The Space Beyond (The Book of Phoenix) (17 page)

“Mmm …” I groaned. “Lie here and do nothing?”

“You don’t want to at least watch movies? Play a game or something? Feel up to a walk?”

I groaned again. We were definitely not going for a walk. His car being here for two days now was surely the town’s gossip of the week. They probably had me pregnant, even though I hadn’t had sex with anyone for months, and Mason and I hadn’t even kissed since that first night we met. No need to take the chances of having to face anyone, especially Ty. Oh, dear God and sweet baby Jesus. Two days ago the gossip had been Ty and me, even reaching Sissy’s ears. And now Mason and me, and since they surely assumed I was knocked up, they’d probably already gone on to whose baby it was and which one would be raising it. Sissy was going to love this. Elizabeth was surely hating it.

“Crap. I need to call Liz’beth and Sullivan’s,” I said.

“Done.”

I rolled on my back and looked up at him. “Done?”

“Sissy called them both yesterday morning. I called Memaw’s again today, just to be sure they knew you wouldn’t be in again. The woman on the phone didn’t sound happy, but I don’t think it had anything to do with your absence.”

Yep, Elizabeth was hating the gossip … and Mason. “Liz’beth tries to fill my grams’ shoes. She doesn’t know you so she doesn’t trust you.”

“I should meet her, then. As soon as she meets me, she’ll fall in love, just like all the women do.”

“Good heavens. Arrogant much?”

He gave me a grin. “You know I’m quite charming.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

“If you want to meet her, go on in, but I’m not going anywhere. You’re probably going stir crazy, though, aren’t you?”

“Not at all. Especially now that you’re up and speaking in more than grunts.”

“There’s that charm again.”

He laughed then tweaked my chin between his thumb and fingers. “You know I tease you because I adore you.”

Heat flushed my face, and I cleared my throat. “So, um, anyway, if you want to go home, I’ll be fine. I’ll be up and at ’em again tomorrow.”

“Which is exactly why I’m staying. I have you all to myself for what? At least twenty-four hours?”

I glanced at the clock on the stove. Not exactly twenty-four hours, but we did have one day together, and one night, and I’d never had a day and night after being sick that was so amazingly perfect. Mason treated me like a princess, continuing to take care of me because I was still a little weak, almost babying me sometimes. We did what I wanted to do, and he didn’t lift a brow when I gave him the list of chick-flick, rom-com movies I asked him to get from the rental box in front of the park office. He sat on the couch with me, seeming perfectly content to simply be there while we ate ice cream and watched movies. We played a few hands of gin rummy, and he didn’t get too upset when I beat him the first time, and didn’t act like an ass when he beat me the second hand. And when my energy was drained and I was ready for bed, I awkwardly took his hand and led him back to my room. He lay down with me and held me, but we did nothing more than talk until I zonked out.

I had to get back to work the next morning, even though he begged me not to.

“You need another day of rest,” he insisted.

“I need the money more.”

He scowled, not liking that answer. “We have to figure something else out for you, Bex. You’re taking so long to recover because your body’s exhausted. You can’t work as much as you do.”

I didn’t point out that I got sick after partying all day and night, and probably from kissing Ty, who’d also been sick. Of course, Mason did have a point about how long it had taken me to recover. Ty had apparently been better after twenty-four hours, but it’d taken me more than twice as long. I still didn’t feel quite up to par.

“I’m going to look into a few things for you and your sister and your mother,” he said as he walked me out to the car. “I hate this, Bex. I hate you working so much. I hate being so far away.”

He leaned down and gave me a kiss goodbye, the first one since I’d practically jumped him in the parking lot of the steak house. My toes curled again.

“I’ll see you soon, precious,” he said as he pressed his forehead to mine.

“Precious?” I asked skeptically.

“Yes. You should know that you’re quite precious to me.” He kissed the tip of my nose and headed for his car.

As I slid into mine, I heard a door slam. Not a car door, and not my house door. It came from the trailer next to mine. Ty’s. I shut my car door, leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. My heart ached for what I knew I needed to do.

