Page 83 of I Need You Tonight
Chapter 31
Nicole
I opened my eyes, my brain slightly groggy from drinking more last night than I normally would, but not enough for a hangover—for which I was thankful.
The space where Mason had been before I’d fallen asleep last night was now empty. I reached out to touch the sheets, and frowned. They were cold.
I strained to hear if he was in the bathroom, but there was only silence. I turned to check the time on the bedside clock. Maybe I had slept in, and Mason had woken up and decided not to disturb me.
Six-thirty a.m.—five hours after we’d returned to the hotel. And it wasn’t like we had gone straight to sleep once we entered the room. We’d had sex first.
Mason hadn’t eaten much in the past day or two. He could have woken up hungry and gone to get breakfast. I checked my cellphone. He hadn’t texted or phoned me.
I sent him a text to find out where he had disappeared to. While I waited for his reply, I showered and got ready. Even though it was early and I hadn’t gotten much sleep, I was suddenly not tired. A bad feeling skittered through me. And it only got worse when I checked my phone and there was still no message from Mason.
Needing to escape the room, which was now feeling way too small, I grabbed my jacket and wandered downstairs. The lobby was busy, with the Thanksgiving weekend crowd checking in.
A twinge of homesickness poked at me, reminding me I wouldn’t be celebrating Thanksgiving today with my best friend, the way I’d been doing ever since my mother died. It also reminded me how much I missed the time Mason and I had spent together back in Desert Springs, when he had fixed things around the house as if he lived there. When we’d removed the wallpaper together and spent most of the time laughing and joking around. When we’d walked Bernie and shared stories about ourselves and about Zack. When we’d eaten ice cream and watchedDie Hardmovies. When he’d shared with me the music for the song he had written—the song the guys in the band didn’t even know about.
That was the Mason I loved most. The Mason I had fallen in love with long before I realized what was happening.
I headed for the front entrance, along the path that cut through the casino. A chorus of groans rose from one of the blackjack tables as I passed not far from them. Without meaning to, I glanced at where the sound had come from…and came to an abrupt halt.
Mason was sitting at a table, a stack of chips in front of him. A crowd of onlookers stood around him like vultures observing their next meal slowly die, unwilling to miss when it finally happened.
The dealer dealt the cards for himself and Mason. I watched in horror as Mason lost, then indicated he wanted to play another hand by pushing a large stack of chips forward.
He lost that as well.
I stood there for a few more minutes, ice filling my veins, as the same thing happened again. It was like witnessing a deadly car wreck as it happened, leaving you unable to turn away. You could only pray the sequence of events would suddenly change, and everyone would be okay.
Once more he gestured to the dealer for another round. And, like the other times, he lost.
“What are you down by? Fifty grand?” the man sitting at the end of the table asked.
My heart jumped into my throat, almost choking me. This wasn’t the first time he had lost this big—that much I could guarantee. He’d lied the other day when he said he knew when to walk away. Clearly he didn’t.
“He’s right, Mason,” I said, my voice brittle enough to shatter—much like my heart at seeing Mason this way. “You need to stop.”
“I’m fine, Nicole,” he grunted, and waved at the dealer to deal him in again.
I dug deep, searching for the strength to hold my ground, refusing to give up on him. “No, you need to stop. Now.”
“I said I’m fine,” he growled. “I know what I’m doing.” Those were words I’d heard my father say to my mom numerous times before she finally decided she’d had enough.
This time Mason did win, which meant it would be impossible to tear him away from the game. He believed his luck had turned.
I stepped away from the table and called Nolan, praying he would answer his phone. A few seconds passed before he mumbled a sleepy “Hi,” and I almost collapsed with relief.
“Nolan, it’s Nicole. I found Mason in the casino, and he’s already lost fifty grand. I can’t get him to leave.” The words came out in a panicked rush.
“Fuck! I’ll be right down.” The call ended abruptly, leaving me to wonder about things I would rather not have dwelled on.
Five minutes later—though it felt like an hour—both he and Jared arrived, both looking grim.
“Mason,” Jared said, none too gently, “you’ve got to stop this. You know you’ll never make back everything you’ve lost tonight. You never do.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Mason muttered, pain lacing his words. Not once did his gaze leave the cards in front of him. “Cut me out of your life like my family did?”
