“Saw you jerking Mase under the table just now,” one of them called after me. My stomach lurched. Begrudgingly, I stopped to turn around, my heart thumping at the loathsome, disgusting looks on both their faces. “Good stuff. Love seeing you lose the classiness for once. It was always kind of boring.”
“First of all, that’s obviously not what was happening,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Second, you’re friends of Aaron and considering you threw his goodbye party, you know that he left me to marry another woman, so it’s honestly more than fair game for me to have moved on.”
“To his brother though? That’s cold. I mean once upon a time, I’m pretty sure you hated that guy,” said the blonde, whichever his stupid name was.
“Yeah, and now you’re fucking him? Considering you hated us too, does that mean we’re next?”
I stared at them both. “Excuse me?”
“Tripp and I are happy to volunteer for the job if you’re just fucking anyone to piss off Aaron.” Trevor rubbed his goatee slowly, in a way that had my skin crawling and my legs feeling like lead. “Just call us when you and Mase are done bumping nasties.”
Tripp laughed .“Don’t worry, Tay, no threesomes. We’ll just take turns with a good girl like you.”
I couldn’t leave faster. My heart was pounding, their laughter fading from my ears as I stormed furiously away, my heels clicking so loudly and rapidly Mason caught my eye from well across the dining room. He sat up fast, frowning hard at whatever look was stricken on my face. Before I could even get back to the table, he was up and pacing toward me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, stopping me at the end of the bar.
“Aaron’s friends,” was all I muttered, my voice trembling.
“Which ones? Where?” Mason demanded, already heated. Peering toward the front door, I watched Tripp and Trevor shrug their coats on, smiling as they watched me. But the smiles fell off their faces when Mason followed my eye line to find them. Suddenly, they were getting dressed a bit faster. “What did they do?”
“Asked if it was their turn with me next.”
I had barely finished my sentence before Mason was rushing toward the door, prompting Tripp to shove Trevor fast out the restaurant. “Mason, wait,” I pleaded. A hush had fallen over the room and I was well aware that at least half the restaurant was watching now as I tried to stop Mason from chasing two morons out into the cold. “Mase!” I hissed as he pushed out the front doors and onto the freezing cold sidewalk. Shit, shit, shit, I cursed as I hurried to follow.
Outside, the wind whipped me relentlessly. Hair flying backward, my shoulders shrugged and I hugged myself tight as I looked around for Mason. “Fuck,” I cursed when I heard a near comical yelp coming from the side of the restaurant. Turning the corner, my wild eyes caught Tripp speeding away in the back of a cab before they found Mason, his expression blank and calm as he muttered an inch from Trevor’s red face. A vein bulged from Trevor’s forehead as he stood pinned to the wall by Mason’s flexed forearm pushing against his throat without mercy.
“Oh my God – Mase!” I yelled, bursting forward. “Stop!”
He finished whatever he was snarling under his breath at Trevor, sending the message home with a hard glare before letting go. He watched Trevor crumble, not quite to the ground, but enough for one last bruise to the ego. In shock, I stood there, shivering furiously and staring as Mason stood undaunted in the freezing cold, sleeves rolled up and his gaze almost bored as he watched Trevor struggle to regain his footing. Grabbing the back of his collar, Mason pulled him to his feet. “Apologize to her.”
“Sorry.”
Mason glanced at me. He read my expression then turned back to Trevor. “Try it again.”
Making eye contact this time, Trevor spoke shakily through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry, Taylor. Bad joke and I apologize.”
He didn’t mean it but I didn’t want to look at him for another second so I nodded and muttered, “Just go.” He did but I heard him mutter slut under his breath right after he turned the corner. My gaze flicked quickly to Mason to make sure he didn’t hear. He didn’t. The tightness in his jaw had relaxed and he was coming toward me now.
“You alright?” he asked, sounding more casual than I could process. I studied him, unsure of what to make of my emotions. Now I had shock and gratitude joining my embarrassment and shame. I wished it would all just cancel each other out but instead, it all broiled together to confuse the hell out of me.
“I’m fine,” I finally said. “You didn’t have to defend me.” I was half expecting to hear the words “I wanted to” but Mason moved straight past the topic.
“Should we get you inside? You’re going to freeze.” His eyes lowered to my shivering body and though he stood close, he didn’t touch or try to warm me. Still hugging myself, I shook my head.
“I think I need a minute. Kind of humiliated.”
“Why?” Mason frowned. “Those idiots should be the ones who are embarrassed.”
I could feel the bitterness in my smile. “They’re idiots but they aren’t completely off base to think what they think. You have a reputation and I’m freshly heartbroken. It’s going to look to most people like you’re taking advantage of me right now, it’s just the truth.”
It was quiet for a second. “Well what can I do?”
“What – to show them I’m not another one of your dirty, one-week flings?” I had to laugh as I rubbed my arms to warm myself. “Short of marrying me, nothing. And I guess I’m realizing that a little too late,” I said, my eyes on the floor now as I thought about how stupid I probably looked to everyone inside that restaurant. Goddamnit, Taylor. Mason came off great – like he’d just landed his most interesting conquest yet. But all I looked like was desperate, foolish and soon-to-be used. Fuck. Now I wasn’t so sure it was the cold I was shuddering over.
“That can’t be true. There has to be something I can do,” Mason said, a frown knitting his brows.
“I don’t think there is. And I’m pretty certain now that overtly sexy gestures in public won’t do anything but make me look even more like one of your cheap hookups, so yeah. Definitely putting an end to that one,” I muttered, feeling myself getting negative. “Anyway.” I nodded inside. “I’m cold.”