Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
I take a half step forward without meaning to, and it’s like I reached out and touched him. He jolts as if burned, his head falling back, and he looks up at the sky seemingly searching for an answer he desperately needs.
“Mase,” I finally call.
His head snaps forward, and slowly, he heads this way, his eyes not once traveling to his friend beside me. “How long you been here?”
“I—” Shit. “Friday.” I manage to force the word, quickly adding, “I looked for you, but—”
“But you didn’t call.”
In my periphery, I notice Chase looking between us. “I called,” he says. “Ari, too. And Brady.”
Mason just keeps staring right at me. “You didn’t call.”
Up close, the dark circles beneath his eyes are so clear. Too clear. “Where were you?”
“There was someone I needed to talk to.” He faces away, then mumbles, “Not that it made much of a difference.”
Something coils around my spine, a sense of unease sweeping over me that I can’t quite put my finger on. “Mase.” I try again, stepping toward him. Suddenly, I really need to know. “Where did you go?”
“Do you honestly care?” His response is swift and gut-wrenching, as is the glare he throws my way. “Do you care where I went, what I did, who I did it with?”
“Mason,” Chase begins but cuts off when Mason’s gaze pins him with a clear warning.
My lips press together, a familiar burn building behind my eyes.
He looks away, creases forming along his brow. “Where’s my little man?” His eyes pop up to mine, following when I glance at the car, the Embers Elite logo scrawled across the back door.
He swallows, leaning toward it, maybe without realizing. “Can I at least say hi? Or…bye?”
Finally, he looks my way again, and this time, my lips do tremble. But I nod.
Of course I nod.
He doesn’t wait for another second.
He turns, opens the door, and closes himself inside.
Mason
Big blue eyes find mine the second I slip in, and when he smiles, the hint of two tiny teeth beaming back at me, it’s like every bit of tension drains from my body.
My muscles ease, my heart grows full, and I can’t help but smile through a laugh. “Hey, big guy.” I tickle his toes, and he laughs so easily, so loud and fucking adorable, that mine doubles along with it. “Did you get even bigger?” I lift my hand, and he slap his into it, doing it over and over and giggling at the clapping sound. “Yeah, you did. Look at that big ol’ hand.” I grin. “You’ll be palming laces in no time.”
He starts kicking, his lips moving a mile a minute in full-on baby talk.
I can’t help it. I take him from his seat, my eyes springing up when he launches to his feet.
“Dang, boy. You’re strong, aren’t you?”
He claps. “Ma, ma, ma, ma.”
My hands tense a moment, my smile spreading slowly. “You got that one down solid now,” I whisper. “I bet you’re talkin’ like crazy now, huh, Einstein? What else can you say, hmm?”
Suddenly, he whines, arm stretching and pointing over my shoulder.
“What is it?” I spin for a better look, laughing when I find his little plush football. “Did you throw this sucker that far? Sheesh. You must have an arm on you.”
I tickle him with it, and he starts laughing.
“Ball, ball, ball, ball.”
“That’s right.” I can’t stop smiling, even if ball from his little mouth sounds more like “buh” than anything, but it’s obvious what he’s trying to say. “That’s a football.”
“Ball, ball!” He claps, yanking and pressing the plushy to his face and biting on it, two little half teeth sticking out from his lower gums and a couple that look about ready to break through the tops.
My body falls against the seat, suddenly deeply aware of the remarkable, precious little thing in my lap. My little man is growing, more and more every day, and I’m missing it.
The weight of a thousand possibilities, none of which end well for me, falls on my shoulders. I hug him to me, my damn heart skipping a fucking beat when his little tiny palm pats along my shoulder like he knows. Like he’s comforting me the way I should be there to comfort him.
The way I want to be.
“You’re my favorite person in the whole world, you know that?” I whisper, fighting off the sting creeping behind my eyes. “I miss you, Little D. Every day.”
He turns his head, and a broken chuckle escapes when he presses an open-mouthed kiss to my cheek.
“Thanks, buddy. That’s exactly what I needed.” I grip his hand, smiling at him, and he starts jumping up and down in my lap all over again.
The door opens then, and I tense, my grip tightening around him of its own accord.
I meet his mama’s eyes, breaking a little inside at the sadness in them.