Rock Bay 2 - Letting Go (16 page)

Mason wandered back over to their spot and got some dip on a tortilla chip. Then he held it out for Drew to take a bite. Drew smiled at him and took the chip with his teeth, with only a tiny lick to Mason’s finger. It was like their dinner the other night. Comfortable and a little sexy. Mason liked it.

“That is good,” Drew said. “Can I have some more?”
Mason nodded and sat back in his chair. “Of course.”
An hour or so later, they were back downstairs in Lex and Tally’s gorgeously decorated apartment. Lex had gotten out a few board games and they were debating which one to play. Mason was seated right next to Drew, and Drew’s hand was curved casually around his thigh. He’d had two of Amy’s daiquiris, so he was probably enjoying the warm weight of Drew’s hand a bit too much. He was tempted to pull it higher, but he told himself to behave. All they’d done was kiss. Sure, the kisses were hot as hell, but that didn’t give him the right to molest Drew— in front of their friends, no less. Still, when Drew squeezed his thigh, Mason couldn’t help the pleasurable chills that went up his spine. He wanted to be alone with Drew, kissing like they’d done the other night, holding on to each other, and pulling closer and closer. It was fun to be with their friends, to laugh and joke and be out in sort of public touching and together. But he needed to kiss Drew. Soon.

Chapter Twelve

 

M
ASON
was woken by a pebble tapping on his window. Seriously. A pebble. At first he thought he was dreaming it, then there was another, and another. He sat up in bed and scrambled to the window where he'd heard the tapping.
So annoying.
He threw the window open, ready to yell at whoever was down there being a nuisance, but the yell froze in his mouth when he saw his oldest friend standing there on the lawn with a duffel and a hand full of tiny rocks. Mason chuckled.

“Is there something wrong with calling, dork?” he shouted down.

“Um, your phone is off. I’ve been calling for nearly an hour. Your neighbors probably thought I was casing the place.”

Mason laughed outright at that. “Gimme a sec to put a shirt on and I’ll be down. Try not to look too much like a lurker, yeah?”

He tossed on an old T-shirt, grabbed his keys, and jogged down the wooden staircase, running his fingers along the rail the entire time. Logan was on the front porch when Mason got down there. It was hard not to notice how bedraggled he looked—sad, tired, more worn down than anything. Mason stepped out onto the porch and pulled Logan into a big hug.

“Hey, hon. I’m sorry things have been so shitty for you.”

Logan hugged back, long and hard. Mason’s heart hurt for his old friend. “Thanks for having me down for the summer. It kinda sucks being homeless.”

Mason bent down to pick up Logan’s duffel. “You’ll never be homeless, dork. Not with me around. Is this all you brought? I cleared out most of a dresser for you.”

“No,” Logan answered. “I have a few more things in the car.”
D
REW
’
S
morning started pretty damn well. It was

Sunday, his day where he usually caught up with paperwork, did bills, and relaxed in his sweats with a coffee and a treat that he’d walked over to Lex’s shop to pick up.
Speaking of coffee.
Drew pulled on his favorite track pants and an old work T-shirt. He slipped into flip-flops and grabbed his keys for the short walk to the coffee shop.

The morning was lovely, June always was on the coast—bright and full of the promise of summer, birds chirping, fresh smell in the air. Drew smiled to himself. Perhaps it wasn’t that June was always so perfect. It could be more like he was in the best mood he’d ever been in. The night before had been everything he’d been wishing for, kissing, touching, laughing with friends, Mason’s hand in his like he was part of a
real
couple for once instead of participating in some farce. Drew wasn’t sure why any of his previous relationships hadn’t felt real. He was attracted to women, and he had liked the ones he’d chosen to date. But none of it had ever felt like it did with Mason. Maybe because he’d spent the whole time afraid to tell them that he liked men too, maybe because he was afraid to let loose and show all of his personality and not just the uptight businessman who made enough money to take them to nice restaurants. Drew shrugged internally. Whatever it was, everything felt different with Mason.
So
different. Good.

