Page 51 of Gin and Lava

“Oh, I got it,” she says, then she smiles softly before saying in a low voice. “I definitelygot it.”

“Good, I’m glad you get—”

“Number!” She hands me her phone. “Or Iwillcall someone else next time.”

I take the sparkly phone from her and put in my digits.

“When exactly will this magical next time be?” I ask.

Naomi pushes herself up off my desk and takes the phone. She pushes herself up on her tiptoes and kisses me softly on the lips. It’s just a peck. A goodbye of sorts.

“I don’t know,” she says honestly. “Depends on when I get an itch. It could be tomorrow, it could be never.” She slips the phone back in her purse.

“Are you going to give me your number?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“I’ll call you when I need—” her eyes run up and down me, and there’s a sliver of something in them—confusion, bewilderment. She can’t believeI’mthe one with the magical cock she’s craving.

“Yup,” I say, drawing attention to the elephant in the room. “Asshole with a magical cock, right here. Call me after you break your next vibrator. In fact, you should probably hook up with some other shithead between now and then, just to make sure I deserve the look you just gave me.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t have to mean it for it to be written all over your face.” I say with an edge in my voice. “You’re hot as hell, Naomi. I get it. I’m supposed to be the one groveling at your feet and sayingthank you. Only, I don’t do that shit. So, thanks for the fuck, have a wonderful afternoon.”

She looks at me with a tentativeness like she might actually feel bad for that look, not that it isn’t true, but she’s embarrassed she got caught being shallow about it.

“I’ll call you,” she says softly, lifting her purse like it’s evidence.

“I’m sure you will,” I say with an edge. “When you need what you need. I get it. I’ve got no problem being the asshole who gets you wet.”

I buckle my pants and open my office door. The smell of us wafts out of the room with me. My afternoon cook looks over with hesitancy, and I want to say something mean liketen-points for the asshole who fucked the hot blonde senseless.

But instead, I say nothing, which is completely out of character.

I’m the asshole who always puts his foot in his mouth. It’s like a personal calling card.

But as Naomi leaves, I stay silent.

16

MASON

Connor and I are chilling at Ned’s second apartment by the beach. Yes, I saidsecondapartment, because it pays to be a hot-shot lawyer in Waikiki. It’s where Connor used to live when he first moved to Hawaii and Ned was putting him up. Then Arie came into the picture and the two of them started doing the humpty-hump. Now Connor lives with Arie in her apartment—where I’m not invited. Which is fine. The last thing I want is spend my free afternoon at Arie’s house listening to her berate me like the dragon she is. Conveniently, Ned’s sweet beach-side abode has become our man cave when Ned or Connor want to get away from their ball n’ chains.

Of course, Ned’s on his honeymoon in Europe, banging his ball n’ chain in five different languages—French, Spanish, Italian? I don’t know how many different countries they’re visiting on their fuck-a-thon. So it’s just me and Connor, drinking whiskey with the Lakers game on.

I wait until the game gets good and the players are throwing elbows and fouls enough to get Connor yelling at the ref toopen his damn eyes,beforeI drop my bomb on him. I discreetly place the one-hundred dollar bill on the coffee table, and Connor’s so engrossed in a shit call by the ref that it takes several minutes to calm down and look at the table full of salsa and dip.

“What the fuck is that?” Connor asks, when he sees the bill, and I just wait. He frowns at me, and I’ll admit, it’s fun to be on the other side of this game. It’s always him and Ned ganging up on me.

“We made a bet,” I remind him.

“We made a—?” But then his face lights up. “No way!” He snatches up the hundred-dollar bill. “Is this Naomi money?”

“Maybe.”

“Holy shit!” He waves the money at me. “This isn’t a fifty, Mason!”

“I know,” I say, unable to hide my smile.

---