Something was wrong.And I wasn’t going to survive the night until I found out what.
By the time I dropped off my tray and ducked down the hallway that led to the stockroom, my heart was hammering harder than if I’d run a marathon.The door was propped half-open, and I caught sight of Mason inside, stacking boxes of whiskey on the shelf.His back was rigid, and his muscles strained beneath his black T-shirt.
“Mason.”
He stiffened at the sound of my voice but didn’t turn around.“You’re supposed to be out front.”
I stepped inside and let the door click shut behind me.“And you’re supposed to not look like the world’s ending.What the hell is going on with you?”
He slammed a case onto the shelf and finally faced me.His eyes were stormy, and for once, I wished he’d go back to ignoring me.
“You want to know what’s wrong?”His voice was low, rough.“Mac showed me footage yesterday.From the cameras.You and me.In the alley.”
My breath caught.“What?”
His mouth twisted.“Clear as day.Us making out like we didn’t have a care in the world.Every damn second of it caught on tape.”
For a moment, all I could do was stare.My pulse kicked up, not with fear, but with something that felt dangerously close to relief.
“You’re serious?”I asked.
His laugh was humorless.“Dead serious.She says she can’t delete it.Says it’s ‘too good for TV.’”
I pressed my hand against the shelf to steady myself.“So what?They’ll see it eventually.Is that really the worst thing?”
“Yes!”He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing a step.“Adley, do you not get it?The club.Your dad.They’ll-” He broke off, shaking his head.
“They’ll what?”I challenged and crossed my arms.“Ground me?Tell me who I can kiss?Mason, I’m thirty-one years old.I don’t need permission to be with you.”
His eyes locked on mine, hot and conflicted.“You think Slayer’s just going to shrug when he sees me all over his daughter on national damn television?”
“I think my dad doesn’t control my love life,” I shot back.“He didn’t in Chicago, and he doesn’t here.”
His jaw clenched so hard I thought it might crack.“This isn’t just about Slayer.”
“Then what is it about?”I pushed, taking a step closer.The air between us snapped, tight with tension.“Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re the one ashamed of me.”
His head jerked like I’d slapped him.“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?Don’t tell the truth?”My voice dropped, softer but sharper.“Mason, I’ve wanted you for fourteen years.I’m not ashamed of it.I don’t care if the whole damn world knows.But you, you’re treating me like I’m some dirty little secret.”
His hand slammed against the shelf beside my head, caging me in.His face was inches from mine, eyes blazing.“You are not a secret.You’re everything I can’t stop wanting even though I damn well know I should.”
The words stole my breath.My fingers twitched with the need to touch him; to prove we weren’t standing on opposite sides of this.
“Then stop fighting it,” I whispered.
For a second, I thought he would.His gaze dropped to my lips, and the heat between us roared higher.His hand brushed against my hip, the lightest touch but enough to set me on fire.
“Mason…”
He groaned low in his chest, then tore himself back, and paced away like distance was the only thing keeping him sane.“We can’t.Not here.Not like this.”
He turned back, with his eyes still stormy.“Mac gave me a couple of weeks before anyone else sees that footage.Two weeks, Adley.I don’t know what the hell to do.”
“You don’t have to do anything,” I said firmly.“Let them see it.Let everyone know.I’m not hiding.”
His throat worked, and he looked at me like I was asking him to walk into fire.“You don’t understand.”
