Page 20 of A Second Chance At Forever

I reached in and gave him a small hug. Once again, the pressure made me take a sudden breath. Once he released me from the hug, I let out the breath and quickly sat down and finished off the Jack in one big drink.

He sat in the empty barstool next to me and gave me a smile. “What the fuck are you doing here? Does my brother know you’re here?”

Dane looked practically the same as he did five years before. His long, dark hair hung over his forehead, practically in his eyes.

“I’m just taking a little time off and no, he doesn’t know. I wasn’t sure if he would want to see me.” I pointed to my glass for a refill.

Dane’s dark eyes locked with mine before he pulled his lip ring into his mouth and released it. “What? That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard, you know he wants to see you.”

“I heard he had a girlfriend. I didn’t want to start trouble.” I took a drink before looking into my second glass that was almost gone already.

“Who? Nicole?” he waved his hand as if he could wipe her from my thoughts. “I think he’s just wasting time, but don’t tell him I told you that.”

“So, when’s the date?” Wendy asked, pouring Dane a drink.

“The date?” Dane looked confused. He brought his glass to his lips and threw back the liquid.

“She’s engaged to Chris Meyer,” Wendy said it like everyone should know. I wished they didn’t.

“No shit?” He had a look of complete surprise.

“We’re engaged.” I nodded while raising my eyebrows and offering him my fake smile. I wasn’t sure on how or if I should tell them.

“Fuck, no wonder my brother has been in such a bad mood lately.”

Dane and Wendy both laughed, but Dane’s last statement had me thinking about Mason.

Is he happy with this Nicole girl? Is he just wasting time, waiting for me? Will he want to see me?

After my thirdglass of Jack, I couldn’t hold in the questions any longer.

“So, has Mason been in today?”

Wendy looked up from slicing lemons and smiled. “Yeah, he came in for lunch.”

“What’s he been up to?”

“Just working, I guess. He still runs the shop, he comes here for lunch some days. Oh, and he started coaching the high school soccer team.”

“Really? I’m glad he’s getting back to soccer,” I smiled to myself thinking about Mason finally getting back to something he loved. “So, this girl, Nicole, how long have they been together?”

Wendy smiled but answered my question. “I guess a few months now. They met in here. I think for a while they were just sleeping together. I don’t know what happened but they started acting more like a couple.”

Great. That isn’t what I wanted to hear.

I think Wendy noticed my change in mood. “You should go see him. I think he would like to see you again.”

I offered her a small smile. “I think I better get home before I drink any more of these.” I pointed to my glass.

We said good-bye and I slowly made my way out to the car. Sitting behind the wheel, I thought about making the drive to Mason’s house but quickly decided against it. If he was with someone, there was no way we needed to be alone in that house.

What if he’s not alone? What if his girlfriend is there? What if she lives with him?

After those thoughts, I started to drive home before I did something dumb.

I had intendedon going home, I did, but something wouldn’t let me. An hour later I was pulling up to Mason’s house.

The house was more beautiful than I remembered it with its large yard and wrap around balcony.

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