He wished he could have Mason up for the day, but Mason had already explained about his old friend coming to town and how he needed to be there to settle him in. Drew wasn’t surprised that Mason was a good friend. He was a good person all around, and gorgeous, and sexy, and smart….
Damn, I have it bad.
Travis was at the counter when Drew got to the coffee shop, and Amy, dressed in hospital scrubs, was just turning to leave.

“Morning, lovebird,” she said with a sly grin and elbowed Drew with her coffee-free side.
“Morning.” He leaned over and gave Amy a kiss on the top of her head. Drew wished they’d gotten to be friends years ago. Well, her and Lex. It would’ve been nice to have some people around town he really liked to be with. His life had been pretty lonely until recently.

“You’re all glowy,” Amy told him.

Drew rolled his eyes, but he smiled too. He
felt
glowy, honestly. “How many people are going to tell me I’m glowing? I swear it’s an epidemic.”

Travis rolled his eyes. “Yeah, a four-person epidemic. Those two”—with his head, he gestured upstairs to Lex’s apartment—“and you and the brown-eyed boy.”

“He’s not a boy,” Drew said. It was something he was worried about, though, that people would think he was robbing the cradle with Mason.

“Hey, I’m not hating,” Travis answered. “You look good. Gotta get it where you can.”

Drew was lucky he didn’t have coffee yet or it probably would’ve come out his nose. Amy laughed as well and blew Travis a kiss.

“Thanks for that one, hon. I needed a laugh before my shift. I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too. I’m not leaving until the end of summer, you know, and we’ll be back for the holidays. I’ll drop by for a visit.”
“You better!” Amy called over the jingling door bells as she left the shop.
Travis turned to Drew. “You want your usual weekend special?”
Drew almost said yes, but then he thought that he’d had the same thing every damn Sunday for as long as he could remember—even when he wasn’t getting it from Lex’s shop—and maybe it was time to try something new. “Nah. Surprise me.”
Travis raised his eyebrows. “What’s the pretty boy doing to you?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to try something different for a change.”

“I like the new Drew.”

Drew leaned on the glass counter. “What are you going to make for me?”
“I think you’ll like the original Tally special. It’s awesome.”

“What’s in it?”

Travis gave Drew his patented bratty smile. They’d all gotten to know it fairly well since he’d

started working there. “You wanted a surprise, right? Well, you’ll just have to wait.”

“So tell me about this cousin of yours. What’s his name?”
“Justin.” Travis tensed for a moment, then relaxed. “You know, I forgot you were one of the good guys there for a second. Small towns can be so harsh. Hey, do you want a muffin?”

“Yes, blueberry please. What do you mean?” Drew took his muffin from Travis and gave him a long look.

“Justin’s had it rough. He’s from the other side of the mountains. It’s kinda redneckville over there. He’s little and pretty and, well, he never had a chance of hiding the fact that he’s gay. His dad started on him when he was about fourteen, and it’s gotten worse. He’s been in the hospital a few times. I just don’t want anything else to happen to him, you know?”

“Is that why he’s moving here?”

Travis nodded. “My mom finally did something about it. She talked to her sister, and

they’re going to wait till my asshole uncle goes on a trip—he’s a trucker—then they’re going to send him down here. I know Auntie Clara isn’t too happy about Justin being gay, but she still loves him. She’s going to tell my uncle he ran away.”

Jesus. How awful.
“How old is Justin?”

“Eighteen. He just graduated. Barely. He missed so much school with black eyes and shit that he nearly didn't have enough credits. It’s good that he’s smart.”

“I hope everything works well for him here.” “Me too. I already talked to Lex about it, and Tally. It was their idea that he come work for them. A safe place, you know? I’m just grateful they’re willing to help.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Lex asked, walking into the shop from the back entrance. “Morning, Drew.” He dragged a hand through his sandy hair and reached into the display case for two donuts.

“I know you guys are awesome, I just meant that Justin’s not your problem, but it was amazing that you stepped in.”

