Page 28 of Mason
I choose my seat carefully, plunking my backpack down at the far end of the dining room table where I won’t bother anyone, then dig around in my bag until I find one of the lollipops I’d thrown in there, unwrap it, and pop it into my mouth. The sweet flavor of cinnamon hits my tongue, and it makes me sigh with pleasure. My favorites are from the Original Gourmet Food Company, but give me a Ring Pop, Tootsie Pop, or even a Dum-Dum, and I’m a fairly happy girl. A wide smile stretches my lips. Heaven help Brendan if he puts lollipops into his stash.
“Motherfucker, this guy gives the most homework out of any fucking prof I’ve ever had. How the fuck am I supposed to get all this shit done?” Tucker’s foul mouth shoots off from the other end of the table, and I wonder if he’s doing it to somehow impress his flavor of the day. A cute brunette sits next to him. I bet she’s unaware that she’s the third girl he’s invited over in a very short amount of time, though he seems pretty proud of that fact. To each his own. Are these girls simply so desperate for the attention of a Bainbridge guy that they don’t care?
I frown, looking around for Warren, but see him nowhere. He has a girlfriend that he spends ninety-nine percent of his time with, but it’s mostly at her place. It’s really too bad he’s not around more often, because out of all the guys here that I have to deal with, I like him best. He doesn’t treat me like I shouldn’t be here—and if the rest of them paid attention, they’d know it’s Tristan who has demanded that I live in this house while attending KU. Because apparently, I need a babysitter? What the fuck ever.
I let out a sigh. Even though they’re nowhere to be found either, I let my brain wander to Duke, Mason, and Bear, who are in a completely different league than the rest of these guys. Living here with them has thrown me for a loop. Every interaction pulls me deeper into their world, makes me more curious as to who they really are beyond Bainbridge royalty, sons of the founding brothers.
I slip a pair of cheap earbuds in my ears, then plug them into my phone, and pull up an instrumental playlist. I definitely need something to drown out the surrounding chaos, but I can’t concentrate if the music has actual lyrics—mostly because I’ll start singing, and then it’s all over because when I sing, I want to dance, too. Definitely don’t need to be doing that in front of all these dudes.
I have a bunch of reading to do for my English lit, psychology, biology, and history classes, then some complicated calculus, which I know is going to give me issues. It’s supposed to be a review, but seeing as how I didn’t do so hot in precalculus in high school,andI’ve had a year’s gap between then and being ready to attend college, it’s definitely going to be a pain in my ass.
I’m midway through the third of eight heinous math problems when I spy Duke at the kitchen counter out of the corner of my eye. His hip is propped against the granite and his elbow rests on top of a huge box that he must have brought in there with him. I make a snap decision to ignore him, holding the lollipop stick in one hand and a pencil in the other as I try to focus on whatever the hell I’m supposed to be solving for. I tap the sticky piece of candy against my lips as I think, then once I’m fairly certain I know what the logical progression of steps should be, I pop it fully into my mouth, sucking on it as I begin to work through the problem. Limits. Vectors. Bunch of BS if you ask me, but whatever. Gotta knock out these liberal studies credits so I can move onto whatever I decide I’d actually like to focus on. And right now, I’m kinda clueless.
After a few moments, I feel eyes on me, and when I look up, I realize it’s still Duke. And he hasn’t moved an inch.
“Stella Bella, I have a little something for you.” He’s got an odd look on his face, which I’d swear was nerves if I didn’t know better. He brings the box with him to the table and sets it down in front of me. “I thought you could use these.”
Movement from the doorway to the kitchen snags my attention. Arik and Quincy are definitely paying attention, as is Tucker at the other end of the table. And from the lift of their brows, they’re definitely interested in what’s going on between Duke and me.
With a sigh, I look up into his bold blue eyes, trying to discern what the fuck he’s referring to that he thinks I need. I’m already annoyed that he forced me to accept a freaking iPad and all my textbooks from his dad. I remove the lollipop from my mouth, squinting at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Clothes. You only came with one suitcase, so I rounded up a bunch of stuff for you.” His eyes appraise every inch of my body, and his tongue slicks over his lip. “I think I guessed the sizes correctly.”
My gaze bounces from his careful expression—that I can’t make heads or tails of—to the large cardboard box sitting in front of me. Blood rushes to my cheeks. “Duke,” I heave out, “no matter what you think, I’m not your fucking charity case. I don’t want clothes that your girlfriends have accidentally left behind.” My eyes flash with fire. “I’ve been pretty clear—I don’t needor wanta goddamn thing from you.”
From the other end of the table, fucking Tucker’s laugh is stifled but audible.
Duke’s mouth drops open. “It’s not—”
“You can fuckin’ save it. I don’t want to hear another word.” Flustered, I stand up and begin to grab my stuff so that I can extract myself from this humiliation, when he puts his hand directly on top of my notebook and calculus textbook. “Duke, stop it.” I try to swat his hand away, but he’s unmoving—a heaving, angry animal with flashing eyes.
“Why, so you can leave without listening to what I’m trying to tell you?”
“Get it through your thick skull. I don’t want donations from yourwhores.”I push back from the table, getting up from the chair and stepping away from him. “But you know what? Fine. This is ridiculous. I’m going upstairs. Be an asshole if that’s what helps you sleep at night.” I rush through the kitchen past Arik and Quincy before Duke launches his parting shot.
“Too bad we can’t getyouto stay in your bed and sleep at night.”
I feel the sting of his verbal slap and keep right on going.
* * *
Ten minutes later,there’s a rap on my door. My face is still hot from the way Duke embarrassed me. I know at least three of the guys were paying avid attention, but it’s possible the jerks on the couch were also listening in. “I’m not here. Go away.”
There’s a deep chuckle from the other side of the door, then a gruff, “I’ve got your books and things.” It’s Bear.
I’m partially relieved simply because it’s not Duke here to get in my face again, but I’m unsure if I want to invite Bear in. My eyes flick to my bed—the place where he held me and made me feel safe… but also where we had some questionable accidental relations. We agreed that it meant nothing—or maybe that was me who made that proclamation. Either way, I’m not naive enough to believe thoughts weren’t in his head just from the circumstances alone.
I let out a sound, part groan, part sigh, finally relenting. “Okay, fine. Come in.”
A moment later, the door swings open and the big guy appears. For a moment, I’m caught up in the way his warm hazel eyes travel up and down my body, which is funny because I’d thrown on a pair of cotton shorts and a slouchy T-shirt that has seen better days when I got up here. I look less than stellar, but the way he’s looking at me warms me to my toes.
I drag in a breath. “Sorry, I didn’t think I’d see anyone else today. I was kinda just done.”
He clears his throat, hiking up the box of clothing Duke tried to pawn off on me. “Yeah, I caught the tail end of the explosion as I was coming in from practice.”
“You can put my backpack on the bed. I don’t want that other shit.” My eyes narrow on the offending slut wardrobe in his arms. The effect it’s having on me is unreal. I’m all tensed up, ready for another fight.
“Duke is pretty frustrated. He thought he was doing something nice for you. Kinda taking care of you, in a way? From what he told me, I guess he feels like he was hard on you and was trying to find a way to apologize.”
