell that was still closed around her as an adult.
“It’s starting to get dark.” I reached over and took Lea’s hand. “I assume that’s the observatory up there?”
“Yeah…” She tensed up when she felt my hand, but after a couple of seconds, she relaxed and actually let me hold it. “God, your hands are so big.”
“I could make a very inappropriate joke right now.” I turned my head towards her and smirked.
“All I would be able to do is admit that I walked right into it.” She shook her head and giggled.
We went to the observatory and Lea showed me a few more sights that saved us a trip across town. It really was a good view, although I was more interested in the one next to me than the sights that Los Angeles had to offer. There was a band playing, so we headed over to check them out once we saw everything at the observatory. It wasn’t my kind of music, but Lea seemed to be into it, so we stayed until they finished their set. I called for a car to pick us up once we made it back to the main part of the park and gave the driver the address for the restaurant. I wasn’t ready for the night to be over, but I had a great time—and I didn’t want to complicate that by trying to make a move on a girl that was clearly not the type to go home with a guy on the first date. In fact, I wasn’t sure she had been home with any guy before.
“I really did have a nice time tonight.” Lea looked up at me after I escorted her to her car once we were back at the restaurant.
“I told you it would be.” I smiled and nodded. “If you’re not busy tomorrow, we could go out again.”
“I don’t know…” She looked down at the pavement.
“Well, you have my number...” I put my hand under her chin and lifted it. “All you have to do is call me.”
Lea’s topaz-blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight. I just wanted to look into them one more time before I said goodnight—but there was more than goodnight in those eyes. I couldn’t resist. I leaned forward and crushed her perfectly pouty lips beneath mine. The kiss was awkward at first. She hesitated—her lips went stiff—the
n she finally melted into it. I put my hand behind her head and pulled her close so that I could ravage her mouth with my tongue. She moaned into the kiss and practically turned to putty in my arms. Tasting her made my cock hard. I wanted so much more than a kiss—but I held back. I kissed her until I couldn’t breathe and finally pulled away from her lips. She had a look of total surprise on her face, but then the edge of her mouth slowly lifted into a smile.
“Just think about it…” I squeezed her hand one more time and then started walking towards my car.
She’s definitely going to call.
Seven
Lea
My heart was beating so hard in my chest after Mason kissed me that I thought I was going to die on the spot. I stared at him as he walked away wondering if I had just imagined it—maybe the alcohol hadn’t worn off like I thought. My hand shook when I reached for my car door and when I got inside my car, I couldn’t even steady myself enough to push my keys into the ignition. His lips felt like a lit match against mine, and they certainly set something on fire. I was sitting in a puddle of lust that my panties could barely contain.
This is bad—really bad.
One kiss from Mason had awakened something inside of me that was scarier than a crowd of people talking to me at the same time. He made me feel carefree—well, that was probably the alcohol—except that the nervousness didn’t come back when it wore off. The buzz from those shots lingered for a while after we left the restaurant, but they were replaced with a different kind of high. I just liked being with him. He made me laugh—I even giggled a couple of times, and I hadn’t done that since I was a child.
Now I’m thinking about those big hands—on my body—touching me places that nobody has ever touched me before.
Mason waited in the parking lot until I finally regained my composure and started my car. That made the excitement a little embarrassing because I knew he realized why it took me so long. He saw the look on my face—the faraway stare in my eyes after his lips set my soul on fire. He knew I was going to call him again. I was too far gone to pretend that I could just spend Sunday alone in my apartment when I had an open invitation to go out with him again—and possibly get my panties soaked by another kiss before it was over.
His Azalea Page 2