Sweet Obsession(120)

We stare at each other for a moment, and it’s then I see how ragged he looks.

His blonde hair is a mess. Pieces sticking straight out and the rest plastered to his skull. His beard is grown out several days worth. It’s thick and dark. He looks older. The same shadowy smudges I just saw across the street on Brooke line his tired eyes. His clothes are wrinkled. I’m guessing they’ve been worn a couple days in a row now.

Jesus. He’s as miserable as she is.

“Is this what you’ve been doing all weekend?” I ask, gesturing around the room, picking up the tequila bottle and setting it on his night stand. “Getting drunk and then passing out?”

He nods slightly, barely a jerk of his head.

“You know what she’s been doing?”

Mason flicks his weak stare to me.

“Crying.”

It darts away again.

“She’s messed up over you. Really messed up, which is only adding to her stress. This fucking wedding she’s got . . .”

“Why?” he gruffly asks, cutting me off. His gaze still lost on something in front of him. “Why is she messed up? She shouldn’t care. She doesn’t love me. She said it herself. None of this ever mattered to her. I never mattered.”

Bending down, I get close enough to his face, he has no choice but to look at me. “You believe that? ‘Cause if you do, you’re more of an idiot than I thought.”

He grits his teeth. “She said she hates me.”

“I’d hate you too if you made me feel like a whore.”

His eyes go wide, as round as saucers. “What?” he asks, his voice eerily quiet.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of course he has no idea that’s how she would take all that. God, sometimes I wonder why I love men as much as I do.

Cock.

Yup. That’s why. That’s definitely why.

I straighten my spine. “I heard what you said. The whole ‘are there more of these tapes? Does everyone watch them?’ bullshit. How the fuck do you think she would feel after hearing that? And from you? The one person she cares about more than anything? Yeah, I’m sure she does hate you. But that isn’t all she feels.”

He swallows heavily. “I would never think that of her. I was just . . .” his voice trails off as he rubs a hand over his face. “Fuck, I was . . .”

“You were mad and upset, and you said some shit you didn’t mean.”

He releases a stiff breath, nodding, his jaw locked tight.

I squat beside the bed. He looks at me, the pain searing in his eyes. The guilt. I’m happy it’s there. He should feel really fucking sorry for this.

He made me commit a felony.

“And Brooke was upset, crushed actually, and said some shit she didn’t mean,” I tell him, watching his nostrils flare, his throat shuddering with the breath he takes. “We all have people in our past, Mason. Some of us more than others. I say, who the fuck cares? I know Billy’s been with other men. But you know what? I fucking have him. They don’t. He chose me. Brooke might’ve made that tape with someone else, but she never gave anyone what she gave you. To be honest, she never even came close. Forget about the tape and think about that. You got her. She chose you. Everyone else? Fuck em’.”

I stand to my feet, Mason’s eyes following my movement. I glance once more around the room. “You know, I always pictured you as a neat guy. This is quite a disappointment. Unless this is all the aftermath of Friday night then, okay, I can understand that. I’ve wallowed in filth when I’ve been on the outs with my man. Pretty normal reaction to heartbreak.” I look down at him. “The tent I still don’t get though. You’ve lost me there.”

He shifts on the bed, turning onto his back and immediately clutching at his head and wincing in pain, his breath seething through his teeth.

“Brooke joked once about camping in here instead of outside. That’s where I’ve slept the past two nights. Pretending she’s with me.”

My chest tightens.

Oh, my God. If I wasn’t so irritated with this man, I’d give him the kiss of his life right now.

Smiling, I move away from the bed. “Aw, that’s sweet. I appreciate your misery. I do. I am a full supporter of karma, and you deserve that bitch’s wrath right now.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles.

“Anytime. Oh, and Mason?” Halfway out the door, I turn back, waiting for him to look up at me before I speak. “She loves you. Fix it, or you will have me as your enemy. And I can get all kinds of crazy up in here. Breaking into a business is nothing. You won’t have one when I’m finished.”

He gives me a troubled look.