Page 54 of Possession

It’s super cute how excited he gets

Mason

It was really great actually

I thought it’d be just okay, since it was just locals, but they were really talented

Vinnie

Told you

11

“H

ow’d you get so good at bowling?”

Mason grinned at him before taking a huge bite of his taco. “Me, Vinnie, Penny, and Ollie used to be part of a bowling league.”

Tomas glanced up at the ceiling, trying to imagine Ollie in bowling shoes.

Laughing, Mason finished the last of his taco. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, but he actually bought used ones, sanitized the shit out of them, and then painted and bedazzled them.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “That makes more sense. Well, I’m glad you didn’t take it easy on me.”

“You learn a lot about a man by how well he handles being defeated by someone half his size.”

Tomas leaned back in his seat, his chimichanga long gone. “Oh, yeah? What did you learn?”

Wiping his hands and mouth, he copied Tomas, leaning back on his side of the booth and holding Tomas’s gaze. “I learned that you could handle it with grace, that you never once felt theneed to try and insult me or find some excuse for why you didn’t play better than I did. You let me enjoy the moment.”

Tomas wasn’t sure what to say to that, a little flustered at the soft praise. “That’s how any decent man would react,” he said gruffly.

“Key word there beingdecent,” Mason said and cocked his head. “Nowadays, it seems like a rarity, don’t you think?”

Maybe. Sure, there were shitty people out there, a lot of men especially, but he was surrounded every single day by good and decent men and women. They all worked hard to support their community and to keep those at risk safe. So no, to him, it wasn’t rare, but he could understand how it may feel that way to someone outside the MC’s bubble.

“You’re keeping better company now,” he said, admiring the way Mason bit his lip. He’d worn a tight, short-sleeve shirt and jeans for their date, giving Tomas a fantastic view and distracting him every single time it was Mason’s turn on their lane.

“Agreed,” Mason said and picked up his next taco.

They chatted for a while about Tank’s birthday party and some of the places Mason and Vinnie had visited while they were in Georgia. Their conversation was easy and flowed from topic to topic without any awkward pauses.

“I’m sort of surprised you didn’t order the tamales,” Tomas said after Mason finally finished his third taco. “You seemed to enjoy Jill’s quite a bit the other night.”

Mason slapped a hand to his chest and gasped dramatically. “I would never cheat on your sister like that.”

Tomas laughed, deep and loud, turning a few heads in their direction, but both of them ignored the stares. “Just when you’ve got me convinced you’re nothing but sweetness, you pull out that sass.”

“I have to keep you interested somehow.”

“That is not ever going to be an issue,” Tomas assured him, pleased as shit when Mason blushed and dropped his gaze to the table.

“Good to know.” He cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Is your family from Mexico?”

Tomas nodded. “A couple generations back. My abuela came here when she was newly married, and my mom and her siblings were born here.”

“Are you close with them?”

---