Lex ruffled Travis’s hair. “Of course, squirt. We’re just sorry we can’t have both of you.”

“You can. Until the end of summer. He’s coming next weekend, I think. We’ll get him settled in, and then he can start here in a few weeks.”

“Cool, that’s when the drive-through window will be done. I’ll need the extra set of hands.” He grabbed two paper cups. “I’ll be out of your way here in a second.”

Travis shrugged. “No rush. The church crowd is already gone. You guys slept in this weekend.”

“We stayed up late last night.” Lex rolled his eyes toward Drew. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that this one is already up and out of the house. Where’s Mason?”

Drew coughed on his, admittedly, delicious coffee. “He’s at home! Jeez. It’s not like that with us yet.”

“Yet!” Travis snorted out a laugh and gave

Lex a high five.
“Seriously? You two are so immature.” “You’re a grump when you’re not with your

boyfriend. Go get him, please.” Lex glanced back at Drew.

 

“Can’t—his best friend moved to town. He’s getting him settled today.”

 

“At least you didn’t argue when I said boyfriend.”

Drew thought about that. No, he hadn’t argued. Not out loud, and not in his head either. They hadn’t been out that many times, but Mason already did feel like someone that close to him, like someone he could easily call his boyfriend and not just some guy he was casually dating. It was pretty nice, he had to admit.

“I’m going to go wake Tally up,” Lex said. “Am I going to see you tomorrow so we can finish out the quarterlies?”

Drew nodded. “Yep. How ’bout threeish?” “That works for me. See you then.”
“S
O
,
WHAT
do you want to do for the rest of

today?” Mason asked Logan. Logan had finished putting his small stash of belongings away in the places Mason had emptied out for him and was currently lounging on the couch in the noon sun.

“Is nothing an acceptable answer?” Logan asked in a low, tired voice. “I got up hella early this morning to drive my butt down here. It was still dark.”

Mason shrugged. “Nothing’s cool. We can order pizza and watch TV until our eyes melt. I still have my Wii, too, if you think we can finally beat Super Mario for once.”

“Please,” Logan scoffed. “I could’ve beat the game all by myself. I just didn’t want you to feel left out.”

“You’re dumb. I say pizza, and I’ll drag Mario out.”

Mason was tired too, after his long week at work and staying out so late the night before, but he was willing to do just about anything to see a genuine smile on Logan’s face. He tried to bite down the smile that wanted to pop onto his own face at the thought of the previous night.
Drew.
They’d had so much fun with the others, and then he’d held Mason’s hand the entire car ride back to Astoria. And the kisses, oh lord, the kisses. They’d said good night for nearly an hour. Mason had wanted so much just to ask Drew to stay. Even if they just spent the rest of the night kissing, it would’ve been better than anything he’d had before. But he’d known Logan was coming in the morning, Drew was still a bit shy, and Mason didn’t want to push.

“What’s with the look on your face, dude? I know the prospect of sausage and pineapple isn’t enough for a smile like that.”

Shit.
The last thing Logan probably needed was to hear about Mason’s new romance. “I’m just happy you’re here. That’s all.”

“And you think I’m going to buy that line of bullshit? We’ve been friends since we were three, Mase. Spit it out.”

Mason sighed. “I met someone, okay? I didn’t think talking about it would be your dream come true at the moment, so I wasn’t going to bring it up.”

“What kind of self-absorbed ass do you take me for?” Logan socked him on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you. Who is he?”

“His name is Drew, he’s a little older, but he’s really sweet, and he’s the best kisser ever.” He sighed. Jesus, he actually sighed.

Logan chuckled. “You really like this one. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen that look on your face before. Ooooh, Masey’s got a boyfriend.”

Embarrassing.
“Shut it, dork wad. You want pepperoni or sausage?”

 

“I think I know what you want.”

Mason elbowed Logan, hard. “What do you want on your pizza? And none of this shit in front of Drew. He’s kinda shy. I don’t want you to scare him.”