Page 34 of Forever Your Touch

Fate sure handed him a curveball, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Get some sleep, JoJo. I’ll be by to pick you up for school in the morning.”

“Go inside and go to bed.”

“I will.”

“Promise me you won’t sleep outside?”

“I promise,moye dragotsennyy.”

He listened until he heard her hang up.

He was screwed.

Chapter Ten

Four days.

It had been four days since Ray left the house, pissed off and silent. And in all that time, not even one text. She’d left him countless voicemails and texts, but he refused to respond. At first, Jo had been hurt, but now she was starting to get pissed off herself. She understood his embarrassment, but he had no right to take his anger at Mason out on her.

The knock at the door interrupted her silent rant. It had to be Mason. He’d promised to come over and help her set up her studio. Homework had been keeping her so busy, she still hadn’t managed to put up the soundproofing tiles on the walls or get the rest of her stuff unboxed.

She hadn’t even managed to record anything new. Thankfully, she’d had enough pre-recorded before the move to get her through, but those were winding down, and she needed to do some new recordings. Several games had come out she’d meant to do some Let’s Plays for, but school had pretty much taken up all her time.

“Hey, Josephine.” Mason grinned at her when she opened the door, his expression looking easier and more relaxed than it had in weeks.

“What’s up with you?”

“My papa is on his way home tomorrow.” He brushed past her and went straight to the kitchen, looking for coffee. She’d put a pot on when he called to say he was on his way over.

“That’s great, Mason!” She closed the door and followed him into the kitchen. Before she realized what he was doing, he’d grabbed her around the waist and swung her up and around, holding her tight. She laughed at the spontaneity of it. “I’m so happy for you.”

“You have to come meet him, Mama, andBabushka.”

“Babushka?”

“My grandmother.” He set her back down and went looking for coffee mugs. “She’s a trip. Insists on finding ways to incorporate the word ‘booty’ into all her conversations. Drives Mama mad.”

“She does not!” She could just imagine this tiny elderly lady sayingbooty. It was such a Mason move.

“I promised to take her trolling for some hot guys at bingo night down at the community center.” Mason winked and handed her a steaming cup of coffee with just the right amount of milk and sugar. He always brought her coffee in the mornings and knew exactly how she liked it.

“So, you’re gonna be like her wingman or something?” Jo arched a brow, trying to picture Mason whispering to his grandmother about some old guy in a wheelchair with oxygen strapped to him. She grinned thinking about it. He was a nut.

“Hells yeah! Got to watch out for mybabushka. She needs to at least find someone who has their teeth, be it their own or dentures. Can you imagine kissing someone who’s all gums? Gross.” He mock-shuddered.

“Come on, Casanova. Time for the free labor to begin.” Jo chuckled as she led him toward her makeshift studio that doubled as the spare bedroom. She’d managed to drag the boxes with the soundproofing tiles up from the basement last night. It had taken a bit to find them buried in all the boxes they still hadn’t unpacked.

Mason came in right behind her, standing so close she could feel the heat wafting off his body. It seeped into her, and she shivered. Not from cold, but from something she shoved so far down, she could almost pretend she didn’t feel it.

“We need to get the tiles up on the walls before we start moving the furniture in. The couch stays. It has a foldout bed in it, so if we have guests over, they’ll at least have a place to sleep.” She took several steps away from him under the guise of going through boxes.

“This is pretty out of date.” She looked over to see Mason checking out her recording equipment. “Especially this microphone. This thing has to be five years old.”

“I can’t afford anything else at the moment.”

“Why the hell not? You have millions of subscribers, Josephine.”

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