Fall by Winter

As I started driving again, another text appeared in the preview, this one only for me to read, and it was from Mason again.

Imagine my disappointment when I stopped by your house and found no one was home. I left you a little gift on the porch. They’re not as wild as you are, but they’ll have to do.

Wild? Me? I wasn’t wild. What had he left on the porch? And why was I smiling like a goddamn lunatic? Christ. I coughed lightly and composed myself, but the damn butterflies were back. Oh, they’d disappear soon; Mason was about to get to know me outside of fancier settings, and that would do the trick. This wasn’t a nice dinner in Phoenix after I’d been to a relaxing spa retreat to pamper myself. Nor was this a country rock club for middle-aged people dressed to the nines in an attempt to find their next divorce.

“Mom, can we stop to eat? I’m fucking starving.”

“Sure, sweetie,” I replied absently.

“Pool hall?” he suggested. “It’s five-dollar pizza for lunch.”

“Sounds good.” I checked the clock behind the wheel and made a turn for Cedar Valley. Yeah, they were still serving lunch. It was only one o’clock. “They stop the lunch service at two, right? Whoa.” My phone was blowing up with messages. “What’s going on?”

“I asked if anyone wanted to get their ass kicked at pool,” Brady said like it was obvious. “Dad added Kelly and Matt to the chat too, and Tristan says hey. I kinda wanna get to know him better.”

“Oh, that makes me happy.” I couldn’t describe how much I adored this. Families belonged together.

“Dad and Kelly will meet us at the pool hall,” Brady said. “So will Uncle Mason and Rory—she’s already in the Valley. Fuckin’ A! This is gonna be fun.”

Well, then.A rush of nerves slithered down to my stomach as I parked in the lot outside the pool hall.

William, Kelly, and Mason were already here.

Men could throw on a pair of jeans, put on a button-down, run a hand through their hair, and look good. Kind of like Mason looked as if he’d done. Maybe he’d left his jacket in the car. Regardless, there was nothing I could do about my unkempt appearance, not that there was any use in delaying the inevitable. I supposed I should be thankful that my butt looked okay in these jeans, because the rest of me didn’t. I’d borrowed one of Brady’s hoodies so I could get away with a sports bra instead of a regular one.

I fucking hated underwire.

Brady was already out of the car, and I made a feeble attempt at taming my hair by pulling it up into a high, messy bun. Then I adjusted my glasses and checked the rearview to ensure I didn’t have anything stuck between my teeth.

If Mason wanted to have “fun” with me after this, I’d count it as a miracle.

After grabbing my wallet and phone, I left the car and locked up.

William raised a brow as I approached, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d rarely seen me like this before either. I used to be so prim and proper when I was with him. Now his ex-wife wore green All Stars sometimes.

I’d never claimed every change I’d undergone could be considered an upgrade.

Mason looked like he was going through the mandatory “Jesus Christ, you’ve grown up, kid” talk with Brady, who hadn’t been here when his uncle had visited last time.

“Hi.” I plastered a smile on my face. “Everyone wants pizza, huh?”

Kelly smirked. “I’m pretty sure we’re all here to beat Will at pool.”

I laughed and aimed at Mason. I had to make it look like we hadn’t made out passionately just last night. “Good to see you again, Mason.”

He mirrored the little smirk on my face with one of his own and pulled me in for a quick hug. “You too, darlin’.” He kissed me on the cheek too.

I suppressed a shiver and tried to focus on the others instead. When it came to sports and games, William had two strengths. Pool and swimming. Everything else, he was sort of awful at. He didn’t care either. He was the least competitive person I knew. Kelly and Brady were the opposite.

“You should try to defeat your mother before you take me on, son.” William threw an arm around Brady’s shoulders and ruffled his hair as if our boy was seven. “She’s almost as good as I am.”

“Don’t fuck with the hair!” Brady pulled away from him and carefully ran his fingers through his hair. I shook my head in amusement. “I know very well how good she is. We come here a lot.”

William was surprised, and he turned to me. “You do?”

“I guess it’s a tradition we’ve started.” I shrugged and smiled. “Pool and pizza with Brady, movie dates and running with Aurora.”