Perv(30)
“Have you met the rest of The Fight Club?”
“The what?”
Shelly giggled. “I guess not. The guys. Mason’s friends from the gym.”
“Oh, no. Not yet.” Jenna shrugged like it was no big deal. The Fight Club?
The door opened, and Brody came out. His face was swollen and blue on one side, and he had a butterfly bandage covering a cut on his forehead. His smile was broad, though, and he wrapped his free arm around Shelly and kissed her soundly. “Hey, baby,” he muttered against her lips. They turned to head down the hall.
Shelly called over her shoulder. “See you again soon, I hope.”
Jenna waved and nodded. This was a whole new world, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
Ten minutes later Mason came through the same door. He heaved his duffle bag over one shoulder and smiled at her sheepishly. He didn’t speak. Instead he set his forehead against hers and kissed her gently on the lips. When he righted himself, she noticed he’d suffered less damage than Brody. Maybe a blue circle around his left eye, but that was about all she could see.
She winced, thinking about him being injured, and berated herself for caring. “So, is that the big secret? You fight in your free time. And I’m not supposed to get involved with you because you’re some kind of badass?”
He took her hand and led her down the hall. “Hardly. That’s a small piece of me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m pretty sure I could’ve handled it.”
He grinned down at her, turning around to walk backward as he watched her face. “You think? You enjoyed watching me kick some guy’s ass out there?”
“Well no. Not exactly, but I wouldn’t say your fighting would definitively make or break my feelings toward you.” She bit her lip.
“So you have feelings toward me.” He raised a brow, his infectious smile making her giggle.
“Maybe.”
“Bet I can still change your mind.”
“Good grief. What is this? How to lose a woman in three dates?”
“Something like that.” He winked. “So you’re counting each of our previous encounters as dates now?”
She shrugged as he opened the door and led her outside. She glanced both ways before she addressed him. “Even though you never officially asked me to go out with you, I’d say making it to third base on both occasions counts.”
“Hmm. I bet you won’t want to go to third base with me again after we make our next stop.” He opened her car door and ushered her into the car.
As he rounded the hood, she watched him. He’d changed into something completely different. Black jeans and a tight black T-shirt. He was smokin’ in black. She wished she could see the tattoo beneath his sleeve again. Maybe later…
When he settled into his seat, she spoke again. “If you don’t want to go out with me, you could just take me home. Why all the fanfare?”
After he buckled his seatbelt, he turned to her and grasped her chin, holding her face steady as he looked her in the eye. “Don’t get me wrong. I want you like I’ve never wanted another woman in my life. You don’t have any idea what you’re getting into.” He released her and started the engine. It roared when he pressed the gas pedal without releasing the break. He winked at her. He did that a lot.
She relaxed into the seat and stared out the window while he drove. How bad could it be really?
Chapter Seven
“So, what’s The Fight Club?”
Mason turned toward Jenna and smiled. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Shelly.”
“Who’s Shelly?”
“The woman I sat next to at the fight.”
“Ah, right. Brody’s girlfriend.”
“Is it some secret club for men who like to hit each other?”
“No. Not exactly. It’s just six of us guys from the gym. Katy’s uncle, Joe, coined the term a few years ago. It stuck. Now everyone calls us that.” He shrugged, not wanting to elaborate right then about what else he and his friends did together besides fight. She’d find out anyway in a few minutes.
Mason gripped the steering wheel with both hands as he drove. He blew out long breaths, knowing his time with Jenna was about to blow up in his face. It was necessary, though. He couldn’t keep pretending he was an ordinary guy who dated ordinary girls. Hell, he didn’t date anyone.
The only way he could get her out of his system was to show her firsthand what he did on Friday and Saturday nights. A demonstration of the kind of man he was would slam this relationship into a brick wall.
Mason pulled into a parking space at Extreme and popped his seatbelt. He turned toward Jenna as she peered out the window, trying to get a glimpse of the building in front of them.