JACE
"This was fucking stupid," I muttered as I stood awkwardly at the front desk while waiting for the woman to talk quietly on the phone. She'd taken one look at me when I'd walked up to get hold of Mrs. Lincoln to let her know I was here, and had scuttled off to make the call. I was used to people giving me wary looks and treating me like I was potentially dangerous, but sometimes it got to me. At least it was amusing because she kept glancing back at me, and the way she looked me over, I had the feeling she couldn't decide if she wanted to treat me as a threat or a possibility.
"And yet you're here," Kayden pointed out because he loved being no help and pointing out the obvious. Just two of the many things he incorrectly said were part of his 'charm.'
"When I figure out why I'm here, I'll let you know," I muttered.
"You know why."
I said nothing because again, he was proving his mastery of stating the obvious. I was here because I was still trying to figure out if I wanted to be a part of Micah's life. Hell, I should probably start by figuring out if Ishouldbe a part of it in the first place. Then I could work on whether I wanted it, and in what way. Lifedidn't come with an instruction manual, and if it did, I doubted it would come with instructions on figuring out how to get into the life of a child you didn't know existed.
Not just any child, but your own child.
Jesus, I had a kid.
Kayden leaned on the desk and squinted at me. “What are you thinking about, and why did it make you go like...five shades paler?"
"I have a kid," I muttered as the woman got off the phone and turned to us with a normal customer service smile.
"She'll be down in just a minute, but she invites you to help yourself to whatever you want from the restaurant or bar. You have a standing tab," she said, and if it surprised her as much as it did me, then she was a perfect professional because her smile never flickered.
"Thanks," I said with a blink, turning to face the restaurant and bar, but deciding against it. I had no idea where Mason was, but I had to assume the bar was the most likely place. If I could make the chances of running into him smaller, even by a little, then I was going to take that chance, especially because the mere thought of him was enough to make my stomach flip inside me...though under it were the far more insidious and loathed embers of the feeling that had shot through me and dug its claws in when the bastard had ground his groin against me.
I didn't think it could get buried any deeper, but I certainly tried as I walked over to a small table in a corner, away from the bar and restaurant, and sat down with my back against the wall so I could see everything going on in the lobby. It wasn't paranoia, I hadn't been traumatized by work that badly, I just wanted to see Mason before he showed up.
"I'm very glad," Kayden said, dropping into the seat across from me with a roll of his eyes, "that, although it took youdays, you finally came around to see reality for what it is and acknowledge the fact."
I watched him grin as he leaned back in his seat. “Are you proud of yourself? Making fun of me while I'm dealing with something?"
"If I didn't give you hell, even…no,especiallywhen you're dealing with something, what kind of friend would I be?"
"A good one."
"Yeah, but not your friend."
"Fuck you too."
"You love me."
"And you said I needed to come back to reality," I said, eyeing his chair. "Let me help you come back."
I kicked before he could gain his balance, the toe of my boot smacking the chair and sending him tumbling backward. For anyone else, it would have been bad enough, but for Kayden, it was even worse. The guy had no sense of balance and could find himself going into one of the goofiest falls on his own. With a little help from me, he didn't just fall, he was so surprised that he never had the chance to brace or adjust his balance. The result was his limbs flailing in every direction, grabbing a nearby table and bringing it down with him.
The noise was...impressive, even with the acoustics made to deaden sounds so you weren't bombarded by conversations around you. Kayden still managed to make enough noise for five people wearing cowbells. Every head in the lobby whipped around with looks of confusion, wariness, and curiosity as he scrambled on the floor to get back to his feet. Clearing his throat roughly, he righted tables and chairs before dropping back into the seat, his face beet red as he glared at me.
"You're a dick," he said with a huff.
Unlike my old rivalry with Mason, it was rare that I managed to come out on top when messing with Kayden, so I was morethan happy to savor victory for a little while as I watched him smugly. "Nice of you to join us in the real world again."
"Shut up," he muttered, reaching up to tousle his hair as if that was somehow going to make his fall less embarrassing.
My good mood was allowed to exist without interruption for about thirty seconds until I heard a bike roar up outside. I tensed as I watched a figure pull off their helmet and step into the lobby, looking around. My stomach flipped and plummeted at the sight of Mason, his face flushed, his hair a mess from the helmet, and a pleasant gleam in his eyes. The asshole had probably been out breaking every traffic law known to man in his attempt to have a good time, and I wondered which of my fellow officers had been on the receiving end of trying to stop his joy ride.
And no matter how cocky the asshole looked, there was no way in hell I in any way thought he looked good in his riding leathers with a pleased look on his face.
Of course, any attempt to tell myself that, while ignoring the extremely unwanted stirring in my groin, was immediately routed to the back of my mind when he spotted us. Whatever look I had on my face made Kayden turn around, and horror flashed through me when my partner and supposed friend raised his hand, hailing Mason and waving him over. Mason's eyes slid from Kayden to me. For a moment, there was an imperceptible mask that slid over Mason's features, preventing me from seeing what he was truly thinking and making me once again spare a brief thought for what kind of world existed inside his head.
That was ruined immediately when the mask disappeared and was replaced by the cockiest smirk imaginable, only capable of being pulled off by the one and only Mason Beckett. I ignored the funny little flip my stomach did at the sight of it and scowled at him as he predictably accepted the invitation from Kayden that should never have been made. He strolled over like heowned the place, taking a seat from another table and swinging it around, back facing the table and sitting down, eyeing the two of us with a confidence I loathed and never liked to admit I envied.