In my search for The One, I’d never had this problem before. Two men I cared about. Two
delicious
men who cared about me. But I obviously couldn’t be with both, and I needed to make a decision before I led one of them on any further than I already had. This decision would be one of the hardest I’d ever had to make, because I had strong feelings for both, but I knew deep down which one was right for me.

And it killed me to have to break the other man’s heart. I could only hope mine wouldn’t be broken in return.

Chapter 16

When I came home from work that night, no Ty sat on my steps waiting for me. He must have moved his few belongings out of his trailer while I worked, because not even his truck sat outside. I tried calling him and left messages, but he never returned them. Mason’s presence while I was sick must have really hurt Ty, and I felt horrible about it all, but didn’t know what to do when he refused to acknowledge I even existed. If I could have taken a break to sit at his house and wait for him, I would have, but my couple of days off had cost me too much. I needed every hour, every tip I could get to make up for it. The more time that went by, the worse I felt. Elizabeth kept telling me to take care of it because she felt the darkness over town growing even stronger, and apparently, that was entirely my fault. Maybe it was because my heart was breaking all over again.

Finally, between breakfast and lunch on Friday, she practically kicked me out the door to find Ty and talk to him. But I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t at his new place and not at the trailer picking up anything he’d left behind. He wasn’t at the only gym in town, but I found Jeric at the silver Airstream, and he said Ty had gone to Gainesville for a few days. Well then. That was that. There were two things in Gainesville that I knew about: his other best friend who still hadn’t graduated college and probably never would; and college parties and beer. Oh, and girls.

I didn’t cry, though. I knew this would happen. I knew he’d eventually leave me, and I’d promised myself I’d never cry over Ty Daniels again. I couldn’t be the girl he wanted and needed, and that’s why I’d made the decision I had. But my heart still felt heavy. He could have at least given me the chance to talk to him about it and try to be friends.

On my way back to Memaw’s, Sullivan’s called and said they didn’t need me to work that night. They’d accidentally scheduled too many bartenders and since they gave me more shifts than anyone, they had to give someone else the opportunity to work. I supposed it was only fair, but with the money I’d already lost earlier in the week, losing the tips, especially on a Friday night, would hurt. Feeling completely bummed, I called Mason as soon as Elizabeth sent me home right after the last lunch guest left.

“Come down here,” Mason said. “I know your mom would like to see you, and she’s not the only one.”

I sighed. “I can’t afford the gas.”

“If you have enough to get here, I’ll fill your tank.”

“Mason—”

“Don’t argue with me, Bex. Let me do one little thing for you. What else are you going to do? Sit at home alone and mope? There are people here who care about you.”

I guess those were the magic words, because I packed an overnight bag, left Uncle Troy a note to say I’d be in the office by noon, and drove down to Orlando. I spent some time with Mama and Sissy at Mama’s shitty little apartment that smelled like stale cigarette smoke and urine.

“Maybe we should move her back home,” I said to Sissy once we stepped outside while Mama slept. My nose involuntarily wrinkled as I looked over the second-floor railing at the so-called courtyard below. It was nothing more than patches of crabgrass and sand, littered by the wind with bottles, wrappers, and plastic bags. Perhaps a few needles and syringes, too. Graffiti decorated many doors and walls, on a background of faded pink paint that had probably come out of the can when I was in the first grade. Most windows to the other apartments were covered with sheets or blankets instead of curtains, half of them falling down in one corner.

I turned to my sister, who stared at me with round eyes and her brows raised to her hairline. “You’d really let her move in to the trailer?”

“Believe me, it’s not my favorite idea,” I said, hating it wholeheartedly, to be honest, “but it’s technically her trailer, and I never thought I’d say it was better than anywhere, but it’s definitely better than here. And getting you guys out of here would save us a few hundred dollars a month in rent.”

“The government pays her rent here.”

The government did cover most of Mama’s rent since it was Section 8 housing, but not all, and there were utilities, too. Sissy tended to forget these things, but I didn’t want to argue about it now. “Still, it would be easier, wouldn’t it?”

