Page 38 of Without Judgment

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mason

Avery’s heartfelt thank you took me completely off guard. Probably because I wasn’t accustomed to being the nice guy and thus a recipient of gratitude. Yet this felt good to do for her today. As a friend. I needed to tack the friend part on because my fingers itched to pull her close to me.

I needed to get back to why we were here. To get her out of the house and stop her from feeling sad.

We walked over to the park. There, I proceeded to take Koda off leash and throw the ball for him. There was no one else around, and I hoped to run some energy out of him. Such a good boy. While I did this, Avery set up the blanket and unwrapped the food.

As soon as we sat down beside her and I gave Koda a big bone to chew on, I realized my mistake. This felt like a date. And watching her eat her burger was doing nothing to quell my attraction towards her, either. Christ. Who else could manage to eat a burger seductively?

“What?” She asked with her mouth still full, obviously picking up on my weird facial expression.

I grabbed my own food, suddenly wishing we could fast-forward this little excursion. “Nothing. But I meant what I said about not being a relationship guy.” Despite her indignant refutation of being a relationship girl, I knew better.

“And that’s coming up now because?”

I was being a dick. Ruining a perfectly good afternoon. My intention had been to get her mind off the anniversary of her mom’s death. Instead, I was still stuck on this morning and worried about what she might take away from it. I lied smoothly. “In case you have further ideas about setting me up with Melanie.”

She seemed to relax and believe the fib while it served to get my point across. But it definitely hadn’t dampened her curious nature.

“Is the no-relationship rule because someone broke your heart or because you’ve just never wanted one?”

“Why do you ask?”

She shrugged, putting a fry between her perfect lips.

The act made me stare at her mouth. Great, now the fries were turning me on.

“Because I’m curious about people, and you’re the only one here for me to annoy with intrusive questions. Beware. If you say you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll assume some girl broke your heart in college, and you still pine for her. Probably have a tattoo with her name and everything.”

I scoffed at her teasing. “Never had a girlfriend so no heartbreak. And you’ve seen my tattoos. No names ever.”

The truth was I didn’t allow people close to me. My mom’s death had been rough, but having my father find a new wife with two kids of her own within four months had been worse. I’d had a lot of anger over it. How could someone who professed love move on so quickly? How could he take on an entirely new family, leaving me and all the memories behind?

I suppose a shrink would say I pushed people away before they could do it to me, but I simply argued I didn’t want to be beholden to anyone. Being single held more advantages than a relationship. Thus far, the lie had served me well.

She smiled, obviously having obtained the information she’d been after. There was no old girlfriend I was hung up on. “I don’t know that I’ve seen all of your tattoos. But when did you get your first one?”

I had three of them, and she had seen all of them, but the suggestion I might have more in places she hadn’t seen made me wish I did. “I was eighteen when I got the tribal around my bicep. The other two I got when I was in the Marine Corps.”

“Did they hurt?”

The vision of her sucking the cheese from her burger off with her fingers, made me have to look away so I didn’t groan out loud. There was nothing practiced about her action. It was just an ordinary gesture that caused an over-sexed reaction on my part. I definitely needed to get laid as soon as I returned to Austin. That would get sex off my brain. Even better, it would get her out of my head.

“No. The tattoos didn’t hurt. But no way in hell you’re getting one.” Second worst thing her brother could find out behind me sleeping with her was that I’d influenced his baby sister into getting ink. Bad enough I’d rubbed off on him in our youth when we’d gotten our first tattoos together.

“Not that you would have a say in what I do, but I don’t do needles. Or pain. Or anything remotely on a whim especially when it’s permanent.”

No. A rebel she was not. Unlike her brother, who’d been searching for a way to break with his father’s legacy, Avery seemed content with the comfort of it. Or perhaps, rather, afraid to chance his disapproval. That was probably why this entire scandal had rocked her so completely. “Not a fan of tattoos, then?”

“Didn’t say that. I quite like yours. I even think the one my brother has is cool. But I’m not sure I believe in liking or loving anything permanently these days.”

I figured she was talking more about her relationship than a tattoo. “I’m positive you’ll find your prince charming someday.”

She rolled her eyes and turned to scratch Koda’s ears and then his tummy. The dog melted at her touch. “What do you think, sweet boy? Wanna be my prince?”

“He’s a bit rough around the edges and with too much of a checkered past to be someone’s prince, don’t you think?” I’m not sure what compelled me to say this, but I found myself curious regarding her answer.

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