Brody elbowed him back playfully. “Some things never change,” he said. “You’ve been here thirty seconds, and already you’re trying to steal our girl!”
“Our girl?” Mason arched an eyebrow.
“When’d you get in?” asked Corey. “You weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow.”
“Even better, how the hell did you find us?” asked Brody.
Mason reached out and casually plucked an olive from one of the trays in front of us. “Remember when you shared your location with me, so I could find that party?” He popped it into his mouth as the others nodded. “Well there you go.”
Brody was shaking his head in disbelief. Corey was looking around for a waitress, to order more drinks.
“Sorry,” said Mason, looking back at the three of us. “I didn’t mean to crash your date… uh… party, or—”
“I’ve seen you before…”
The words just slipped from my mouth. I was squinting at him hard, my brows crossed. As if that would somehow help me remember where—
“Wait, I know! You were in The Covenant!” I gasped, snapping my fingers.
Mason’s face broke into a charming smile. He nodded.
“I loved that show!”
“If only there were more people like you,” he sighed wistfully. “It got canceled after six episodes.”
My smile of triumph faded. “Oh. Sorry!”
“It’s okay,” he replied, still grinning. “You can still know me from a half dozen different car commercials, and one for tortilla chips.”
“SPICYYYYY!” Corey laughed, singing the tagline. Suddenly I remembered that too. It was a popular brand. They were popular commercials.
“That’s you?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” he admitted. His smile was more wan now, but still handsome, just as charming. “That’s me.”
“I think the girls stocked my suite with some of those chips,” I said, struggling to think. “I should have you sign ‘SPICYYYYY’ on a bag, before I leave.”
Mason cleared his throat. “Girls?”
“Five of them,” said Corey.
“Forget it,” laughed Brody. “They’ve already flown home.”
“All of them?”
“Half of them were married anyway,” I said. “Although you probably would’ve liked Bella. She’s the wild one.”
Mason sighed, pretending to be heartbroken. “I do like me some wild girls,” he admitted.
“Don’t we all,” said Corey, playfully nudging my leg.
“You still haven’t told us why you’re here early,” Brody pointed out. “Did we get the date wrong? I thought we said—”
“No no,” said Mason. “Date’s right. I’m just a day early.” He shrugged. “They canceled my latest audition. No explanation.”
“Sorry, man.”
“It’s all good,” Mason smiled. “It was a stupid part anyway. My agent said I should be glad I didn’t get it.”