“Not really. Her doctors are here. If something happens …” Sissy trailed off. “Besides, she’s already got the county here helpin’ her out, and we’d have to start the paperwork and everything all over at home. And with doctors visits, we’d be spending a lot of money on gas, and I’m sure the oxygen deliveries would be more expensive since it’s so out of the way …”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” She had a point with those extra costs, and I almost sighed with relief for a variety of reasons—mostly that I didn’t want the stress of coming home after multiple shifts to feeling obligated to help Sissy take care of Mama. But I hated being so far away, and I hated this place where they lived. As soon as Mason called when he was done at the hospital, I was more than ready to skedaddle.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here tonight?” Sissy asked, and I had to suppress a shudder. “I don’t like you driving all the way home. It’ll be dark soon.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said, not exactly lying to her. I just didn’t give her the whole truth. “Uncle Troy’s expecting me tomorrow.”

“You could leave early enough in the morning.”

“Yeah, I could,” I said even as I hugged her goodbye. “Tell Mama bye. I’ll be back when I can.”

Sissy squeezed me hard. As I walked away, I told myself not to look back because I didn’t think I could bear the look I imagined on her face. I really didn’t want to leave her in this hellhole. She kept it clean and sanitary inside, but the whole building gave me the willies and no amount of bleach and ammonia could cover the grime and odors trapped in the walls. When I reached my car, I couldn’t help but look up at Mama’s apartment on the second floor. Sissy still stood outside the door, but she wasn’t alone. Some guy, about our age, was leaning against the railing, and her laugh—the giddy one she used only with guys she liked—carried down to me.

Well, then. Guess she’d be okay.

I’d barely turned off the ignition after parking at the restaurant Mason told me to meet him at when he yanked my door open and pulled me out of my seat. He held me at arm’s length for a moment as his eyes skidded appreciatively down from my face to my toes and back up, lingering on my lips until I smiled.

“I missed you terribly,” he said before grasping my face in his hands and crushing his mouth on mine. The welcome kiss didn’t last long enough for my liking, so when he tried to pull away, I dug my fingers into his thick, dark hair and tugged him back. Once my knees began to quake, I finally let him free. He slid his tongue over his lips. “Mmm … that’s what I call a sweet hello.”

I smiled and gave a little shrug. “I might have missed you a little, too.”

He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me up against his side, and then we headed for the restaurant doors. A rush of noise hit us when we entered, and I could have kissed him again for bringing me to a bar-grill kind of place rather than another fancy steak house. It was happy hour on Friday, so a large crowd packed the bar area, and Mason took my hand to lead me through it. We stopped at a six-top bar table, and Mason began introductions. Three guys, three women, all older than me and dressed smartly for business, though their top few buttons were undone and their ties loosened in a display of freedom for the weekend. When Mason took two beers out of the bucket on the table, I realized these weren’t mere acquaintances. Good heavens, he was introducing me to his friends!

I wanted to return to the steak house. At least we were alone there. These people wanted to talk, the girls especially. They practically attacked me with all kinds of questions, particularly where I was from (because, being Yanks, they adored my accent) and what I “did” (as if I “did” one particular thing).

“So you’re putting yourself through school while bartending and waiting tables?” one of them asked as her professionally manicured fingers twirled the straw of her Cosmo. Her tone sounded genuinely curious … and genuinely presumptuous so it was barely even a question. I didn’t have a chance to answer before she added, “What are you getting your degree in?”

“Um …” I blinked, trying to control the swirl of emotions running through me that made it impossible to think.
A master’s in none-of-your-fucking-business
, I wanted to say, but these were Mason’s friends. I’m sure I was embarrassment enough without making it worse for him by letting my Southern redneck show even more.

“Bex’s future plans are on hold right now,” Mason answered for me as he turned toward us girls. I didn’t think he was listening, absorbed in his own conversation with the guys. He took my hand and squeezed it. “Unlike you, Natalie, she’s too smart to spend five years in school on a degree she’ll never use. How are things at Bloomingdale’s, anyway?”

