Page 58 of Fun and Games
I leaned against his shoulder and, without quite realizing it, slowly drifted off to sleep. The last thing I remembered was the sensation of warm lips kissing the top of my head.
Twenty-Three
"You sureyou want to tag along?" Mason asked me.
"Of course," I said. "I can sit at the bar and nurse my drink and people-watch."
"So you're a creeper, huh?" he asked. "You like to watch drunk strangers stumbling over themselves?"
"I doubt people get that drunk at your bar," I said. "It doesn't seem like the kind of place to get wasted and cause trouble."
"We've tried to keep the vibe chill," Mason agreed. "I've got some paperwork to catch up on, but I can make sure Grant keeps an eye on you."
"Grant is one of your bartenders?" I wondered if he was the one Samantha had her eye on.
"He's been working at Sin and Tonic since before it was Sin and Tonic," Mason told me. "There used to be another bar where we are now. Apparently the place was failing and the owner was going to close up shop. Connor and his brother bought them out, and we kept the employees, Grant and Lizzy, when we reopened."
"Lizzy is the pretty blonde with the cute dresses?" I asked. "She seemed overly excited to see me that one time I came storming in."
"She's probably happy to finally see me with another human being who isn't Connor," he said. "She thinks I need more of a social life, too."
"As someone with three jobs, I'm not going to give you any grief over that," I said.
Of course, I worked three jobs so I didn't have to be alone with my thoughts. I had to wonder if the reason for Mason's workaholism was as unhealthy as mine.
When we arrived at the bar, Mason held the door open for me and let me go in first. The place only had a few people drinking at tables near the corner. It wasn't late enough for a real crowd to get going.
Instead of seeing Lizzy behind the counter, this time I saw a vaguely familiar head of dark hair, light blue eyes and wide shoulders. It was the same guy Samantha had been drooling over after all.
"Grant, this is Bree," Mason said, making introductions as I took a seat on one of the barstools. "Bree, this is Grant. If anyone gives you any trouble, you tell him and he'll get it sorted out."
I had no doubt he could. But although he had the physique of a linebacker, he didn't look dour or intimidating.
"Nice to meet you, Bree," Grant said in a deep, smooth voice.
When he reached his muscled arm out to take my hand in greeting, I found a surprising gentleness in his touch.
"Bree's going to hang out here tonight," Mason said. "She needs to let off some steam. Work stuff, you know?"
It was a half-truth. Work was boring and I needed to get out and live a little, it was true. But I was pretty sure the real reason Mason has asked me to come tonight was because he was concerned for me and didn't want me to be alone.
After my little breakdown that day in his apartment, he'd been watching me carefully. It was as if he was worried it might happen again. As if he was worried that whatever emotions I'd been bottling up for years were now overflowing and refusing to get back in that bottle.
He didn't have to worry. Spilling everything to Mason had been somewhat cathartic in a way. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time my chest felt this light. It was like I'd been carrying around a lead anchor for years, and I'd finally been able to let it go.
I was touched Mason cared about my mental well-being. He hadn't pushed me to tell him more than I already had, but he also hadn't swept everything under a metaphorical rug. It was refreshing, knowing that I'd divulged my innermost demons to someone and they had been accepted without question or judgment.
"Bree!" a cheerful voice chimed up from behind me. Lizzy came over and hopped up on a stool next to me with a beaming smile, her long blonde hair falling over one shoulder and her cute dress flaring out. "It's nice to see you again. Are you staying this time?"
I supposed I had just stormed in and stormed out last time, when I'd come to confront Mason about his secret life as a famous blogger.
"I thought I might come get a few drinks tonight," I said. "Mason told me Tuesdays are usually slow."
"Things pick up around Wednesday and Thursday," she confirmed, "and then it gets crazy wild once the weekend comes around and we have live music playing."
"So, what'll it be?" Grant asked as he deftly flipped a cocktail glass up in the air, let it spin, and caught it one-handed easily with a wink in my direction.
"Show off," Lizzy teased as she leaned forward on the bar. "This guy always likes to pretend he's on one of those reality TV shows," she continued. "Acting like he's got to impress a crowd of judges or something." Lizzy's honey-brown eyes were trained on Grant, following his every move. Despite her expression of good humor, there was longing in her gaze.
