I couldn’t look at Mason directly in the eye. I just filled up his glass and turned to leave the back of the bar. I knew at that moment I couldn’t speak to him again in my lifetime.
Chapter 3
Mason
I knew she was completely embarrassed, but I couldn’t say anything to ease her mind. At the time, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe, number one, how beautiful she truly was. Her light brown eyes were a sexy contrast to her chocolate skin. I could smell her perfume, and it was doing a number on me. Yup, that’s right. I inhaled her deeply. Secondly, I was stunned that she was talking about me. I smiled at that and looked in the direction she escaped to, wanting to follow her.
“Don’t worry, big boy. Stick around. It will be well worth it. Trust me.”
The girl with the black hair winked and started filling orders.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see Max here. I’m supposed to be waiting for Alex and Rachel and whatever girl she picked for me at the bar owned by Lou, and I wanted nothing more than to ditch them and go looking for Max.
I grabbed my phone to text Alex and tell him I was bailing on him when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him coming towards me. He had this stupid grin on his face, and I started to groan and shake my head. I knew what that look meant. I turned back around and signaled for another bartender to take my order.
I turned back around and noticed Alex leading Rachel to this table that was positioned in the front corner of the bar. Behind Rachel, I saw a blonde woman with long, straight hair lying flat down her back. She wore a blue form-fitting dress that delicately contoured all her curves and accentuated her breasts. She was a very attractive woman, but what turned me off instantly was the way she was frowning at the people around her. Clearly this wasn’t her scene, and I had to wonder who the hell did Rachel think I was?
I ordered two white wines, top shelf of course, and two Coronas. When I turned back around, Alex was walking straight towards me with that stupid grin still on his face.
“So what do I have to look forward to?” I asked him.
“Behold the ice princess,” he said, thumbing behind him. “Oh, you are in for a great night.”
I looked behind him at the table where the two women were seated, and then I looked back at Alex.
“She looks as if she might get syphilis if she touches anything.”
“Yup, a real treat!” Alex mumbled.
I told the bartender to leave my tab open and only let Alex charge on my account. He nodded, and after Alex grabbed our bottles, we headed to the table where our dates awaited.
As I walked up to the table, Rachel leaned into my date and pointed to me. At first, her facial expression didn’t change. I mean, it wasn’t like I was dressed to the nines. I had on blue jeans and a black button-up shirt. But when she saw my watch, she started to smile. I smiled back politely, but inwardly I cursed my luck. I looked at Alex and realized why he had that stupid grin on his face. He knew I would have a blood-money sucking woman on my hands.
The titanium Rolex on my wrist was a dead giveaway that I had money. Most people don’t pay attention to my watch; they assume it’s just an average silver watch, since there’s no marking on it. But those that come from money or a privileged lifestyle know exactly what’s being sported on my wrist.
Rachel introduced Amber, my date, to me. As she looked again at my watch and then up to my face, she gave me her best money-grubbing smile and leaned into me. Of course I am polite, or as polite as I can be, and I smiled as I handed her the drink I bought. She grasped the glass, and I pulled out the seat next to her.
We made small talk. I asked her where she was from, what she did for a living, and shit like that. To be honest, I wasn’t paying any attention. So I couldn’t tell you what she said. I was being distracted by the frat-type-looking guy next to me talking about his sister and her friends that were going to perform in a minute. One of his friends seemed to just want to bail, but the other guy told them no. He wanted to see the show, and then they could bounce.
I looked up at the stage in front of me where a DJ was setting up, and I wondered if this was for the performance.
“So, Mason. What do you do for a living?”
I turned and found Amber smiling at me.
“I’m sorry, darling. What did you just say?”
I let my Texas accent come through strong, and Alex chuckled. Most of the time I don’t let my accent come out. I was trained as a SEAL to fit in no matter where I was, so I had to lose the accent I had for nineteen or so years.
The effect of my accent wasn’t lost on her, as she smiled brightly and asked her question again. I took a sip of my beer and said to her, “I’m a cow-herder back on my daddy’s farm in Texas.”