Natalie narrowed her eyes for a moment, then put on a fake smile that would have made my Grams proud and launched into a ramble about her “private clients.” I couldn’t figure out what she did for them, except to bring them clothes and accessories and sometimes even food to the fitting rooms. She sounded like a glorified sales clerk, if you asked me. Still, judging by the designer clothes and the jewelry she wore, and how her hair was perfectly styled, she made a ton more money than I did.

“Sorry about Natalie,” Mason said later as he walked me to my car. “I think she grew up in a country club and has no clue of the real world.”

I simply nodded.

“Everyone else was nice, though, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said as I focused my attention on unlocking my car door. He grasped the handle before I could and pulled it open, then turned me to look at him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, the space between his eyebrows creasing.

“Nothing,” I said, putting on my most important accessory. “What now?”

“That smile doesn’t fool me.” He grasped my chin and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “Did something happen?”

I sighed, but didn’t let go of my smile. “It’s really nothing. I didn’t fit in, is all. But it’s over, and I’m fine. It’s just you and me, now, right?”

He chuckled. “To tell you the truth, I don’t really fit in with them, either. I’ve just known most of them since I moved down here, so they’re kind of friends by default. Haven’t had time to make others.” He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. “And yeah, just you and me now. Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“I don’t really know where there is to go.”

He left his hand against my face as he considered this. “There are plenty of places around here, but let’s take your car back to my place so we don’t have to caravan around town. Follow me?”

I nodded, and he gave me another kiss as though he were saying goodbye for a week rather than a few minutes. I followed him to a large, upscale condominium complex, and then toward the back. Finally, he stopped and stuck his hand out the window, waving me forward. I pulled up next to him and rolled down my window.

“Park in space 66,” he said, pointing at the one to the front of my right bumper. “I’ll take the visitor’s spot.”

I parked and slid out of the driver’s seat, then reached to the backseat for my overnight bag.

“Now that’s what I call a view,” Mason said from behind me, and I jerked upward, hitting my head on the doorjamb. I yelped, and he swept me into his arms. “Oh, precious, I’m so sorry.”

He peppered kisses all over my face.

“I’ll live,” I said, giggling at his overreaction. “I happen to know this hot doctor who will take good care of me if it’s serious.”

“Damn right,” he murmured as he used his body to push me backward, up against my car, where he proceeded to give me another bone-melting kiss. “Let’s take your stuff inside, then we can decide where to go.”

He grabbed my bag from me, locked and shut my car door, then took my hand and led me up the stairs to his third-floor unit. I’d never seen a home so immaculate and …
boring
. Gray walls, black, boxy furniture, white tile floors, glass and marble tables, but no knickknacks, no snapshots on the walls or end tables, nothing that made it feel like a
home.
Not even a throw pillow, for heaven’s sake. Mama’s hospital room had been homier than this. The only “adornment” on the walls was the one in the dining room covered in a floor-to-ceiling mirror—as if reflecting the barren room made it any more interesting.

“Do you
live
here?” I asked as I walked past the bright white kitchen that looked like it had never been used and into the open dining room/living room area. Not a single thing said this was Mason’s place—not a hat, a set of keys, a phone charger cord, nothing.

“Most people would say I live at the hospital,” he said, “but I do hang out here once in a while. I’m usually unconscious, though.”

“What about your brother?” No evidence he even existed.

Mason shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Fraternity brother. And he went back north last week. We didn’t make good roommates.”

Something sounded a little off, but I still wasn’t ready to pry into his business. If he wanted me to know, he’d tell me. Or when things got really serious—like a proposal—he’d have to fess up then. Whoa nelly, did I really just go there? Nothing like getting a little ahead of myself.

Mason set my bag on the floor next to him, glanced at it, puckered his mouth as though he sucked a lemon, and picked it back up. He nodded to the door on the right side of the living room.

“Guest room,” he said, and then he tilted his head toward the door on the left side of the room. “My room.”

He was asking me to pick where I wanted to sleep tonight! I lifted a corner of my mouth, walked over to the guest room, and opened the door. More gray walls, a black bedspread, and white furniture made it as plain and stark as the rest of the condo. Nothing to show that anyone had been living here a week ago. I sauntered over to the bed, sat down and bounced a few times.